First Border Post Monument in Czelin

The Monument to the First Border Post in Czelin, in Mieszkowice municipality, stands where on 27 February 1945 soldiers of the Polish Army set the first Polish border post on the Oder. The obelisk marks the moment the army reached the country's western border and is one of the stops on the National Remembrance Trail.

The post of February 1945

According to the entry on Czelin, the post was erected by soldiers of the 6th Independent Pontoon and Bridge Battalion of the Polish Army. Those named include 2nd Lt Stefan Kobek, 2nd Lt Władysław Cieślak, Sgt Henryk Kalinowski, Sgt Władysław Janicki and Staff Sgt Krzemiński. The post was carved from wood by Cpl A. Wydrzyński, a carpenter from Volhynia. A plate with the Piast eagle and the word "Polska" was fixed to it, together with two signposts: Berlin - 64 km and Warsaw - 474 km.

The unit then drew up a report, which is now held by the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw. It states that the unit was the first to reach the western edge of the Republic and drove a border post into the bank of the Oder.

The obelisks

The first monument was unveiled on 22 July 1960. It was designed by Commander Henryk Kalinowski, the brother of one of the soldiers who set the post, and built by soldiers from Szczecin-Podjuchy. In 1968 it was replaced by the present large obelisk with an eagle on a tall column, designed by the Szczecin sculptor Anna Paszkiewicz. It was unveiled on 16 October 1968, and according to the source about 12 thousand people attended the ceremony. The smaller, older obelisk stands about 100 m to the south-east, in the forest.

Practical information

• Location: Czelin, Mieszkowice municipality, Gryfino County, on the Oder.
• The monument is part of the National Remembrance Trail, which links Cedynia, Czcibor Hill, Siekierki, Gozdowice, Czelin and Osinów Dolny.
• The village also has a 13th-century church, see Church of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Czelin, a few hundred metres from the obelisk.