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Photo: Mach240390, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Józef Piłsudski (1867-1935) was the military leader who used the 1918 post-war power vacuum to re-establish Poland after 123 years of partition. The Germans and Austrians departed peacefully but it took wars with Russia to reclaim territory in the east. He was the de facto strongman ruler of Poland until his death. This artificial mound was begun in 1934 to celebrate Polish independence but was re-dedicated when Piłsudski died, incorporating soil from every WW1 battlefield where Polish soldiers fought. He himself is interred in Wawel. Later regimes hoped to write him out of history and his mound, like Kościuszko's, was damaged by the 1997/98 floods but restored in 2002.
Piłsudski's Mound located in Kraków, Poland, was constructed by the Polish people in honor of Józef Piłsudski.
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Krakowski Ogród Zoologiczny
With about 1500 animals and 260 species, headliners are two Indian elephants, pygmy hippos, Humboldt penguins and Przewalski horses.
This collection of offbeat modern sculpture is in Decius Park just north of the Villa, both outdoor and within the gallery. Chromy (1925-2017) created many public sculptures around the city, including Smok the dragon at the foot of Wawel.
Muzeum Fotografii
Permanent collection shows works of Polish photographers from 1850 to WW2. Several temporary exhibitions a year on both documentary and art photography.
Kopiec Kościuszki
Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746-1817) was a revolutionary hero first in the US (where he designed West Point) then in Poland where he led the 1794 uprising against the country's second partition. He was captured but survived the reprisals after the uprising, and eventually retired to die in Switzerland. He was buried there but his remains were soon transferred to the royal crypts in Wawel. This artificial mound was built in 1820 to commemorate him, with a Neogothic chapel and a citadel added under Austrian rule in the 1850s. It was several times threatened with demolition; in 1997/98 it was badly damaged by floods but restored in 2002. Ticket price includes the citadel and chapel; free entry on 4 Feb (Kościuszko's birthday), 24 March (the launch of his uprising) and 15 Oct (his death).
Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie - Gmach Główny
The permanent collection comprises 20th-Century Polish Art, Decorative Art, and Arms and Uniforms in Poland. The ground floor has temporary exhibitions
Arthouse cinema shows European & retro, seldom mainstream Hollywood.