Canadian singer and song poet leonard cohen (1934-2016) is now commemorated by a new bronze statue in lithuania.
About three years after his death, the life-size sculpture in a courtyard in the capital city of vilnius was unveiled by mayor remigijus simasius in september. The aim is to commemorate the lithuanian roots of the artist, who became world famous with songs like "suzanne" and "hallelujah".
The statue, created by a lithuanian sculptor, was erected on private initiative. The sculpture still stands inconspicuously in a publicly accessible courtyard of a downtown restaurant. According to a spokeswoman for the city administration, however, the statue will soon be given another, permanent place in public space. A final decision should be made soon, she told the german press agency in vilnius.
Cohen’s mother was born in 1905 in lithuania’s second-largest city, kaunas, and was the daughter of a jewish rabbi. The family emigrated to canada in 1927, according to lithuanian media reports, where the sanger was born in 1934 in montreal. Cohen, who last lived in los angeles, was buried there after his death.
Simasius had personally invited cohen to visit the country of his ancestors during his lifetime, according to his own statements. But the musician didn’t really want to go at first and eventually died without seeing his grandfather’s homeland, simasius told bayerischer rundfunk radio last year.