Crowds mourn slain mayor of Poland’s Gdańsk

Paweł Adamowicz, 53, a long-serving mayor of the northern Polish city of Gdańsk, died on Monday from severe wounds inflicted by a knife-wielding man during a high-profile charity event a day earlier.

On Thursday afternoon, his coffin was put on display for mourners to pay their last respects at the European Solidarity Centre, a landmark cultural institution in Gdańsk that Adamowicz helped create to tell the story of the legendary trade union and freedom movement, which challenged Poland's Soviet-backed communist regime in the 1980s.

Earlier in the day, the Gdańsk City Council convened for a special session in honour of the murdered mayor that was attended by both incumbent and former aldermen of various political affiliations.

On Wednesday evening, Adamowicz's wife and elder daughter joined mourners for a heart-rending vigil at a square in the city centre where a giant heart was formed with candles in tribute to the murdered mayor.

Photo: PAP/Tomasz Waszczuk

Poland’s lawmakers on Wednesday observed a minute’s silence to honour the departed politician.

On Friday morning, crowds kept gathering to file past his coffin as it lay in state in the Gdańsk museum, surrounded by flowers and draped in the flag of the city.

On Friday afternoon, Adamowicz’s coffin will be carried through the streets of Gdańsk to the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a centuries-old Roman Catholic church where he will be laid to rest among other prominent city figures.

Adamowicz was mayor of Gdańsk for more than 20 years.

He is survived by wife Magdalena and daughters Antonina and Teresa, aged 15 and 8.

Poland's President Andrzej Duda has declared a national day of mourning in honour of the murdered politician, to be observed from 5 pm on Friday to 7 pm on Saturday.

(gs/pk)

Source: PAP, TVP Info, TVN 24