Attraction

Adam Mickiewicz Monument in Krakow: history and allegories

A monument to the poet Adam Mickiewicz on the Main Market Square, unveiled in 1898 for the centenary of his birth, although he never visited Krakow in his lifetime. Four allegorical figures sit at his feet.

The Adam Mickiewicz Monument in Krakow stands on the Main Market Square. The statue honours the poet Adam Mickiewicz, who never visited Krakow in his lifetime. In Polish it is Pomnik Adama Mickiewicza. It is a favourite meeting place for people from Krakow and for tourists.

Address: Main Market Square (Rynek Główny), Krakow
Created by: Teodor Rygier (design)
Unveiled: 26 June 1898; the reconstruction was unveiled on 26 November 1955.
Access: You can see it from the street; there is no ticket.

Adam Mickiewicz Monument on the Main Market Square

The poet stands on a pedestal, and four allegorical figures sit at his feet on a base with several steps. Valour (Męstwo) faces the Cloth Hall. Poetry (Poezja) faces St Adalbert's Church, and the Homeland (Ojczyzna) faces Sienna Street. The fourth figure is Learning (Nauka).

On the base is the dedication "Adamowi Mickiewiczowi Naród", which means "To Adam Mickiewicz, the Nation". In 2013 the city authorities described a yearly custom: on 24 December, the poet's name day, Krakow's flower sellers lay flowers at the foot of the monument.

A description of the monument is published by the City of Krakow.

Three competitions and Teodor Rygier's design

Three competitions were held for the design. An organising committee was formed in 1879, and the first competition was announced in 1881. Its 27 entries were shown at an exhibition in the Cloth Hall in April 1882, and the design by Tomasz Dykas was chosen. A second competition was announced in 1883. Dykas's design was again the best of its 31 entries, but it was not built.

Władysław Mickiewicz, the poet's son, was among the critics of the Dykas design. A third, closed competition was announced in 1886. Cyprian Godebski won first prize in it, and Teodor Rygier won second prize. However, the monument was built to another of Rygier's designs, which had received no prize, only a commendation.

The contract for Rygier's design was signed in November 1889. The monument was made in a workshop on Długa Street under the supervision of an artistic committee, and all the figures were cast at the Nelli foundry in Rome. The monument was unveiled on 26 June 1898, the centenary of the poet's birth, with his daughter and son present.

Destroyed by the Germans in 1940, reconstructed in 1955

On 17 August 1940 the Germans occupying Krakow destroyed the monument. According to the Polish Press Agency (PAP), the removal took five days: the Germans toppled and broke the figures of the poet and the four allegories and blew up the base. Edward Kubalski, a Krakow lawyer active in local government who witnessed the destruction, wrote that the Germans toppled the figures from the pedestal at noon, using tools and winches.

PAP notes that in November 1939 the Germans had already dismantled the Grunwald Monument (Pomnik Grunwaldzki) on plac Matejki. After the war, parts of the Adam Mickiewicz Monument were found in a scrapyard in Hamburg, and the monument was reconstructed from them. The reconstruction was unveiled on 26 November 1955, the centenary of the poet's death. The sculptor Stanisław Popławski carried out the reconstruction.

Near the Adam Mickiewicz Monument: St Adalbert's Church

St Adalbert's Church and the Rynek Underground Museum are each about 50 m from the monument. The Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) is about 100 m away. All three distances are measured in a straight line.

Adam Mickiewicz Monument: questions visitors ask

Where is the Adam Mickiewicz statue in Krakow?

On the Main Market Square, about 50 m from St Adalbert's Church and about 100 m from the Cloth Hall.

What is the history of the Adam Mickiewicz Monument?

It was first unveiled in 1898. The Germans destroyed the monument in 1940, and a reconstruction from parts found after the war in Hamburg was unveiled in 1955.

What can you see on the Adam Mickiewicz Monument?

The poet on a pedestal and four seated allegories: the Homeland, Learning, Valour and Poetry. The Polish dedication "Adamowi Mickiewiczowi Naród" appears on the base.

Photo: Fred Romero from Paris, France, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped.