Piłsudski Mound

Into this mound went soil from every First World War battlefield where Poles fought, and since 1981 soil from Second World War battlefields has also rested at its foot — hence its nickname, the "Grave of Graves". Józef Piłsudski Mound, on top of Sowiniec Hill in Wolski Forest, is about 35 m high and 111 m across at its base. It is the tallest of Kraków's five mounds and the largest in Poland, and on clear days you can see all the way to the Tatra Mountains.

History: a monument to independence

The idea came from Lieutenant Franciszek Supergan and was approved in 1934 by the Association of Polish Legionnaires; the building committee was chaired by Colonel Walery Sławek. Work began on 6 August 1934, the 20th anniversary of the day the First Cadre Company of the Polish Legions marched out of Kraków at the start of the First World War. After Marshal Piłsudski, the Legions' founder and the leading figure of Poland's regained independence, died in 1935, the mound was named after him. It was completed on 9 July 1937 to a design by Franciszek Mączyński, with about 130,000 m³ of earth heaped up in total. In 1938 soil was also brought from Graciosa in the Azores, where the aviator Major Ludwik Idzikowski had been killed — it arrived in an urn made from an aircraft engine cylinder.

A mound they tried to erase

In 1941 the Nazi Governor-General Hans Frank ordered the mound removed, but the order was never carried out. After the war the communist authorities tried to wipe it from memory: in 1953 a tank was used to tear the granite slab with the Legions' Cross from the summit, wrecking the slopes in the process. Restoration only began in 1981, led by a care committee founded the year before. Then heavy rains in 1996–1997 washed out about 65% of the slopes; the repairs took five years and were finished in 2002.

What to see

• The view from the summit, at 393.6 m above sea level, over western Kraków, the Vistula valley and, on clear days, the Tatras.
• The path that spirals around the mound to the top.
• Polana na Sowińcu, a broad meadow at the foot of the mound, with benches, shelters, a sports pitch and a playground.
• The finish line of the Three Mounds Run, which has ended here since 2007.

Tripto tip

The easiest way to get here is bus 134 to the terminus by the zoo, then a walk of about 1.5 km along the paved Aleja Wędrowników — a comfortable route for pushchairs and bikes too, taking around 20–30 minutes. Cars cannot drive into the forest at weekends and on public holidays, so check the current parking rules on the city or zoo website before you set off. An hour is enough for the climb and the view, but the mound pairs well with a longer walk in Wolski Forest — to the zoo, the Panieńskie Skały rocks or the Camaldolese monastery at Bielany. After rain the forest paths can be slippery, and mountain views depend on visibility; on a hazy day the Tatras stay hidden.