Nicolaus Copernicus Monument,Torun

The Nicolaus Copernicus Monument is erected in the  Old Marketplace, in front of the Town Hall. 

Nicolaus Copernicus Monument in Torun

Fryderyk Abraham Tieck, a sculptor from Berlin created the statue in 1853 commissioned from the German Copernicus Society. It is a cast bronze statue representing Copernicus in a professor's robe, holding an armillary shere in his left hand.

There is an inscription in Latin engraved on the granite plaque which says,"Nicolaus Copernicus, a citizen of Toruń, moved the earth and halted the Sun and the sky".

Copernicus Monument in Warsaw,Poland

The Copernicus Monument

The Copernicus Monument is a bronze statue of Copernicus holding a compass and an armillary sphere. This statue was designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen in 1822 and erected in 1828-30. The monument was funded by public donations and scientist and philosopher Stanisław Staszic. The statue was supposed to be erected in Torun, Copernicus' home town but instead got erected in Warsaw.

During World War II, the Nazi's placed a plaque on the monument claiming that Copernicus was a German. A boy scout, called Aleksy Dawidowski, bravely removed the plaque away in 1942. This made the Nazi's very angry and they removed the statue and hid it in Silesia. They also dynamited a few surrounding monuments. 

Aleksy Dawidowski

They planned to melt the monument down but had to retreat before they had a chance to. The monument was brought back to Warsaw on the 22 July 1945. It then got renovated and unveiled again on 22 July 1949.

 Due to his bravery, Aleksy Dawidowski made it into Polish Folklore as a great hero. The bronze plaque is held in the Warsaw History Museum. 

Warsaw History Museum

In 2007, a model of the Heliocentric Solar System was put up in front of the monument. The model was based on a picture from Copernicus' book, De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium . The statue was vandalized in July 2008. The stolen parts were soon recovered.

A model of Copernicus' Heliocentric  System

There are replicas of the Copernicus Monument in Montreal and Chicago.

A Video about Copernicus

Please watch this interesting video about Copernicus and the  Heliocentric Solar System.

Copernicus' Education

Since Copernicus' father died when he was 11 years old, Lucas Watzenrode the Younger, his uncle looked after him and saw to his education. Copernicus first got sent to St.John's school, were his uncle had been a master.  He then got sent to the Cathedral School at Włocławek, up the Vistula River. This prepared him for the  University of Kraków.

Despite Copernicus going to a lot of universities, there is no record of him earning a bachelor's degree. From 1491-92, Copernicus studied at  the University of Kraków with his brother, Andreas. Copernicus studied Astronomy under the wing of Albert Brudzewski. The two formed a wonderful relationship with each other and shared many interests.

Copernicus and his brother then went to Italy in 1497 and studied at the University of Padua. There it is said that he gave private lessons on astronomy. He later moved on to the University of Bologna. In Bologna he met Domenico Maria Novara, who was his Astronomy and mathematics professor. Together the two came up with theories of the universe. While other people's theories during the Renaissance were based on Christian law, Copernicus' were based on scientific facts.

Today, there is an university dedicated to Nicolaus Copernicus in Torun.

Coperniucs' Fake Book

Please look at my Fake Book account for Copernicus.

Copernicus' Family

Copernicus was born into a wealthy family on 19th February in Toruń, Poland. His father is Nicolaus Copernicus Sr. and his mother is Barbara Watzenrode. He was the youngest of four children and had one brother, Andreas Copernicus and two sisters, Barbara Copernicus and Katharina Copernicus. His father died when he was only 11 years old and his uncle, Lucas Watzenrode the Younger, looked after him during his childhood. Barbara Copernicus grew up to be a nun and Katharina married a wealthy businessman. Copernicus' mother died in 1495. Copernicus' name is also sometimes spelled as Koperek , Kopernik

Koppernigk, Copernik, Copernici or Coppernicus with two p's.

Twister Account For Copernicus