Permanent exhibition of the European Solidarity Centre

A permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of the Solidarity trade union and the changes that took place under its influence in Eastern Europe is the heart of the European Solidarity Centre building. The exhibition occupies nearly 3,000 square meters on the first and second floors of the building. It is divided into seven halls. Visitors spend an average of two hours here. This modern exhibition is narrative in nature. The visitor is immersed in history told through archival objects, documents, manuscripts, photos and video projections, interactive installations... Everyone who visits this exhibition has a chance to find their own references to history and the present. The multiplicity of narratives allows one to return here again and again, finding a new story each time.

Boards of 21 postulates hanging during the August '80 strike on the gate of the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk; the overhead crane on which legendary union activist Anna Walentynowicz worked; the shot-through jacket of Ludwik Piernicki, a 20-year-old shipbuilder and victim of December '70; the desk of Jacek Kuroń, one of the opposition leaders during the communist era—these are just a few of the nearly 1,800 objects on view at the permanent exhibition.