The Nicolaus Copernicus Monument in the home town of astronomer

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

(1473–1543) was erected in 1853 by a "monument committee" of the city's residents.

Original plans

King

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

(1712–1786) intended to erect a monument at Copernicus' grave in Frauenburg (Frombork), but the grave could not be located. Astronomer

(1473–1543) lived in Thorn (Toruń), then in the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, for many years. In the late 18th century, Poland was partitioned and the city of Thorn passed to Prussia. From 1807 to 1813, the city was part of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

, governed by

Frederick Augustus I of Saxony Frederick Augustus I (; ; ; 23 December 1750 – 5 May 1827) was a member of the House of Wettin who reigned as the last Elector of Saxony from 1763 to 1806 (as Frederick Augustus III) and as the first King of Saxony from 1806 to 1827. He was al ...

. A monument to Copernicus was then planned by the

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

scientist and

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Stanisław Staszic Stanisław Wawrzyniec Staszic (baptised 6 November 1755 – 20 January 1826) was a leading figure in the Polish Enlightenment: a Catholic priest, philosopher, geologist, writer, poet, translator and statesman. A physiocrat, monist, pan-Sla ...

, after he had heard that

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

had expressed surprise during a visit to Thorn in 1807 that there was no monument there to Copernicus. Polish Roman Catholic clergy likewise supported the erection of a monument. In 1809 Napoleon commissioned

Bertel Thorvaldsen Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen (; sometimes given as Thorwaldsen; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish-Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor and medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–183 ...

and on Staszic's initiative, a

cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

was laid for a monument."''Pomnik Mikołaja Kopernika''" ("Monument to Nicolaus Copernicus"), Official Website of the City of Toru�

/ref> However, at the time, Prussian authorities, who were still nominally in charge of the city, would not approve the full construction of the monument. The fall of Napoleon ended the existence of the

, restoring full control of Thorn to the Prussian authorities and delaying the Thorn monument project and eventually forcing Staszic to change the venue to

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 ...

, in the Russian part of Poland, where the monument designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen was completed in 1830. Stephen P. Mizwa, ''Nicholas Copernicus 1543–1943'', New York, Kościuszko Foundation, 1943; Kessinger Publishing, 2006,
Print, pp. 49–50.
/ref> After the Napoleonic Wars, Thorn was made part of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, and local German citizens campaigned for and received the go-ahead for the monument that was eventually completed in that city in 1853.

Funding and building

On 19 February 1839, the astronomer's birthday, a committee of twelve citizens was founded to promote a monument. In May 1839 King

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

approved the collection of donations, but he died soon afterward, and it was

Frederick William IV Frederick William IV (; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to as the " romanticist on the t ...

who donated the largest share of the money, 3,466

Prussian thaler The Prussian Thaler (sometimes Prussian Reichsthaler) was the currency of Prussia until 1857. In 1750, Johann Philipp Graumann implemented the ''Graumannscher Fuß'' with 14 thalers issued to a Cologne Mark of fine silver, or 16.704 g per thaler ...

s. The total cost was 10,449 thalers, Leopold Prowe, "''Nicolaus Copernicus und die Aufstellung seiner Statue in Thorn''," ''Neue preußische Provinzial-Blätter, Band IV'', Theile, 185
p. 448
/ref> almost half of which was for the casting in bronze by Fischer in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The clay model was the last work of

Christian Friedrich Tieck Christian Friedrich Tieck (14 August 1776 – 24 May 1851), often known only as Friedrich Tieck, was a German sculptor and a occasional artist in oils. His work was primarily figurative and includes both public statuary and private commissions ...

(1776–1851). The statue, twice-life-size on a 16-foot pedestal, was in 1856 considered one of only eight monuments to Copernicus. Having fulfilled its task, the committee continued its activities as a society called ''Coppernicus-Verein für Wissenschaft und Kunst zu Thorn'' (Copernicus Association for Science and Art in Thorn). For many years the Association was headed by Leopold Prowe.

Monument

The monument presents Copernicus in

academic dress Academic dress is a traditional form of clothing for academia, academic settings, mainly tertiary education, tertiary (and sometimes secondary schools, secondary) education, worn mainly by those who have obtained a university degree (or simila ...

. His left hand holds an

astrolabe An astrolabe (; ; ) is an astronomy, astronomical list of astronomical instruments, instrument dating to ancient times. It serves as a star chart and Model#Physical model, physical model of the visible celestial sphere, half-dome of the sky. It ...

, and his right index finger points to the heavens. This symbolizes Copernicus' connection with

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and celestial studies. The monument is surrounded by stone benches and an adjoining stone

water well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

. The pedestal bears a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

inscription drawn up by

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

:"A monument to Copernicus has been erected at Thorn in Prussia, his native place. It bears the inscription drawn up by Baron Humboldt — ''Nicolaus Copernicus, Torunensis, terrae motor, solis caelique stator'', on one side, and on the other, ''Natus anno 1473, obiit anno 1543''." — F. Jefferies, ''The Gentleman's Magazine'', volume XL, 185
171
"''Nicolaus Copernicus Thorunensis, terrae motor, solis caelique stator''" ("Nicolaus Copernicus of Thorun, mover of the earth, stopper of the sun and heavens").

Renovations

In 2003, on the 150th anniversary of its construction, the monument was renovated. As part of the renovations, the stone

and the dolphin's mouth at the foot of the statue were restored. Celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the monument were held on 25 October 2003, attended by the Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland,

Marek Borowski Marek Stefan Borowski (; born 4 January 1946 in Warsaw, Poland) is a Polish politician. He led the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) for a time and was Speaker of the Sejm (the lower, more powerful, house of Poland's parliament) from 2001 to 2004. ...

Gallery

File:Torun pomnik Kopernika 01.jpg, File:Pomnik Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu.JPG, Close-up

Notes