Sleeping Lion
Sleeping Lion in Bytom is a 19th-century lion sculpture on the Ring, the central square of the old town. It shows a reclining lion with its head lowered, resting on its front paws and turned slightly to the left. The sculpture is a bronze replica of Theodor Kalide’s Sleeping Lion from 1824 and was cast in 1873 at the Gladenbeck foundry in Berlin. It had been part of a memorial to those who died in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 from the Bytom district. After being moved in the 20th century and later disappearing from Bytom, it was rediscovered in 2006 at the Warsaw Zoo. The sculpture returned to Bytom in 2008 and was unveiled there on 4 October 2008.
June 2009 © Theodor Kalide · CC BY-SA 3.0
October 2008 © Adam Hetmański · CC BY-SA 4.0
1933 © Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain
October 2020 © Adrian Tync · CC BY-SA 4.0
April 2021 © Adrian Tync · CC BY-SA 4.0
Identification | |
| Title | Sleeping Lion |
| German name | Schlafender Löwe |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Polish name | Lew śpiący |
Historical context | |
| Date | 1873 |
| Purpose | Commemorated the fallen inhabitants of the Beuthen District / Bytom County in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 |
| Part of | A memorial monument for the fallen of the Franco-Prussian War |
Creator | |
| Designer | Theodor Kalide |
| Original model date | 1824 |
| Casting year | 1873 |
| Foundry | Gladenbeck foundry, Berlin |
Materials | |
| Material | Bronze |
Appearance | |
| Depicted subject | Sleeping or reclining lion |
| Pose | Head lowered, resting on its front paws, turned to the left |
Location and ownership | |
| Rediscovery location | Northern gate of the Warsaw Zoo, Warsaw |
| Ownership status | Held by the city on deposit, not as property |
| Current location | Bytom |
| Later location | Bytom city park |
| Original location | Bytom Market Square (Ring), Bytom, Poland |
| Relocated to | Reichspräsidentenplatz (today Plac Akademicki / Academic Square), Bytom |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Replica of | The Sleeping Lion by Theodor Kalide |
| Identified in Warsaw by | Zdzisław Jedynak and Przemysław Nadolski |
| Rediscovered | 2006 |
History and restoration | |
| Returned to Bytom | 2008 |
| Register entry | Entered in the register of movable monuments of the Silesian Voivodeship and, after rediscovery, the Masovian Voivodeship under number B–123 |
| Unveiling description | Ceremonially unveiled |
| Unveiling location | Bytom Market Square (Ring) |
| Unveiling date | 4 October 2008 |
| Legal protection date | 9 May 2007 |
| Conservation | Taken in October 2007 from Warsaw to the Gliwice Technical Equipment Works, where it was conserved and a copy was made for the Warsaw Zoo |
| Associated place in Warsaw | At least since 1954 by the northern gate of the Warsaw Zoological Garden; a place called Bar pod Lwem was established nearby |
| Disappearance from Bytom | Disappeared in unclear circumstances in February 1953; some sources say between 1952 and 1953 or in the 1960s |
| Pedestal fate | Destroyed in 1945 |
| Moved to Academic Square | 1932, because a petrol station was being built on the Market Square |
Significance | |
| Notable status | One of Bytom's most notable landmarks |
| Later use of the name | Since 2014, Bytom Lions have been awarded as statuette prizes at the Bytom Film Festival |
Other | |
| Similar works | Similar lion sculptures exist in many places in Poland and abroad, including Gliwice, Pokój, and Lucerne |