Watching Lion in Gliwice

The Watching Lion is a historic sculpture on Dolnych Wałów Street in Gliwice, in front of Villa Caro. It shows a recumbent lion with its head raised. In German it was called Wachender Löwe.

A cast-iron piece from the Gliwice ironworks

The sculpture is made of cast iron and was cast in 1824 at the Gliwice Ironworks (Huta Gliwice). It is one of several cast-iron pieces made to a design by Theodor Kalide from the workshop of Professor Christian Daniel Rauch in Berlin. Copies could be ordered from the foundry in Berlin and later also in Gliwice.

The model was a statue of a lion set up on 15 May 1822 at Starościńskie Skały, which can be seen above Lake Złotnickie near Leśna. Although Rauch, as the owner of the workshop, was still credited as the author of the Gliwice cast, Kalide's contribution was very large, perhaps larger than that of his professor. Later casts were signed by Kalide himself, who left Rauch's workshop in 1830.

The move to Villa Caro

The lion originally stood in front of one of the administrative buildings of the Gliwice Ironworks, today's GZUT. It was moved to the vicinity of Villa Caro only in 1934. Nearby are Villa Caro and the Gliwice Ironworks, where the cast came from.

Practical information

• Location: Gliwice, Dolnych Wałów Street, in front of Villa Caro.
• The sculpture stands outdoors and can be viewed without a ticket.