Home | Kosciuszko, Thaddeus
- CountryPoland
- Town:Kraków
-
Year of creation:1960
- Rider(s):Kosciuszko, Thaddeus
(1746-1817) played an important role in the American War of Independence. He was a good friend of Thomas Jefferson, one of the authors of the declaration of Independence. This document was most inspiring for Kosciusko. Upon his return in Poland in 1783, he became involved in the production of the first modern constitution in Europe. Unfortunately, however, this constitution had no long life. In 1794, Kosciuszko led the failed uprising against the Russians.
- Sculptor(s):Marconi and Popiel
Leonard Marconi (1835 –1899) was a Polish and Austro-Hungarian architect and sculptor.
Antoni Popiel (1865 – 1910) was a Polish sculptor.
Leonard Marconi created the statue and his son in law, Antoni Popiel finalized the statue after his death in 1900.
-
Thanks to the efforts of a newly formed Tadeusz Kościuszko Society the statue was cast soon after Marconi’s death in 1900 . The Austrian government however refused to issue the permit for its placement during the time of the imperial partitions of Poland. For this reason the statue was erected no less than twenty years later in 1920, once the Polish state reestablished its independence following World War I. 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, Germany. A duplicate of the statue was also erected in Detroit, Michigan in 1978, as a gift from the people of Kraków, in celebration of the United States Bicentennial.
