thousand people (more than the city counted at the time). Later history In the pre-war period, the cult of Lis-Kula was very much alive. It became one of the most important personal models for the young generation of the time, promoted in the 1930s in the current curriculum of history teaching in primary and secondary schools. The Leopold Lis-Kula monument thus became not only one of the symbols of Rzeszów (the city the hero was associated with) but also a place of patriotic manifestations and anniversary celebrations. During World War II, Rzeszów was under German occupation. On the night of 10–11 April 1940, the monument was demolished. Before the remaining scrap was sent to Germany, the head of the monument was stolen, which was later stored in the basement of the Rzeszów Museum, where it is now presented. In the People's Republic of Poland, Lis-Kula was condemned to be forgotten, but thanks to the independence circles, the memory survived. The idea of rebuilding the monument was born in 1980, but it became possible only after the fall of communism in 1989. On the occasion of John Paul II's upcoming visit to Rzeszów in June 1991, it was decided that the statue of the Lis-Kula monument would be a gift from the Solidarity Region Board. The miniature was taken according to old photographs. A Committee for the Reconstruction of the Monument was also established. In order to raise funds, a reprint of a book about Lis-Kula from 1932 was published, which was distributed as a contribution in Poland and abroad. The competition to make a replica was won by sculptors from Kraków: Bogusz Salwiński and Janusz Wilczyński. The ceremony of unveiling and consecrating the monument on 22 November 1992 was attended by the president in exile Ryszard Kaczorowski. The monument, like the grave of Lis-Kula in the Rzeszów cemetery, has again become a place of collective memory. Contemporary importance National holidays and scouting celebrations are held at the monument. The tradition of solemn celebrations of the anniversary of the hero's death has been restored, which annually gather up to several thousand participants, including school delegations. It has also become an important meeting place for reborn "riflemen" associations (a paramilitary social and educational organization, referring to the structures operating during the struggle for independence). The monument is one of the points of the tourist-historical route between Kosina and Rzeszów from the length