Legend of Giants — Natalia Rak, Białystok
Natalia Rak · Al. Józefa Piłsudskiego 11/4 · Białystok, Poland
Photo from Street Art Utopia’s archive (uploaded September 2013); photographer and capture date are unrecorded. Artwork: Natalia Rak. Full photograph shown; resized for display.
A girl four storeys tall stands on tiptoe and tips her watering can toward a real tree on Al. Piłsudskiego in Białystok. Natalia Rak painted her in 2013 for Folk on the Street, and the city knows her as “Dziewczynka z konewką”, the girl with the watering can. Colossal · Lonely Planet · PAP via dzieje.pl, 2016 · Polskie Radio Białystok Checked
5 things to know
- The tree is part of the workWhen Białystok’s councillors voted unanimously to change the local plan in 2016 to protect the mural as an asset of contemporary culture, the draft resolution’s justification said the tree in front “stanowi integralny element tej kompozycji” (is an integral element of this composition). PAP added that the resolution still had to pass the regional governor’s lawyers. PAP via dzieje.pl, 2016 Reported
- It comes from a Podlasie legendThe mural refers to a Podlasie legend about the giants (wielkoludy); Folk on the Street brought folk motifs of the region into the city’s public space. PAP via dzieje.pl, 2016 · Hasające Zające · Triverna Checked
- It travelled further than the cityIn 2019 PAP called it probably Białystok’s best-known mural, reproduced on a postage stamp, and PAP added, after the mayor said some Białystok murals have replicas abroad, that copies of this one can be found in China and Croatia. PAP via dzieje.pl, 2019 Reported
- Thirteen years have faded itPolish Radio Białystok reported on 5 October 2026 that the mural has started to deteriorate; Podlaskie24 says it has faded and lost its fresh colours. Polskie Radio Białystok · Podlaskie24 Checked
- A restoration is planned, not yet fundedThe building’s new owner says the mural will be kept, and the Podlaski Instytut Kultury wants it reproduced one to one. Radio Białystok gives the second half of 2027 as a preliminary date; Kurier Poranny quotes the owner, Tadeusz Wojtkowski, saying it will be renewed if public bodies co-fund it. Polskie Radio Białystok · Kurier Poranny Reported
Up close
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Al. Józefa Piłsudskiego 11/4, Białystok, on the side wall of a historic building in the city centre. The tree stands in front of it. Lonely Planet · Hasające Zające · Kurier Poranny Checked
- 🗺️
- The mural is on the city’s mural trails; in 2019 Białystok printed a guide map of them, available at tourist information points. PAP via dzieje.pl, 2019 Reported
- 🎨
- Expect a faded wall until the restoration: the preliminary date is the second half of 2027. Polskie Radio Białystok Reported
Sightings
- 201327 Sep
New mural · Colossal
- 201628 Sep
Protected in city plan · PAP
- 20178 May
Phone photo · Spider’s Web
- 20193 Sep
On the new mural trails · PAP
- 202421 May
Listed in mural guide · Triverna
- 20265 Oct
Restoration report · Radio Białystok
- 20267 Oct
Kurier Poranny photo · T. Maleta
Green stamps are photographs of the mural, dated by their publication (no camera dates are given). Amber stamps are dated mentions without a new photograph. The status stamp follows the newest photograph, published by Kurier Poranny on 7 October 2026; Radio Białystok’s 5 October report illustrates with an undated archive photograph.
On the record
A date for the repainting
“Wstępny termin odrestaurowania dzieła to druga połowa 2027 roku.”
“The preliminary date for restoring the work is the second half of 2027.” Report by Izabela Gosk.
The owner’s condition
“Jeśli urzędy dofinansują, wspomogą renowację muralu, to zostanie odnowiony.”
“If the authorities co-fund and support the renovation of the mural, it will be renewed.” Building owner Tadeusz Wojtkowski.
Why the tree is protected too
“stanowi integralny element tej kompozycji”
The tree in front of the building “is an integral element of this composition”, from the justification of the draft planning resolution.
The facts
- Work
- The Legend of Giants, the title Colossal and Lonely Planet use; known in Białystok as Dziewczynka z konewką (Girl with a Watering Can). Colossal · Lonely Planet · PAP via dzieje.pl, 2016 · Polskie Radio Białystok Checked
- Artist
- Natalia Rak. Colossal · Polskie Radio Białystok · Kurier Poranny Checked A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź. Kurier Poranny · Spider’s Web Reported
- Location
- Al. Józefa Piłsudskiego 11/4, Białystok, Poland, on the side wall of a historic building. Lonely Planet · Hasające Zające · Kurier Poranny Checked Spider’s Web placed it on the wall of the University of Białystok’s Institute of Chemistry in 2017. Spider’s Web Reported
- Date
- 2013. Colossal · PAP via dzieje.pl, 2019 · Polskie Radio Białystok Checked
- Project
- Folk on the Street, run by the Wojewódzki Ośrodek Animacji Kultury, today the Podlaski Instytut Kultury. PAP via dzieje.pl, 2016 · Podlaskie24 Checked
- Size
- Four storeys high. Lonely Planet Reported
- Building
- Listed in the register of monuments before 2016; then owned by the University of Białystok, now by Tadeusz Wojtkowski. PAP via dzieje.pl, 2016 · Kurier Poranny Reported
- Protection
- In 2016 the city council unanimously changed the local plan to protect the mural and the tree; PAP noted the resolution still needed the regional governor’s legal check. PAP via dzieje.pl, 2016 Reported
- Status
- Standing, but faded: photographed for Kurier Poranny’s report of 7 October 2026 and described as deteriorating by Radio Białystok and Podlaskie24 on 5 October 2026. Polskie Radio Białystok · Podlaskie24 · Kurier Poranny Checked Restoration preliminarily in the second half of 2027. Polskie Radio Białystok Reported
- Photographs
- Street Art Utopia’s archive (uploaded September 2013 and May 2023); photographer and capture dates are unrecorded. Street Art Utopia Unconfirmed
Related
- 4 Photos of “Legend about Giants” by Natalia Rak: SAU’s post on the mural.
- 10 Breathtaking Murals by Natalia Rak: more walls by the same artist.
- Street Art That Uses Its Surroundings (20 Photos): the SAU collection that includes this wall.
- Vertical Garden by Patrick Blanc: another wall where living plants are part of the work, with its own Artwork File.
All sources (10)
Local press and agencies
- PAP: Mural “Dziewczynka z konewką” pod ochroną konserwatorską, published 28 September 2016 on dzieje.pl. The 2016 planning vote, the tree, the register of monuments, Folk on the Street and the legend of the giants.
- PAP: Powstały szlaki turystyczne białostockich murali, published 3 September 2019 on dzieje.pl. Mural trails, the postage stamp and replicas in China and Croatia.
- Polskie Radio Białystok: “Dziewczynka z konewką” ma już 13 lat, by Izabela Gosk, 5 October 2026. Condition, the owner’s assurance, the institute’s wish for a one-to-one copy and the 2027 date; illustrated with an undated archive photo by Monika Kalicka.
- Podlaskie24: “Dziewczynka z konewką” po 13 latach potrzebuje renowacji, 5 October 2026, citing Polish Radio Białystok. Faded colours, private owner, the institute’s position.
- Kurier Poranny: Dziewczynka z konewką … Czy jest szansa na odnowienie symbolu miasta?, 7 October 2026. Owner Tadeusz Wojtkowski, co-funding condition, Natalia Rak as an Łódź academy graduate; photo by T. Maleta.
- Spider’s Web: Dziewczynka z konewką – złapane smartfonem #57, 8 May 2017. A smartphone photo of the mural by Marcin Połowianiuk.
Guides and international press
- Colossal: The Legend of Giants: A New Mural by Natalia Rak, 27 September 2013. Title, city and festival.
- Lonely Planet: Girl With a Water Can Mural, undated listing. Address, four storeys, painted in 2013 and retouched since.
- Hasające Zające: Murale w Białymstoku, 5 April 2016. Address, Folk on the Street 2013, the Podlasie legend of the giants.
- Triverna: Murale w Polsce, 21 May 2024. Natalia Rak, Folk on the Street 2013, inspired by the legend of the giants.
Artwork File · Last checked 15 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files