Statue pulled from river in Berlin after 60 years

BERLIN, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Officials in Berlin said divers in the Spree River retrieved a sandstone statue believed to have spent at least 60 years in the water.

The statue, which weighs more than 2 tons and stands about 8 1/2 feet tall, was discovered in the river last year while technical work was being conducted in the area. Officials believe it may be one of a group of figurines that once stood on the Neue Munze, a former mint, TheLocal.de reported Thursday.

The statues were commissioned by Prussian architect Friedrich August Stuler and date back to 1870. The Neue Munze was badly damaged during World War II and torn down in the 1950s, leading officials to speculate the statue may have fallen into the river during the demolition or it may have been sent into the water by a bomb blast during the war.

Doris Wollenberg of Belin's Monument Office, who was present when the statue was recovered Wednesday, said historians will study the statue and attempt to answer the questions about its origins.

"She is covered in algae and muscles but is in a better state than we had expected," Wollenberg said. "Around 80 percent of her is still there, including the folds in her clothes."