Tadeusz Kościuszko Monument in Kraków (), is one of the best known bronze monuments in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It is the work of artists: Leonard Marconi, professor of

Lviv University The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (named after Ivan Franko, ) is a state-sponsored university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since 1940 the university is named after Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The university is the oldest institution of highe ...

born in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, and his son in law, sculptor

Antoni Popiel Antoni Popiel (13 June 1865 – 7 July 1910) was a Polish sculptor. Life He studied at the School of Fine Arts, Kraków from 1882 to 1884, with Izydor Jabłoński, Władysław Łuszczkiewicz and . He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts ...

. 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. 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 German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Its duplicate was also erected in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

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 as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...

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

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Habsburg Monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

, and

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

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 The Battle of Racławice was one of the first battles of the Kościuszko Uprising against Russia. It was fought on 4 April 1794 near the village of Racławice in Lesser Poland.Storozynski, A., 2009, The Peasant Prince, New York: St. Martin's P ...

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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

. In 1783, in recognition of his service, he had been brevetted by the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

to the rank of brigadier general and granted citizenship of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Tadeusz Kościuszko died in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

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

Solothurn Solothurn ( ; ; ; ; ) 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 Weissenstein Jura mountains. The town is ...

, from where he was moved a year later to the St. Leonard's Crypt at the

Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral (), formally titled the Archcathedral Basilica of Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Saint Stanislaus and St. Wenceslas, Saint Wenceslaus, () is a Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it ...

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

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

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 ...

Rebuilt buildings and structures in Poland

History

See also

References

External links