PHOTO: KRZYSZTOF CHOJNACKI / EAST NEWS
Pomnik Grunwaldzki na placu Matejki w Krakowie odsloniety w 1910 w 500. rocznice bitwy, dar Ignacego Paderewskiego.
THE GRUNWALD MONUMENT ON THE MATEJKI SQUARE IN CRACOW. The Battle of Grunwald, fought between the joint armies of Poland and Lithuania against the Teutonic Knights on July 15, 1410, is considered to be one of the greatest battles ever to take place in medieval Europe. A defining moment in Polish history, the battle was immortalised in Cracow with the unveiling of this weighty monument in front of an estimated 160,000 people on the 500th anniversary of the event in 1910. Antoni Wiwulski's (1877-1919) original masterpiece was, not surprisingly, destroyed by the occupying Nazis during WWII and the copy that now stands in its place dates from 1976, having been faithfully reproduced using sketches and models of the original.