‘Fisch und Schlüssel’ (Fish and Key) is a punchy public sculpture in Munich’s Maxvorstadt district, standing on Ferdinand-Miller-Platz directly in front of St Benno Church. It was created by the sculptor Iskender Yediler and installed in 2005, with the artwork being an aluminium cast showing a fish carrying a key. In the photo, I think I’ve managed to capture the key element beautifully, although I accept that the fish element isn’t entirely visible.
The motif comes from the legend of St Benno, Munich’s patron saint, who was banished during a conflict over the ex-communication of Henry IV and so Benno told his canons to chuck the cathedral keys into the River Elbe. The key was found inside a freshly caught fish a few years later which surprised and delighted a lot of people…. Angry Protestants desecrated Benno’s tomb in Meissen in 1539, so the Wittelsbach dynasty (perhaps known best in the UK because of Sophia of Hanover, who is an important figure in the family tree of the British monarchy) promptly elevated him to become the patron saint of Munich.