Poniatowski Monument, Warsaw

Poniatowski Monument was constructed in commemoration of a Warsaw Military commander Prince Poniatowski. He was also the French Marshall and war minister. The statue of this prince is modeled after Roman Capitol’s Caesar Marc Aurelius.

Also known as Prince Jozef, this aristocrat was brought up in Vienna and Prague. He however chose Poland as his country and displayed his patriotism towards his origins. The statue in this monument was sculpted by Bartel Thorvaldsen. It is located right in front of Palac Prezydencki, the Presidential Palace.

There was a prolonged search for a permanent site for this monument. Its display was banned through a Tsar’s special order. It was shipped to Modlin forts and from here to Ivan Paszkiewicz’s Belarussian residence. He was a trusted general of the Tsar. It was only in 1922 that the statue was returned to Poland and placed on the Royal Castle grounds.

The following year, it was moved to Saski Palace grounds. During World War II, Poniatowski’s statue was demolished by the Nazis. In the early 1950s, a copy of the statue from the Copenhagen Museum was used to make a new cast which was poured and presented to Poland by Denmark’s King. Today the monument is visited by tourists from across the world.