Gdański Lew Hewelion – Atlas Obscura

The story of Poland’s trails of small sculptures in all probability began with the now well-known Dwarves of Wrocław, which quantity round 250 and first appeared within the early 2000s. Gdańsk’s personal tackle the development is represented by Hewelion, the town’s lion mascot.

The selection of animal got here from the 2 lions that seem on the town’s coat of arms, whereas the identify Hewelion is influenced by Jan Heweliusz (often known as Johannes Hevelius), a famend Seventeenth-century astronomer and a  Gdańsk native. Hewelion’s first sculptures popped up within the mid-2010s, and they’re the work of Tomas Radziewicz. Every lion represents the world the place it’s positioned or a selected function in its neighborhood.

Close to an necessary theater, you’ll discover him doing his greatest thespian, ruffled collar and cranium included. On the airport, he’s dressed as an aviator, whereas the town’s storied port space alongside the Motława River options him in a sailor outfit. With the 2 current trails of the dwarves and Hewelion, Poland appears to have embraced the development, as now Krakow has a proposal of its personal that might include dragon sculptures.