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Archiver > GEN-MEDIEVAL > 1998-04 > 0891785242


From: Rafal Prinke< >
Subject: Re: Kosciuszko
Date: 5 Apr 1998 07:07:22 -0700


(Rafal Heydel-Mankoo) wrote:

>If non-Poles find his name hard to pronounce or spell, his place of
>birth is even more frustrating. He was born on the Mereczowszczyzna
>estate! Try saying that three times over! :-)

Fortunately there are no diacritics in that place name :-)
To be precise, he was baptised there on 12 Feb. 1746, but some
sources say he was born in Siechnowice Male. The latter was a family
estate (and they also used the surname Siechnowicki) while the former
was leased from the Sapieha family by Tadeusz's father.

>He is buried on the outskirts of Krakow. An immense earth mound was
>constructed there in his honour.

He is not buried there. He died in Solura, Switzerland, where he spent
the last years of his life, and his body was brought to Cracow and
buried in the Royal Cathedral in the crypt of St. Leonard, beside
the tomb of duke Jozef Poniatowski (the newphew of the last Polish king)
who died in 1813 in the battle of Leipzig as a general of Polish troops
in Napoleon's army (the tradition says he was drowned in the Elster
while being chased but this has recently been questioned).

The mound that you refer to was constructed as a kind monumet to honour
him in 1820-1823 by people coming from all over Poland and bringing
a handful of earth. The idea came from two similar mounds from
pre-Christian times that are believed to be burial places of
the legendary king Krak (founder of Cracow) and his daughter Wanda
- who did not want to marry a German duke and jumped into
the waters of the Vistula.

It may be noted that the street leading to Kosciuszko Mound in Cracow
is called Washington Avenue.

Best regards,

Rafal

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