The Rainbow (

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 ...

: ''Tęcza'' ()) was an artistic construction in the form of a giant rainbow made of artificial flowers erected on the

Savior Square Saviour Square (Polish language, Polish: ''Plac Zbawiciela'') is an Town square, urban square and roundabout in Downtown, Warsaw, Poland. It is formed by the intersection of Marszałkowska Street, Warsaw, Marszałkowska Street, Mokotowska Street, ...

(''Plac Zbawiciela'') in the Polish capital 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 ...

in the summer of 2012. It was designed by and maintained by the

Adam Mickiewicz Institute The Adam Mickiewicz Institute () is a government-sponsored organization funded by Poland's Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and headquartered at 25 Mokotowska Street (the Sugar Palace) in Warsaw. Named after Polish national poet Ada ...

. It was vandalized several times, generating significant media coverage in Polish media, usually in the context of

LGBT rights in Poland Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Poland face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. According to ILGA-Europe's 2025 report, the status of LGBTQ rights in Poland is among the worst of the Europe ...

. The construction was permanently removed in August 2015.

History

This installation is the third in a series of similar installations created; the second one was featured in front of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

from 8 September 2011 during the Polish presidency of the European Union. The Warsaw was based on the Brussels one, which was moved to Warsaw on 8 June 2012. For this project, Wójcik received the

Paszport Polityki Paszport Polityki (Polityka's Passport) is an annual Polish cultural award presented by the weekly magazine '' Polityka'' since 1993. It is presented in six major categories: literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written wor ...

award. The installation was supposed to evoke positive feelings related to the rainbow, such as love, peace and hope, and was intended to be a universal, apolitical symbol. However,

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

groups identified it with the

rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the seven spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. History In the 18th century, American Revolutionary ...

, a symbol of the

LGBT movement Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBTQ people and their i ...

. During the night of 26–27 August 2015, the construction for holding flowers was officially and permanently dismantled. Three years later, on 9 June 2018, a new water and light-based installation was unveiled, but it was active only for a few hours for the 2018

Parada Równości Equality Parade () is an LGBT community pride parade held in Warsaw since 2001, usually in May or June. It has attracted at least several thousand attendees each year; 20,000 attendees (the largest number of any year prior to 2017) were reporte ...

event.

Vandalism and controversies

As the rainbow symbol is also associated with the LGBT movement, and because it contains six colors just like the LGBT flag, the Tęcza in the Savior Square in Warsaw proved controversial, in part because it was placed in front of a church. The installation was damaged five times as of November 2013, with the usual method of vandalism being

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

. The installation was damaged on 13 September 2012; on 1 January 2013 (ruled to be accidental fireworks damage) and again three days later on 4 January; in July 2013; and once again during marches on

Polish Independence Day Independence Day () is a national day in Poland celebrated on to commemorate the anniversary of the restoration of Poland's sovereignty as the Second Polish Republic in 1918 from the German Empire, German, Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian and ...

on 11 November 2013. The November 2013 incident occurred in the background of a wider riot by right-wing nationalists, who clashed with police and vandalized other parts of the city as well, also attacking the

Russian embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and consulates of any country. Russia has significant ...

. On 7 December 2014, the rainbow was set on fire by an unknown man just before 01:30. The flames were put out quickly by a police officer. The man who lit the fire was not apprehended. The installation was criticized by conservative and right-wing figures.

Law and Justice Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...

politician

Bartosz Kownacki Bartosz is a Polish given name and a surname derived from Bartłomiej, the Polish cognate of Bartholomew. People with the given name * Bartosz Arłukowicz, former Polish minister of health * Bartosz Bajorek (born 2004), Polish footballer * Bar ...

derogatorily called the installation a "faggot rainbow" (''pedalska tęcza''). Another Law and Justice politician,

Stanisław Pięta Stanisław Jan Pięta (born 9 May 1971 in Bielsko-Biała) is a Polish politician. He was elected to the Sejm on 25 September 2005, getting 7,240 votes in 27 Bielsko-Biała district as a candidate from the Law and Justice Law and Justice ...

, complained that the "hideous rainbow had hurt the feelings of believers" attending the nearby

Church of the Holiest Saviour Church of the Holiest Saviour () is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Śródmieście district of Warsaw, Poland, on Saviour Square. History The origins of the church date back to the end of the 19th century. A growing number of citizens of ...

. Priest

Tadeusz Rydzyk Tadeusz Rydzyk (; born 3 May 1945 in Olkusz)Biography in Polish , http://ludzie.wprost.pl/sylwetka/Tadeusz-Rydzyk/ is a Roman Catholic priest and Redemptorist, founder and director of the conservative Radio Maryja station, and founder of the Un ...

, of

Radio Maryja Radio Maryja is a religious and political socially conservative Polish radio station. It was founded in Toruń, Poland, on 9 December 1991, by the Redemptorist Tadeusz Rydzyk. The name "Maryja" is a traditional Polish form of the name "Mary ...

fame, described it as a "symbol of deviancy".

References

External links

The Rainbow - Julita Wójcik

Julita Wójcik's Rainbow Vandalised in Warsaw
culture.pl, 13.10.2012 * Hanna Kozłowska

Warsaw Journal, reprinted in New York Times, March 21, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rainbow Buildings and structures in Warsaw Cultural history of Warsaw 2012 establishments in Poland Controversies in Poland 2012 controversies 2013 controversies LGBTQ culture in Poland Vandalized works of art Demolished buildings and structures in Poland 2015 disestablishments in Poland Rainbows in art LGBTQ-related controversies in art Discrimination against LGBTQ people in Poland LGBTQ history in Poland Former buildings and structures in Warsaw Art in Warsaw Outdoor sculptures in Warsaw

History

Vandalism and controversies

See also

References

External links