The monuments and memorial sites in Sanok are memorial sites, statues, sculptures, and commemorative plaques dedicated to people or events significant to the history of the city and Poland.
Monuments
Existing monuments
Tadeusz Kościuszko Monument, commemorating Tadeusz Kościuszko. It is located in the city centre on Tadeusz Kościuszko Street, on the southern slope of and at the entrance to the Adam Mickiewicz Park. It was designed by Józef Marek and Józef Wajda in 1958. The unveiling took place on 15 September 1962. An obelisk topped with a sculpture of an eagle commemorating 125 officers and soldiers of the Border Protection Forces who died between 1945 and 1947 in battles with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. It is located below the building of the Sanok Cultural Centre at 24 Adam Mickiewicz Street. On the pedestal is a design with the inscription: "XV. In defence of the borders of the Polish People's Republic. WOP. Above, on a vertical plaque, is the inscription: "To the heroic soldiers of the Border Protection Forces who fell fighting UPA bands, and below are the names of the fallen, listed by year – 1945, 1946, and 1947 – with the signature at the bottom: The People of the Subcarpathian Region, year 1945–1960". The monument was unveiled on 11 June 1960, on the 15th anniversary of the battles and on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Border Protection Forces. The design was created by Edmund Królicki. Monument commemorating Poles who were victims of the German occupation between 1942 and 1944. It is located on Przemyska Street in the Olchowce district, next to the Orthodox Church of the Ascension. It commemorates around 40 Poles who were executed by the Germans in Olchowce between 1942 and 1944. The inscription reads: "A place sanctified by the blood of Poles murdered by Nazi executioners in the years 1942–1944. The People of the City of Sanok, 1974". The monument was built as a community effort, unveiled on 20 July 1975, and designed by . The initiative came from the Sanok branch of the Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy. A monument commemorating the soldiers of the of the First Polish Army. It is located on next to Primary School No. 9 (from 1975 to 1999, Primary School No. 7) in the Wójtostwo district. It consists of two plaques mounted on three tall vertical supports. The first plaque is gold – in its upper section are military insignia and images of three soldiers, along with the inscription: "To the sons of the Sanok Land who fell on the field of glory in the ranks of the 6th Pomeranian Infantry Division, First Polish Army, in the battles for Warsaw, the Pomeranian Wall, Kołobrzeg, the crossing of the Oder, and Berlin. Comrades-in-arms, school youth, teachers, parents. Sanok, 9 May 1976". The second plaque, below at the base of the monument, bears the inscription: Sons of the Sanok Land of the 1st and 2nd Polish Armies who fell for the freedom of the homeland in the years 1943–1945, followed by a list of 75 fallen soldiers' names and a signature at the bottom: "To Poland we gave our lives, to the Homeland our bodies, and faith to future generations. Union of Veterans of the Republic of Poland and Former Political Prisoners, Sanok branch. Nowak". The monument was unveiled during the Victory in Europe Day celebrations on 9 May 1976. The initiative to establish the monument came from . The plaque was designed by Assoc. Prof. , and it was manufactured by the Factory of Drilling Machines and Equipment in Gorlice. During a ceremony on 15 May 1994, the monument was consecrated by Father . , commemorating Gregory of Sanok. It is located in front of the building at 2 Teofil Lenartowicz Street, at the intersection with John III Sobieski Street (originally a house belonging to , now housing the Gregory of Sanok Municipal Public Library). The initiator of the monument was Władysław Harajda, the then-director of the library. It was designed by Marian Konieczny and executed by the company in 1985. The monument was unveiled on 27 April 1986 during the Sanok Days. Zdzisław Beksiński Monument commemorates the painter and native of Sanok, Zdzisław Beksiński (1929–2005). It is located in the Market Square, in front of the building façade at 14 Rynek Street. The sculpture was created by and unveiled on 19 May 2012. The bronze figure has 180 cm and weighs 200 kg. Monument of Saint Zygmunt Gorazdowski. It is located by the Church of Christ the King. It depicts Father Zygmunt Gorazdowski standing and bending toward a seated woman holding a child in her arms. The inscription on the pedestal reads: "Patron of the City of Sanok, Saint Father Zygmunt Gorazdowski. 1845 Sanok – 1920 Lviv". It was created by and Agnieszka Świerzowicz, and funded through public donations. It was unveiled on 30 October 2010. John Paul II Monument, located by the Church of the Transfiguration, was initiated and funded by Father . The monument was unveiled in June 2011. The creators were Marek Maślaniec and Agnieszka Świerzowicz. Monument of anchors, commemorating the launching of the sea vessel , which took place on 13 May 1966. The general cargo ship was built at the Aalborg shipyard (Denmark) and handed over to the Polish Ocean Lines on 13 September 1966; it was sold in 1987. The monument was initiated by Maria Styrkosz. It consists of two iron anchors mounted on a pedestal made of stone blocks shaped as cubes. The anchors were donated by Michał Ziółkowski of the company Hartwig. The monument was unveiled a few months after the ship's launching and is located at the . The inscription on the monument reads: "In memory of the launching of the ship M/S Sanok 13.09.1966". Tank monument, located on Białogórska Street in the Wójtostwo district, near the bridge over the San river connecting left-bank Sanok with , at the site where the German-Soviet border was established on 17 September 1939. The monument consists of a T-34-85 tank and was unveiled as part of preserving the traditions of the during the Armed Forces Day on 12 October 1982, commemorating the 39th anniversary of the founding of the Polish People's Army and the 38th anniversary of the Battle of Lenino. It was intended to commemorate the military engagements of the Polish Army against German forces, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, and post-war resistance groups. Monument of Saint Michael the Archangel, unveiled on 17 November 2018 at St. Michael's Square, and consecrated on the same day by Archbishop Adam Szal. The sculpture, designed by Agnieszka Świerzowicz-Maślaniec and Marek Maślaniec, was cast in bronze and has 5 meters in total height, including the pedestal. The architectural installation was overseen by architect Mariola Sidor. The shield of Archangel Michael bears the Latin inscription: "Quis ut Deus" ("Who is like God"). Monument commemorating the victims of German concentration camps on the 80th anniversary of the death of Saint Maximilian Kolbe. It was unveiled on 15 August 2021 next to the Chapel of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe. A statuette of Grześ of Sanok, placed on a stone, unveiled on 29 December 2023 in the Market Square.
Former monuments
In connection with the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the Union of Lublin, the Sanok City Council passed a resolution on 6 August 1869 that during the ceremony on 11 August 1869, the foundations for a monument would be laid and consecrated on Stróżnia Hill, on land owned by Ignacy Gądylowski, Ksawery Chmielowski, or Katarzyna Stopczyńska. According to another version, the monument, along with a commemorative plaque, was erected on 11 August 1869 at Mary Square (today ); the committee responsible for its construction included , , Szymon Drewiński, and . The first Tadeusz Kościuszko Monument (1902–1941) was a sculpture designed by , a sculptor from Lviv. The pedestal was designed by engineer , and the co-builder of the monument was the city architect, engineer . The monument was unveiled on 28 September 1902 at St. John's Square. In April 1941, the monument was destroyed by the German forces. A now-nonexistent Memorial Monument, established during World War II under the German occupation in the Adam Mickiewicz Park area, commemorated the German attack on the Soviet Union. The inscription read: "Zur Erinnerung an den 22. Juni 1941 Festungs-Pionierstab 24 Vorm. Oberbaustab 33. 1940–1942". A dome from a Soviet bunker near Krzywula by Lesko was placed on the monument base. After the war, the metal letters forming the inscription were gradually removed. The monument was dismantled in 1957. The Monument of Gratitude to the Soldiers of the Red Army commemorated soldiers who died during World War II fighting for the liberation of Sanok. It was located at , near the eastern entrance to the city park from . It was unveiled on 16 November 1977 to commemorate the liberation of Sanok by the Red Army on 3 August 1944. Previously, since autumn 1945, another monument commemorating the same event had stood in this location, followed by an obelisk from 1951 placed at the site of a small military grave. The 1977 monument was preceded by the exhumation of soldiers' remains, which were transferred to a newly established plot at the Central Cemetery. It was made from patinated copper sheets, based on a design by Jan Krug, Wojciech Frik, Andrzej Getter, and Józef Sokowski. It originally commemorated the burial site of Soviet soldiers who died in front-line battles in 1944. In 1990, the inscription directly referring to the Soviet state and the red star were removed, and the inscription on the pedestal was changed. It then read: "In memory of the soldiers who died fighting for the liberation of Sanok". On 15 September 2016, the monument was dismantled.
Crosses
The Insurgents Cross, located at the Central Cemetery on , is an oak cross erected in 1923 by Sanok scouts and students of the Queen Zofia State Gymnasium: Fritz Hotze, , Tadeusz Riedrich, and , in commemoration of Polish independence uprisings. A plaque with the inscription "To the heroes of 1831/63 – Scouts 1923" was mounted on the cross; it was made at the Sanok Wagon Factory. Scouts used to take the Scout Promise at the foot of the cross, including, among others, Father Zdzisław Peszkowski. In 1980, a new stone base was added with a plaque bearing the inscription: "To the Heroes of the Polish Uprisings, 1980". On 11 November 1996, a new cross with a renovated metal plaque was consecrated, funded by the then Chief Scout of the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association, Ryszard Pacławski. The plaque is now mounted at the intersection of the two beams of the cross and reads: "To the heroes of 1831 63 – Scouts 1923 1996". Additionally, on the vertical wooden part of the cross, there is a plaque reading: "Ernest Bauman, insurgent of 1831, Knight of the Virtuti Militari, former officer of the Poznań cavalry regiment". Crosses commemorating the deaths of several dozen people (approximately 70) resulting from an explosion of flammable materials at the Sanok Rubber Company on 2 August 1944. Additional memorials were placed at the intersection of Dworcowa Street and Mateusz Beksiński Street: The first, established around the late 1950s to early 1960s, was made and funded by the blacksmith Andrzej Bar. A weeping willow was planted nearby by Józef Baszak. The second, a metal cross with a commemorative plaque, was erected in 1994 on the initiative of the senior club Sanoczanie with support from residents of the district and its council. The inscription reads: "The cross was erected to commemorate several dozen people who tragically died in flames like living torches – as a result of an explosion of flammable materials at the Rubber Factory on 2 August 1944. Their memory will remain alive in our hearts. Residents of the Posada District".