Karol Marcinkowski Park

It stretches from Niepodległości Avenue to Towarowa Street. Its construction started in 1905 on the grounds that formerly belonged to a fortress and it was opened to the public in 1906. Back then it was called Frederic Schiller Park. In 1907 a column with a bust of the German poet was erected inside the park. It was a replica, made by the sculptor Strassberger - Reinickendorf, of the famous bust sculpted by J. F. Dannecker standing in the Weimar library. In 1913 a fountain, called Felderhoff Fountain, was erected on the northern edge of the park. The park's present name was given in 1919.
After WWII the park was enlarged by the adjacent cemeteries. Between 1946-48 the former evangelical cemetery of the Holy Cross parish, situated south of what is today Powstańców Wielkopolskich Street, was incorporated. In 1959 the catholic cemetery of St Martin's parish, running just south of the park along Towarowa Street, was closed down. The park is named after the great doctor and social activist, who was buried in the cemetery until 1923.
Today the park has an area of 9.5 ha. In 1923 a bust of the poet Juliusz Słowacki, made in white marble by Władysław Marcinkowski, was revealed. It survived the German occupation after being buried in the ground by city gardens employees and returned to its former spot in 1950. The sculpture of a peacock with a girl standing by the pond was made by Anna Krzymańska. There is a rare specimen of Turkish hazel growing in the park. The tree, with its trunk of 200cm in diameter, is a protected natural monument.