Poland will mark Independence Day today with wreath-layings, a state mass, presidential honors and an Independence March in Warsaw, with parliament buildings open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
President Karol Nawrocki and his wife will lead the main ceremony at Piłsudski Square, where the president will also present state decorations and deliver remarks.
Earlier, top officials will lay wreaths at Warsaw monuments to Wincenty Witos, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Ignacy Daszyński, Roman Dmowski, Wojciech Korfanty, and Józef Piłsudski, all key figures in the country’s struggle for independence.
Nawrocki and First Lady Marta Nawrocka, joined by Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, will attend a mass for the homeland at the Temple of Divine Providence. At noon, senior officials will take part in a ceremonial changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Piłsudski Square.
Later in the day, wreaths are planned at monuments to the victims of the 2010 Smolensk tragedy, President Lech Kaczyński and Marshal Józef Piłsudski, near Piłsudski Square.
On Monday evening, the eve of the holiday, a Capstrzyk Niepodległości (“Independence Tattoo”) ceremony took place at the Józef Piłsudski monument, with Kosiniak-Kamysz and military commanders laying wreaths at memorials to the Fathers of Independence.
The Sejm and Senate will open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., offering access to normally restricted areas such as the Sejm chamber and corridors. Around 10:50 a.m., visitors can meet Senate Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska on the Senate’s first floor.
