Kamień Karłowicza, Tatra National Park

Karłowicz Stone - a stone monument carved in granite commemorating the tragic death in the Tatra Mountains of composer Mieczysław Karłowicz. He died on February 8, 1909 in the snow avalanche, which descended from the eastern walls of the Little Kościelec. On the stone there is an engraved inscription: "Mieczyslaw Karlowicz/ here he died/ abducted by a snow avalanche/ on February 8/1909/Non omnis moriar". Beneath the inscription there is a highland swastika - Karłowicz's favourite sign. It is a Slavic symbol, often found in highland decorations, and called the "surprise cross" in Podhale.

The stone was erected in the summer of 1909. It is located on a rocky rubble covered with dwarf mountain pine, about 30 meters below the blue tourist trail leading from the Murowaniec mountain hostel to the Czarny Staw Gąsienicowy lake.

Mieczysław Karłowicz was an enthusiast and propagator of the Tatra Mountains. He died under the slopes of Mt Mały Kościelec during a lonely ski trip. Together with Mariusz Zaruski he was one of the main advocates and co-founders of TOPR. He died a few months before it was formally established, and finding his body under an avalanche is considered the first rescue operation of TOPR.