Nicolaus Copernicus Monument in Toruń

The Nicolaus Copernicus Monument in the home town

Torun

Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....

of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....

(1473–1543) was erected in 1853 by a "monument committee" of the city's residents.

Original plans

King Frederick the Great of Prussia

Kingdom of Prussia

The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...

(1712–1786) intended to erect a monument at Copernicus' grave in Frauenburg

Frombork

Frombork is a town in northern Poland, on the Vistula Lagoon, in Braniewo County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It had a population of 2,528 as of 2005....

(Frombork), but the grave could not be located.

Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....

(1473–1543) lived in Thorn

Torun

(Toruń), then in the Kingdom of Poland

Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)

The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania, to the Polish throne in 1386. The Union of Krewo or Krėva Act, united Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch...

, for many years. In the late 18th century, Poland was partitioned

Partitions of Poland

The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...

and the city of Thorn passed to Prussia

Prussian partition

The Prussian partition refers to the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia.-History:...

. From 1807 to 1813, the city was part of the Duchy of Warsaw

Duchy of Warsaw

The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...

, governed by Frederick Augustus I of Saxony

Frederick Augustus I of Saxony

Frederick Augustus I was King of Saxony from the House of Wettin. He was also Elector Frederick Augustus III of Saxony and Duke Frederick Augustus I of Warsaw...

. A monument to Copernicus was then planned by the Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

scientist and philosopher Stanisław Staszic, after he had heard that Napoleon had expressed surprise during a visit to Thorn in 1807 that there was no monument there to Copernicus. Polish Roman Catholic clergy likewise supported the erection of a monument. In 1809 Napoleon commissioned Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy . Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts when he was eleven years old...

and on Staszic's initiative, a cornerstone

Cornerstone

The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...

was laid for a monument. However, at the time, Prussian authorities, who were still nominally in charge of the city, would not approve the full construction of the monument. The fall of Napoleon ended the existence of the Duchy of Warsaw

Duchy of Warsaw

, restoring full control of Thorn to the Prussian authorities and delaying the Thorn monument project and eventually forcing Staszic to change the venue to Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

, in the Russian part of Poland

Partitions of Poland

, where the monument designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen was completed in 1830.

After the Napoleonic Wars, Thorn was made part of the Kingdom of Prussia

Kingdom of Prussia

The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...

, and local German citizens campaigned for and received the go-ahead for the monument that was eventually completed in that city in 1853.

Funding and building

On 19 February 1839, the astronomer's birthday, a committee of twelve citizens was founded to promote a monument. In May 1839 King Frederick William III of Prussia

Frederick William III of Prussia

Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...

approved the collection of donations, but he died soon afterward, and it was Frederick William IV

Frederick William IV of Prussia

|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...

who donated the largest share of the money, 3,466 Prussian thaler

Prussian thaler

The Thaler was the currency of Prussia until 1857. From 1750, it was distinct from north German Reichsthaler unit of account in that it contained 1/14 of a Cologne mark of silver, rather than 1/12, and was minted as a coin...

s. The total cost was 10,449 thalers, almost half of which was for the casting in bronze by Fischer in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

. The clay model was the last work of Christian Friedrich Tieck

Christian Friedrich Tieck

Christian Friedrich Tieck , often known only as Friedrich Tieck, was a German sculptor and a brother of Ludwig Tieck.-Biography:...

(1776–1851).

The statue, twice-life-size on a 16-foot pedestal, was in 1856 considered one of only eight monuments to Copernicus. Having fulfilled its task, the committee continued its activities as a society called Coppernicus-Verein für Wissenschaft und Kunst zu Thorn (Copernicus Association for Science and Art in Thorn). For many years the Association was headed by Leopold Prowe

Leopold Prowe

Leopold Friedrich Prowe was a German historian and gymnasium instructor, born as the son of a town councillor of Thorn in West Prussia, the town where in 1473 German astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was born...

Monument

The monument presents Copernicus in academic dress

Academic dress

Academic dress or academical dress is a traditional form of clothing for academic settings, primarily tertiary education, worn mainly by those that have been admitted to a university degree or hold a status that entitles them to assume them...

. His left hand holds an astrolabe

Astrolabe

An astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and longitude, surveying, triangulation, and to...

, and his right index finger points to the heavens. This symbolizes Copernicus' connection with astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

and celestial studies. The monument is surrounded by stone benches and an adjoining stone water well

Water well

A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...

.

The pedestal bears a Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

inscription drawn up by Alexander von Humboldt

Alexander von Humboldt

Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...

: "Nicolaus Copernicus Thorunensis, terrae motor, solis caelique stator" ("Nicolaus Copernicus of Thorun, mover of the earth, stopper of the sun and heavens").

Renovations

In 2003, on the 150th anniversary of its construction, the monument was renovated. As part of the renovations, the stone water well

Water well

and the dolphin's mouth at the foot of the statue were restored. Celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the monument were held on 25 October 2003, attended by the Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Marek Borowski

Marek Borowski

Marek Stefan Borowski is a Polish left-wing politician. He led the Democratic Left Alliance for a time and was Speaker of the Sejm from 2001 to 2004....

Original plans

Funding and building

Monument

Renovations

See also