Top Polish officials spent the weekend commemorating the 11th anniversary of the fatal 2010 Smolensk plane crash. The tragedy took the lives of then-President Lech Kaczyński and First Lady Maria Kaczyńska, along with 94 other Polish political and military figures.
Current President Andrzej Duda paid tribute to the late presidential couple at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, while Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki laid a wreath at a memorial in Warsaw.
Here in Trójmiasto, local officials, along with Gdańsk native and Minister of Infrastructure Marcin Horała, attended a mass for the victims at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Gdynia.
In his remarks, Horała called it a “tragedy that must not be forgotten,” emphasizing that Poles have a “duty to remember…because these people died in the service of the country.”
Officials on the ill-fated flight had been on their way to commemorate some 22,000 Polish prisoners of war and intellectuals killed in the spring of 1940 on orders from top Soviet authorities in what is known as the Katyn Massacre.
Source: Radio Gdańsk, Radio Poland
The Polish embassy in London has extended condolences to Britain’s royal family after Buckingham Palace announced the death of Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, last Friday.
In condolences posted on social media, the embassy extended its “deepest sympathies” to the Royal Family, noting that Prince Philip “had a strong connection to Poland.” In August of 1975, The Prince spent five days in Sopot to participate in the European Championships in Horse Riding.
During the unofficial visit, Prince Philip, who was himself a British naval officer and World War II veteran, also visited the Gdańsk city center and laid a wreath at the Westerplatte memorial. Pictures of his time in Poland can be viewed on the website of the Sopot Museum (Muzeum Sopotu) and also on the website of the City of Gdańsk.
A traditional royal funeral for Prince Philip is planned for next Saturday, April 17, at 16:00 CEST, and will reportedly be televised and broadcast online.
Source: Radio Poland, BBC, gdansk.pl
Authorities in Poland’s Tatra National Park have closed two popular hiking and recreation trails to protect bears and falcons in the region.
A mother bear and cub have been spotted wandering around one of the most popular routes in the Tatra mountains. Brown bears, which are the largest mammals native to the region, usually awaken from hibernation around March. Climbing and skiing near Poland’s famous Morskie Oko lake have also been forbidden to protect the nests of a rare falcon species in the area.
Rescuers from TOPR have issued avalanche and weather warnings for the entire Tatra mountain region after recent storms covered trails in a thick layer of fresh snow, and multiple avalanches were reported last week.
Source: Radio Poland
„The Kiss” (Le Baiser), one of the most recognizable works by the French artist Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), will be the centerpiece of an auction in Warsaw later this week.
According to art expert Tomasz Dziewicki, the work is one of over 100 certified bronze casts of the original made during Rodin’s lifetime. The impression bears the artist’s signature as well as the foundry stamp.
Weronika Singh of DESA Unicum auctioneers told the Polish Press Agency that the sculpture could potentially fetch up to PLN 2 million (EUR 440,000) at the auction on April 15. It would be one of the highest prices ever paid for a sculpture in Poland.
An 1898 copy of “The Kiss,” made by the same foundry as the one on auction, is part of the permanent collection of the National Museum in Warsaw.
Source: Radio Poland
Weather
Today will be mostly cloudy, with winds coming in from the northwest and a chance of rain in the afternoon. Temperatures will remain on the chilly side, with an afternoon high of 9°C, or 48°F, dropping to a low of 2°C or 36°F overnight. Similar weather is expected for tomorrow, with wet weather set to return later in the week.
EPeck/ap
