The Westerplatte Monument, also known as the Monument to the Defenders of the Coast (Polish: Pomnik Obroà Âców Wybrzeà ¼a) is a war memorial located in Gdaà Âsk, Poland, on the Westerplatte Peninsula in the Gdaà Âsk harbour channel constructed between 1964âÂÂ1966 to commemorate the Polish defenders of the Military Transit Depot (Wojskowa Skà Âadnica Tranzytowa, or WST) in the Battle of Westerplatte, one of the first battles in Germany's invasion of Poland, which marked the outbreak of World War II in Europe.
The urban project including an unrealized museum was drafted by Adam Haupt, while the monument itself was designed by sculptors Franciszek Duszeà Âko and Henryk Kitowski. The project by Duszeà Âko and Kitowski was selected from 63 proposed projects.
The construction of the monument was initiated by the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites (Rada Ochrony PamiÃÂci Walk i MÃÂczeà Âstwa) and consists of 236 granite blocks transported from the quarries in Strzegom and Borów and weighing 1,150 tons. The monument is decorated with bas-reliefs and inscriptions, which pay tribute to the defence of the Polish sea coast, the naval battles of WWII in which Polish sailors and soldiers took part as well as the Battle of Lenino, Battle of Studzianki and Battle of Koà Âobrzeg. The memorial also includes the inscription "Glory to the Liberators" (Chwaà Âa wyzwolicielom).
The shape of the monument resembles in its appearance a jagged bayonet impaled in the ground. Seven candle lights at the foot of the monument symbolically represent the seven days of heroic defence of Westerplatte by Polish soldiers against the numerically superior Nazi German army.
The 22-meter high artificial mound on which the monument is located was erected from the earth collected from the redevelopment of the Port of Gdaà Âsk. The construction of the monument took 2 years to complete and it was ceremonially unveiled on 9 October 1966 on the anniversary of the Battle of Lenino.
Each year, official state ceremonies to commemorate the outbreak of the Second World War take place at the foot of the monument and have been attended by prominent Polish and foreign dignitaries and heads of states.