Monument to Kazimir Sapieha-Kodenski

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Art · Subcategory: Sculpture · Year: 2012

A basalt ashlar monolith, made up of stones that once formed part of the original pier of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, was installed on 28 March 2012 opposite the entrance to the María Jiménez neighbourhood, next to the San Andrés motorway. On a plaque attached to this monument appears the coat of arms of the Sapieha-Kodenski family, with the motto: Cruz Mihi Foederis Arcus ( The Cross is my Ark of the Covenant ).

The reason for installing the monument in this place is to commemorate a tragic maritime event that occurred in 1909 just off this coast, now completely transformed.

The Sapieha were one of the oldest and most prominent noble families of Poland. One of its members, Prince Kazimirz Sapieha-Kodenski, aged 27, arrived at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on 20 February 1909, to spend a holiday in the company of his two younger brothers, León and Alexander, aged 26 and 21 respectively, staying at the Hotel Orotava, in La Candelaria square, in this capital. On the afternoon of the 23rd, Carnival Tuesday, the three brothers rented the sloop Bernardo Barrera at the Club Tinerfeño (Nautical Club), skippered by Rafael Arnay and the sailor José Megolla, in order to carry out a maritime excursion around the bay to reach San Andrés beach.

"On the return to the Nautical Club of Santa Cruz, Kazimirz asked to steer the boat. To take advantage of the strong favourable wind, they were sailing with the sail deployed when, passing in front of the place known as el Trabuco, at the Bufadero, a false manoeuvre or a wave caused the small boat to capsize and all the passengers fell into the water; unable to swim to shore, they began to call for help".

Four of the five crew members aboard the sloop were rescued by a local fisherman who was fishing near the accident site, taking them in his boat to the María Jiménez neighbourhood, where a family offered them clothes and food. However, the body of Prince Kazimierz never appeared, as it is believed that at the moment of the capsize he received a blow to the head and was dragged away by the sea currents.

More than one hundred years after the event, this modest monument was erected; a reminder of a disaster that occurred near a coast which, at that time, was made up of rocks and cliffs where the Atlantic broke with force.

28.49172, -16.22481