Baltic Cross of Hope, Monumental cross in Pustkowo, Poland.
The Baltic Cross of Hope is a 19-metre steel cross standing on a cliff in Pustkowo, about 100 metres from the Baltic shore at the corner of Nadmorska and Leśna streets. It is a replica of the Giewont cross in the Tatra Mountains, 1.5 metres taller and nearly two tonnes heavier than the original, weighing 4.5 tonnes. The structure was brought in sections and bolted and partly welded together on a concrete footing sunk 2.5 metres deep.
The cross was initiated by Tadeusz Jędraszek, president of the Catholic Association of Polish Railwaymen, inspired by John Paul II's 1987 words in Szczecin about the wind blowing from the Baltic to the mountain peaks and the Giewont cross. Construction began in 2001 and was completed on 14 May 2007. Pustkowo was chosen over Trzęsacz and Wisełka because those sites were too far from the shoreline; a plaque at the base, set in 2014, commemorates the location's proposers.
The name was given by Archbishop Andrzej Dzięga. Since 2009 a motorcycle pilgrimage called "from cross to cross" rides from Pustkowo to Zakopane. At Christmas a nativity scene is set up beside the cross, and a replica of the Statek Expo ship, made for Expo 2000, stands on the square.
The cross is easily accessible with designated spaces around the structure for rest and reflection. Visitors should be aware that the open site is weather-dependent, so appropriate clothing is important.
The cross is a replica of the Giewont cross in the Tatra Mountains, but it is 1.5 m taller and nearly 2 tonnes heavier than the original. It was carried to Pustkowo in pieces and bolted and partly welded together on site. Its foundation footing sits 2.5 m below the surrounding ground and used 170 tonnes of concrete.
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