There is no need to convince anybody that Napoleon was widely appreciated in Poland. Nevertheless material proofs of this cult have not remained so many in our country. Erecting and then lasting the monuments of Emperor it was not accepted by the politics of three occupants od Poland, that were on opposite disposition to napoleonic tradition. Then there was disaster of II-nd world war and over than 40-years period of communistic oppression called PRL (People Republic of Poland).
We can treat as first monuments four triumphant arches erected by the citizens of Poznań on the way of expected arrival of Emperor in 1806. It was erected by the use of not permanent materials so its life was not so long. It was known that one of the arches was decorated by the "To Salvator of Poland", young noblemen with sable in the hand and fenix - symbol of the dissuading Poland.
On the times of Duchy of Warsaw there was two times organized initiative of erecting the monument of Napoleon. First time it was on 1808, when there was started by the general Józef Zajączek the public collect of money among the officers and soldiers ot commanded by him II-nd Calisian (Kalisz) Legion of Army of Duchy of Warsaw. Monument was planned to be erected in Kalisz but the initiative spread quickly into the whole Army of Duchy of Warsaw so the localization was moved to the capital of Duchy. There was organized national committeeunder, whose chairman was asked to be gen. Jan Henryk Dąbrowski - chief of Italian Legions. Project was to be performed by the famous architect Piotr Aigner (also known as architect of "Temple of Sybilla" and other numerous buildings). Firstly there was idea of triumphal arch, but Piotr Aigner`s proposal was to put the monument inspired on the cheval monument of Emperor Trajan in Rome (as it was also later on with cheval monument of Prince Józef Poniatowski sculpted by Thorvaldsen) at the beginning of Miodowa Street in Warsaw...
"Old France spited itself and dishonored itself looking with mean lack of activity on the extinction of such Kingdom as Poland was. Poles every time have been the friends of France and I took on myself the duty of revenge them." - this was what the Emperor thought about the Polish nation. For several years Poles were fighting at his side and he claimed that there was nothing impossible for them to do. They proofed it at Somosierra and on the fields of many, many other battles. He restored independence creating the Duchy of Warsaw and started the war with Russia, that among its purposes had also restoration of the Polish Kingdom. Poles were flowing their blood and at the time when all betrayed Napoleon they stayed faithful him to the end.
Polish monuments 
Monuments
