To honour the defenders of Westerplatte, the Polish Post Office in Gdansk and other courageous defenders of the Polish coast in September 1939, a huge monument was erected on the Westerplatte peninsula at the entrance to the harbour. It stands on a hill which is over 22m tall and can be seen from far away. The mound is made from the huge amounts of debris removed during the clearing of the entrance to the port.

On 9 October 1966 the Monument to the Defenders of the Coast was unveiled. Its development and planning was the work of a team of designers from Gdansk - Adam Haupt, Francis Duszenko and Henry Kitowski. The monument itself is 25m tall and is assembled from 236 granite blocks weighing between 6 and 12 tons each, brought from quarries in Strzegom and Borow. The combined weight is 1150 tons and it has been decorated in reliefs and inscriptions. In 2009 the area around the monument was completely redeveloped and is now a park.

Each year on 1 September, the monument is the focus of state ceremonies to commemorate the outbreak of World War II, which began here.

Monument of the Defenders of the Coast – Gdansk (woj. Pomorskie)

www.gdansk.pl