Nicolaus Copernicus Monument, Toruń earth, stopper of the sun and heavens"). In 2003, on the 150th anniversary of its construction, the monument was renovated. As part of the renovations, the stone water well and the dolphin's mouth at the foot of the statue were restored. Celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the monument were held on 25 October 2003, attended by the Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Marek Borowski. Nicolaus Copernicus Monument, Toruń The Nicolaus Copernicus Monument in the home town of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) was erected in 1853 by a "monument committee" of the city's residents. King Frederick
Nicolaus Copernicus common in the period, the spellings of both the toponym and the surname vary greatly. Copernicus "was rather indifferent about orthography". During his childhood, about 1480, the name of his father (and thus of the future astronomer) was recorded in Thorn as "Niclas Koppernigk". At Kraków he signed himself, in Latin, "Nicolaus Nicolai de Torunia" (Nicolaus, son of Nicolaus, of Toruń). At Bologna, in 1496, he registered in the "Matricula Nobilissimi Germanorum Collegii, resp. Annales Clarissimae Nacionis Germanorum", of the "Natio Germanica Bononiae", as "Dominus Nicolaus Kopperlingk de Thorn – IX grosseti". At Padua he signed himself "Nicolaus Copernik", later