The Adam Mickiewicz Monument (), also known as the Adam Mickiewicz Column (), is a Neo-classical column commemorating the Polish Romantic poet

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

(1798–1855) located at the Mickiewicz Square in the centre of

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, and opened in 1904.

History

In 1897, a committee headed by Władysław Łoziński and devoted to the construction of a monument in Lviv,

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Cr ...

, dedicated to

Romantic-era Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

poet Adam Mickiewicz was established. In 1898, a contest to design it was launched and, out of 28 projects, the jury selected the one designed by Polish sculptor

Antoni Popiel Antoni Popiel (13 June 1865 – 7 July 1910) was a Polish sculptor. Life He studied at the School of Fine Arts, Kraków from 1882 to 1884, with Izydor Jabłoński, Władysław Łuszczkiewicz and . He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts ...

. On the initiative of Adam Krechowiecki, it was agreed that the monument should take the form of a

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

. The monument was built between 1902 and 1904 and was officially unveiled on 30 October 1904. It features the

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...

of Poland Adam Mickiewicz at the foot of the column above whom there is a sculpture of a winged Genius of Poetry handing a lyre to the poet. A large candle light is located at the top of the 21-metre tall column. The monument was erected at the Mariacki Square (currently Mickiewicz Square) near the figure of

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. The

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

shaft of the column was transported from the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

while the bronze elements were cast in Teodor Serpek's factory in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. The figure of Adam Mickiewicz is 3.3 metres (10.8 ft) tall and the flame atop the candle light is

gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

. The monument emerged completely unscathed after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The column is one of the Polish national monuments which remained in Lviv after the war, unlike the John III Sobieski Monument or Aleksander Fredro Monument, which were transferred to

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

and

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

respectively, based on an additional protocol to the 1944 agreement between the

Polish Committee of National Liberation The Polish Committee of National Liberation ( Polish: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the la ...

(''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', PKWN) and the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

signed in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

(1945), which allowed to hand over to the Polish government the national monuments in Lviv connected to

Polish culture The culture of Poland () is the product of its Geography of Poland, geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to History of Poland, an intricate thousand-year history. Poland has a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic ma ...

and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

with the exception of the Adam Mickiewicz Monument which "enjoys great popularity and is loved by the Ukrainian nation". At the time of installation, the monument was almost the most expensive monument. Money was collected for it for 6 years.

Gallery

File:Dobrowolski Pomnik Mickiewicza we Lwowie litografia 1915.jpg, Odo Dobrowolski's litography depicting the Adam Mickiewicz Column, 1915 File:Adam Mickiewicz tér, Adam Mickiewicz lengyel költő emlékműve. Fortepan 31126.jpg, View of the column before the outbreak of WWII, 1939 File:46-101-4007 Пам'ятник А. Міцкевичу.jpg, Adam Mickiewicz Monument, 2017 File:Mic 1600.jpg, Adam Mickiewicz and the winged figure of Genius of Poetry

References

{{authority control Cultural depictions of Adam Mickiewicz Buildings and structures in Lviv Monuments and memorials in Ukraine

History

Gallery

See also

References