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A bronze statue of a soldier beside a bear stands in a leafy Edinburgh park, flowers laid at its base.
Edinburgh

Wojtek the Soldier Bear Memorial

A bronze of a Polish soldier and Wojtek, the bear who served with the Polish army in the Second World War, in West Princes Street Gardens.

Welcome

In the west end of Princes Street Gardens, with the castle rock rising green above the paths, a bronze soldier walks with one hand resting on the back of a great bear.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

They stand on a low granite platform among the trees, and behind them a long panel in relief tells their story in pictures.

It is a gentle, affecting memorial, and it has become a place of pilgrimage for visitors from Poland and Scotland alike. In summer the flower beds around it are full of orange marigolds, and the Ross Fountain plays nearby. Walk round the whole panel slowly, read the words on the stone, and then sit for a while on one of the benches with the castle above you.

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Before you go

The memorial stands in West Princes Street Gardens, a public park, free to visit whenever the gardens are open.

Where
West Princes Street Gardens, below the castle rock.

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Did you know

A bronze statue of a soldier beside a bear stands in a leafy Edinburgh park, flowers laid at its base.
Did you know

A cub adopted by soldiers.

Wojtek was a Syrian brown bear, adopted as a cub by a group of Polish soldiers during the Second World War.

A bronze soldier rests a hand on a bear's back in the Wojtek memorial statue, wreaths laid at their feet.
Did you know

A bear in the ranks.

He became an honorary member of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, learnt to walk upright and salute, and carried supplies.

A granite plaque reading 'WOJTEK' commemorates Polish servicemen and women beside the memorial statue.
Did you know

On the badge.

The company's official badge, carved beside the memorial, shows Wojtek carrying a shell.

Edinburgh Castle rises above a green park where a path winds between trees, small figures visible in the distance.
Did you know

From Berwickshire to the zoo.

After the war he came to Scotland with the soldiers and lived at Winfield Aerodrome in Berwickshire. When the company was stood down in 1947 he went to Edinburgh Zoo, where he died in 1963, aged 22.

A granite plaque reading 'WOJTEK' commemorates Polish servicemen and women beside the memorial statue.
Did you know

For your freedom and ours.

The inscription, in English and Polish, remembers the Polish men and women who fought for your freedom and ours.

A bronze statue of a soldier beside a bear stands in a leafy Edinburgh park, flowers laid at its base.
Did you know

Larger than life.

The bronze, a quarter larger than life, is by the sculptor Alan Herriot and was unveiled on 7 November 2015.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Edinburgh

The unlikely story of a bear named Wojtek – who began his life being purchased as a cub by the roadside in Iran, went onto serve in the Polish army (yes, really), and spent his dotage in Edinburgh Zoo – has been immortalised by a statue in Princes Street Gardens.

Read more
A bronze soldier rests a hand on a bear's back in the Wojtek memorial statue, wreaths laid at their feet.
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Where it is

In West Princes Street Gardens, below the castle rock.

Close byThe places nearest the memorial, in Princes Street Gardens.
  1. BABABABAA Mediterranean restaurant on George Street.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. The Gardener's LodgeThe Gardener's LodgeA red sandstone cottage of 1886 built for the head gardener.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Ross FountainRoss FountainA French cast-iron fountain of 1872 beneath the castle rock.Under a mile 3 min by road
  4. Edinburgh CastleEdinburgh CastleA royal castle on its rock above the gardens, home of the oldest Crown jewels in Britain.Under a mile 3 min by road
  5. Edinburgh Castle Dog CemeteryEdinburgh Castle Dog CemeteryA small walled garden inside the castle where soldiers' dogs are buried.Under a mile 3 min by road
  6. Mons MegMons MegA six-tonne siege gun of 1457 on the castle battlements.Under a mile 3 min by road
Directions
Two red cocktails with dried orange garnish poured beneath bar tapsRestaurantsTonicA step away
Ornate terracotta facade of Browns restaurant between narrow townhouses on a city streetRestaurantsBrowns Brasserie & Bar0.2 miles
Rattan armchairs and brass tables under framed portraits in a lounge areaCafeMayvn0.2 miles
Swatches of tartan cloth fanned out round reels of thread at Stewart Christie & CoShoppingStewart Christie & Co, Edinburgh0.2 miles
The dining room at Ottolenghi on George Street, wooden chairs and candlelit tables under walls painted with big orange, red and black shapes.RestaurantsOttolenghi0.3 miles
Shelves of bottled cocktails at Bramble, including Affinity, Six Cylinder and Brooklyn CocktailRestaurantsLucky Liquor Co0.3 miles
The red and black front of Panda & Sons on Queen Street at night, a barbershop window under a painting of four pandas in tartan.BarsPanda & Sons0.3 miles
The Pompadour dining room in the Caledonian hotel, with white-clothed tables and turquoise chairs under an ornate plaster ceiling, painted wall panels and a gold-framed mirror.Restaurants1925 at The Pompadour0.4 miles
Lowdown Coffee café sign above a basement entrance behind iron railingsCafeLowdown Coffee0.4 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the memorial, and when each is next free.

West End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Wojtek
Check datesA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Wojtek
Check datesA hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Wojtek
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • 2 miles from Wojtek
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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