The monument “To the fallen for freedom 1914-1920” is located at the junction of Regis and Oracka streets. It is called, not completely accurately, the monument of the action of the Legions (the plaques list surnames of soldiers belonging to other formations too).
The history of this monument is turbulent and serves as an example of the false rewriting of history during the years of PRL.
The monument was erected on the initiative of the County’s Legionaries’ Union in Bochnia on the 20th anniversary of the marching out of Bochnia’s youth battalion to the Legions. The unveiling ceremony was held on 3rd May 1935. It was designed by a famous architect, Franciszek Mączyński (1874-1947), the designer of the building of Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Cracow and also of the redevelopment of the Old Theatre. The bronze plaques were made by the “Fosforbronz” metal foundry in Sosnowiec. During World War II they were removed by the Germans and most probably used as scrap.
In 1946, 9 officers of the Civic Militia and the Security Office were buried in front of the monument. The officers were killed in Wola Wieruszycka by a section of “Salwa” during their return from a PPR meeting held in Łapanów on 31st March. The families of those killed moved the bodies to family graves on the day following the funeral. Only two or three corpses were left. The communist authorities took a series of actions to redefine this symbol of national memory, belonging to a totally different epoch, as a symbol of communist leadership. Later when the specious thesis turned out to be impossible to defend they looked for different ideas. A niche was sculpted in the central part of the pedestal, where the main inscription was originally placed, and an urn with ashes of the victims from Auschwitz placed there. After unknown culprits violated the urn in 1989 another one was placed there. This urn contained soil from Katyń, heralding the beginning of new times.
City
Turism
