Adam Mickiewicz Monument () is a monument dedicated to

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 ...

at the

Krakowskie Przedmieście Krakowskie Przedmieście (Polish) (, ) is one of the best known streets of Poland's capital Warsaw, surrounded by historic palaces, churches and manor-houses. It constitutes the northernmost part of Warsaw's Royal Route, and links the Old Town ...

in the Śródmieście district of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The

Neo-Classicist Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

monument was constructed in 1897–1898 by sculptor Cyprian Godebski. It was unveiled on the 100th anniversary of the poet's birth.

History

On 13 February 1897 the '' Głos'' magazine published an article promoting the idea of building the monument. Other newspapers soon followed the idea. Writer

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish epic writer. He is remembered for his historical novels, such as The Trilogy, the Trilogy series and especially ...

helped to raise awareness among the Warsaw intelligentsia, and by his effort, the Russian authorities permitted the construction of the monument.Lidia M. Nawrocka: Dzieje pomnika Adama Mickiewicza
at Histmag.org Mickiewicz29

A public committee was founded by Sienkiewicz, Count Michał Radziwiłł and

Zygmunt Wasilewski Zygmunt, Zigmunt, Zigmund and spelling variations thereof are masculine given names and occasionally surnames. It has the same etymology as the Germanic name Zigmund. People so named include: Given name Medieval period * Sigismund I the Old (1467� ...

. The committee asked people for financial contributions to help build the monument. The financial support was quickly raised, and the work was assigned to renowned Polish sculptor Cyprian Godebski. The monument was built on a place where several buildings, demolished in 1865, had been located. From 1897 it was sculpted by Godebski in Italy. The 4.2 m-tall bronze statue was cast in

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Red granite column and foundations were produced by an Italian company in

Baveno Baveno is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, part of Piedmont, northern Italy. It is on the west shore of Lago Maggiore, northwest of Arona by rail. To the north-west are the famous red granite quarries, which have ...

near

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

.Przemysław Miller: Pomnik Adama Mickiewicza
at the official website of Warsaw, 23 October 2009. The statue shows Mickiewicz standing tall, with his head slightly raised and his right hand laid upon his heart. The monument was ceremonially unveiled on 24 December 1898 on the 100th anniversary of poet's birth. While initially planned to be very large, the ceremony was scaled back as Tsarist authorities feared that it could turn into a patriotic manifestation of Polish desire for independence. They banned all marches and speeches. The monument was unveiled in silence, in front of 12,000 people. After suppressing the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

in 1944 and destroying part of the city, Nazi forces also deliberately destroyed this monument. They eventually transported remaining parts of the monument to Germany. After the war, Polish soldiers found the head and several parts of the statue in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. Sculptor Jan Szczepkowski was commissioned to produce a copy of the original statue. The environs around the monument were also restored. The reproduction was unveiled on 28 January 1950. The last parts of the monument were returned to Poland as late as the 1980s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mickiewicz, Adam, Monument, Warsaw Monuments and memorials in Warsaw 1898 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Poland 1898 in Poland Outdoor sculptures in Warsaw Rebuilt buildings and structures in Warsaw Cultural depictions of Adam Mickiewicz Statues of men in Poland