A representative memorial site commemorating the ordeal of Poles will be created, along with a new recreation area. This part of the city will become unrecognizable thanks to the next stage of its revitalization, currently underway.
The work began with removing the surface on Wrocławska Street. It turned out that another layer of paving stones had been discovered beneath one layer. The scope of the work is very extensive, both above and below ground. A stormwater drainage system will be installed, while the sanitary sewer and water supply connections and power cables will be replaced. The street will be paved with blocks.
Sybirak Square will change considerably, as will its immediate surroundings. It will be paved with granite blocks and surrounded by greenery and trees. Street lamps will illuminate it. Street furniture will be installed, including benches and bins.
The monument to the Exiles to Siberia will be erected here. The Association of Siberians campaigned for its construction. The monument’s design was approved by the Council for the Protection of the Memory of Combat and Martyrdom. Its author, Legnica artist Grzegorz Niemyjski, proposed a composition featuring rising railway tracks with sleepers. Visitors will be able to step onto them and symbolically take part in the Poles’ journey into exile. The names of places that were the largest centers of exiles—Irkutsk, Tobolsk, Tomsk, Kolyma, Vladivostok, Vorkuta and Alma-Ata—will be placed on the sleepers and three monumental granite blocks. One of the blocks will bear the inscription: “To the memory of Polish exiles to Siberia in the years 1940–1956, in tribute to their martyrdom and fidelity to the ideals of freedom and independence – the residents of Legnica.” The monument will be illuminated, emphasizing its monumental composition.
Thanks to this investment, residents will also gain 32 parking spaces. The cost of the project is more than PLN 2 million. The Polska Miedź Foundation granted a donation of PLN 250,000 to help finance the construction of the monument.
UM Legnica/ii