Mirosław K., fifty, is a roofer by profession and has climbed the Bolesławiec cross six times. Four times in 2015 and twice in May this year. His most recent climbs took place on consecutive days and had been announced by Mirosław.
When Mirosław climbs the cross, the police, fire brigade and ambulance service arrive, and a negotiator also appears; an air cushion is set up. The services are on full alert. Onlookers also gather, and recently they held a small party while watching the emergency services at work. Mirosław is surrounded by attention, concern and interest. The local press reports every one of his climbs. This is probably why he does not come down from the cross, and officers and firefighters have to spend several hours with him. They already know each other well; recently, someone even went to buy the man cigarettes.
Is it about the eviction?
Two years ago, Mirosław lost the flat on 1 Maja Street, where he had first lived with his father until his death in 2009, and then lived alone. The property was completely neglected, vandalised and in debt. In 2010, a court ruled on his eviction without the right to alternative accommodation, but Mirosław continued living there for another four years. He worked off the unpaid charges. MZGM cancelled Mirosław’s bailiff debt related to his removal from the flat. In 2014, the man finally left the property.
After the eviction, he was also provided with a month-long stay at a hotel so that he could look for somewhere to live, but Mirosław never showed up at the rented guesthouse. He stays with a female friend, but they are not formally in a relationship and she cannot always let him stay overnight.
Because I’ll climb the cross
On 10 May at 8:00 p.m., he climbed the structure for the first time that year. He came down after several hours and, after being examined by a doctor and released, was back on the cross the following day. Before climbing, Mirosław had also visited MZGM employees. He was intoxicated, insulted people and announced that he would climb the cross as a protest against having no home. The firefighters’ and police officers’ operation once again took several hours. This time, Mirosław was placed in custody, and the case will go to court.
The History of Desperate Climbs onto the Bolesławiec Cross
The massive 27-metre cross, weighing 30 tonnes, was erected on Garncarska Street in 2003. For eight years, no one climbed it, until a desperate man was spotted at the very top in 2011. The 47-year-old came down from the cross on his own and started a bizarre trend of expressing one’s problems by climbing the consecrated structure.
In 2011, a 49-year-old resident of Bolesławiec climbed the cross. In the summer of 2012, another 49-year-old climbed the cross and came down after being persuaded by a police officer. In February 2013, a 50-year-old man climbed onto the structure and hung from one of the cross’s arms. He was the only one to fall onto the air cushion deployed by the firefighters, because he did not have the strength to pull himself up. You can see his jump in the video.
Later that same day in February 2013, another man climbed the cross. As soon as he realised that the police were already on their way, he came down from the cross and began to run away. Police officers caught up with him and checked his identity. It turned out that he was a 37-year-old man wanted to serve a prison sentence.
In 2014, one man climbed the cross twice. The first time was on 2 August, when he sat on it for four hours. He repeated the feat a dozen or so days later.
The years 2015 and 2016 belong to Mirosław, who has completely dominated the cross, prompting the question of whether he would let anyone else climb it.
Should the cross be secured against desperate climbers?
Residents of Bolesławiec have repeatedly raised the issue of securing the structure so that no one could climb it. At first, the cross was clad in copper sheeting, but the sheeting was stolen in the winter of 2013. In 2014, the cross was covered with a sturdy mesh up to a height of 3.8 metres from its base. The costs were covered by the City Office. The Millennium Cross is cared for by the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, whose parish priest is Dean Father Stanisław Kusik.