Lew Śpiący | |
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| 50°20′49″N 18°55′26″E / 50.34692°N 18.92386°E | |
| Location | Bytom, Poland |
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| Designer | Theodor Erdmann Kalide |
| Material | Bronze |
| Completion date | 1873 |
| Opening date | 1873, 2008 |
| Dedicated to | Inhabitants of the Beuthen district who died in the Franco-Prussian War |
The Sleeping Lion (Polish: Lew śpiący, German: Schlafender Löwe) is a monument located in the market square, Bytom, Poland. The monument has become one of Bytom's most notable landmarks.
The monument was initially raised in 1873, to commemorate fallen inhabitants of the Beuthen District in the Franco-Prussian War. The Sleeping Lion originally stood on top of a plinth, on which the names of the fallen were written.
In 1932 the monument was moved to the Academic Square (Polish: Plac Akademicki).
In 1945, during the Second World War the monument's plinth was destroyed. Afterwards the lion was moved to the city park.
It is not known when, but the Sleeping Lion made its way to Warsaw where it laid at the gates of the Warsaw Zoo.[1] In 2008 the monument returned to Bytom.