King Jagiello Monument

The King Jagiello Monument is an equestrian monument of Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, located in Central Park, New York City. The monument commemorates the Battle of Grunwald, a decisive defeat of the Teutonic Order in 1410. Originally made for the Polish 1939 New York World's Fair pavilion, the monument was permanently installed in Central Park in 1945. Raised on its grand plinth it is one of the most prominently-sited and impressive of twenty-nine sculptures located in the park.

The monument is sited overlooking the east end of the Turtle Pond, across from Belvedere Castle and just south-east from the Great Lawn. To the northeast is Cleopatra's Needle and beyond, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The monument commemorates the Battle of Grunwald (1410), where Polish and Lithuanian knights supported by Ruthenian, Czech, and Tatar knights defeated the Teutonic Order. King Władysław II Jagiello is shown seated on a horse holding two crossed swords over his head as a symbol of defiance and of the union of Polish–Lithuanian forces. Known as the Grunwald Swords, they were the invitation to battle offered to the king and his ally Vytautas the Great in an ironic gesture by Ulrich von Jungingen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. Parks Chief Consulting Architect Aymar Embury II (1880–1966) designed the granite pedestal. POLAND is inscribed on both sides of the plinth. Ostrowski's name is engraved in the front lower right-hand corner.

...
Wikipedia