Rafał Bratoszewski Monument

The Rafał Bratoszewski Monument stands in a park on plac Tadeusza Kościuszki in the centre of Aleksandrów Łódzki, near the building of the former municipal weigh house. It commemorates the owner of the Brużyca Wielka estate, who at the turn of the second and third decade of the 19th century founded the city and secured its grant of municipal rights.

Who was Rafał Bratoszewski

Rafał Bratoszewski of the Sulima coat of arms was born around 1765 and died on 6 December 1824 in Aleksandrów. He acquired the Brużyca Wielka estate around 1798, and around 1816 he decided to establish an industrial settlement on the sandy, southern part of his land, along the road from Zgierz to Lutomiersk. The layout of the settlement was designed by surveyor Bernard von Schuttenbach, with a rectangular market square and a perpendicular street grid. The owner attracted settlers, mainly weavers, dyers and cloth shearers, through advertisements in the Prussian press.

From settlement to city

In 1822 Bratoszewski obtained consent from the authorities of the Kingdom of Poland to grant the settlement municipal rights, and the name Aleksandrów honoured Tsar Alexander I. The city grew around the cloth and weaving industries, and over time became renowned for hosiery production. The founder was buried in the Church of Saint Raphael the Archangel, which he had endowed.

What the monument looks like

The monument was unveiled in 2008, during celebrations of the ninetieth anniversary of the regaining of independence, at the initiative of the city authorities. The sculptor is Zofia Władyka-Łuczak. Bratoszewski is shown in a seated position, on a large boulder, holding a charter of foundation in his hand and looking towards the city he founded. Its placement at the level of a passer-by means the monument is viewed from close by, rather than from below a pedestal.

Two commemorations of the founder

There are two monuments to Bratoszewski in Aleksandrów. The older one, unveiled in 2005 on the church square in front of the Church of the Holy Archangels, is a bronze bust designed by seminarian Michał Gutowski and endowed by Father Norbert Rucki on the one hundred and eightieth anniversary of the founder's death. Three years later the city unveiled the larger monument in the park, and it is this one that is now the main focal point of walks around the centre. The park itself was founded in 1824 at Bratoszewski's behest, as a garden in the English style, and nearby there survive the municipal weigh house and the classical town hall from the same year.

Practical information

• Address: plac Tadeusza Kościuszki, park in the centre, Aleksandrów Łódzki.
• Access: suburban buses from Łódź to the centre of Aleksandrów, stops by the square; by car along the road towards Zgierz and Lutomiersk.
• What to expect: sculpture accessible at all times, no tickets or fencing, surrounded by park paths and benches.
• Nearby: monument to Tadeusz Kościuszko in the centre of the same park, and Park 200-lecia Aleksandrowa Łódzkiego on ulica Warszawska.