When walking past Warsaw’s Old Town and the Church of Our Lady of Grace, you’ll find a small statue that does not seem fit the setting. It’s a statue of a bear, seemingly asleep on the church porch.
This statue is said to be of Prince Mieszko, an adopted prince of Janusz I who was found in a bear’s den during a hunting trip. The legend says that as a todder, he protected the bear and her cubs from being shot by putting himself between the animals and the hunters, a brave move that convinced Janusz I’s family to adopt the child as their own.
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