Maria Skłodowska-Curie Monument (Downtown, Warsaw)

Maria Skłodowska-Curie Monument
The monument in 2016
Map
52°15′15″N 21°00′34″E / 52.254127°N 21.009505°E / 52.254127; 21.009505
LocationWarsaw, Poland
DesignerBronisław Krzysztof
TypeStatue
MaterialBronze
Height1.9 m (statue)
Opening date4 June 2014
Dedicated toMaria Skłodowska-Curie

The Maria Skłodowska-Curie Monument (Polish: Pomnik Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie) is a bronze statue in Warsaw, Poland, located within New Town neighbourhood of Downtown district. 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 Bronisław Krzysztof, and unveiled on 4 June 2014. It is placed near the intersection of Kościelna and Piesza Streets, in front of Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 2 Przyrynek Street, and near the tenement at 16 Freta Street, where Skłodowska-Curie was born and grew up in.

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 financed by the Association of the Legion of Honour Members, and designed by Bronisław Krzysztof. It was unveiled on 4 June 2014, by President of Poland Bronisław Komorowski and President of France François Hollande. The ceremony was attended by Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, the mayor of Warsaw, and Lena Kolarska-Bobińska, the Minister of Science and Higher Education.[1][2]

Characteristics

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The sculpture representing polonium.

The monument is placed near the intersection of Kościelna and Piesza Streets, in front of Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 2 Przyrynek Street, and near the tenement at 16 Freta Street, where Maria Skłodowska-Curie was born and grew up in. It is facing the Vistula river, and located next to the 1st Armoured Division of the Polish Armed Forces Square (Polish: Skwer 1 Dywizji Pancernej WP). The location was chosen, as a place Skłodowska-Curie liked to visit. The monument consists of a bronze statue depicting her in an oversized laboratory apron, stylilyzed like a dress. In her right hand she holds a representation of polonium, in form of a small sphere, with six orbiting it rings, and encased within a square frame. It is placed on a small pedestal, with the inscription that reads "Maria Skłodowska-Curie". The statue has the heigh of 190 cm.[1][2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Prezydenci Polski i Francji odsłonili pomnik Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie". prezydent.pl (in Polish). 4 June 2014.
  2. ^ a b "O pomniku Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie: 'nieudolne i amatorskie'". warszawa.wyborcza.pl (in Polish). 9 June 2014.