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Warsaw's iconic, controversial rainbow art, popular among LGBT groups, taken down at night

Associated Press
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A woman takes pictures of workers dismantling the controversial art installation "The Rainbow," burnt several times by right wing extremists, seeing in it a symbol of gay movement and later reconstructed, at the Savior Square in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. The installation was put down because the location was temporary and the agreement between the owner and city authorities expired. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz) (The Associated Press)

Workers dismantle the controversial art installation "The Rainbow," burnt several times by right wing extremists, seeing in it a symbol of gay movement and later reconstructed, at the Savior Square in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. The installation was put down because the location was temporary and the agreement between the owner and city authorities expired. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz) (The Associated Press)

Workers dismantle the controversial art installation "The Rainbow," burnt several times by right wing extremists, seeing in it a symbol of gay movement and later reconstructed, at the Savior Square in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. The installation was put down because the location was temporary and the agreement between the owner and city authorities expired. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz) (The Associated Press)

Warsaw's controversial rainbow art, once installed by an old cloister and then a symbol of Poland's leadership in the European Union and of tolerance for sexual minorities, has been taken down by the authorities at night.

Magda Mich, spokeswoman for a culture institute that had the colorful arch planted in downtown Warsaw, said Thursday that it was a temporary installation and was long planned to be moved to another location, still to be announced.

The six-color, 9 meters (30 feet)-high rainbow by artist Julita Wojcik started in 2010 as half-arch calling for renovation of an old cloister. A full rainbow, it advertised Poland's 2011 EU presidency in Brussels. Then it was moved to Warsaw's Savior Square, where it became a symbol of tolerance, but was repeatedly set on fire.