On a promontory in front of the cemetery in downtown Opatija is a statue of a girl extending her arm to a gull, a new sculpture by the sculptor Car, erected here in 1956 and turned into one of Opatija's most famous symbols. Before that, in the same place there was a statue of "Madonna del Mare" (meaning the Virgin Mary) by the sculptor Ratausky, who also designed the "Helios and Selene" fountain in the garden between St. Jacob's Church and the Imperial Hotel, after it was demolished by a severe storm The statue of the girl with the seagull was erected to replace it.