Opis
Bernard Gilly (also spelled Gilli) was one of the most colorful figures of Warsaw's New Town in the second half of the 18th century. He was said to measure about five Polish cubits, or approximately 3 meters—a height attributed today to gigantism, likely acromegaly.
In the years 1764–1765, he stayed in the tenement house of Jan Feliks Dulfus, the mayor of Old Warsaw, located at the intersection of Freta and Długa streets. For a fee, he could be viewed there; he was a typical fairground and salon "curiosity" of the Saxon and Stanisławian eras, when troupes exhibiting people with unusual physical features traveled across Europe.
After 1765, his trace disappears from Warsaw sources; no personal documents or biographies have survived, and he likely originated from outside the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. To this day, he appears in anecdotal tales of the Dulfus tenement and 18th-century Warsaw as a city full of contrasts.
Highlights
- Height estimated at approx. 3 meters (5 Polish cubits).
- Stay in the Dulfus tenement at the corner of Freta and Długa (1764–1765).
- A classic "Warsaw curiosity" of the Stanisławian era.
Listen
Listen to this entry.
Voice: Alloy (EN)