Z czynności Komitetu Kopca Kościuszki od 5 kwietnia 2022 do 4 kwietnia 2023 roku

Abstract

FROM THE ACTIVITIES OF THE KOŚCIUSZKO MOUND COMMITTEE FROM 5 APRIL 2022 TO 4 APRIL 2023

This article reports on the activities of the Kościuszko Mound Committee from 5 April 2022 to 4 April 2023. There were personnel changes in the Board of the Committee; Prof. Andrzej Chwalba and Prof. Tomasz Gąsowski stepped down from the vice-presidency while remaining on the Board, and Prof. Piotr Dobosz and Dr. Rafał Sieńko replaced them as vice-presidents. As part of the committee’s concern for the Kościuszko Mound, the project “Renovation and Stabilisation of the Kościuszko Mound”, prepared earlier through the efforts of the director of the committee’s office, has been accepted by the office of the conservator of the City of Kraków. The Committee faces the problem of obtaining funds for this purpose. The attendance of visitors to the Mound and the exhibition Kościuszko – a Hero Still Needed is satisfactory. The Committee has provided guiding services at a good professional level. The article also relates the issue of the Ukrainian flag displayed on the Mound as a sign of solidarity with a country fighting for its sovereignty and the reactions to this fact. We also mention the temporary exhibitions organised during the reporting period, in particular the jubilee exhibition Kościuszko Mound Committee 1820-2020 and the billboard exhibition Restoring the Heart of Independence, which gives an insight into the history of Marshal Józef Piłsudski Square in Warsaw with its Saxon Palace, Brühl Palace and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The square is currently under reconstruction after being destroyed by the Germans during World War II. Of the guests who visited the Committee during the reporting period, let us mention in particular Prof. Antoni J. Bajdek, president-founder of the Kościuszko Friends Society at West Point and an honorary member of the Committee; a group of cadets from the Military Academy at West Point; and Prof. Andrzej Kozek from Kościuszko Heritage in Sydney. Two symphonic concerts at the Kościuszko Mound were given by the Young Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Tomasz Chmiel. The Committee’s collection was enriched by new acquisitions, including in particular a series of banknotes from the Insurrection period and an officer’s patent form filled in by Kościuszko himself, and other items.