Equestrian statue of Władysław Jagiełło in Central Park, New York City, United States
The
King Jagiełło Monument
(
Polish
:
Pomnik Krola Jagiełły
) is an
equestrian monument
of
Władysław II Jagiełło
,
King of Poland
and
Grand Duke of Lithuania
, located in
Central Park
,
New York City
. The monument commemorates the
Battle of Grunwald
, a decisive defeat of the
Teutonic Order
in 1410. Originally made by
Stanisław K. Ostrowski
for the Polish
1939 New York World's Fair
pavilion, the monument was permanently installed in Central Park in 1945. Raised on its grand
plinth
it is one of the most prominently sited and impressive of
twenty-nine sculptures
located in the park.
Description
[
edit
]
The monument is sited overlooking the east end of the
Turtle Pond
, across from
Belvedere Castle
and just south-east from the
Great Lawn
.
[1]
To the northeast is
Cleopatra's Needle
and beyond, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
.
The monument commemorates the
Battle of Grunwald
(1410), where Polish and Lithuanian knights supported by Ruthenian, Czech, and Tatar knights defeated the
Teutonic Order
. King Władysław II Jagiełło is shown seated on a horse holding two crossed swords over his head as a symbol of defiance and of the union of Polish?Lithuanian forces. Known as the
Grunwald Swords
, they were the invitation to battle offered to the king and his ally
Vytautas the Great
in an ironic gesture by
Ulrich von Jungingen
, Grand Master of the
Teutonic Order
. Parks Chief Consulting Architect
Aymar Embury II
(1880?1966) designed the granite pedestal.
POLAND
is inscribed on both sides of the plinth. Ostrowski's name is engraved in the front lower right-hand corner.
The inscription on the
plinth
of the King Jagiello
monument
reads:
History
[
edit
]
The
bronze monument
was created for the
1939 New York World's Fair
's Polish pavilion by the Polish sculptor
Stanisław K. Ostrowski
(1879?1947).
[2]
It stood at the Fair's entrance at
Queens
'
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
.
[3]
[2]
It is a replica of a King Jagiello memorial in
Warsaw
that was converted into bullets for
World War II
by the Germans after they entered and occupied the capital of Poland.
[4]
As a result of the
German invasion of Poland
that marked the beginning of the
Second World War
, the personnel and equipment of the Polish World's Fair pavilion was forced to remain in the United States. Unlike much of the rest of the pavilion which was sold to the
Polish Museum of America
in Chicago, the monument stayed in New York, thanks in part to mayor
Fiorello H. La Guardia
publicly lobbying to keep the statue.
[5]
The statue was presented to the City of New York by the King Jagiello Monument Committee, with support from the
Polish government in exile
in July 1945, when it was permanently placed in Central Park with the cooperation of the last
consul
of the
Second Polish Republic
or pre-communist Poland in New York, count Jozef Kazimierz Krasicki
[6]
and unveiled by him.
[7]
The monument was
conserved
in 1986 by the Central Park Conservancy.
[3]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"King Jagiello Monument"
. Central Park Conservancy. Archived from
the original
on October 6, 2019
. Retrieved
July 5,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
"The Government Zone (Zone 1) Poland"
. 1939nyworldsfair.com
. Retrieved
June 17,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
"Central Park: King Jagiello Monument"
. New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
. Retrieved
July 5,
2014
.
- ^
McDannald, Alexander Hopkins (1948).
Yearbook of the Encyclopedia Americana
. Americana. p. 498
. Retrieved
July 5,
2014
.
- ^
"La Guardia Pays Tribute to Poland"
.
The New York Times
. October 12, 1939
. Retrieved
July 5,
2014
.
- ^
Daniec, Jadwiga Irena (1982). "In the Footsteps of Stanislaw K. Ostrowski, 1879?1947".
The Polish Review
.
27
(1/2): 77?91.
JSTOR
25777864
.
- ^
Zosia Przerwa Tetmajer,
Władysław Jagiełło w Centralnym Parku Nowego Yorku (sic)
, "MY: Biuletyn", nr 15 (rok 51), 15 grudnia 1993, p. 6.
External links
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Key
: † No longer extant or on public display
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