To spot the Monument to Duke Bogusław X and Princess Anna Jagiellon, look for two grand, pale yellow stone figures standing side by side near the northwest corner of the Pomeranian Dukes’ Castle, with Duke Bogusław on the left and Anna Jagiellon on the right, just in front of the Bell Tower.
Alright, standing here, take a good look-nope, they aren’t on their way to a Renaissance costume party! These stone figures are Duke Bogusław X and his royal wife, Princess Anna Jagiellon, frozen in time to remind us of a marriage that once united powerful families and, for a moment, kingdoms. This monument didn’t just spring up overnight, though. Back in 1969, there was quite a fuss: a competition was announced to create a statue that would celebrate the links between Pomerania and Poland. Clever move, right? They picked Bogusław X, the “Great” Duke of Pomerania, and his wife Anna, daughter of a Polish king, to really drive home the historic connections.
But here’s where things get dramatic-two young, up-and-coming Szczecin sculptors, Leonia Chmielnik and Anna Paszkiewicz, both won first prize with entirely different ideas! So, what did the judges do? They asked them to work together, like two chefs tossing ingredients into the same pot. That teamwork turned into a long friendship. The ladies even went to the Bolesławiec quarry themselves to pick out the perfect blocks of yellow sandstone-imagine them, dust on their shoes, examining massive stones, arguing about which one looked the most “ducal.”
This statue wasn’t easygoing, either. The competition judges kept demanding new models-imagine sculpting these two again and again, first in clay, then in plaster, never quite sure if the monument would even be built! Eventually, the design was set: Bogusław in royal garb with a flat cap, his princely chain on his chest; Anna, elegant, tall, in a long gown, raised up just a little to be level with her (historically taller!) husband. On the 30th anniversary of Poland’s postwar independence, July 22, 1974, they were finally unveiled, facing the city, like a royal couple ready to greet their people.
And if you look closely at the texture-yes, it’s a bit rough. In 2000, someone tried to clean it up and, well, let’s just say they weren’t exactly Michelangelo. Oh, and in 2024, this great story inspired a documentary, shining a spotlight on the talented women who brought royalty back to Szczecin-and maybe, just maybe, reminding us that legends and monuments are built not just on history, but on sheer determination and a dash of artistic stubbornness.
