Wanda Mound
Kraków Mounds
A mound in Nowa Huta, said by legend to be the tomb of Wanda, daughter of Krak. It was probably built around the 7th-8th century. It is topped by a marble monument designed by Jan Matejko, with a distaff, a sword and the inscription "Wanda".
History
Wanda's Mound stands in Nowa Huta on Ujastek Mogilski Street and is one of Kraków's five mounds. It is 14 m high, and its base is 45-50 m in diameter. It was probably built around the 7th-8th century. According to legend, it is the grave of Wanda, daughter of Prince Krak; her body is said to have been pulled from the waters of the nearby Vistula.
The first mention of the village of Mogiła, whose name is linked to the mound, dates from 1222. In the second half of the 15th century Jan Długosz connected the mound with Wanda's tomb. In the 19th century, as part of the Kraków Fortress, the Austrians surrounded it with an earthen redoubt in 1860, and in 1888-1890 turned the redoubt into a fort of brick and stone, which was demolished in 1968-1970. In 1890 Kornel Kozerski restored the mound at his own expense. The summit is crowned by a marble monument designed by Jan Matejko with the inscription "Wanda".
The inside of the mound remains a mystery. Around the time of the 1890 restoration Teodor Kułakowski looked inside, but this was not an archaeological investigation in the strict sense. The first ground-penetrating radar survey was carried out only in December 2016, and it revealed the presence of anomalies.
Did you know?
In the 19th century the mound was popularly nicknamed "Nogawka" (the Trouser Leg). Supporters of the theory of a Celtic astronomical system point out that on 6 February and 4 November, seen from the top of Wanda's Mound, the sun sets exactly over Krakus Mound.