Monument to the Union of Lublin

In 1826, a monument to the Union of Lublin was erected in Litewski Square. It was not the first reminder of the famous Polish-Lithuanian Union of 1569. Probably in the middle of the 16th century, at the request of King Sigismund II Augustus, a quadrilateral stone and brick column covered with a tiled roof was erected, with statues of King Władysław Jagiełło and Queen Jadwiga placed in a carved niche. We owe the description of the original monument to Hieronim Łopaciński, who used the unpreserved chronicle of the Capuchin monastery.

The monument was dismantled at the beginning of the 19th century, when a representative city square called Litewski Square was laid out. At that time a cast iron obelisk was erected, made on the initiative of Father Stanislaw Staszic in casting workshops called gisernia near Kielce.

The construction of the monument was carried out from the treasury fund with the consent of Tsar Alexander I. It stood on an artificial embankment surrounded by a wooden fence, which was replaced in the early 20th century by a cast iron fence. On the obelisk, on the side of Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street, a gilded bas-relief by the Warsaw artist Paweł Maliński has been placed. It allegorically depicts Poland and Lithuania shaking hands. On the sides of the pedestal are decorative inscriptions commemorating the dates of the Union and the restoration of the monument.

Numerous celebrations of patriotic holidays were held around the monument to the Union of Lublin. In the first days of November 1918, scouting teams from the three partitions met here and placed a wreath with a sash saying "United Scouting for United Poland" at the monument.