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St. Anna Mermaid statue in Rheinfelden, Germany

There is a very unusual, stunningly austere and impressive mermaid statue in Rheinfelden, a town which straddles the border of Germany and Switzerland.  map

Rheinfelden Mermaid
St Anna Mermaid statue on the Rhine in Rheinfelden. Photo © by Pierre Likassis

Notice the mermaid's razor-back fin on her back, webbed hands and almost human legs that end in large fins.   She has rescued a drowning human girl, overcome by the fierce currents of the Rhine River in this location.

The sculpture was created  in 2007 by Roland Kistner, and is based on one of the legends of the St. Anna Hole, a deep cavern in the bed of the Rhine River by the Old Rhine Bridge.   One of the legends has it that when the town was attacked by the Huns some centuries ago, the townspeople tossed all their valuables into the river to foil the plunderers.   In revenge the Huns threw the Lady Anna of the castle into the deep part of the river.  Where exactly the mermaid comes into play is unclear....

Nevertheless, the mermaid statue reflects the features a mermaid would likely have to possess to survive in this section of the Rhine.   The currents can be extremely strong, especially when there are flood waters.   The St. Anna Hole in the riverbed creates additional turbulence and unusual currents, which over the years have surprised many swimmers, at times with fatal results.

Rheinfelden Mermaid Statue, in flood water conditions.  Photo by Patrick Scherrer
Rheinfelden Mermaid Statue.   Photo © by Eli Proks.
Rheinfelden Mermaid Statue.  Photo by Juhász Zoltán
St. Anna Mermaid of Rheinfelden. Photo © by Philip Jepsen
Rheinfelden St. Anna Mermaid statue.  Photo © by Tabea Hablützel.
St Anna Mermaid statue on the Rhine in Rheinfelden.  Photo © by Pierre Likassis
Rheinfelden Mermaid
Rheinfelden Mermaid
St Anna Mermaid statue on the Rhine in Rheinfelden.  Photo © by Pierre Likassis
Rheinfelden Mermaid
St. Anna Mermaid of Rheinfelden. Photo © by Philip Jepsen

References:
● http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Anna-Loch
● The Mermaids of Earth coffee-table book: See page 51 in the book about this sculpture.

Mermaids of Earth coffee-table book

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