Pomnik Fryderyka Wielkiego, Equestrian monument site in Bytom, Poland
Pomnik Fryderyka Wielkiego is a bronze sculpture in Sikorski Square in Bytom that depicts a Prussian king mounted on horseback. The statue displays detailed features of his military uniform and commanding posture.
The equestrian monument to Frederick the Great was initiated by Bytom's mayor Georg Brüning and funded half by the merchant Ignatz Hakuba, who contributed 50,000 marks of the 100,000-mark cost. Sculptor Louis Tuaillon produced it in 1907–1910, cast in bronze by Hermann Noack's Berlin workshop, and it was unveiled on 26 November 1910 on Kaiserplatz with Emperor Wilhelm II present. It stood until 1945, when it was blown up shortly after Soviet troops entered the city.
The monument no longer exists: it was blown up in 1945, right after Soviet troops entered the city. Its multi-profile pedestal survived until about 1960, when a metalwork figure of the Warsaw Mermaid was placed on it. The dedication act of 29 October 1910, signed by mayor Georg Brüning and donor Ignatz Hakuba, is kept in the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom.
The monument no longer exists: it was blown up in 1945, and only its pedestal remained until around 1960, when a metalwork Warsaw Mermaid figure was placed on it. The site is today's plac generała Władysława Sikorskiego, a central square in Bytom reachable on foot and by public transport.
The monument no longer exists: it was blown up in 1945 right after Soviet troops entered Bytom. Its multi-profile pedestal survived until about 1960, when a metalwork figure of the Warsaw Mermaid was placed on it. A bronze miniature copy, Friedrich II zu Pferde (1912), is held by the Berlin City Museum.
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