Law and Justice officials propose to demolish the Palace of Culture and Science which dominates Warsaw’s skyline. In its place, the ruling party’s politicians envision a column dedicated to Poland’s fallen heroes who fought for the country’s independence.
The Palace of Culture and Science (PKiN) is the symbol of Poland’s communist past. Built in the early fifties, it was meant as a gift of friendship from the Soviet Union. Over half a thousand 19th century town houses were torn down to make room for it. The Palace was named after Joseph Stalin.
It is high time to remove that symbol of Soviet domination over Poland and replace it with a column of glory of the Polish military
The discussion of whether to demolish the PKiN has been ongoing since the fall of communism in 1989. Recently, two Law and Justice (PiS) politicians called for the demolishment of the building on twitter.
During his seventieth birthday celebrations, Antoni Macierewicz, former minister of national defense, thanked the politicians for supporting the idea and stated, “It is high time to remove that symbol of Soviet domination over Poland and replace it with a column of glory of the Polish military. They deserve it. It was Poland’s army who fought for Poland’s independence.”
The idea for the construction of the column, with a statue of Holy Mary at its top was first introduced in may 2018. The candidates for the office of mayor of Warsaw are not as single-minded, however. PiS’s candidate simply stated he had a different idea of what should be done with the PKiN. Other ideas from other candidates include the construction of a central park in Warsaw or, interestingly, covering the whole Palace with moss.
