The Prince Józef Poniatowski Monument in

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 ...

() is a monument currently located at 46/48

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 courtyard of the

Presidential Palace A presidential palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. Some presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in former monarchies that were preserved during those states' transition into republics. ...

. Created by

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

-based Danish-Icelandic sculptor

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 ...

in 1829, it depicts

Józef Poniatowski Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski (; 7 May 1763 – 19 October 1813) was a Polish general, minister of war and army chief, who became a Marshal of the French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. A nephew of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lit ...

(1763–1813) riding a horse and dressed as

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

general.

Description

The statue depicts Prince

(1763–1813) riding a horse and holding a sword in his right hand. The figure of the prince is modeled on the monument of Marcus Aurelius from the Roman

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Roman Forum, Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn (mythology), Saturn. The wo ...

History

Creation of the monument

The monument's creation was at the behest of Polish aristocracy. Polish aristocrat and diarist Anna Potocka obtained permission from the

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

to place the monument in front of the Governor's Palace (which is now the Presidential Palace). The monument was commissioned in 1817 from Danish sculptor

. In 1829, in Warsaw, he presented a life-size

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

model in

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

form. The project was not well received by critics and the public who were expecting to see the warrior clad in the armour of a soldier, while Thorvaldsen introduced him as a half-naked Roman general.

A monument on the move

Based on the model, Klaudiusz and Emil Gregoire's foundry in Długa Street in Warsaw made a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

cast which was completed in August, 1832. Meanwhile, as a result of the failed

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

, Russian consent for the placement of the monument had been withdrawn as part of the Tsar's sanctions against Poland, which was confirmed by a special order in 1834. The finished cast was first taken to the

Modlin Fortress Modlin Fortress () is one of the largest 19th-century fortresses in Poland. It is located in the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin (village), Modlin on the Narew river, approximately 50 kilometers north of Warsaw. It was original ...

, where the sculpture was originally regarded as the patron of the fortress,

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

. In 1836, the monument was dismantled and placed in 10 boxes in the fortress. In 1840, the monument was assembled again, and during an inspection of the fortress by Tsar Nicholas I, it was decided to scrap the monument, but he changed his mind. Later in 1840, the statue was taken to

Dęblin Dęblin is a town at the Confluence (geography), confluence of Vistula and Wieprz rivers, in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. Dęblin is the part of the agglomeration with adjacent towns of Ryki and Puławy, which together have over 100,000 inhabitan ...

, and in 1842 to the Paskevich Palace in

Gomel Gomel (, ) or Homyel (, ) is a city in south-eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it is the List of cities and largest ...

. The monument adorned the palace in Gomel from 1842 to 1922. In Warsaw, a monument to

Ivan Paskevich Count Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich-Erevansky, Serene Prince of Warsaw ( – ) was a Russian military leader who was the ''namiestnik'' of Poland. Paskevich is known for leading Russian forces in Poland during the November Uprising and for a s ...

(by sculptors Nikolai Pimienov and Aleksander von Bock) was unveiled in 1870, at the site where Prince Józef Poniatowski's monument was meant to be. Paskevich's statue was pulled down in 1917, when Poland regained independence.

Return to Poland

The monument to Prince Józef Poniatowski returned to independent Poland in 1922, as part of the recovery of monuments and works of art under the

Treaty of Riga The Treaty of Riga was signed in Riga, Latvia, on between Poland on one side and Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine on the other, ending the Polish–Soviet War (1919–1921). The chief negotiators of ...

. It originally stood in the courtyard of the Royal Castle, and from 1923, in

Saxon Square The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian "stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. M ...

, on a pedestal designed by Aleksander Bojemski in front of the

Saxon Palace The Saxon Palace () in Warsaw, Poland, was a historic architectural landmark located on Piłsudski Square in the heart of the Polish capital. Originally built in the 17th century as a noble residence, it was later expanded and transformed into a r ...

and the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs are located in many nations and are usually high-profile na ...

. The unveiling ceremony for the monument was associated with the arrival and appointment of

Ferdinand Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general, Marshal of France and a member of the Académie Française and French Academy of Sciences, Académie des Sciences. He distinguished himself as Supreme Allied Commander ...

as a

Marshal of Poland Marshal of Poland () is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, Marshal is equivalent to a field marshal or general of the army (OF-10) in other NATO armies. History Today there are no living ...

Destruction and new cast

The monument was blown up on December 16, 1944, on the orders of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

General

Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

. A new cast of the sculpture, made from 1948 to 1951, based on a model at the

Thorvaldsen Museum The Thorvaldsen Museum is a single-artist museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, dedicated to the art of Danish and Icelandic Neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), who lived and worked in Rome for most of his life (1796–1838). The ...

in Copenhagen, was made by Poul Lauritz Rasmussen, and donated to Warsaw by the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...

. On February 23, 1952, the monument was placed in front of the Old Orangery (Stara Pomarańczarnia) in

Łazienki Park Łazienki Park, or the Royal Baths Park (), is the largest park in Warsaw, Poland, occupying 76 hectares of the city center. The park-and-palace complex lies in the Downtown, Warsaw, Downtown district, on Ujazdów Avenue, which is part of the Roy ...

, and in 1965 it was moved to the courtyard of the Presidential Palace where it is today.

Exhibitions

The remains of the original sculpture, found in April 1945, in the ruins of the Lilpop factory, are exhibited in the Freedom Park at the

Warsaw Uprising Museum The Warsaw Rising Museum (), in the Wola district of Warsaw, Poland, is dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The institution of the museum was established in 1983, but no construction work took place for many years. It opened on July 31, 20 ...

. Thorvaldsen's original plaster model is on display in the

in Copenhagen.

Gallery

Image:The Saxon Palace, Warsaw 1.jpg, In front of the Saxon Palace, Summer 1920 Image:Pomnik Jozefa Poniatowskiego przed 1922.jpg, In Gomel, before 1922 Image:Pomnik Jozefa Poniatowskiego okolo 1925.jpg, In front of the Saxon Palace, approximately 1925 Image:Place de Saxe.jpg, In front of the Saxon Palace, 1934 Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-001-0251-09, Warschau, Parade deutscher Truppen.jpg, A German parade in front of the monument, September/October 1939 Image:German Partol in Warsaw (1940s).jpg, German sentries in front of the monument, in 1939 or 1940 Image:Poniatowski Monument Covering - Warsaw (1940).jpg, Germans obscure the monument on the eve of the 1st anniversary of the invasion of Poland, August 30, 1940 Image:Fragment pomnika Józefa Poniatowskiego MPW.JPG, A fragment of the original statue in the Freedom Park at the Warsaw Uprising Museum Bilet zdawkowy 50 groszy 1924 awers.jpg, 50 groszy banknote from 1924

Bibliography

* Hanna Kotkowska-Bareja, ''Pomnik Poniatowskiego'', Wydawnictwo

PWN Leet (or "1337"), also known as eleet or leetspeak, or simply hacker speech, is a system of modified spellings used primarily on the Internet. It often uses character replacements in ways that play on the similarity of their glyphs via refle ...

, Warszawa 1971

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poniatowski, Jozef, Prince, Monument 1832 sculptures Equestrian statues in Poland Monuments and memorials in Warsaw Outdoor sculptures in Warsaw Plaster sculptures in Denmark Sculptures by Bertel Thorvaldsen Sculptures in the Thorvaldsen Museum Destroyed sculptures Replicas Denmark–Poland relations Buildings and structures in Poland destroyed during World War II Statues of military officers Napoleonic Wars in art Statues of men in Poland Cultural depictions of Józef Poniatowski Rebuilt buildings and structures in Warsaw