Sigismund's Column
Main data:
Year of construction: 1644
Year of reconstruction: 1949
Designers: Constantino Tencalia, Clemente Molli
Location: Castle Square
Castle Square (Plac Zamkowy) is really an unusual place. Not only the most well-known royal residence is situated here, but also one of the most famous monuments - Sigismund's Column (Kolumna Zygmunta), which for sure can be considered as one of the symbols of Warsaw. But not many people know that it is also the oldest monument in Warsaw that commemorates a lay person. The monument's history dates back to 350 years ago.
The monument arose thanks to king Wladyslaw IV, who decided to commemorate in this way his father - king Sigismund III Vasa (Zygmunt III Waza), thanks to whom Warsaw became the capital city. An important thing was to situate the column in such way, that everyone that entered the city could see it immediately. Today's Castle Square was an appropriate place for that. At that time there was no square yet, but the Cracow Gate (Brama Krakowska) stood in this place. But there was a one problem - the plot belonged to Order of Saint Benedict that used to have its convent more less in the place where today the exit to W-Z Road Tunnel is situated. Actually, the king could easily buy the plot, but the Apostolic Nuncio Mario Filonardi, who resided in Warsaw at that time, raised an objection. But finally the deal has been closed after Filonardi was discredited when it occurred that he had been sending to Vatican unflattering letters about Poles, especially about the king Wladyslaw IV, accusing him of supporting infidels.
In 1644, after the area was cleaned, the column was erected. It was 22 metres high, was made of marble and the statue of king Sigismund III Vasa stood on its top. The statue was 2.75 metres high, was cast of bronze and was gold-plated. The designer of the monument was architect Constantino Tencalia and the statue of the king was made by Italian sculptor Clemente Molli. The king Sigismund III was presented on the monument as a defender of faith - the figure holds a sword in one hand and a cross in the second one. The monument was decorated with a lot of metal details and plaques commemorating king Sigismund and the monument's designers.
During the history, Sigismund's Column has been renovated few times. The first renovation was in year 1743 and another one in 1886, when the column's core was replaced with a granite one and the whole monument was moved a little bit to the west. During Second World War the monument, as most of the city, was destroyed. It happened in the first days of Warsaw Uprising.
In 1949, when the area of Castle Square was being developed because of W-Z Road construction, the reconstruction of Sigismund's Column was also started. Its new core was made of granite and the king's statue and the plaques were restored in the same form. The remains of the old cores of the monument were placed next to the Town Tower (Wieza Grodzka), at the southern side of the Royal Castle, they are presented there till today. Because of the construction of W-Z Road it was also necessary to move the column 6 metres from its former location. Also after the war the monument was renovated few times - in 1977 and in 1999.
Sigismund's Column survived all tumultuous periods and still stands in the form unchanged for few centuries. Thanks to it, it became one of the city's symbols. It's surrounding is today the starting point for most trips around Warsaw and one of favorite meeting places for Warsaw inhabitants.
There is a legend connected with the monument. It says that in the moment when the sword the king holds reaches the base the statue stands on, the world will end. Luckily, today it is still high enough!
(C) 2001-2010 Maciej Blazejewski