The official coat of arms of Zgierz shows a white eagle in a gold crown against a brick gate - a serious, heraldic symbol of the town, refreshed by the town council in 2021. The unofficial symbol, far more recognisable in everyday life, is instead an ordinary hedgehog. And it is a hedgehog born not from the history of the coat of arms, but from a children's book.

The tale that started it all

In 1964 Wanda Chotomska, later an honorary citizen of Zgierz, wrote a rhyming tale for children titled "Przygody jeża spod miasta Zgierza" (The Adventures of the Hedgehog from near the Town of Zgierz). The tale tells of a lonely hedgehog looking for relatives in Zgierz, who finds a whole hedgehog family there. The inspiration is said to have been a real encounter the writer had with a hedgehog on the road leading into the town.

How the storybook character ended up on a plinth

Chotomska's tale made its way into nurseries and schools, where it became the starting point for a spring ritual of waking the hedgehog from its winter sleep - children would gather in the town's parks to symbolically wake it up. Over time the custom grew into something more than a nature lesson: the town turned the hedgehog into its unofficial emblem. The first hedgehog statue, made of wicker, was put up in 2003 on the square in front of the former cinema - a three-metre, one hundred and fifty kilogram construction that burned down after a few days. The current, metal statue was made by the Lithuanian sculptor Henrikas Orakauskas from Kupiškis. It now stands on plac Jana Pawła II, the former Old Market Square, opposite the town hall, and holds the coat of arms of Zgierz in its paws.

A mascot, not a coat of arms

It is worth keeping these two symbols apart. The coat of arms of Zgierz is a serious heraldic mark: a defensive wall with three towers and a white eagle in an open gate, referring to town seals from the end of the 18th century. The hedgehog has never formally replaced it - it exists alongside it, as the town's mascot, much like animal symbols of other towns in Poland. But it is the hedgehog that appears in the town's logo, on gadgets handed out at the town office, on plaques by monuments and on a mural with a slogan encouraging residents to "keep pattering on".

Why residents took it seriously

The town has already published two books developing the hedgehog theme - "Kulturę na ulicę" (Culture Onto the Street) from 2019 and "Podróże Jeża spod miasta Zgierza" (Travels of the Hedgehog from near the Town of Zgierz) from 2021. The local mascot even has its own social media profile, where residents post photos of the plush hedgehog travelling around the world. It is an unusual, but consistently built element of the town's identity - gentler and more approachable than many an official coat of arms.

Where to see the hedgehog today

The hedgehog statue stands on plac Jana Pawła II in the centre of Zgierz, right next to the town hall.

Cemeteries & MonumentsHedgehog Monumenta bronze hedgehog holding the town's coat of arms, inspired by Wanda Chotomska's poem📍 Zgierz, pl. Jana Pawła IISee the attraction →

Nearby, in a town that lived on weaving for centuries, it is also worth seeing the Park Kulturowy Miasto Tkaczy (Town of Weavers Cultural Park), showing another, more serious side of local identity.

MuseumsPark Kulturowy Miasto Tkaczya preserved weavers' settlement from the 1821 Zgierz agreement, now with a museum and workshops, free entry📍 Zgierz, Ks. Szczepana Rembowskiego 1See the attraction →

The town's history, including the story of the hedgehog and the coat of arms, is presented at the Muzeum Miasta Zgierza (Zgierz Town Museum).

The Zgierz hedgehog against other town mascots of the region

Zgierz is not the only town in the region to have chosen an unusual, friendly way of taming its history. But while other towns usually reach for a coat of arms or a historical figure, Zgierz chose the hero of an ordinary children's tale - and it paid off, because the hedgehog is today recognised far more widely than many an official heraldic symbol of the region's smaller towns. It is a rare example of children's literature permanently changing the way a town talks about itself.

In practice

The hedgehog statue is accessible at all times, free of charge, as part of the town's public space - it is best to combine seeing it with a walk around the centre of Zgierz and a visit to the town museum. You will find a full list of the town's landmarks and attractions on the Zgierz overview page, and a calendar of local events, including the spring waking of the hedgehog, in the Wydarzenia (Events) section. You can read more curiosities about the region's towns in the Poznaj Łódź (Discover Łódź) section.