Who's that lady wrapped up in the Grund?

From a distance, she looks like a woman wrapped up in several layers against the cold sitting in the Grund.

But, the curious seated figure is not human. She is a ceramic sculpture of the famous Melusina mermaid myth, made to mark the capital's 1,050th anniversary.

Created by Serge Ecker, a Luxembourgish artist living in Berlin, the design comprises a sculpture and a bench, so that “people can sit next to her and be photographed with her,” the artist explained.

It was selected from a handful of designs submitted in response to competition launched by the City of Luxembourg in 2013.

The starting point of the sculpture was a 3D scan the artist made of his partner. He then deconstructed the shape into fragments and surfaces to give a polygonal shape.

The design was first made in a 3D printer in Berlin and then given a ceramic coating at a specialist factory in Hungary.

Melusina was the wife of Siegfried, the first Count of Luxembourg. According to legend, once a week she asked her husband to promise to give her a moment of privacy.

Determined to find out what his wife was doing, one week the count spied on Melusina and discovered that she was a mermaid. On learning that her husband had broken his promise, Melusina she dived into the Alzette river never to be seen again.

The new sculpture and bench were installed on Tuesday. After a quick repair is made to the small hole behind the head caused during the trip, it will be inaugurated on Wednesday at 11am by City Mayor Lydie Polfer.

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