Tombs? Monuments? Or maybe something else? One of the famous attractions of Krakow are mounds. There are also a few in the vicinity of the city. Three were erected in memory of famous Poles - Tadeusz Kościuszko, Józef Piłsudski and John Paul II. The others are much older. What are they hiding? How were they created? Do the remains of princes or other important people really rest in them? Let's go on a journey back in time to learn about the history of these amazing places.
There are as many as five mounds in Krakow. Only two of them come from before the birth of the Polish state. The next three are a more modern reference to old legends and a new interpretation of them.
In the 19th century, after Poland lost its independence, the Kraków mounds and all the legendary national symbols took on a new meaning. It was then that legends about the beginnings of the Polish kingdom were developed and propagated. The reference to the old lineage of Polans and Vistulans was to be another tool in the fight for independence and maintaining the national spirit. In this context, it should come as no surprise that after the death of the outstanding leader, leader of the uprising and supporter of the equalization of all classes - Tadeusz Kościuszko - the inhabitants of Krakow decided to erect a mound for him (1820). It was the only mound built in that century, but the next two from the beginning and the end of the 20th century (the mounds of Piłsudski and John Paul II) referred to the same tradition.
None of the newer mounds are tombs. The last of these was created during the Pope's lifetime and was a monument to his 6th pilgrimage to his homeland. The two previous ones commemorated great people of merit for Poland, but their mortal remains were buried elsewhere.
Although I will not be talking about all objects of this type in Poland, it is worth adding that during the partitions, mounds-monuments were erected in other places as well. It was a way of working together, which strengthened national ties in the face of the policy of denationalization. An example of this is the Adam Mickiewicz Mound in Sanok or the Grunwaldzki Mound in Niepołomice.
Why was only one mound built in Kraków in the 19th century? Simply put - the fate of Krakow after 1820 was not conducive to building such impressive patriotic monuments. It was only in the Second Polish Republic that it was possible to afford to build the Mound of Independence, which was named after Józef Piłsudski after the death of Józef Piłsudski. It is the largest facility of this type in the city and the largest mound in Poland. It measures approx. 35 m in height. It is located on the Sowiniec hill in the Wolski Forest. The building up began on the initiative of the Polish Legionnaires' Union on August 6, 1934. Completion was protracted from the original plans. Despite the employment of workers, the mound was not built until the end of 1836. The main works were completed a year later (July 1937). The fact that the final shape was given to the Piłsudski Mound in 1939 is almost ironic given the further history of Poland. The monument of Polish independence bearing the name of Piłsudski was a salt in the eyes of both the Nazis and the authorities at the early stage of the Polish People's Republic. Therefore, the works, interrupted with the start of the war, were not resumed until 1980!
The youngest monument of this type is the so-called John Paul II Mound. As I mentioned earlier, it is a commemoration of the 6th pilgrimage of the Pope to Poland. It does not look so impressive and, looking back, there is probably no chance of becoming a legend. Nevertheless, it belongs to the same type of attractions as the Kościuszko and Piłsudski Mound.
Tradition attributes the founding of the city to the legendary Krak or Krakus. According to Wincenty Kadłubek, he was even the first king to introduce just laws in Poland (at least in the kingdom of the Slavic Vistulans), and his sons were to kill the Wawel dragon on his order. (Kadłubek, 1996: pp. 11-15) The Chronicle of Greater Poland from the second half of the 13th century repeats the legend of Krak.
Jan Długosz mentions Krak's Mound as a royal tomb. This object was treated similarly by chroniclers and historians of the following centuries.
Krak's Mound is 16 meters high. The whole structure rested on a large vertical pole with wicker partitions radiating from it.
There are no historical sources that would confirm the existence of the legendary King Krak. Although Jan Długosz already suggested that it was the same one that the Czech legend calls Krok. We know from other written and archaeological sources that already in the 7th / 8th century there was a well-developed Slavic community in this area. The mounds of Wanda and Krak also date back to this time, at least this may be suggested by artifacts found during archaeological excavations. However, no traces of the tomb were found. In fact, to this day, it is not certain what the mounds really were. Some historians consider them to be part of a Slavic cemetery from the period of the early state of Vistula. Others for pre-Christian places of worship. We don't know what it really was, although there are some interesting clues (more on that later). It is difficult to distinguish the tomb from other objects of the pre-Christian Slavic culture period due to the funeral customs of the Slavs of that time. The deceased was burnt at the stake, and the urn with his ashes was usually placed on a small (2-2.5 m) burial mound or so-called flat urn grave. Most of these tombs were destroyed and ripped apart in later centuries. (cf. Poleski J., 1995: p. 144)
The second ancient mound located in the city is still called Wanda's Mound and is attributed to the daughter of the legendary king "who did not want to marry a German". The stories about Wanda in medieval chronicles are very mysterious. Although the Slavs of that time were not used to choosing women as kings, they made an exception for the beautiful and brave daughter of Krak. She ruled as a virgin queen. According to both chroniclers (Kadłubek: p. 16; Kronika Wielkopolska, 2010: p. 47), she refused to marry the German prince. He was supposed to utter words that could be interpreted as a kind of spell:
"Wanda to the sea,
Wanda of the earth,
Let Wanda command the clouds,
To the immortal gods for their own
Let it be a sacrifice."
and committed suicide by throwing himself on his own sword. According to some sources, Wanda committed suicide by throwing herself into the Vistula. After her death, the kingdom fell apart.
Whatever the legend, the attribution of the second ancient mound to Wanda is very doubtful. There is even no agreement as to whether the mound is to be associated with the Slavs. The second quite likely option is to assign them to the Celts who occupied these lands a bit earlier. The mound is located in Nowa Huta (formerly in the village of Mogiła or Jasna Mogiła), measures 14 m. The old name of the village, quoted for the first time in the 13th century (in the Latin version "Clara Tumba"), would indicate a connection between this place and the tomb. Perhaps the most interesting, however, is the astronomical connection of the mounds, which would indicate a much more complex role of these objects.
While standing on the Krakus Mound on May 1 and August 12, you can see the sunrise right over Wanda's Mound. On the other hand, coming to the Wanda Mound on November 4 and February 6, before dawn, we will see the east directly over the Krak's Mound. (Góral W., 2018: p. 110) These dates divide the year into four parts and are consistent with important Celtic holidays. On many websites and in some tourist publications we can find erroneous information that the sunrise directly over the Wanda Mound can be seen on June 21. It is true, however, that during the summer solstice, the shift of the sun relative to the hill is visible in a characteristic place. (for more on this, see: Góral W .: pp. 114-116)
According to Władysław Góral, the structure of the mound also indicates that it has been carefully adjusted to the annual travel of the sun in the sky. It divides the year into eight parts, marked by the equinoxes, the solstices, and the periods that fall exactly between them.
The mound's Celtic origin would be associated with celebrations such as Samain (October 31 / November 1), Imbolc (February 1/2), Beltane (May 1), and Lugnasad (August 1). (Based on: Cunliffe B., 2003: pp. 230-231) The structure itself also resembles similar objects in the areas inhabited throughout history by Celtic tribes. However, the dates do not match very much. The Celts probably disappeared from Poland around the 2nd century BCE. Everything points to the fact that the mounds were created hundreds of years later, long after the arrival of the Slavs. Regardless of the theory of the Slavic native land we adopt, in the 7th / 8th centuries AD they were certainly present in Małopolska.
So what are the mounds of Krak and Wanda and who built them? In my opinion, the theory about the Slavic origin of objects remains the most likely. The calendar function does not contradict the function of the grave, and the days marked by the mounds could be as important for the Slavs as for the Celts. They are related to the solar calendar of farmers and shepherds, as well as to beliefs widespread among various Indo-European peoples. On February 2 it is our Gromnica (today Our Lady of the Candle), probably a holiday originally dedicated to Perun, on November 1 is associated with Dziady - the Celtic equivalent of Samain, on August 15 is the celebration of the beginning of the harvest (today Our Lady of Herbs), in May there was a shepherd's feast of bringing out herds to the meadows (today most often associated with Zielone Świątki).
It cannot be ruled out that somewhere under the mountains there are remains or burnt ashes of the half-legendary rulers of Vistula. And the arrangement and construction of the mounds indicate a great astronomical knowledge of the then builders, which is worth a closer look.
Bibliography:
- Master Wincenty (the so-called Kadłubek), Kronika Polska, Ossolineum 1996
- Kronika Wielkopolska, ed. Brygida Kürbis, Krakow 2010
- Jacek Poleski, Early Middle Ages, in: Nature and culture in the landscape of the Jury, Kraków 1995, pp. 137-151
- Krystian A. Waksmundzki, Józef Piłsudski Mound - Independence Mound, in: Rocznik Krakowski vol. LVII, Krakow 1986
- Władysław Góral, Krakus and Wanda Mounds and the Division of a Year into Eight Parts, in: Geoinformatica Polonica, 17: 2018, pp. 109-122
- Barry Cunliffe, Ancient Celts, PIW 2003
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