The Frédéric Chopin Monument in Warsaw () is a large bronze statue of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

(1810–1849), designed by

Wacław Szymanowski Wacław Szymanowski (23 August 185922 July 1930) was a Polish sculptor and painter. He is best known for his statue of composer Frédéric Chopin in Warsaw's Royal Baths Park (Łazienki Park). Life Szymanowski was born in Warsaw and was the so ...

, that stands in the upper part 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 ...

Royal Baths Park Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

(also known as Łazienki Park), adjacent to ''Aleje Ujazdowskie'' (

Ujazdów Avenue Ujazdów may refer to the following places in Poland: *Ujazdów, Warsaw, a neighbourhood in Śródmieście, Warsaw **Ujazdów Avenue in Warsaw **Ujazdów Castle in Warsaw **Ujazdów Park in Warsaw *Ujazdów, Włodawa County in Lublin Voivodeship (e ...

History

It was designed in 1907 by

for its planned erection on the centenary of Chopin's birth in 1810 but its execution was delayed by controversy about the design, then by the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The statue was finally cast and erected in 1926.Encyklopedia powszechna PWN (1976), vol. 4, p. 372. The members of the jury who selected the winning project included such figures as

Antoine Bourdelle Antoine Bourdelle (; 30 October 1861 – 1 October 1929), born Émile Antoine Bordelles, was an influential and prolific French sculptor and teacher. He was a student of Auguste Rodin, a teacher of Giacometti and Henri Matisse, and an important ...

Józef Pius Dziekoński Józef Pius Dziekoński (born 5 May 1844, Płock – died 4 February 1924, Warsaw) was a Polish people, Polish architect and heritage conservator, a representative of the 19th-century historicism (architecture), historicism. He became the first de ...

and Leopold Méyet. The statue was blown up on May 31, 1940, during

World War II 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 ...

, on the order of Governor-General

Hans Frank Hans Michael Frank (23 May 1900 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician, lawyer and convicted war criminal who served as head of the General Government in German-occupied Poland during the Second World War. Frank was an early member ...

and was the first monument destroyed by the occupying Germans in Warsaw. According to local legend, the next day a handwritten sign was found at the site which read: "I don’t know who destroyed me, but I know why: so that I won’t play the funeral march for your leader." After the end of the war, the monument was rebuilt. Architect Oskar Sosnowski designed the pedestal and basin, which are made of red

Wąchock Wąchock is a town in Starachowice County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland, near Starachowice, within the historical region of Lesser Poland. In 2006, it had 2,777 inhabitants. History Wachock received its town charter in 1 ...

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

. The inscription on the pedestal reads: "The Statue of Fryderyk Chopin, destroyed and plundered by the Germans on 31 May 1940, rebuilt by the Nation. 17 October 1946." Another inscription engraved on the monument is a quote from

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 ...

's narrative poem ''

Konrad Wallenrod ''Konrad Wallenrod'' is an 1828 narrative poem, in Polish language, Polish, by Adam Mickiewicz, set in the 14th-century Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Mickiewicz wrote it, while living in St. Petersburg, Russia, in protest against the late-18th-cen ...

'': "Flames will consume our painted history, sword-wielding thieves will plunder our treasures, the song will be saved..." The original mould for the statue, which had survived the war, made it possible to cast a replica, which was placed at the original site in 1958. Since 1959, free piano recitals of Chopin's compositions have been performed at the statue's base on summer Sunday afternoons. The stylized

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

over Chopin's seated figure echoes a pianist's hand and fingers, and the Polish eagle's head on the right end. A 1:1-scale replica of Szymanowski's statue stands in

Hamamatsu is a Cities of Japan, city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In September 2023, the city had an estimated population of 780,128 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, with a population density of over the t ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. There are also preliminary plans to erect another replica along

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's lakefront, in addition to a different sculpture commemorating the artist in

Chopin Park Chopin Park is an park located at 3420 North Long in the Portage Park community area of North Side, Chicago, Illinois. The park stretches from Roscoe Street on the south to Cornelia Avenue to the north between Linder and Long avenues. The hi ...

. Szymanowski's statue was the world's tallest Chopin monument until the unveiling, on March 3, 2007, of a slightly taller, modernistic bronze in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Gallery

File:Odsłonięcie pomnika Fryderyka Chopina w Warszawie 1926.jpg, Opening ceremony, 1926 File:Chopin monument - panoramio.jpg, Chopin Statue in Warsaw File:Koncert pomnik Fryderyka Chopina w Warszawie 2014 01.JPG, Annual Chopin summer piano concerts at the

File:4 Warszawa-Lazienki Krolewskie 107.jpg, General view

References

{{Public art in Warsaw Monuments and memorials to Frédéric Chopin Monuments and memorials in Warsaw 1926 establishments in Poland 1926 sculptures Outdoor sculptures in Warsaw Sculptures in Poland Łazienki Park

History

Gallery

See also

References