A familiar figure has returned to the landscape of Poznań’s Cytadela. The Nike sculpture by Bazyli Wojtowicz was removed last year after decades of exposure to the elements damaged it, and can once again be seen in the park, this time recreated in bronze.
The new casting stands in the Dahlia Garden, giving visitors another reason to pause among the gardens and outdoor artworks of the Cytadela.
The Nike statue was a key part of the visual character of this part of the park. Created in 1970, the sculpture depicts the Greek goddess of victory with her arms raised and small wings behind her.
Wojtowicz's Nike originally stood to the right of the Dzwon Pokoju, or Peace Bell, alongside the sculpture Braterstwo broni. Together, the three works formed a distinctive open-air composition within the former fortress grounds.
The original Nike was made from artificial stone. After many years outdoors, the material deteriorated, and the sculpture was eventually removed.
Its return has taken a different form. A bronze casting has now been produced using the surviving model of Wojtowicz's work, allowing the sculpture to return to the Cytadela in a material better suited to its long-term outdoor setting.
A new setting in the Dahlia Garden
Visitors will now find Nike in the Dahlia Garden, one of the newer additions to the Cytadela.
The garden was created in 2025 through Poznań's Civic Budget programme, adding another landscaped space to a park already known for combining greenery, history and large-scale outdoor sculpture.
For anyone exploring the Cytadela on foot, the new location also places Nike within a wider collection of artworks that can be discovered during a walk through the park.
The sculpture park that changed the Cytadela
The story of Nike goes back to a much larger artistic project.
The Cytadela's sculpture park began taking shape in the late 1960s, at a time when Poznań was developing an unusual approach to presenting art outside conventional galleries and museums.
A particularly important part of this history was the Poznań Sculpture Meetings, held between 1968 and 1971. Artists from across Poland and abroad took part, creating works intended to become part of the landscape rather than being displayed in traditional exhibition spaces.
Many of those sculptures were made using materials that were readily available at the time, including concrete, cement, artificial stone and metal. Decades of exposure to changing weather conditions have inevitably taken their toll.
As a result, some of the Cytadela's historic works now require conservation, reconstruction or replacement in more durable materials.
Nike is the latest example of that process.
The approach is not entirely new. In 2021, Mewy by Jerzy Sobociński was recreated in bronze after the original work deteriorated and the sculpture can now be seen in the Cytadela's Water Garden.
These projects form part of the continuing story of a park where artworks are not separated from everyday life. People encounter them while walking the dog, taking children out, cycling, visiting the gardens or simply crossing the Cytadela.
Contemporary art alongside the historic works
The Cytadela is also home to much newer work.
Among its best-known contemporary installations is Nierozpoznani by Magdalena Abakanowicz. Created in 2002 to mark the 750th anniversary of Poznań's foundation, the installation consists of 112 headless cast-iron figures, each more than two metres tall.
Grouped together in an open space, the figures appear to move as a single procession and have become one of the most recognisable artistic landmarks in the city.
Their presence alongside works dating from the early years of the sculpture park illustrates how the Cytadela has continued to evolve as an outdoor art space.
With Nike now back among its paths and gardens, another piece of the park's artistic history has been restored for today's visitors.
See more: Poznań’s Dolphin Fountain Restored to Its Former Splendour
Source and image credit: poznan.pl, ZZM
