The Sleeping Lion (

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 ...

: ''Lew śpiący'',

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Schlafender Löwe'') is a monument located in the

market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian language, Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital. It is one ...

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 ...

. The monument has become one of Bytom's most notable landmarks.

History

The monument was initially raised in 1873, to commemorate fallen inhabitants of the Beuthen District in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. The Sleeping Lion originally stood on top of a

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

, on which the names of the fallen were written. In 1932 the monument was moved to the Academic Square (

: ''Plac Akademicki''). In 1945, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the monument's

was destroyed. Afterwards the lion was moved to the city park. It is not known when, but the Sleeping Lion made its way to

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 ...

where it laid at the gates of the

Warsaw Zoo The Warsaw Zoological Garden, known simply as the Warsaw Zoo (), is a scientific zoo located alongside the Vistula River in Warsaw, Poland. Opened in 1928, the zoo covers about in central Warsaw, and sees over 700,000 visitors annually, making ...

. In 2008 the monument returned to

References

Sources

„Lew śpiący” – historia jednego odlewu
. ''instytutkorfantego.pl''. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
Powrót lwa!
. ''bytom.pl''. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
Tajemnicza historia śpiącego lwa
. ''bytom.pl''. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
Wstydliwa historia, czyli rzecz o bytomskim lwie
. ''histmag.org''. Retrieved October 7, 2020. {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Bytom Outdoor sculptures in Poland Animal sculptures in Poland

History

See also

References

Sources