Fragments of a statue of King Friedrich Wilhelm I were found on private property on 11 August. Today, they are already at the Museum in Koszalin. This is an archaeological sensation because the sculpture had been sought for 80 years.
The statue was discovered by accident during cleaning work on one of the private plots of land. Previously, the statue of the king had stood in the Old Town Square for 200 years. It was dismantled during the war, but no one knew where the fragments were stored.
Marcin Napierała, editor of Gazeta Wyborcza Koszalin, spoke to Marcin Ziemlanikow, who inherited the plot from his grandparents. He recalls that as a child he used to play on this plot of land, but did not realise what was hidden under the ground. – ‘ I think my grandmother and grandfather knew that this monument was here, but it was never discussed at home,’ Marcin Ziemlanikow tells Gazeta Wyborcza Koszalin.
The monument was erected in the Old Town Square in 1724. Its erection was a form of gratitude by the citizens of Koszalin, who thus wanted to honour the Prussian king for his help in rebuilding the city after the great fire in 1718. The monument consisted of several figures. In the centre was a silhouette of the king in the costume of the Roman emperor, and all around were silhouettes depicted as armoured Roman legionaries.
The monument disappeared from the cityscape in 1943. Why? It can be assumed that the German inhabitants of Koszalin wanted to protect the monument from the Red Army. No documents have survived that speak of the fate of the monument.
The fragments found on 11 August are only part of the monument. It is likely that there are still more in the ground. Archaeological work on the plot will still be carried out. For the time being, the fragments found have been transported to the grounds of the Miller’s Palace to the Museum in Koszalin, where they will undergo restoration work.
photos: Paweł Kusiak / UM Koszalin
source: UM Koszalin
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