Sea Bishop (background)
The sea bishop was captured in the Baltic Sea in 1531. It was thought to resemble a bishop, with a peaked bishop's hat.
The sea bishop was taken to the Polish king Sigismund the Old. It protested by flapping its fins, and the Poles concluded that the Sea Bishop must return to the water. Sigismund, described as a benevolent, humanist king, saw to it that the creature was released back into the sea.
Before the sea bishop returned to its propert element, it is said to have given the onlookers its blessing by making the sign of the cross.
Biskup Morski, which is Polish for "Sea Bishop" and is also the title of the bronze sculpture that stands in Karlskrona