Tadeusz Kościuszko Monument in

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 ...

( pl, Pomnik Tadeusza Kościuszki w Krakowie), is one of the best known bronze monuments in

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 populou ...

. It is the work of artists:

Leonard Marconi Leonard Marconi (Warsaw, 6 October 1835 – 1 April 1899, Lviv) was a Polish and Austro-Hungarian architect and sculptor. He was active chiefly at Warsaw, then in Galicia, notably at Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine). Life Leonard Marconi was born on 6 ...

, professor of

Lviv University The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...

born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, and his son in law, sculptor

Antoni Popiel Antoni Popiel (13 June 1865, in Szczakowa, Galicia (now Jaworzno) – 7 July 1910, in Velykyi Liubin near Lviv) was a Polish sculptor. Life He studied at the School of Fine Arts, Kraków from 1882 to 1884, with Izydor Jabłoński, Władys� ...

. The equestrian bronze statue of Kościuszko—Polish and American hero of independence—is located along the west side entrance to the

Wawel Castle The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established o ...

in the Old Town.Rick Steves, Cameron Hewitt
''Rick Steves' Best of Eastern Europe 2007''
by AvalonEllen Creager

''The San Diego UnionTribune'', September 7, 2008

History

The statue was cast in 1900 thanks to the efforts of newly formed Tadeusz Kościuszko Society, soon after Marconi's death. The Austrian government during the time of imperial partitions of Poland refused to issue the permit for its placement. It was erected no less than twenty years later in 1920-24 once the Polish state reestablished its independence following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Tadeusz Kosciuszko Monuments
at State University of New York at Buffalo The statue was destroyed by the Germans in 1940 during the Nazi German occupation of Poland. Its current replica, erected in 1960, is a gift to the City of Kraków from the people of

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Its duplicate was also erected in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

in 1978, as a gift from the people of Kraków, in celebration of the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

. In Kościuszko's times, the Polish state had been twice partitioned by its neighbors:

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, absburg Monarchy and

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

by early 1793.Dorota Wasik, Cracow University of Economics, International Programs Office: "A short long history of Cracow", see: In 1794, Kościuszko initiated an insurrection in the Kraków's Main Square which, in spite of his victorious Battle of Racławice against numerically superior Russian army, resulted in a tragic third and final partition of Poland. Grzegorz Reszka, based on:T. Cegielski, K. Zielińska: "Historia. Dzieje nowożytne", J. A. Gierowski: "Historia Polski 1764–1864", Lubicz-Pachoński: "Kościuszko na ziemi krakowskiej", A. Radziwiłł, W. Roszkowski: :Historia 1789–1871:, W. Malski: "Amerykańska wojna pułkownika Kościuszki". Kraków became part of the Austrian province of Galicia for over a century. Prior to leading the 1794 Uprising, Kościuszko had fought in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in the Continental Army. In 1783, in recognition of his service, he had been

brevetted In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

by the Continental Congress to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

and granted citizenship of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Tadeusz Kościuszko died in Switzerland on October 15, 1817. His body was first buried in a crypt of a Jesuit church in

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...

, from where he was moved a year later to the

St. Leonard's Crypt St. Leonard's Crypt under the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland, is a Romanesque crypt founded in the 11th century (around 1038–1039) by Casimir I the Restorer who made Kraków his royal residence as the capital. At the end of the 11th centur ...

at the

Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral ( pl, Katedra Wawelska), formally titled the Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus, is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the ...

, next to where his monument now stands. Department Wychowania i Promocji Obronnosci MON, ''(Polish Ministry of National Defence)''
"Uroczystości 260 rocznicy urodzin Tadeusza Kościuszki"
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tadeusz Kosciuszko Monument, Krakow Buildings and structures in Kraków Monuments and memorials in Kraków 1900 sculptures 1960 sculptures Wawel Equestrian statues in Poland Outdoor sculptures in Poland

History

See also

References

External links