Gdańsk Shipyard among 14 new historical monuments - president

The Gdańsk Shipyard is among 14 new monuments to history established by the president. "Poland has 105 monuments to history on its independence centenary," President Andrzej Duda said during a gala at the National Theatre in Warsaw on Monday.

The president and his wife, Agata Kornhauser-Duda, attended on Monday a "100 monuments to history on the 100th anniversary of Poland's independence" ceremony.

"I am very happy that on Poland's independence centenary we have 105 historical monuments (...). We sometimes call this period 'one hundred years out of one thousand' but most objects on the list, which started in 1994 - when this description was formulated - are over one hundred years old," President Duda said.

"And the 100th object on the list has a special meaning for our history. The Gdańsk Shipyard - a symbol of solidarity and struggle for freedom of our times as well as a symbol of the rebirth of our state, of a free and sovereign Poland. Thanks to the people of the Solidarity union, thanks to their unarmed and democratic struggle in an undemocratic country, a struggle which was successful, today we have a free, sovereign and independent state," he underlined.

The goal of the "100 monuments to history on the 100th anniversary of Poland's independence" project was to increase the number of sites, which are of great importance to Poland's history, to a symbolic 100. It is a list of material and non-material objects, which are to be a source of inspiration for future generations, and which have special significance for Poland's culture and history.

While addressing the gathering, Deputy PM and Culture Minister Piotr Gliński quoted Polish inter-war statesman Józef Piłsudski who said that "a nation that does not respect its past, does not deserve the respect of the present and has no right to the future."