Sigismund's Column (), originally erected in 1644, is located at Castle Square,

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 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and is one of Warsaw's most famous landmarks as well as the first

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

monument in the form of a column in

modern history The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...

. The column and statue commemorate King

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

, who in 1596 had moved Poland's capital from

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

to Warsaw. It is part of the Historic Centre of Warsaw, which was designated a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1980. On the Corinthian column which used to be of red marble and is tall, a sculpture of the King, tall, in archaized armour is placed. Sigismund's Column now stands at and is adorned by four eagles. The king is dressed in armour, carries a cross in one hand and wields a sword in the other.

History

17th century

Erected between 1643 and 1644, the column was constructed on the orders of Sigismund's son and successor, King

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Monarchy of Sweden, Sweden and List of Russian monarchs, Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince ...

. It was designed by the Italian-born architect Constantino Tencalla and the sculptor Clemente Molli and was cast by Daniel Tym. Sigismund's Column was modelled on the Italian column-shaped monuments in front of

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. The largest Marian church in Rome, it is ...

, erected in 1614 to designs of Carlo Maderno, and on the Column of Phocas in

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, ...

(Władysław Vasa had seen both of them during his visit to Rome in 1625). The King was portrayed in an archaized armour and a richly decorated coronation robe. He wears a crown holding in his right hand a

sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

and supports with his left hand a Latin cross, which stands on the column's socle. His right leg is placed on a helmet embellished with ostrich feathers while the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

is depicted on the monarch's chest. The monument was supposed to symbolize royal virtues and to represent both the secular and sacral nature of royal power. The erection of the column primarily served political purposes as it glorified the

House of Vasa The House of Vasa or Wasa was a Dynasty, royal house that was founded in 1523 in Sweden. Its members ruled the Kingdom of Sweden from 1523 to 1654 and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1668. Its agnatic line became extinct with t ...

and further strengthened the king's power and influence. That is why it was located at the square right in front of the Kraków Gate, the most important communication route of the capital at the time. The column was ceremonially unveiled on 24 November 1644. It provoked a conflict between King Władysław IV and

papal nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

Mario Filonardi, who protested against the fact that the figure of a secular person was depicted on the monument. Traditionally, only the figures of

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

and saints could be revered in this way. In 1681, the monument was surrounded with a wooden fence, which was later replaced with a permanent iron fence.

18th and 19th centuries

The marble column itself was renovated several times in the next few centuries, most notably in 1743, 1810, 1821 and 1828. In 1854, the monument was surrounded with a fountain featuring marble tritons sculpted by the German, August Kiss. In 1863, the column was renovated again under the supervision of architect Józef Orłowski. The monument still needed work, and between 1885 and 1887, it was replaced with a new column of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

. Between 1927 and 1930, the monument was again renovated and was restored to its original appearance when the fountain and the fence around it were removed. Overthrown statue of King Sigismund 1945

Overthrown statue of King Sigismund 1945

20th century

On 1 September 1944, during the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

, the monument's column was demolished by the Germans, and its bronze statue was badly damaged. The damaged statue was transported on a sleigh to St. Anne's Church. In the spring of 1945, it was displayed at the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

in Warsaw in an exhibition titled ''Warsaw Accuses'' (Polish: ''Warszawa oskarża''). In 1945, Henryk Golański established a special committee whose objective was to restore the monument. The statue was eventually repaired, and in 1949, it was set up on a new column, made of granite from the

Strzegom Strzegom () is a town in Świdnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the Gmina Strzegom administrative district (gmina). It lies approximately north-west of Świdnica, and west of the regional capit ...

mine, a couple of metres from the original site. The original broken pieces of the column can still be seen lying next to the Royal Castle. In 1965, the column was officially inscribed on the country's register of historical monuments. In the same year, the column was depicted on a 10- zloty commemorative coin issued by the National Bank of Poland on the 700th anniversary of Warsaw.

The inscription

On the side of the pedestal facing the

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 ...

is a plaque bearing these words in the finest lettering:

HONORI·ET·PIETATI
SACRAM STATVAM HANC SIGISMVNDO III VLADISLAVS IV NATURA AMORE GENIO FILIVS
ELECTIONE SERIE FELICITATE SVCCESSOR
VOTO ANIMO CVLTV GRATVS
PATRI PATRIAE PARENTI OPT MER ANNO DNI MDCXLIII PONI IVSSIT CVI IAM
GLORIA TROPHEVM POSTERITAS GRATITVDINEM
AETERNITAS MONVMENTVM POSVIT AVT DEBET

The inscription on the bronze plate of the column: "King Sigismund III, by virtue of free election King of Poland, by virtue of inheritance, succession and law - King of Sweden, in love of peace and fame the first among kings, in war and victories not inferior to anyone, took prisoners of Tsar and Moscow chiefs, he conquered the capital and lands f Moscow defeated the Russian army, regained Smolensk, broke the power of Turkey near Khotyn, ruled for forty-four years, in the forty-fourth king" File:Kolumna Zygmunta - tablica północna.jpg File:Kolumna Zygmunta - tablica południowa.jpg File:Kolumna Zygmunta - tablica zachodnia.jpg File:Zygmunt.jpg File:Kolumna Zygmunta (zbliżenie) 02.JPG File:Kolumna Zygmunta III Wazy 2020.jpg

Gallery

Original

Image:Kolumna Zygmunta-1644-1887.jpg, Image:Kolumna Zygmunta-1887-1944.jpg, Image:Trzony Kolumny Zygmunta III Wazy przy Zamku Królewskim w Warszawie 2021.jpg,

18th century

Image:Krakow Gate Warsaw.jpg Image:Bellotto_Cracow_Suburb_as_seen_from_the_Cracow_Gate.jpg

20th century

Image:Royal_Castle_Warsaw.jpg Image:Warsaw_castle_square.jpg Image:Kolumna Zygmunta + Zamek Krolewski (1941).jpg Image:Overthrown_statue_of_King_Sigismund_1945.jpg

References

::In-line:

External links

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Kolumna Zygmunta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigismund Column Monumental columns in Poland Buildings and structures completed in 1644 Monuments and memorials in Warsaw 1640s establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Rebuilt buildings and structures in Warsaw Outdoor sculptures in Warsaw Victory monuments Old Town, Warsaw

History

17th century

18th and 19th centuries

20th century

The inscription

Gallery

Original

18th century

20th century

See also

References

External links