Poznań June 1956 Monument (Poznań Crosses)

The Poznań June 1956 Monument, known locally as the Poznań Crosses (Poznańskie Krzyże), stands on Adam Mickiewicz Square in the city's Imperial District, next to the Imperial Castle. Two joined steel crosses, 19.5 m and 21 m tall and bound with a carved rope, commemorate the victims of the first mass revolt against communist rule in Poland and of later protests in 1968, 1970, 1976, 1980 and 1981. It is free, open around the clock and essential for understanding modern Poznań.

What happened in June 1956

On the morning of June 28, 1956, remembered as "Black Thursday," workers at the Cegielski engineering works (then named after Stalin) went on strike. Their march swelled to nearly 100,000 people outside the city authorities' offices in the Imperial Castle, and demands for bread and fair pay turned into anti-government and anti-Soviet slogans. The regime sent in roughly 10,000 soldiers and hundreds of tanks. Dozens were killed (counts vary, a total of 57 is often given), including 13-year-old Romek Strzałkowski, who became the symbol of the tragedy. It was the first general strike in communist Poland, and it helped trigger the political thaw of October 1956, the same year as the Hungarian Revolution.

How the monument came about

The idea came from the Solidarity movement in autumn 1980. Sculptor Adam Graczyk and architect Włodzimierz Wojciechowski won the design competition, and the steel parts were made largely at the Cegielski plant, where the 1956 protest began. The monument was unveiled on June 28, 1981, the 25th anniversary, before a crowd of about 200,000; Lech Wałęsa was among the speakers. Half a year later martial law was declared.

What to look for

• The two crosses, symbols of death and resurrection: 1956 on the left, 1968, 1970, 1976, 1980, 1981 on the right.
• The eagle's head monument with the inscription "For God, for freedom, law and bread. June 1956."
• Bronze plaques along the square naming the presidents of Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, who paid tribute here on the 50th anniversary in 2006.
• The Adam Mickiewicz statue on the same square, honoring Poland's national poet.

The main anniversary ceremony takes place here every June 28.

Practical information

• Access: open public square, 24/7, free, year-round.
• Time needed: 10–15 minutes; about 1.5 hours if you add the museum in the Imperial Castle.
• Getting there: the square is on Święty Marcin Street, about a 10-minute walk from Poznań Główny station and 15 minutes from the Old Market Square. Poznań is about 2.5–3 hours by direct train from Berlin or Warsaw.
• The square is flat and wheelchair-friendly.

Nearby

The neo-Romanesque Imperial Castle, built for Kaiser Wilhelm II, houses the Poznań Uprising – June 1956 Museum (check current hours before you go). Across the square is the university's Collegium Minus, and close by are the Grand Theater and the Enigma Cipher Center, which tells how Poznań-trained mathematicians first broke the German Enigma code.