On January 17, 2024, during a session of the Krakow City Council, the subject of the location of the monument to the Lion's Eaglets was once again taken up - the placement of the monument in the park named after Wislawa Szymborska stirred up a lot of controversy.
Residents of Krakow, as part of a civic initiative, submitted a resolution to abandon the planned location of the Orląt Lwowskich monument in the park named after Wislawa Szymborska on Karmelicka Street.
We wrote about the years-long process of creating the park in the pages of architekturaibiznes.pl at the beginning of July 2023 - it was at that time that the park was officially opened, on whose site office and residential centers or the headquarters of the Institute of National Remembrance, among others, were originally to be built. Residents fought for many years to create green space at the site. You can read more about the road to creating the park in the article Park named after Wislawa Szymborska. Better than it was, although it could have been better.
In the meantime, the topic of erecting a monument to the Lvov Eaglets in this part of the city returned to the wallpaper again. An architectural and sculptural competition was held, which awarded the proposal by Michal Dabek, Waclaw Gawlik and Jan Kuka - a symbolic form with scattered schoolbags, which was to reflect the heroism of the young defenders of Lviv.
Residents protested against this decision, not against the form of the commemoration, but against the place where it was erected. Szymborska Park proposed a coherent ideological program in this place.
The awarded work by Michal Dabek, Waclaw Gawlik and Jan Kuka
© Board of Urban Greenery in Krakow
The scattered school folders and minimalist inscription is balanced and calm, drawing attention to the tragedy of the Lvov Eaglets. The problem still remains the location. Placing the monument in the park of the Nobel Prize winner will shatter the context built by the designers, we wrote in September 2023 in an article about erecting the monument.
we know the decision of residents and councilors
On January 17 this year, councilors made a decision, they are concerned with the location of the monument to the Lion's Eaglets, in accordance with the idea of the residents' resolution. Twenty-three councilors voted in favor of the resolution, sixteen voted against. At the same time, the councilors passed a resolution directing Mayor Jacek Majchrowski to conduct public consultations on the location of the monument.
The Orląt Lwowskich monument, as we wrote in September, could be a new attractor in one of Krakow's spaces as a complement to a new square or park, where certain narratives are no longer imposed, as was done with the space on Karmelicka Street. The new location should be a place that needs refreshing and the creation of new spaces.
