Chopin Monument

The Chopin Monument in Warsaw was unveiled again in 1958 after being blown up in 1940. It shows Frédéric Chopin sitting under a willow tree. Free Chopin concerts are played here every summer from May to September.

T he Chopin Monument has a very turbulent history. The idea for the monument was born in 1889, on the 40th anniversary of Frédéric Chopin’s death. However, Poland was divided at the time (Warsaw was under Russian administration) and the Russian authorities blocked the initiative. It was not until ten years later that the Warsaw artists’ community managed to organise a competition for the design of the monument. The jury chose the innovative work of the outstanding Polish sculptor Waclaw Szymanowski. The monument was unveiled on 14 November 1926. It shows a monumental vision of an inspired Chopin sitting under a broken willow tree.

In 1939, when Warsaw was occupied by the Nazis, Chopin’s music was banned, and the following year, 1940, the monument was blown up. It was only after the end of the war that the head of the Chopin sculpture was found in the ruins of a wagon factory in Wroclaw. It was thus possible to reconstruct Szymanowski’s work on the basis of the plaster model that had survived. The monument to Fryderyk Chopin was unveiled again at its original location in 1958. Just one year later, the music of the Polish composer resounded from here. To this day, public and free concerts are played every Sunday from May to September.

The area around the monument and also Lazienki Park are barrier-free.