Maciej Piotrowski, memorial to the soldiers of the 2nd Division of Foot Riflemen in Switzerland who died in Leysin (fragment), 1967, metal, marble, Polish war cemetery Les Larrets, photo Norbert Piwowarczyk, 2024, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin
Maciej Piotrowski, pomnik żołnierzy II Dywizji Strzelców Pieszych, 1967, beton, granit, blacha aluminiowa, Leysin, polski cmentarz wojskowy, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2014
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, License terms and conditions
Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin
Maciej Piotrowski, pomnik żołnierzy II Dywizji Strzelców Pieszych, 1967, beton, granit, blacha aluminiowa, Leysin, polski cmentarz wojskowy, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2014
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, License terms and conditions
Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin
Maciej Piotrowski, pomnik żołnierzy II Dywizji Strzelców Pieszych, 1967, beton, granit, blacha aluminiowa, Leysin, polski cmentarz wojskowy, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2014
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, License terms and conditions
Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin
Maciej Piotrowski, pomnik żołnierzy II Dywizji Strzelców Pieszych, 1967, beton, granit, blacha aluminiowa, Leysin, polski cmentarz wojskowy, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2014
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, License terms and conditions
Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin
Maciej Piotrowski, memorial to soldiers of the 2nd Division of Foot Riflemen in Switzerland who died in Leysin (fragment), 1967, metal, marble, Polish war cemetery Les Larrets, photo Norbert Piwowarczyk, 2024, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin
Maciej Piotrowski, memorial to the soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Rifle Division in Switzerland who died in Leysin, 1967, metal, marble, Polish war cemetery Les Larrets, photo Norbert Piwowarczyk, 2024, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin
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ID: POL-001374-P/135079

Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin

ID: POL-001374-P/135079

Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin

Variants of the name:

Monument aux soldats polonais morts à Leysin

At the municipal cemetery of the resort town of Leysin, located about 3 km west of the town, high in the forest, there are two separate soldiers' cemeteries: a French-Belgian one (the dead were mainly from the First World War) and a Polish one. The latter, established on the very edge of the slope, holds the bodies of 28 officers and soldiers who died while being treated for tuberculosis in Leysin, a well-known spa town high in the Alps above the Leman. Polish internees were also building a mountain road to the Forclaz ski resort in the area. The cemetery, however, rests with soldiers who were transferred from the internment camps to the sanatoriums in Leysin for treatment - they died here or those who wished to be buried with their comrades-in-arms. The memorial was funded and inaugurated with the participation of representatives of the communist authorities. Although the authorship of the design for the monument by the painter Michał Kalitowicz was put forward, it seems certain that the author is the leading sculptor of Polish emigration in Switzerland, the Winterthur-based Maciej Piotrowski, also a veteran of the interned Second Rifle Division. In the artists' dossier of the federal Schweizerisches Kunstarchiv in Zurich, there is a photograph showing him at the military cemetery in Leysin; the metal eagle from the monument is reminiscent of the treatment of form in Piotrowski's sculptures in several public places in Winterthur. The composition of the monument is reminiscent of the symbols from the divisional badge: the eagle (admittedly much stylised and simplified) is supported by three swords. This aluminium figurative part rests on a two-part plinth, clad in polished granite slabs. Attached to the front face of the upper part of the plinth is a metal plaque with the inscription in French and Polish: "Here rest the Polish soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division interned in Switzerland during the Second War and died in Leysin". As a whole, this is the main (albeit relegated to the edge) accent of the small, terraced layout of the Polish cemetery: simple, identical gravestones arranged in three rows with small slabs decorated with the divisional eagle. The cemetery is looked after by the municipality of Leysin, but the conservation of the monument was carried out in several stages until 2011 with funds from the Polish state.

Related persons:

Time of construction:

unveiled 1.11.1967

Creator:

Maciej Piotrowski (rzeźbiarz; Polska, Szwajcaria)(preview)

Bibliography:

  • J. Zieliński, Nasza Szwajcaria, Warszawa 1999, s. 109-110
  • Teczka „Mattias Piotrowski”, Zurych - Schweizerisches Kunstarchiv

Keywords:

Publication:

27.08.2023

Last updated:

20.01.2025

Author:

prof. Andrzej Pieńkos
see more Text translated automatically
Monument in Leysin honoring soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division. A stylized eagle rests on three swords atop a granite base, surrounded by greenery and trees. Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin Gallery of the object +6
Maciej Piotrowski, memorial to the soldiers of the 2nd Division of Foot Riflemen in Switzerland who died in Leysin (fragment), 1967, metal, marble, Polish war cemetery Les Larrets, photo Norbert Piwowarczyk, 2024, all rights reserved
Monument in Leysin honoring Polish soldiers of the Second Infantry Division. A stylized eagle on three swords atop a granite base, with snowy mountains in the background. Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin Gallery of the object +6
Maciej Piotrowski, pomnik żołnierzy II Dywizji Strzelców Pieszych, 1967, beton, granit, blacha aluminiowa, Leysin, polski cmentarz wojskowy, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2014
Monument in Leysin honoring Polish soldiers of the Second Rifle Division. Features a stylized eagle on three swords atop a granite base with inscriptions in Polish and French. Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin Gallery of the object +6
Maciej Piotrowski, pomnik żołnierzy II Dywizji Strzelców Pieszych, 1967, beton, granit, blacha aluminiowa, Leysin, polski cmentarz wojskowy, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2014
Monument at the Polish military cemetery in Leysin, featuring a stylized eagle on three swords atop a granite pedestal with an inscription. Rows of identical graves with division emblems are visible in the foreground. Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin Gallery of the object +6
Maciej Piotrowski, pomnik żołnierzy II Dywizji Strzelców Pieszych, 1967, beton, granit, blacha aluminiowa, Leysin, polski cmentarz wojskowy, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2014
Metal eagle sculpture with stylized wings and crown, perched on three swords. Located at the Polish soldiers' cemetery in Leysin, surrounded by trees. Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin Gallery of the object +6
Maciej Piotrowski, pomnik żołnierzy II Dywizji Strzelców Pieszych, 1967, beton, granit, blacha aluminiowa, Leysin, polski cmentarz wojskowy, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2014
Memorial plaque on a monument in Leysin honoring Polish soldiers of the Second Rifle Division. Inscription in Polish and French commemorates soldiers interned in Switzerland during WWII and who died in Leysin. Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin Gallery of the object +6
Maciej Piotrowski, memorial to soldiers of the 2nd Division of Foot Riflemen in Switzerland who died in Leysin (fragment), 1967, metal, marble, Polish war cemetery Les Larrets, photo Norbert Piwowarczyk, 2024, all rights reserved
Monument honoring soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division in Leysin, featuring a stylized eagle on three swords, surrounded by greenery and a flagpole with a red flag. Photo showing Monument to the soldiers of the Second Infantry Rifle Division in Leysin Gallery of the object +6
Maciej Piotrowski, memorial to the soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Rifle Division in Switzerland who died in Leysin, 1967, metal, marble, Polish war cemetery Les Larrets, photo Norbert Piwowarczyk, 2024, all rights reserved

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