Kościuszko Mound () is an artificial

mound A mound is a wikt:heaped, heaped pile of soil, earth, gravel, sand, rock (geology), 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 ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

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

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

, and modelled after Kraków's prehistoric mounds of Krak and

Wanda Wanda is a female given name of Poland, 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.'' Retrieved August 12, 2010. The name has long been popu ...

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

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

River and the city.

History

It was completed in November 1823. The location selected for the monument was the natural Blessed Bronisława Hill (), 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 and Wanda Mound, 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, 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 most 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. ...

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 or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

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: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...

and entrenchment were eventually dismantled following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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, Polish patriot and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n explorer, to name the highest mountain in

Mount Kosciuszko Mount Kosciuszko ( ; ; Ngarigo: ) is the highest mountain of the mainland Australia, at above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park, a part of the Australian Alps National Parks and ...

, 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. File:Kosciuszko Mound 3.jpg, View of Kościuszko Mound, with Blessed Bronisława Chapel, Bronisława Chapel at its foot File:Polish National Flag Day (May 2, 2019), Błonia Park, Foch Av, Krakow, Poland.jpg, Kosciuszko's Mound, seen from Kraków Błonia Park,
Polish National Flag Day (2 May 2019) File: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 Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

''
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