A sleeping lion

The Sleeping Lion is a bronze sculpture created in 1873 by the Berlin foundry Hermann Gladenbeck, based on a design by Theodor Kalide. The sculpture was part of a monument commemorating the residents of Bytom County who died in the Franco-Prussian War. During the unveiling of the monument, the lion sculpture was placed on a pedestal in the center of a fountain. In 1932, the monument was relocated to Reichspräsidentenplatz, and after World War II, the lion sculpture ended up in a municipal park in Bytom. It went missing in 1953, only to be identified in Warsaw in 2006. Following demands by the mayors of Bytom for its return, the sculpture was granted heritage status in 2007 and returned to Bytom in 2008, though it remained on deposit. The Sleeping Lion is not only a valuable architectural object but also a historical symbol of Bytom. Since 2014, it has been featured as the emblem of the city's film festival. Interestingly, similar sculptures can be found in many other cities, such as Gliwice and Lucerne. The Sleeping Lion is now protected as a heritage monument and remains an important cultural element in Bytom.