Gate No 2 of the Gdańsk Shipyard, Historic entrance of the Gdańsk Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland.
Gate No. 2 of the Gdańsk Shipyard is a steel gateway whose tall white letters read "STOCZNIA GDAŃSK" above "IM. LENINA". The structure consists of a guardhouse building and steel doors, with the shipyard emblem on the western post and the Order of the Banner of Labour on the eastern one. It stands near the management buildings and the railway station.
The gate witnessed violence in 1970 when workers exiting the shipyard faced gunfire. This moment became a turning point that eventually led to the formation of the Solidarity movement years later.
The gate's name is tied to the August 1980 strike, when workers hung holy pictures and a portrait of John Paul II on it and placed a banner reading "Workers of the world, unite!" above the entrance. Boards with the 21 demands of the Inter-Factory Strike Committee were hung on the porter's lodge.
The gate stands by the shipyard's management buildings, close to Gdańsk Główny railway station and the Śródmieście district, so it can be reached on foot from the station. The steel letters of the sign face the street; the entrance itself is flanked by a chain-link fence and a low canopy roof.
In August 1980, Lech Wałęsa stood at this gate and announced the end of the strikes and the signing of the Gdańsk Agreement. This moment marked a turning point in the history of Poland and Europe.
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