Wroclaw Mourns Victims of Smolensk Plane Crash
The whole of Poland is currently in a state of national mourning following the death of the president Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, and 94 other high level diplomats, cultural figures and crew members in a plane crash in Smolensk, Russia on the morning of 10 April 2010.
The delegation was en route to a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Katyn massacre of 1940 when thousands of Poles were murdered by Soviet forces. Many are pointing out the tragic irony of this event, as in both situations Poland was "decapitated", losing a large number of its intellectual elite in one fell swoop.
As acting president Bronislaw Komorowski has announced a week of national mourning in Poland. If you are planning on visiting Wroclaw or any city in Poland this week, make sure to keep in mind that nearly all cultural events and parties have been cancelled until the end of the mourning period.
A two-minute moment of silence was held across the country on Sunday, including in Wroclaw. Pedestrians and even cars stood still in reflection as sirens blared across the city. In Wroclaw, mourners have laid thousands of candles and flowers on the Market Square and on Plac Solny. A book of condolences is available to sign at the Ratusz (old town hall) on the Market Square during the week from 10am to 10pm.