King Jagiello Monument facts for kids
king · jagiello
King of Poland
Grand Duke of Lithuania
1386–1434
Founder of a Free Union of the
Peoples of East Central Europe
Victor Over the Teutonic
Aggressors at Grunwald
July 15 · 1410
The King Jagiełło Monument is a large statue of a king riding a horse. It shows Władysław II Jagiełło, who was a powerful King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. You can find this impressive statue in Central Park in New York City.
The monument celebrates the Battle of Grunwald, a very important battle in 1410. In this battle, Polish and Lithuanian forces won a big victory against the Teutonic Knights. The statue was first made for the Polish display at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Later, in 1945, it was permanently placed in Central Park. It stands on a tall base and is one of the most noticeable statues in the park.
Contents
About the King Jagiełło Monument
Where to Find the Statue
The King Jagiełło Monument is located in Central Park. It looks out over the east side of the Turtle Pond. It is also across from Belvedere Castle. Just southeast of the statue is the Great Lawn. Nearby, you can also see Cleopatra's Needle and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
What the Statue Shows
This statue remembers the Battle of Grunwald from 1410. In this battle, knights from Poland and Lithuania, along with help from Ruthenian, Czech, and Tatar knights, defeated the Teutonic Knights.
The statue shows King Władysław II Jagiełło on his horse. He holds two crossed swords above his head. These swords symbolize his strength and the joining of Polish and Lithuanian forces. These swords are known as the Grunwald Swords. They were actually a challenge sent to the king and his ally Vytautas the Great by Ulrich von Jungingen, the leader of the Teutonic Knights.
The granite base of the statue was designed by Aymar Embury II. The word POLAND is carved on both sides of the base. The sculptor's name, Ostrowski, is also carved on the front.
The Story Behind the Statue
The bronze statue was created by Polish sculptor Stanisław K. Ostrowski. It was made for the Polish exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair. It stood at the entrance of the Fair in Queens' Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. There was also a similar King Jagiełło monument in Warsaw, Poland. Sadly, that one was melted down by the Germans during World War II to make bullets.
Why it Stayed in New York
When World War II began with the German invasion of Poland, the people and items from the Polish World's Fair exhibit could not return home. Most of the exhibit was sold to the Polish Museum of America in Chicago. However, the King Jagiełło Monument stayed in New York. This was partly thanks to Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia, who publicly asked for the statue to remain.
The King Jagiello Monument Committee, with support from the Polish government in exile, gave the statue to New York City. It was permanently placed in Central Park in July 1945. The last official representative of pre-communist Poland in New York, Józef Kazimierz Krasicki, helped with this and unveiled the statue.
In 1986, the Central Park Conservancy cleaned and repaired the monument to keep it in good condition.
See also
In Spanish: Monumento al Rey Jagellón para niños
