Krakowskie pomniki – pomnik Mikołaja Kopernika

Abstrakt

THE MONUMENTS OF KRAKOW – MONUMENT TO NICOLAUS COPERNICUS

In the western section of Planty Park, in the middle of a flowerbed in front of Collegium Witkowskiego of Jagiellonian University (the building housing the Institute of History at 13 Gołębia St) stands the monument commemorating Nicolaus Copernicus. It has been there for over 50 years. Today it constitutes the set of outdoor sculptures scattered around Planty Park in Kraków, this, however, is not its original location and setting, its history going back to the 19th century. In 1864 – the year which marked the quincentenary of the foundation of Jagiellonian University, formerly called the Kraków Academy (Akademia Krakowska) – the idea was born to erect two monuments commemorating the royal founders of the university – King Casimir III the Great, and King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) – in front of Collegium Novum (main university building). The idea was revived several times over the years, however, owing to the lack of financial resources and the unfavourable response from the Austrian authorities, the project was never accomplished. In 1894 the idea to commemorate the university’s great jubilee by erecting a monument was resumed once more. This time, however, it was decided that the monument in question would not honour Polish monarchs, but one of the most eminent students that ever attended the Kraków Academy, namely Nicolaus Copernicus. The initiative came from Prof. Marian Sokołowski, Head of the Department of Archaeology at Jagiellonian University. The bronze monument was to incorporate a well. According to the original plan, it was to be erected in the courtyard of Jagiellonian Library which, until World War II, had its seat in Collegium Maius – the oldest university building. The monument in the form of a fully fi gural statue depicting Copernicus as a young man holding an astrolabe in his hand was designed by sculptor Cyprian Godebski, whereas the plinth (which also functioned as a fountain) was designed by a team of architects: Zygmunt Hendel and Tadeusz Stryjeński, and featured commemorative plaques with inscriptions and bronze sculptural decoration. Just as it was in the case of other Kraków monuments, the discussion over itsform and shape lasted for years on end, which seriously delayed the completion of the project. The fountainmonument was finally unveiled on 8 June 1900 during the ceremony held in the courtyard of Jagiellonian Library to commemorate the quincentenary of the re-establishment of the university, and was very well received by art critics. During World War II German occupation authorities methodically demolished all Kraków monuments that commemorated eminent Poles who had played pivotal roles in Polish history and culture. As a result of that demolition operation, the monuments of Polish national heroes and key contributors to Polish culture, such as King Władysław II Jagiełło, Tadeusz Kościuszko and Adam Mickiewicz, were pulled down. Fortunately, the monument to Copernicus survived, as German occupation authorities regarded him as “the greatest of German scholars”. In 1943 they even organized great jubilee celebrations in Kraków to commemorate the quatercentenary of the astronomer’s birth. A special, thematic issue of the Die Burg quarterly dedicated to Copernicus’ life and oeuvre was published; occasional stamps and a notelet featuring a photograph of the monument standing in the courtyard of the former university library building (which by that time had been turned into the seat of the Institute for German Work in the East) were also issued. In 1953, during renovation works conducted in Collegium Maius by Karol Estreicher, it was decided that the monument was in fact an anachronism which clashed and interfered with the original, Gothic character of the building. It was at that point that the decision was made to move the monument to its current setting in Planty Park, in front of Collegium Witkowskiego and very close to Collegium Novum, which corresponded with the original 19th-century idea to erect a memorial statue in front of the main university building. The article is a monographic study of the history of the monument to Nicolaus Copernicus designed by Cyprian Godebski. The author has used archival materials pertaining to the foundation of this monument from the collection of Jagiellonian University Archives, the State Archive in Kraków, and printed press materials. Moreover, the text has been enriched by additional data – a survey of iconographic representations of Copernicus in art, from the earliest historically documented portraits to contemporary artistic renditions. An important section of the article is the description of the most interesting monuments dedicated to the world-famous astronomer situated in Kraków, as well as in other Polish cities.