Beetle Monuments
Monument in Szczebrzeszyn, Poland
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The Beetle Monuments (Polish: Pomniki chrząszcza) are two similar monuments in Szczebrzeszyn, Poland, statues of an amphomorphic beetle wearing a dinner suit and a top hat, and playing on a fiddle.[1][2] The monuments allude to the Polish tongue twister poem Chrząszcz by Jan Brzechwa, which the town is widely associated with among the Poles. Its first line reads: W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie (translation: In Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reeds).[3]
The monument in 2018. | |
 Interactive map of Beetle Monument | |
| Location | Kościuszko Square, Szczebrzeszyn, Poland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°42′41.31″N 22°58′43.83″E |
| Designer | Zygmunt Jarmuł |
| Type | Statue |
| Material | Bronze |
| Height | 2 m |
| Opening date | 23 July 2011 |
In fact, the statues present an insect from the orthoptera order (grasshopper or a cricket), rather than a beetle,[4] a subject of a trick question at the game show Milionerzy (a Polish version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) .[5]
First monument
50.6908621°N 22.9747933°E
In September 2002, at Klukowskiego Street in Szczebrzeszyn, at the foot of the Castle Hill, a statue was unveiled of an amphomorphic beetle playing on a fiddle. It is made from linden wood and placed on a stone pedestal. It has a height of 3 m and width of 1 m. It was created by students of the Zamość Liceum of Arts under the supervision of professor Zygmunt Jarmuł.[6][1] It is located near the Zygmunt Kulikowski Street by the source of a spring flowing to the nearby Wieprz river.[7]
Second monument
Since wood is a perishable material, the city of Szczebrzeszyn commissioned Zygmunt Jarmuł to create a more durable statue of a beetle. It was unveiled by the Szczebrzeszyn ratusz (town hall) at the market square (part of the Kościuszko Square) on 23 July 2011.[1][2] It consists of a bronze statue of an anthropomorphic beetle wearing a dinner suit and a top hat, and playing on a fiddle. It has a height of about 2 m. It was 70% funded by the EU through the initiative "Z kulturalną wizytą w chrząszczowym grodzie" ("On a cultural visit to the beetle town").[1]
