One of the most significant and famous of all Warsaw's landmarks, Sigismund's Column was erected in the middle of the 17th century and presides over Castle Square, in the Stare Miasto district. Standing at the top of the column is a bronze statue commemorating King Zygmunt III Waza, some 20 metres / 66 feet above the ground.

Erected between 1643 and 1644, the column was constructed on the orders of Sigismund's son and successor, King Władysław IV Vasa. It was designed by the Italian-born architect Constantino Tencalla and the sculptor Clemente Molli, and cast by Daniel Tym. The Zygmunt's Column was modelled on the Italian columns in front of Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (erected in 1614 to designs of Carlo Maderno), and the Column of Phocas in Rome.

After the war the statue was repaired, and in 1949 it was set up on a new column, made of granite from the Strzegom mine, a couple of meters from the original site. The original broken pieces of the column can still be seen lying next to the Royal Castle.

The stairs surrounding the monument have become a popular place to sit and watch the nearby Polish street entertainers.