This sculpture is Powodzianka—roughly, “The Flood Woman”—by the Wrocław sculptor Stanisław Wysocki. It stands on the University Bridge over the Oder and was unveiled in 1998, on the first anniversary of Wrocław’s catastrophic July 1997 flood, commonly called Poland’s “Flood of the Millennium.” The woman represents the many ordinary residents, particularly students and volunteers, who worked desperately to protect the city. During the flood, people formed human chains and carried books, manuscripts and other valuable materials from the endangered lower floors of the University Library to higher ground. The sun just happened to be hitting her nicely as I walked by.
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