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Poland to build EUR 86m museum of 1918/19 victorious uprising against Germans

23.12.2023 14:00
Polish authorities have signed a contract for the construction of a new museum to the Greater Poland Uprising of 1918-1919, a victorious revolt against German rule. 
Officials sign the agreement on the construction of a new Museum to the 19181919 Greater Poland Uprising, in Poznań, western Poland, on December 19, 2023.
Officials sign the agreement on the construction of a new Museum to the 1918/1919 Greater Poland Uprising, in Poznań, western Poland, on December 19, 2023. PAP/Jakub Kaczmarczyk

Administrators in the western city of Poznań approved the project on Tuesday, the state news agency PAP reported.

Under the contract, construction company Adamietz will build the new Museum of the Greater Poland Uprising near Poznań's St Adalbert Hill, ready for launch in December 2026, according to officials.

The plan is for a "four-building complex" with a permanent exhibition space of 3,000 square metres, private broadcaster Radio Zet reported.

The new Museum of the Greater Poland Uprising will be worth PLN 375 million (EUR 86.5 million), according to officials.

Regional authorities in the Wielkopolska (Greater Poland) region and Poland's central government are set to co-finance the project, the PAP news agency reported.

Poland's successful 1918/1919 uprising against German rule

The Greater Poland Uprising, in which Poles rose against the German state after the end of World War I, erupted on December 27, 1918.

The revolt started after the region's German authorities opposed a visit to the city of Poznań by Polish pianist and independence activist Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

The insurgents demanded the release of Prussian-occupied Polish land as the country recovered its independence after 123 years of foreign rule.

Fighting continued throughout the region until January 1919.

The Greater Poland Uprising was one of just a few Polish insurgencies that ended in victory for the country.

Under a law initiated by the president and approved by parliament in 2021, December 27 is a new Polish public holiday, known as National Day of the Victorious Greater Poland Uprising, in tribute to the revolt's participants.

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Source: PAP, dzieje.plRadio Zet, Institute for National Remembrance IPN