Cumil is Bratislava's most beloved street sculpture and probably the most photographed thing in the city. He lives at the corner of Laurinská and Panská Streets in the old town, emerging from a manhole with a wide grin, apparently checking out passing pedestrians. The bronze figure is low to the ground — easy to miss if you're not looking.
The statue is one of several quirky bronze works scattered around Bratislava's old town. Others include a top-hatted figure peering around a corner (Čumil's companion), the Frenchman leaning on a bench near the French Embassy, and Napoleon's soldier on Sedlárska Street. Together they give the medieval streets a slightly surreal character.
Cumil tends to attract a crowd of people crouching beside him for photos. He has been damaged multiple times (twice by cars, once by vandals) but is always repaired and returned to his post. A "watch out for the man hole" sign nearby adds an appropriately deadpan Slovak note.