Smoleńsk Air Disaster Monument

Warsaw


Dubbed 'the stairway to heaven', this black granite monument commemorates the 2010 plane crash in Smolensk, in which 96 people died, including the then President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński. Unveiled in 2018, it's a controversial memorial as it was placed here by the right-wing national government against the wishes of Warsaw's city hall.

At the time of research, the courts are still to decide whether the national government's takeover of the square was lawful. Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski has refused to rule out the possibility of a referendum on whether it should stay or be moved elsewhere.