Kościuszko Mound ( pl, kopiec Kościuszki) is an artificial

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher el ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. It was erected by Cracovians in commemoration of the Polish national leader

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, an ...

, and modeled after Kraków's prehistoric mounds of

Krak KMPS (910 AM) is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Hesperia, California and broadcasts to the Victor Valley area. It is owned by El Dorado Broadcasters and airs a Regional Mexican radio format with programming from La X 103.1. KMP ...

and

Wanda Wanda is a female given name of Polish origin. It probably derives from the tribal name of the Wends.Campbell, Mike"Meaning, Origin, and History of the Name Wanda."''Behind the Name.'' Accessed on August 12, 2010. The name has long been popular in ...

. A serpentine path leads to the top, approximately above sea level, with a panoramic view of the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

River and the city.

History

BASA-1771K-1-1163-38-Kościuszko Mound, Krakow, Poland

It was completed in November 1823. The location selected for the monument was the natural Blessed Bronisława Hill ( pl, Wzgórze bł. Bronisławy), also known as Sikornik, situated in the western part of Kraków's Zwierzyniec District. Kościuszko Mound is one of Kraków's four memorial mounds, consisting of two prehistoric mounds,

Krakus Mound Krakus Mound ( pl, kopiec Krakusa), also called the Krak Mound, is a tumulus located in the Podgórze district of Kraków, Poland; thought to be the resting place of Kraków's mythical founder, the legendary King Krakus. It is located on Lasota ...

and

Wanda Mound Wanda Mound ( pl, kopiec Wandy) is a tumulus located in Mogiła (since 1949 a neighbourhood of district Nowa Huta) in Kraków, Poland. The mound is assumed to be the resting place of the legendary princess Wanda. According to one version of the ...

, and two modern ones, Piłsudski Mound and Kościuszko Mound. The founding ceremony of the Kościuszko Mound took place on 16 October 1820. The construction was financed by donations fro
Poles
living in all territories of Poland under foreign occupation. For three years, people of all ages and class voluntarily constructed the mound to the height of . Work was supervised by a Committee for the Construction of the Tadeusz Kościuszko Monument. At the base of the mound, the Founding Act was deposited in a glass and marble case. At the top, a granite boulder, brought from the

Tatra Mountains The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak language, Slovak () or in Polish language, Polish () - ''plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovak ...

, was placed, bearing the inscription "Kościuszce" (''To Kościuszko''). Inside the mound, urns were buried with soil from the Polish and American battlefields where Kościuszko fought. In 1860, on the 30th anniversary of the Polish November Uprising, the top of the mound was crowned with a boulder (545 kg) of granite from Tatra mountains which had engraved upon it: TO KOŚCIUSZKO. Initially, the grounds around Kościuszko Mound were planned to be turned into a colony settlement for the peasant families that fought alongside Tadeusz Kościuszko in the uprising of 1794. In the late 1830s, those families began to settle at the foothills of Kościuszko Mound, but the process came to a halt when Austrian authorities decided to turn this area into a part of city's fortification. Between 1850 and 1854, the Austrian authorities built a brick

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

around the mound and began using it as a strategic lookout. As compensation for an earlier historical church that had been demolished, a

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

chapel of Blessed Bronisława was also built. However, the Austrian fortifications, including the gateway and the southwestern

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

and entrenchment were eventually dismantled following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, between 1945 and 1956. Next to the mound there is a museum devoted to Kościuszko, that displays artefacts and mementoes of his life and achievements. In 1997, heavy rains eroded the mound, thus threatening its existence. It went through a restoration process from 1999 till 2003 in which state-of-the-art technology and modern materials were used. The mound was equipped with a drainage system and a new waterproofing membrane. Kościuszko Mound inspired Count

Paul Strzelecki Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

patriot and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n explorer, to name the highest mountain in

Mount Kosciuszko Mount Kosciuszko ( ; Ngarigo: , ), previously spelled Mount Kosciusko, is mainland Australia's tallest mountain, at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National ...

, because of its perceived resemblance to the Kościuszko Mound in Kraków.Mt Kosciuszko. Australian Geographical Name Derivation

The mound in numbers

* Mound height: 35.54m * Mound height above sea level: 330.14m * Mound height above Vistula level: 131.14m * Mound diameter: 73.25m * Mound diameter with retaining wall (tamboure): 90.7m * Viewing platform diameter: 8.5m * Mound volume: approx. 167,000m³ * Slope angle: 46°-51°

Gallery

File:03978Kraków.JPG, Kościuszko Mound,

. Note the visitors in the foreground for scale. Image:Kosciuszko Mound 3.jpg, View of Kościuszko Mound, with Blessed Bronisława Chapel, Bronisława Chapel at its foot Image:Polish National Flag Day (May 2, 2019), Błonia Park, Foch Av, Krakow, Poland.jpg, Kosciuszko's Mound, seen from Kraków

Błonia Park Błonia Park is a vast meadow with an area of 48 hectares directly adjacent to the historic centre of the city of Kraków, Poland. The history of the park began in 1162, when a wealthy nobleman Jaksa z Miechowa – founder of the Polish branch o ...

,
Polish National Flag Day (May 2, 2019) Image:Top of Kosciuszko Mound.jpg, View from the top of Kościuszko Mound

Notes

References

The mound of Tadeusz Kościuszko
at the official website of the city of Kraków
History of the Kościuszko Mound
at ''Kościuszko Mound'' Homepage, Kraków
Repairing of the Kościuszko Mound.
An unconventional civil engineering project. ''Page archived by Internet Archive

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

''
Lives and Deeds of Foreign-born Heroes of the American Revolution
The United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, 107th Congress of the United States of America, 4 July 2002. Pg. 35. (''PDF 2.5 MB'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosciuszko Mound Buildings and structures completed in 1823 Buildings and structures completed in 1854 Monuments and memorials in Kraków Landmarks in Poland Commemorative mounds Artificial hills 1823 establishments in Poland

History

The mound in numbers

Gallery

See also

Notes

References