Surface photometry and a 21cm H i line spectrum of the giant double-ringed galaxy ESO 474-G26 are presented .
The morphology of this system is unique among the 30,000 galaxies with B \leq 15 \aas@@fstack { m } 5 .
Two almost orthogonal optical rings with diameters of 60 and 40 kpc surround the central body ( assuming H _ { 0 } = 70 km s ^ { -1 } Mpc ^ { -1 } ) .
The outer one is an equatorial ring , while the inner ring lies in a nearly polar plane .
The rings have blue optical colors typical of late-type spirals .
Both appear to be rotating around the central galaxy , so that this system can be considered as a kinematically confirmed polar ring galaxy .
Its observational characteristics are typical of galaxy merger remnants .
Although the central object has a surface brightness distribution typical of elliptical galaxies , it has a higher surface brightness for its effective radius than ordinary ellipticals .
Possible origins of this galaxy are discussed and numerical simulations are presented that illustrate the formation of the two rings in the merging process of two spiral galaxies , in which the observed appearance of ESO 474-G26 appears to be a transient stage .