16.06.1860/Crowning the Mound with the Stone
On the 16th of June 1860, when Piotr Moszyński was president of the Committee, the Mound was crowned by a couple ton granite rock brought in from the Bystry stream in Kuźnice, Tatra Mountains, at his own expense. The Tatras were frequently visited by people from all the partitions and became a symbol of freedom, and a rock has always been a symbol of stability and indestructibility. A single inscription was made on it by the Krakow sculptor John N. Gall, very succinct and profound “KOŚCIUSZCE” (“TO KOSCIUSZKO”). Under it was placed in a led box the Diary of the Construction of the Monument, together with banknotes from the time of the Uprising, and an edition of the local newspaper “Czas” (“Time”) from the day the rock was placed. It was a testament to the finished construction of the Mound. A rock was supposed to be crowning the Mound from the beginning, however the soil from which the Mound was created had to set first. This was to symbolise the Mound as the “everlasting sign” of the memory of Kościuszko and the immortal idea of independent Poland.