The statue of Maria Skłodowska-Curie (Polish: Pomnik Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie) is a bronze statue in Warsaw, Poland, located in the Skłodowska-Curie Park at the intersection Wawelska and Skłodowskiej-Curie Streets, and near the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, within the district of Ochota. 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 Ludwika Nitschowa and unveiled on 5 September 1935.
History 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 commissioned by Stefan Starzyński, the mayor of Warsaw, and designed by sculptor Ludwika Nitschowa.Irena Grzesiuk-Olszewska: Warszawska rzeźba pomnikowa. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Neriton, 2003, p. 93. . (in Polish)Wiesław Głębocki: Szlakiem Stefana Starzyńskiego. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo PTTK Kraj, 1984, p. 46. . (in Polish) It was cast in the Bracia Łopieńscy alloy works. The statue was unveiled on 5 September 1935, near the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology.Wiesław Głębocki: Warszawskie pomniki. Wydawnictwo PTTK Kraj, 1990, p. 80–81. . (in Polish) It was placed near a tree that was planted by Skłodowska-Curie in 1932.
The monument was damaged during the Warsaw Uprising in the Second World War, when it was used by soldiers of the Russian People's Liberation Army, a Russian collaborationist formation of the Protection Squadron, as a practice target. It was renovated in 1997, however the bullet holes were left in, as a reminder of the conflict.
Characteristics The monument is placed in the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Park, near the intersection of Wawelska and Skłodowskiej-Curie Streets, which is next to the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology. It is placed near a tree that was planted by Skłodowska-Curie in 1932.
It consists of a bronze statue of Maria Skłodowska-Curie, placed on a pedestal. She is depicted in reflecting pose, while walking, with her head pointed down and her chin resting on the palm of her hand. The monument has a total height of around 3 m. It features an inscription as transcribed below. Polish inscriptionEnglish translation MARJISKŁODOWSKIEJ-CURIESTOLICA1935 To Maria Skłodowska-Curie, the capital, 1935
See also Maria Skłodowska-Curie Monument (Downtown, Warsaw), another monument in Warsaw dedicated to Skłodowska-Curie
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