Bison Monument

The Bison Monument is a life-size statue of an animal, cast at the Ogaryev works in St Petersburg to the design of Hungarian painter Mihály Zichy, court artist to the Tsar. Before it arrived in Spała, it travelled a long and turbulent path through three cities and two wars.

Hunting in Zwierzyniec

The monument was erected in 1862 in the settlement of Zwierzyniec near Białowieża, to commemorate a hunt by Tsar Alexander II two years earlier. During this hunt, the Tsar killed a magnificent bull bison with a single shot, an event the court of the time considered worthy of lasting commemoration in bronze.

Moscow, Warsaw, Spała

In 1915, during the First World War, the Russians transported the statue to Moscow. It returned to Poland only in 1924 and stood on the grounds of the Royal Castle in Warsaw for several years. In 1928, by decision of President Ignacy Mościcki, it was moved to Spała, which was then the presidential hunting residence. During the Second World War, the Germans planned to transport the monument to Berlin, but ultimately abandoned the idea for logistical reasons and the bison survived in place.

Legend of the severed head

Local legend has it that in January 1945 a German officer severed the bison's head and tried to take it with him, but was shot before he could drive away, and the severed head returned to its place. The story circulates in Spała to this day as a tale rather than a confirmed fact.

Dispute over return to Białowieża

From 1981 onwards, the authorities of Białowieża sought the return of the monument to Zwierzyniec, from where it originally came. The matter has not been settled, and in response the Society for the Defence of the Spała Bison was established, arguing for the statue to remain in Spała. In 2014, a copy of the original monument was unveiled in Zwierzyniec to mark the anniversary of bison restitution in the Białowieża Forest, giving both sides of the dispute their own monument.

Practical information

• Address: Nadpiliczna 6, Spała.
• The monument stands in an open area, accessible for viewing without restrictions.
• Nearby stand the Carska Wieża and Dwór Carski.
• A short distance away you can see the water tower.
• Towards the forest, on nature reserve land, lies St Hubert's Grotto.