The mound, dedicated to Polish (and American) military hero Tadeusz Kościuszko, was erected between 1820 and 1823, soon after the great man’s death. The mound stands 34m high, and soil from the Polish and American battlefields where Kościuszko fought was placed here. The views over the city are spectacular. The memorial is located in the suburb of Zwierzyniec, just under 3km west of the Old Town.
The entrance is through a small neo-Gothic chapel, which holds an exhibition of memorabilia related to Kościuszko; there’s also a separate waxworks exhibition featuring Polish heroes across the ages. The large brick fortification at the mound’s foothill is a fortress built by the Austrians in the 1840s.
