Tadeusz Kościuszko spent the last two years of his life in Solura. At that time he lived permanently in the Settier house at Gurzelngasse 12, belonging to Franz Xavier Zeltner , a member of the city's Grand Council and prefect of the Solura canton, holding office from 1798 to 1800. Today, this location houses the Tadeusz Kościuszko Museum. Learn about the little-known fate and collections of this institution.

Kosciuszko's life in the apartment house at Gurzelngasse 12

The flat which Kościuszko occupied was on the first floor and consisted of three small rooms and a servant's flat, in which his "valet" - soldier Adam Dzierzkowski - settled. Theczelnik chose a corner, sunny room whose windows offered a view of the street, with its stalls on market days, and of the nearby Bieltor gate and tenement houses belonging to distinguished families - the Tuginner and Arreger families.

Although Kościuszko was well-respected in Solura, his republican views and lack of knowledge of the German language resulted in limited opportunities for socialising and hanging around the local elite. He spent his free time walking in the countryside. In the autumn of 1817, his health unexpectedly deteriorated, leading to his death on 15 October 1817.

Plaque commemorating Kościuszko on the facade of the house at Gurzelngasse 12

In 1865, on the occasion of the next anniversary of this event, a commemorative plaque was placed on the facade of the house at Gurzelngasse 12 by a local sculptor, Hedwiga Pfluger (1848-1925). The relief features an antique-inspired portrait of Kosciuszko in profile wearing a laurel wreath, below which is an inscription in Latin "IN MEMORIAM THADEI KOŚCIUSZKO SUMMI POLONIORUM DUCIS QUI HAC DOMO IDIBUS OCTOBRIS ANNI MDCCCXVII MAGNAM EXSPIRITAVIT ANIMAM / POLONI EXSULSES MDCCCLXV" (To the memory of Tadeusz the supreme leader of the Poles, who in October 1817 gave up his spirit for many / Polish exiles 1865) and three coats of arms: Poland (with an image of an eagle), Ruthenia (an angel with a shield) and Lithuania (a knight on horseback with a Pogo).

Tadeusz Kościuszko Museum in Solura

The Tadeusz Kościuszko Museum in Solura was established in 1936 thanks to the efforts of Jan Modzelewski (1875-1945), head of the Polish MP in Bern, and the support of the Polish government and the authorities of the Solura canton. As a result of these efforts, a museum was opened in parallel and a Kosciuszko Society (Kościuszko-Gesellschaft) was established to look after the facility.

The current arrangement of the museum space was created in 1984. The interiors are filled with Kościuszko's personal items as well as paintings and prints related to his life.

Among the most valuable objects on display in the museum are a chessboard, a ring with the Chief's hair and a statuette, a gift from King Stanisław August Poniatowski. Other eye-catching exhibits include a plaster bust of Kościuszko made from nature by Urs Pankracy Eggenschwiler in 1800, as well as numerous prints with the image of the Head and his works.

The most important part of the museum is the alcove where Kościuszko died, reconstructed according to drawings from the years 1816-1817. In the centre of the room is a copy of his monumental bed with a canopy, and on the wall hangs a painting by Wojciech Kossak from 1911, depicting Kościuszko's oath in the Market Square in Kraków in 1794. Also noteworthy in this room is an urn from 1896, made by sculptor Wincenty Trojanowski (1859-1928), in which Kościuszko's heart was once kept in Rapperswil. The faithful reconstruction of the bedroom in which Kosciuszko died was helped by funds obtained, among other things, from the proceeds of a recital given by Ignacy Jan Paderewski in the Solura concert hall in 1937.