The text describes the history of the initiative to erect a monument to Adam Mickiewicz in Vilnius. The unfavourable circumstances that held up the construction of the monument are recalled. It is also mentioned that for the time being a 'temporary' monument of Adam Mickiewicz is being erected in front of the Vilnius Town Hall by Prof. Zbigniew Pronaszko (in the end it stood in a different place). Finally, the competition for the monument is recalled, as well as the question of a possible statue to be erected in the square in front of the former town hall on Wielka Street (Source: Tygodnik Illustrowany, Warsaw 1926, Półrocze II, p. 781, after: Digital Library of the University of Łódź).

A modernised reading of the text

Mickiewicz monument in Vilnius.

Twenty years ago, in December 1905, in the pages of the 'Kurier Litewski', which had only just begun to appear in Vilnius, the late Mr Karpowicz initiated the erection of a monument to the author of 'Pan Tadeusz' in Vilnius. A committee was formed, headed by Czesław Jankowski, editor of the Lithuanian Courier at the time. Projects poured in. The "Kurier Litewski" was almost closed down for opening a list of contributions, and its editor was held severely liable in court.

Although these were the revolutionary times of the First Duma, the Russian authorities categorically opposed any glorification of Mickiewicz in Vilnius. The case was shelved ... until the outbreak of war. It could be taken up again only in 1921, after the Polish state had been established in Vilnius. Once again, a memorial committee was formed, this time under the leadership of General Lucjan Żeligowski, the conqueror of Vilnius, who enjoyed unparalleled popularity.

However, times of inflation and economic crises soon followed. Due to a number of unfavourable circumstances, the departure of General Zeligowski from Vilnius, the difficult material conditions in all of Poland, etc., the activity of the Main Committee for the Construction of the Adam Mickiewicz Monument in Vilnius (this is the full title) began to stall and falter. In order to revive it, to get the matter moving, a group of military men, headed by General Leon Berbecki, decided to erect a provisional monument to Mickiewicz in Vilnius, in front of the Town Hall, namely a twelve-metre-high model of a possible monument to Mickiewicz, the composition of Professor Zbigniew Pronaszko. It was a colossal figure conceived from a futuristic conception, growing straight out of the ground.

There was a conflict between the Main, Civilian Committee and the Military Committee. The incident was resolved by a compromise. It was agreed that Prof. Pronaszko's model (made of wood and cement) would not be erected on the square in front of the Town Hall, but rather beyond the Neris River, in front of the Tuskulany barracks of the First Field Artillery Regiment. This also happened in October 1924, on the occasion of the centenary of the exile of the Philarets, including Mickiewicz, from Vilnius. The military action had the good side that, in fact, it stimulated the energy of the Monument Committee. A competition was announced.

The deadline for submitting models was 1 October b. Designs (in plaster) were submitted from all artistic centres in the Republic, as well as from abroad. The yield was abundant. Whether it will produce a work worthy of the greatest Polish poet remains to be seen. The competition will be resolved on 15 November b. Following this, an exhibition of all the models entered in the competition will be opened immediately in the suitably refurbished and decorated dressage arena. Three prizes will be awarded: the first is PLN 10,000, the second PLN 8,000 and the third PLN 6,000.

The monument is to be erected on the square in front of the former Town Hall, a building rebuilt in classicist style by Gucevičius in 1783, on Great Street, near the commemorative walls of the former Basilian Monastery, on the way from the Gate of Dawn to the university. The Main Committee for the Construction of the Monument is under the patronage of the President of the Republic and both Speakers, the Senate and the Sejm.

It is presided over by a board of 12 persons, comprising General Lucjan Żeligowski (chairman), Governor Raczkiewicz (first vice-chairman), Mayor of Vilnius W. Bańkowski (second vice-chairman), professor of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the university, vice-dean of the same faculty, artist-painter Ferdynand Ruszczyc (third vice-chairman), director of the "Przezorność" Society, Józef Korolec (treasurer, chairman of the financial section), head of the Art and Culture Department of the provincial office, conservator, prof. Jerzy Remer (secretary), Rev. Piotr Śledziewski (second secretary), editor Czesław Jankowski (chairman of the press-propaganda section), the chairman of the Vilnius-Trotsky parliament, Gen. Jan Marcin Falewicz, Prof. Stanisław Kościałkowski and the councillor of the city of Vilnius, Mr Bronisław Umiastowski.

To the jury of the competition were invited from outside Vilnius Mr Artur Gorski, the outstanding aesthete and author of "Monsalvat", as well as representatives-delegates of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, the Krakow Institute of Fine Arts, the Faculty of Architecture of the Lviv Polytechnic, the same Faculty of the Warsaw Polytechnic and the School of Fine Arts in Warsaw.