Monument to John Paul II and Ronald Reagan

Technique: cast bronze

Dimensions: 2.2 m (total height), 1.6 × 1 m (dimensions of the total space occupied by the sculptures)

Object: The statue depicting John Paul II and Ronald Reagan was based on a photograph taken by Scott Stewart of the Associated Press. The famous image shows the Pope and the President of the United States walking in a park in Miami, Florida, in September 1987. The monument was initiated by the “Godność” (Dignity) Association, uniting former activists of the Solidarity Trade Union and political prisoners of the 1980–89 period. In September 2012, the Association donated the object to the city of Gdańsk.

The full-figure sculpture was designed and made by Stanisław Milewski and Bogusław Szycik. It is cast in bronze and portrays Ronald Reagan and John Paul II in motion. The work very faithfully reproduces the photograph taken in the late 1980s. The faces of the famous historical figures are portrayed in a realistic fashion. John Paul II is dressed in a papal cassock, with a pectoral on his neck and a zucchetto on his head. He is slightly bent over and seems to be the listening party in the immortalized conversation scene. Ronald Reagan is wearing a suit, slightly stooped, and seems to be speaking in the portrayed dialogue. The sculpture was placed in one of the side alleys of the park, even more literally reproducing the situation from the Miami photo. At the edge of the alley, on three low concrete pedestals, there are three plaques made of marble. One contains information about the sculpture’s founders, another information about the author and the place where the famous original photograph was taken, while the third one bears the inscription reading “Poles Grateful for Independence”. Both the photo and its sculptural counterpart are one of the testimonies of friendship and political alliance between Ronald Reagan and John Paul II (referred to as the Holy Alliance). The monument was vandalized several times, most notably in 2013, when the metal arm of the Ronald Reagan sculpture was cut off (and later found in a scrap yard).

Place: The monument to John Paul II and Ronald Reagan is located in the park named after President Ronald Reagan, an honorary citizen of Gdańsk. The statue may be found in the part of the park situated in the Przymorze Wielkie neighbourhood. The 85 ha park stretches along the coastal belt of Gdańsk, encompassing the districts of Przymorze Wielkie, the western part of Brzeźno and the eastern part of the Żabianka-Wejhera-Jelitkowo-Tysiąclecia quarter. This area used to be occupied by temporary allotment gardens and wasteland. The plan to develop the seaside area for recreational purposes was drawn up in 2001 and implemented in stages until 2014. In addition to areas where one can relax, engage in physical activity or make a bonfire, the park was diversified with outflow ponds with living shorelines and nesting islands for waterbirds. In 2008, the Ronald Reagan Park in Gdańsk received a distinction from the Society of Polish Town Planners (TUP), which recognized it as the best managed green space in Poland.

Information about the author: Stanisław Milewski (b. 1944 in Piotrków Trybunalski, d. 2018 in Oględa) was a sculptor and author of numerous statues erected in cities around Poland. He is the author of the monument to Anna Walentynowicz in Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz, the monument to Lech and Maria Kaczyński and to Bogusław Kaczyński in Biała Podlaska and multiple sculptures in his native Piotrków Trybunalski.

Bogusław Szycik (b. in Białystok) graduated from the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. He is the author of the famous Mark sculpture in Białystok, among others.

Condition of the object: renovated

Owner/guardian: Gdańsk Road and Greenery Authority

Author of the entry: Dorota Kucharczyk