The controversial Tadeusz Kościuszko monument at the Amthausplatz

Unveiled on 15 October 1967 in Solura, the monument to mark the 150th anniversary of Tadeusz Kościuszko's death has, from the outset, aroused extreme emotions among local residents and not only the local Polish community. Cast in metal, designed by local sculptor Shang Hutter (Jean Albert Hutter, 1934-2021), it shows a naked, emaciated figure with his left hand raised in a sign of freedom. The pedestal bears the inscription: "1746 MICHAEL KOSCIUSZKO 1817", and on the base a signature with the date: "HAN ALBERT HUTTER 67".

The statue was funded by the Kosciuszko Gesellschaft with funds from the canton and the city. A competition was held for the statue. The jury included Poles Janusz Rakowski and Kazimierz Vincenz, favouring a different design by sculptor Zygmunt Stankiewicz (1914-2010), but they were outvoted. The justification for choosing the winner reads: "The free-moving figure on the plinth is visually appealing, sensitive and has been executed using simple means. There is no pathos that is inappropriate in this setting. Furthermore, the artist has advantageously refrained from false heroisation. The work is clearly and demonstrably superior to other works and undoubtedly of artistic value" (source: 'Jurablätter').

On the night before the unveiling, the sculpture unexpectedly became the subject of a kind of iconoclastic act. Unknown perpetrators, presumably representatives of the local community, placed the handwritten inscription 'Brot für Brüder' (Bread for the brothers) on the plinth, referring to a campaign to spread aid to the hungry by the Evangelical church mission. The event became the subject of criticism in the 'Solothuner Zeitung'. A comprehensive commentary condemned the conduct of the perpetrators on the one hand and praised the composition on the other. Meanwhile, the residents of Solura took the situation in a humorous light. Photographs of the sign with the relevant commentary circulated in the press and were even published in London.

Stankiewicz's counter-design is now in the collection of the Kościuszko Museum.

Dispute over Tadeusz Kosciuszko monument by Belarusian artists

On 21 October 2017, a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Tadeusz Kosciuszko's death was held in Solura. On this occasion, a statue in his honour by Belarusian artists was unveiled in the local park. Made in bronze, the life-size (170 cm high) statue depicts the Commander in Chief at a young age, pugnacious, with a sabre. The monument was erected on the initiative of the Belarusian Society in Switzerland.

The sculpture was originally intended to bear an inscription in German with a transcription in so-called Belarusian Latin, as well as in Belarusian: "To the eminent son of Belarus, grateful compatriots". However, due to the objection of the mayor of the city, caused by the intervention of the Polish ambassador in Switzerland, outraged by the lack of mention of Kosciuszko's links to Poland, the inscription was modified. Only German text appeared on the pedestal, which read: "Tadeusz Kosciuszko 04.02.1746 - 15.10.1817 Gestiftet von der Weissrussischen Vereinigung in Schweiz 2017" (Tadeusz Kosciuszko 04.02.1746 - 15.10.1817 funded by the Union of Belarusians in Switzerland in 2017).

As a result of the ambassador's interference with the Belarusian association, justified by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as follows - "Poland recognises that Thaddeus Kosciuszko is a hero of both Poland and Lithuania, Belarus and the United States, a universal hero of mankind, and not just a 'son of Belarus' or a 'Polish General'", the unveiling ceremony of the monument, delayed by a week, was independently conducted by the Belarusian side.