Golden Uhlan, Bronze equestrian monument in Kałuszyn, Poland.
The Golden Uhlan is a gilded bronze equestrian statue of an uhlan with his sabre raised as a signal to fight, set on a plinth clad in red granite from India. Sculpted by Robert Sobociński, it stands 8 metres tall and weighs over 30 tons, on the international Warsaw–Moscow route about 50 km from Warsaw.
The monument was unveiled on 13 September 2014, on the 75th anniversary of the battle of Kałuszyn, fought on 11 and 12 September 1939 between Polish cavalry and Wehrmacht forces. On 12 September 1939 Captain Andrzej Żyliński and the 11th Legion Uhlan Regiment began the victorious battle there. His son Jan Żyliński, a businessman living in London, initiated and funded the monument.
The monument's stated aim is to debunk the myth that Polish cavalry charged German tanks with sabres drawn. Its initiator was Jan Żyliński, a London-based businessman and son of rotmistrz Andrzej Żyliński, who began the victorious battle on 12 September 1939 with the 11th Legion Uhlan Regiment. The gilded figure was unveiled on 13 September 2014, the 75th anniversary of the battle.
The monument stands on the international Warsaw–Moscow route about 50 km from Warsaw, so it is seen from the road rather than approached on foot. The gilded bronze figure rises on a red granite plinth to a total height of 8 m, with the raised sabre at the top.
This was Poland's first gilded monument of its kind, funded entirely by a London businessman who happened to be the son of the honored officer. This financial support from the diaspora reveals a personal connection that transformed a local battle into a family legacy.
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