Gdansk_Shipyard_aerial_photograph_2019_P03

The European Solidarity Centre ( pl, Europejskie Centrum Solidarności) is a museum and library in Gdańsk, Poland, devoted to the history of Solidarity, the Polish

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

and civil resistance movement, and other opposition movements of Communist Eastern Europe. It opened on 31 August 2014.

History

The design of the building, by Polish firm FORT Architects, was the winner of an international competition held in 2007. The walls evoke the hulls of ships built at the

Gdańsk Shipyard The Gdańsk Shipyard ( pl, Stocznia Gdańska, formerly Lenin Shipyard) is a large Polish shipyard, located in the city of Gdańsk. The yard gained international fame when Solidarity () was founded there in September 1980. It is situated on the w ...

. Construction started in 2010. It was completed at a cost of 229 million złoty, of which 113 million złoty (38.4 million

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

) was provided by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, and the rest locally. The opening ceremony took place on 31 August 2014, on the anniversary of the signing of the

Gdańsk Agreement The Gdańsk Agreement (or ''Gdańsk Social Accord(s)'' or ''August Agreement(s)'', pl, Porozumienia sierpniowe) was an accord reached as a direct result of the strikes that took place in Gdańsk, Poland. Workers along the Baltic went on strike in ...

, the 1980 victory for striking shipyard workers which led to Solidarity's foundation. The ceremony was attended by

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democrati ...

, the co-founder of Solidarity and later

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Pola ...

, the President of Poland

Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who served as President of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski served as Minister of Defence from 2000 to 2001. As Marshal of the Sejm, Komorowski exercis ...

and the Chairman of Solidarity Piotr Duda. The preceding day was celebrated as a Citizens' Day in which over 12,000 former Solidarity members and others took part. The centre awards Medals of Gratitude to foreigners who assisted the Polish opposition to Communism.

Collections

The centre's permanent exhibition has around 2,000 exhibits, and the library contains around 100,000 books and documents. The centre also contains a research and academic centre and conducts educational activities, as well as providing space for conferences and temporary exhibitions.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Solidarity (Polish trade union) Museums in Gdańsk Libraries in Poland 2014 establishments in Poland Museums established in 2014