Tadeusz Kościuszko Monument
The Tadeusz Kościuszko Monument in Warsaw stands on the square behind the Iron Gate, in front of the Lubomirski Palace. It depicts the Polish-American freedom fighter Tadeusz Kościuszko and is a copy of the monument that has stood since 1910 in front of the White House in Washington. The original work was created in 1910 by the Lviv artist Antoni Popiel and unveiled the same year by U.S. President William Howard Taft. It shows Kościuszko in a U.S. uniform from the era of the War of Independence, with figures in 18th-century American and Polish soldiers’ uniforms at the base. In Warsaw, the copy was installed one hundred years after the original, replacing a communist monument removed in 1991.
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Identification | |
| Title | Tadeusz Kościuszko Monument |
| Type | Monument |
| Copy status | Exact copy of the Tadeusz Kościuszko Monument in Washington, D.C., in Lafayette Square near the White House |
| Original name | Tadeusz-Kościuszko-Denkmal |
Historical context | |
| Subject | Tadeusz Kościuszko (Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko, 1746–1817), Polish-American freedom fighter and Polish national hero |
| Commemorates | Tadeusz Kościuszko, national hero of Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and the United States |
| Inscription meaning | His lifelong struggle for freedom in the United States and his native Poland |
Creator | |
| Original model sculptor | Antoni Popiel |
| Copy sculptors | Anna Siek and Wojciech Siek |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Original monument casting | Cast at Jules Berchem's American Art Foundry |
| Original monument initiative | Initiated by Polish citizens in the United States |
| Original monument contractor | M. J. Falvey of Kyle Granite Company |
| Original monument funding | Funded by the Polish-American community |
| Original monument unveiling date | 9 May 1910 |
| Original monument date | 1910 |
| Original monument location | Lafayette Square in front of the White House, Washington, D.C. |
Location and ownership | |
| Current location | Warsaw, Poland |
| Site | On the Saxon Axis, in front of the Lubomirski Palace, on Iron-Gate Square behind the Iron Gate |
| Site of installation | Erected on the site of the former monument to those killed in service and defense of the People's Republic of Poland, removed in 1991 |
| Sponsors | Citibank Handlowy and the Warsaw City Council |
| Funding | One million złotys from Bank Handlowy with American banks, plus one million złotys from the city council |
| Commissioning support | Bank Handlowy and American banks |
| Opened by | President of Poland Bronisław Komorowski, President of Warsaw Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Bank Handlowy president Sławomir Sikora, and Monument Construction Association chairman Marian Marek Drozdowski |
| Dedicated by | Archbishop of Warsaw Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz |
History and restoration | |
| Historic initiative | First proposed after Kościuszko's death in 1817 by Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski |
| Significance | First Kościuszko monument in Warsaw |
| Related criticism | Some criticized the project because the design was not chosen through a competition and was called a 'clone of the American monument' |
| Construction history | Seven committees were formed; early attempts failed because the Tsarist authorities refused, later due to financial problems, neighboring expansionist policy, and the outbreak of war |
| Unveiled | 16 November 2010 |
| Earlier monument remains | Parts are kept in a museum in Ruda Śląska |
| Earlier monument on the site | Monument to those who died in the service and defense of the People's Republic of Poland |
| Year inaugurated | 2010 |
| Foundation laid | 27 September 2010 |
| Earlier monument date | Opened 20 July 1985; dismantled in 1991 and broken into 483 parts |
Physical characteristics | |
| Material | Bronze |
| Base | Square, multi-tiered marble pedestal |
| Dimensions | Statue: 10 by 4 feet; pedestal: 15 by 20 feet |
| Orientation | Pedestal faces south |
Technique | |
| Casting | Bronze elements cast at the Technical Appliance Works in Gliwice |
Appearance | |
| Pedestal decoration | Bronze sculptures on all sides |
| Depicted pose | Stepping forward with his right foot, right hand resting on a map of the Saratoga fortifications, holding a sword in his left hand |
| Depicted attire | American Revolutionary War Continental Army uniform with long coat, epaulettes, belt, high boots, and hat |
Iconography and meaning | |
| Front inscription | TADEUSZ KOSCIUSZKO |
| Additional marking | Bank Handlowy logo |
| North side figure | Eagle with outstretched wings on a globe protecting a flag, shield, and sword pointing to America |
| South side figure | Eagle struggling with a snake atop a globe representing Poland |
| East side figures | Figures of Kościuszko's soldiers in American military uniform, including one freeing a bound American soldier symbolizing the U.S. Army |
| West side figures | Figures of Kościuszko's soldiers in Polish military uniform, including a soldier in peasant clothing symbolizing the Polish army |
| Associated battles | Battle of Racławice and Battle of Saratoga |
Other | |
| Reference note | The monument is said to differ from the Washington monument only by the front inscription and the Bank Handlowy logo |