Warsaw decides on monument for Smolensk victims

Five years after the crash, Warsaw city councillors have agreed on the site where the monument to the victims of the Smolensk catastrophe will be situated.

The memorial will be placed on the edge of Piłsudski Square on the corner of Trębacka and Focha streets, also in close proximity to the Presidential Palace on Krakowskie Przedmieście in Warsaw’s downtown.

The site was previously proposed by Warsaw mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, who called the extraordinary councillor’s session to decide on where the monument should be placed.

In a vote, 30 councillors voted for the site, while 22 voted against while two abstained.

The monument itself is to be decided on through a competition.

The move come as President Bronisław Komorowski met earlier this year with representatives of families affected by the Smolensk catastrophe, which killed 96 people, including President Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and other high-ranking Poles on 10 April 2010.

However, not everyone is pleased with the location, arguing that the monument should stand on Krakowskie Przedmieście itself, although city conservators have discounted such an option.