“I  haven’t yet made up my mind what to show and tell visitors. I will probably accommodate them and simply answer their questions,”  Henryka Krzywonos-Strycharska, a signatory of the 1980 Gdansk Accords between the communist authorities of the Polish People’s Republic and members of NSZZ “Solidarność” who protested at the Gdansk Shipyard, tells Polska.pl. The famous streetcar driver will probably be asked about 15 August 1980, when she stopped her streetcar near the Baltic Opera and said “this tram won’t go any further,” triggering strikes in the shipyard that set Poland on a course for democracy.

Besides Henryka Krzywonos-Strycharska, other heroes of the opposition, including Zbigniew Bujak, Ludwika and Henryk Wujec, Professor Antoni Dudek, Bogdan Borusewicz or the actress Joanna Szczepkowska, will be guiding visitors around modern multimedia exhibitions that tell the story of the movement. “Each of them will present his or her own story about Solidarity. We didn’t force our ideas on them,” Magdalena Charkin-Jaszcza from the ESC tells Polska.pl.

The Centre, built for PLN 240 million on the site of the Gdansk Shipyard, is just next to Gate No. 2 and the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers. It is regarded as one of the most beautiful modern constructions in Poland. The building was designed by Wojciech Targowski and reminds some people of a rusty ship hull. Asked to explain the symbolism of the building, the architect leaves this to the viewers. However, he admits to being inspired by a visit to the shipyard when it was still working at full stretch. Back then, he took several pictures of hull plates. “I can still remember the light-and shade effects and rhythm which created an almost sculpture-like form,” he says.

He dreamed that a building of 25.000 m2  would all the time resound with the subtle sounds of construction and a shipyard at work. But even without these sound effects you get the impression that the neglected and abandoned shipyard areas have come alive today. It is thanks to the state-of-the-art museum solutions. The role of exhibits is played by an authentic gantry crane and a STAR truck. Visitors can listen to the memories of shipyard workers in the crane operator’s cabin of Anna Walentynowicz, one of the founders of Solidarity. Multimedia displays and touchscreens will help you learn about the topography and history of the former shipyard, as well as see how the district of Nowe Miasto looked 30 years ago.