Kawelin Dog

Pies Kawelin is a concrete sculpture by Małgorzata Niedzielko, located in Planty Park in Białystok. It is an almost faithful replica of a pre-war work created in 1936 by Białystok artists Piotr Sawicki and Józef Sławicki. The original sculpture, depicting a dog, stood near the fence of the Branicki Palace and went missing in 1944. The current sculpture was unveiled on June 24, 2006, as a gift from the Podlaskie Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts to the city's residents, and its creation was commissioned to Małgorzata Niedzielko. A plaque with information about the sculpture's creation and acknowledgments to its patrons was placed at its base. The name "Kawelin" is associated with two hypotheses: the first suggests it comes from the surname of the guard of the Ritz Hotel, while the second, considered more likely, links it to the tsarist colonel Nikolai Kawelin, who lived in the Białystok region. In 2009, when discussing the sculpture, activists of the Russian Cultural and Educational Association in Białystok proposed changing its name to "Pies Kawelina," arguing that the current version offends Russian national pride. However, this proposal did not gain traction among the residents of Białystok, who continue to refer to the sculpture as Kawelin. The sculpture is an important cultural element of Białystok, symbolizing the local traditions and artistic history of the region.