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A three-hundred-metre-high hill stands roughly 3km west of the city centre, capped by a memorial mound erected in the 1820s in honour of Poland's greatest revolutionary hero, Tadeusz Kosciuszko . A veteran of the American War of Independence, Kosciuszko returned to Poland to lead the 1794 insurrection against the Partitions. For Poles he is the personification of the popular insurrectionary tradition that involved peasants as well as intellectuals. The mound itself is a latterday example of a peculiar Krakow phenomenon - a series of cone-shaped hills built by local people probably for pagan rituals, the oldest dating back to the seventh century. This mound was added onto the hill by the patriotic citizenry of Krakow in the 1820s, using earth from Kosciuszko's battle sites, both from Poland and (reputedly) from the United States. Access to this section of the hill is via an effusive museum of Kosciuszko memorabilia (Tues-Sun 10am-4pm: access to the mound May-Sept 9am-sunset, Oct-Apr 10am-sunset), adjoined by the tiny neo-Gothic Chapel of Blessed Bronislawa . The climb up the mound is fairly steep, but worth it for the panoramic views from the top, even reaching as far as the Tatra mountains on really clear days. You certainly won't be alone up here, as the mound has been a popular local outing spot ever since it was first raised. Back down the slope, just up the road from the museum is a large brick fortress built by the city's Austrian rulers in the 1850s. These days it houses the local RFM radio station - hence the plac Paul McCartney outside - and a swish hotel and restaurant , the Pod Kopcem . If you're in need of refreshment but don't want to blow your money in these pricey surroundings the terrace cafe up on the ramparts, open till sunset, makes a good alternative, as well as offering further enjoyable views. Lower down, the deer roaming about the hillside are a surprising sight so close to a city centre, although the polluted grass can't be doing them much good. From the city centre (pl. Matejki) bus #100 runs to the hotel (about 30min), but if you feel like a walk out of town you can cross the Blonia and then, crossing a couple of roads, follow one of the overgrown pathways up the slopes - a good two-hour trek.
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