The column was commissioned by Zygmunt's son and successor, King Władysław IV, and erected between 1643 and 1644. It was designed by the Italian-born architect Konstanty Tencalli and the sculptor Clemente Molli, and cast by Daniel Tym.

In 1681 the monument was surrounded with a wooden fence, which was later replaced with a permanent iron fence. The marble column itself was renovated several times in the next few centuries, most notably in 1743, 1810, 1821 and 1828. In 1854 the monument was surrounded with a fountain featuring marble tritons sculpted by the German, August Kiss.

In 1863 the column was renovated somewhat again, but still needed work, and between 1885 and 1887 it was replaced with a new column of granite. Between 1927 and 1930, the monument was again renovated, and was restored to its original appearance when the fountain and the fence around it were removed.

On September 1, 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising, the monument was demolished by the Germans, and its bronze statue was seriously damaged. After the war the statue was repaired, and in 1949 it was set up on a new column, some 6 meters from the original site. The original broken pieces of the column can still be seen lying next to the Royal Castle.

Notwithstanding the large cross that Zygmunt III's statue carries, the statue is regarded as the first secular figure to be placed atop a column in northern Europe.