Suwałki. There will be no first monument to Aleksandra Piłsudska in Poland. There was no one to pay the sculptor

A monument to Aleksandra Piłsudska, an independence activist and second wife Józef Piłsudski, was to be erected in Suwałki. Although the monument has already been carved, the undertaking ended in failure. There was no one to pay the artist.

– I am very sad that he was not erected in Suwałki. The place was perfect. This way Aleksander went from home to school. She would be set up in such a way that she would “look” at her school – says sculptor Stanisława Śliw.

The initiative was held under the honorary patronage of Jarosław Zieliński

Let's go back to October 13, 2023. It was on this day, two days before the parliamentary elections, the monument was brought to Suwałki on a truck trailer II solemnly presented. He was to stand two months later (December 12, on the anniversary of the birth of Aleksandra Piłsudska) on the edge of the Park of the Constitution of May 3. The Initiative of Placing the monument came out the Union of Piłsudski of the Republic of Poland of the Suwałki Land. The Social Construction Committee was formed, headed by the President of the Union Grzegorz Pietkiewicz. He took the initiative of honorary patronage, from Switzerland (a village, which in 1981 became part of Suwałki) MP and former deputy minister of the Ministry of Interior and Administration Jarosław Zieliński with PIS.

On December 12, 2023, the monument in Suwałki did not stand. There was no one to pay 300,000 PLN to the sculptor. The money was to be collected by the social committee, but when its members came to the conclusion that they would not be able to raise such a large sum, the committee was dissolved. At least in October 2024, i.e. a year after the presentation of the monument on the trailer, Grzegorz Pietkiewicz told us. He also mentioned that MP Zieliński ordered him the Warsaw Foundation Polska360 before the election, which was to raise money from two state -owned companies. Nothing came of it, and after changing the rule in Poland, contact with the foundation broke off.

Piłsudski Union: the matter has become unnecessarily political

When we pointed out to Pietkiewicz that after the election it was rather difficult to count on that state -owned companies would put money on the initiative supported by the prominent PiS politician, he said that the matter had become unnecessarily political. And when it comes to Zieliński, he decided that the MP could help, because he supported the creation of three monuments of the victims of the Augustów roundup (they stood in Augustów, Suwałki and Sokółka – editor's note).

– I did not realize that in the future this could be a burden – emphasizes Pietkiewicz, emphasizing that neither the Social Construction Committee nor the Piłsudski Association was never politically involved.

Meeting with the president

On September 30, 2024, President Suwałki Czesław Renkiewicz tried to save the situation. He invited local entrepreneurs and representatives of non -governmental organizations to a meeting. The effect was that a new monument construction committee was to be established, and the case was to be piloted by social activists from the Kostroma Cultural Association (he conducts in Suwałki, among others, the Tourist Information Point – editor's note), who intended to collect money, including through an online collection.

Despite the fact that in February 2024, the decision to transfer the permission to build a monument to SK Kostroma became final (previously the permission was obtained by the Polish Foundation360), however, no online collection was launched.

SK Vice President Kostroma: The sculptor found another buyer to the monument

– We took a number of activities and we were while preparing the collection when we got information from the Piłsudski Union that the sculptor found another buyer to the monument – says Karol Świerzbin, vice president of SK Kostroma.

He calculates that by that time the Association has undergone verification and set up an account on one of the portals for online collections and was able to conduct charity auctions on one of the online auction sites.

See also: A four -meter palm stood in the center of Kalisz. “Beats Warszawska because she is alive”

– We also launched a separate bank account and got the option of paying online for the collection. In addition, we created and launched a website about the character of Aleksandra Piłsudska. We also conducted an insight among artists performing this type of monuments and when it turned out that prices were up to half a lower than 300,000. PLN, which Stanisław Śliwa wanted, we wanted to renegotiate the price with him. However, no renegotiation happened – says Świerzbin.

Sculptor: However, the next months passed, and no one reported to me

Stanisław Śliwa comments that if the association actually wanted to contact him and to negotiate him, it would do that.

– I would definitely undertake negotiations and maybe I would leave the price. It is known that money is important, but not the most important. First of all, I wanted the monument to stand in Suwałki – in the hometown of Aleksandra Piłsudska. However, the next months passed, and nobody came to me. I created a work, I incurred costs. So I had to take action that would allow me to recover the means – recalls the sculptor.

Will be unveiled in another city

In the end, the monument is to be erected in Sulejówek.

– The findings are that it will happen on June 13, on the day of the city festival. He will stand in front of the kindergarten number 1 of the name of Aleksandra Piłsudska – says Arkadiusz Śliwa (coincidence with the name of the sculptor random), mayor of Sulejówka.

He adds that the findings are such that the artist will for now lend a monument.

– A committee was created that collects money. When it accumulates 300 thousand PLN, this amount will be transferred to the sculptor, and the monument will become our property. From the city budget, apart from the funds needed to perform cleaning and making foundations, we will not incur any costs – says the mayor.

There was supposed to be missing commitment

Grzegorz Pietkiewicz from the Piłsudski Union comments that Suwałki was the first choice, because here Aleksandra Piłsudska was born, while Sulejówek the second, because she lived here.

– However, when it comes to Suwałki, I also joined the second construction committee, but after some time I left it, because I did not see the commitment from the Kostroma association to bring the case to an end. It is a pity that it came out – he says.

They claim that they were in the process of work

Karol Świerzbin claims that the fact that Kostroma agreed to help the Piłsudski relationship did not mean that only the association – and not the association together with the Piłsudski association – was responsible for this project.

– The relationship had contact with the sculptor all the time. We, as an association, did not come to him because we were still while preparing to launch the collection and discern in what prices other artists offer. And this is a process that must last. It should also be borne in mind that working on this matter was an additional activity for us, and not something that we do in the association every day. Nevertheless, I also regret that this monument will not be in Suwałki – says Świerzbin.

In March, the Suwałki councilors adopted a resolution to withdraw their consent to the erection of the monument.