The sculpture, Taravos Anikė, in Klaipeda, Lithuania, is a memorial dedicated to the German poet S. Dacha. The story behind the sculpture, however, begins a century ago, in another land. The sculpture, crafted by German artist Alfred Künne in 1912, was erected in Klaipeda's Theater Square to honor Professor S. Dacha of Klaipeda's Royal University. Popular belief traces the inspiration for the statue to a 17th-century love story, featuring a wealthy Russian prince named Tarava, who fell in love with the Lithuanian bishop's daughter, Anike.
This romantic tale, between a Rumanian prince from Tarava and a Lithuanian princess, Anike, gives the sculpture its name. The sculpture was moved from the Theater Square in 1939, potentially to create space for another monument. After the removal of the old monument in the 1980s, a new monument was unveiled on December 18, 1989, by artist Albrecht M. Haacke. The newly erected sculpture was restored using photographs and an original small sculpture.
This restoration was carried out by Alfonsas Zalys and the Polish Hainces Radzivilas, who unveiled the renovated artwork in honor of the Radvilas family heritage.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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