Stefan Żeromski Monument
Kraków Artists: Writers and Poets
A bust of the writer Stefan Żeromski (1864-1925), by Marian Konieczny, standing on a plinth in front of the main building of the S. Żeromski Hospital in Nowa Huta. It was unveiled by Monika, the writer's daughter, on 12 June 1974, on the occasion of the hospital's 20th anniversary. Żeromski was a novelist, essayist and playwright, the first president of the Polish PEN Club, and four times nominated for the Nobel Prize (1921-1924).
History
Stefan Żeromski, novelist, journalist and playwright, was born in November 1864 in Strawczyn and grew up in Ciekoty in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. After his return from Switzerland in 1897 came "The Labours of Sisyphus", in 1899 "Homeless People", and in 1904 the novel "Ashes", whose success allowed him to give up his library job and devote himself to writing. His works also include "The Spring to Come". He lived in Zakopane, among other places, and was president of the Republic of Zakopane. In 1925 he became the first president of the Polish PEN Club, and in 1921-1924 he was nominated four times for the Nobel Prize. For his social commitment he was called "the conscience of Polish literature". He died in Warsaw in November 1925.
The writer's bust on a plinth stands in Nowa Huta, in front of the main building of the hospital named after him. The hospital, whose construction began in 1951 to a concept by Tadeusz Ptaszycki, was opened in 1954. It was named after the writer in 1974. In the same year, on 12 June, the bust by Marian Konieczny was unveiled by Monika, Żeromski's daughter, to mark the hospital's twentieth anniversary.
Did you know?
In 1910 Żeromski signed an open letter about burying Juliusz Słowacki at Wawel. When Cardinal Puzyna refused permission, the writer supported the idea of placing the poet's tomb in the Tatras, in a recess in the crag of Kościelec.