Many readers of the istotne.pl portal certainly remember the two Bolesławiec elephants. They stood proudly on what is now Bohaterów Getta Street, in a green area near the railway embankment. The elephants appeared there exactly 47 years ago. They were admired both by town residents and by those who were merely passing through.
Where did the elephants in Bolesławiec come from? The answer to this question is known by Bronisław Grygiel, a retired secretary of the Municipal Office. “In the 1960s, a programme to organise and develop towns was being carried out in Lower Silesia,” says Bronisław Grygiel, who worked at the District Office and the Municipal Office at the time. “Bolesławiec was among the towns covered by this Lower Silesian programme,” he continues. As part of the programme, Bolesławiec established cooperation with Nowy Sącz, which was then something of a model when it came to the organisation and aesthetics of towns. In 1969, a delegation from Bolesławiec, including Mr Grygiel, travelled to Nowy Sącz. The people of Bolesławiec also visited towns in the region, including Muszyna and Stary Sącz.
Czy słonie powinny wrócić na swoje dawne miejsce?
During their stay in the area, the people of Bolesławiec noticed, among other things, flowerbeds shaped like elephants. As a result of the visit, an album was created containing photographs of various innovations in the beautification of towns with greenery at the time. In spring 1970, wire elephant structures were built in Bolesławiec, filled with soil and appropriately planted with flowers. That is how the Bolesławiec elephants came into being. As it turns out, there were more such elephants in Bolesławiec. Unfortunately, Mr Grygiel does not remember exactly where they were placed. Why did the elephants not survive to this day? There was probably no money to refurbish them. Should the elephants return to Bolesławiec? We encourage you to vote in the poll.
A photograph of the elephants and other historical photographs of Bolesławiec can be seen in our gallery.