Monument to Those Who Fell in Defence of the Homeland in Częstochowa

The Monument to Those Who Fell in Defence of the Homeland stands on National Remembrance Square (plac Pamięci Narodowej) in the centre of Częstochowa. It was unveiled on 1 September 1985. Its authors are Wincenty Kućma, Jacek Budyń and Krystyna Hajdo-Kućma.

Whom it commemorates

The monument is dedicated to soldiers who died defending Poland. It commemorates, among others, legionnaires, defenders in the Polish-Soviet War, participants in the September 1939 campaign, partisans, prisoners of concentration camps, soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Armies of the Polish Army, and Polish forces on the western fronts, as well as those who fell at sea and in the air, victims of Soviet crimes, and those who fought for freedom in 1945-1989.

What it looks like

Two columns clad in granite rise from the ground. On the northern column there is a sculpture of an eagle, on the southern one cast figures of soldiers. The whole consists of 185 sculptures with a total weight of about 20 tonnes. In the plinth are six urns with soil from the battlefields of the Second World War.

Practical information

• The monument is on National Remembrance Square, in the town centre, and is accessible at all times as part of public space.
• Nearby are Jasna Góra and the Częstochowa Museum.