Brutalist shed at Westerplatte to be saved? They want it to be a monument

·24 November 2024

The concrete bus shelter at Westerplatte is to be removed. This has been announced by the authorities of the World War II Museum in Gdańsk, who want to restore the entire Westerplatte area, reminiscent of the state in 1939. The concrete bus shelter was built in the 1960s, so it does not fit into the concept of changes. The case was reported by journalists of the Trojmiasto.pl website.

Gdańsk social activists want to protect the bus shelter from demolition and have announced the beginning of efforts to enter the structure in the register of monuments. The shelter is located at the Westerplatte bus terminus and was built when the whole area was developed after the war. At that time, the infrastructure of the area was built and used for various celebrations. It was also then (1966) that the Monument to the Defenders of the Coast was unveiled, designed by Adam Haupt, Franciszek Duszeńko and Henryk Kitowski.

The shelter has valuable architectural qualities. It is an example of Brutalist architecture. It is a simple structure made of concrete, several dozen metres long, with a canopy on which the formwork can be seen.

See: This is what the Westerplatte and 1939 War Museum will look like

The shelter is managed by the Second World War Museum. Piotr Kryszewski, Managing Director of Green Gdańsk, informed that‘a branch of the Second World War Museum in Gdańsk, the Second World War Museum is carrying out an investment project whose scope includes the plot with the indicated shelter. In accordance with the guidelines of the Voivodship Office for the Protection of Monuments, the design documentation currently being developed will include, among other things, the removal of the concrete bus shelter. An implementation permit for this scope of work is expected to be obtained in the second half of next year“.

The plans are confirmed by the Museum of the Second World War, which, when asked by Trojmiasto.pl, states:

The shelter in its current location interferes with the historical image of the Military Transit Depot at Westerplatte. For this reason, the object will be dismantled. The public funds provided for the realisation of the Westerplatte Museum are earmarked for the restoration of the appearance of Westerplatte from the period of the Military Transit Depot. The elements of the dismantled shelter may be made available to the City of Gdańsk or other public institutions which express such an interest,” the website quotes the response of the Directorate of the Museum of the Second World War.

The construction is defended by members of the Gdańsk Agglomeration Development Forum, who have announced that they will apply to the monuments conservation officer to have the brutalist shelter entered in the register of monuments. An entry in the register would protect the shelter from demolition. The Forum points out that the shelter is an example of the original 1960s design and has already accompanied many generations who have come to visit Westerplatte. If one is to be consistent, the Monument to the Defenders of the Coast itself should also be demolished, after all it was built in the 1960s, not the 1930s. It is therefore not part of the pre-war foundation.

Should the brutalist shelter remain? We publish a poll below.