The Sleeping Lion (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: ''Lew śpiący'',

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Schlafender Löwe'') is a monument located in the

market square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', german: Beuthen O.S.) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. The monument has become one of Bytom's most notable landmarks.

History

The monument was initially raised in 1873, to commemorate fallen inhabitants of the Beuthen District in the Franco-Prussian War. The Sleeping Lion originally stood on top of a

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In c ...

, on which the names of the fallen were written. In 1932 the monument was moved to the Academic Square (

: ''Plac Akademicki''). In 1945, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the monument's

was destroyed. Afterwards the lion was moved to the city park. It is not known when, but the Sleeping Lion made its way to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

where it laid at the gates of the

Warsaw Zoo The Warsaw Zoological Garden, known simply as the Warsaw Zoo ( pl, Miejski Ogród Zoologiczny w Warszawie ), is a scientific zoo located alongside the Vistula River in Warsaw, Poland. The zoo covers about in central Warsaw, and sees over 700,000 ...

. In 2008 the monument returned to

Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', german: Beuthen O.S.) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital ...

References

Sources

„Lew śpiący” – historia jednego odlewu
. ''instytutkorfantego.pl''. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
Powrót lwa!
. ''bytom.pl''. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
Tajemnicza historia śpiącego lwa
. ''bytom.pl''. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
Wstydliwa historia, czyli rzecz o bytomskim lwie
. ''histmag.org''. Retrieved October 7, 2020. {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Bytom Outdoor sculptures in Poland