Republic Monument

A monument in the middle of Taksim Square, unveiled in 1928 for the fifth anniversary of the Turkish republic. Its author was the Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica, working on a commission from the new government; the work took two and a half years, and the casting was done in Italy. The monument is double-sided, and that is its main feature: on the south side Atatürk and his companions are shown in the military uniform of the War of Independence, on the north the same men appear in civilian dress as founders of the republic. Among the figures on the north side stand two Soviet commanders, Mikhail Frunze and Kliment Voroshilov — an acknowledgement of the help Moscow gave the Kemalists in the early 1920s. It is about eleven metres high, made of bronze on a marble base. The square around it has been rebuilt more than once, but the monument remains its centre and the gathering point for ceremonies and demonstrations.

On the map