“Europe starts here” - this motto of the European Heritage Label welcomes all those who cross the threshold of the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk. The European Commission has distinguished the complex of the Historic Gdańsk Shipyard - BHP Hall, Gate No. 2, Solidarity Square with the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers of 1970 and the ECS - because it symbolizes the birth of Solidarity and the peaceful revolution that has transformed Central and Eastern Europe.

The European Solidarity Centre Gdańsk is a cultural institution with the aim to promote the knowledge about the peaceful victory of Solidarity. The ECS foundation stone was laid in May 2011. An international competition for the design of the ECS building attracted entries from 58 architectural studios throughout the world. The competition jury selected the design submitted by the Gdańsk-based architectural firm FORT. Since the opening of its new building in August 2014, the ECS has welcomed 6.5 million visitors from all over the world, making it one of Poland’s biggest tourist attractions. The ECS is also the only museum in Poland honored with the Council of Europe Museum Prize (2016), which has been awarded annually for more than 40 years to museums that have made a significant contribution to the understanding of Europe’s cultural heritage.

The heart of the ECS is a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of Solidarity and the changes it triggered in Central and Eastern Europe. Besides modern spatial structures and multimedia presentations, the interactive exhibition contains authentic shipyard equipment and valuable memorabilia. In 2021 the ECS permanent exhibition was awarded with THE EUROPEAN HERITAGE AWARD / EUROPA NOSTRA AWARD as it highlights the value of activism for human rights, labor rights, and political rights, and shows the importance of civic engagement in the advancement of these causes – as the jury stated. As the heart of the institution, the exhibition shapes the activities for the ECS education center, a research center, an archive, a library, and a media center.