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Maria Skłodowska-Curie Monument (Ochota)

Coordinates: 52°12′56.84″N 20°59′04.78″E / 52.2157889°N 20.9846611°E / 52.2157889; 20.9846611
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Maria Skłodowska-Curie Monument
The monument in 2010.
Map
52°12′56.84″N 20°59′04.78″E / 52.2157889°N 20.9846611°E / 52.2157889; 20.9846611
LocationWarsaw, Poland
DesignerLudwika Nitschowa
TypeStatue
MaterialBronze
Height3 m
Opening date5 September 1935
Dedicated toMaria Skłodowska-Curie

The Maria Skłodowska-Curie Monument (Polish: Pomnik Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie) is a bronze statue in Warsaw, Poland, located in the Skłodowska-Curie Park at the intersection Wawelska and Skłodowskiej-Curie Streets, and near the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, within the district of Ochota. It is dedicated to Maria Skłodowska-Curie, a 19th- and 20th-century physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity, who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice. The statue was designed by Ludwika Nitschowa, and unveiled on 5 September 1935.

History

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The monument was dedicated to Maria Skłodowska-Curie, a 19th- and 20th-century physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice. The statue was commissioned by Stefan Starzyński, the mayor of Warsaw, and designed by sculptor Ludwika Nitschowa.[1][2] It was cast in Bracia Łopieńscy alloy works. The statue was unveiled on 5 September 1935, near Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology.[1][3] It was placed near a tree that was planeted by Skłodowska-Curie in 1932.[4]

The monument was demaged during the Warsaw Uprising in the Second World War, when it was used by soldiers of the Russian People's Liberation Army, a Russian collaborationist formation of the Protection Squadron, as a practice target.[1][3] It was renovated in 1997, however the bullet holes were left in, as a reminder of the conflict.[1]

Characteristics

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The monument is placed in the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Park, near the intersection of Wawelska and Skłodowskiej-Curie Streets, which is next to the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology.[1][3] It is placed near a tree that was planeted by Skłodowska-Curie in 1932.[4]

It consists of a bronze statue of Maria Skłodowska-Curie, placed on a pedestal. She is depicted in reflecting pose, while walking, with her head pointed down, and her chin resing on a palm of her hand. The monument has the total height of around 3 m. It features the inscription as transcribed below.

Polish inscription English translation

MARJI
SKŁODOWSKIEJ-CURIE
STOLICA
1935

To Maria Skłodowska-Curie, the capital, 1935

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Irena Grzesiuk-Olszewska: Warszawska rzeźba pomnikowa. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Neriton, 2003, p. 93. ISBN 83-88973-59-2. (in Polish)
  2. ^ Wiesław Głębocki: Szlakiem Stefana Starzyńskiego. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo PTTK Kraj, 1984, p. 46. ISBN 9788300006328. (in Polish)
  3. ^ a b c Wiesław Głębocki: Warszawskie pomniki. Wydawnictwo PTTK Kraj, 1990, p. 80–81. ISBN 8302041300. (in Polish)
  4. ^ a b "Drzewo posadzone przez noblistkę". um.warszawa.pl (in Polish). 28 May 2015.