The march began promptly at 20:00 to the sound of the St Mary’s bugle call, at the junction of the Main Market Square and Sławkowska Street, the place where the first shots were fired during Saturday’s attack. The participants then walked towards St Mary’s Basilica. The march ended near the Town Hall Tower.
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Those taking part, at the invitation of the mayor of Kraków, Łukasz Gibała, included the President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the Archbishop of Kraków, Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, the governor of the Małopolska region, Krzysztof Klęczar and the marshal of the region, Łukasz Smółka.
Even before the ceremony began, the mayor of Kraków had encouraged residents to commemorate the victims together.
“In this difficult time, let us show solidarity and show that Kraków will always be a proud city, but also hospitable and open” wrote Łukasz Gibała on social media. Prime minister Donald Tusk also encouraged people to take part in the event.
“This evening in Kraków thousands of Poles have gathered to pay tribute to the victims of the attack of 7 November. May they rest in peace” wrote Prime Minister Donald Tusk on X.
As the mayor had previously announced, no speeches were planned during the march. No addresses were scheduled after it either.
An important element of the ceremony was the commemoration of the places where the tragic events took place. Candles were lit at each of the three locations where victims of the attack were killed.
At the end of the event, the bugler played “The Sound of Silence” on the trumpet, and the Archbishop of Kraków, Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, said a short prayer for the dead.
The March of Silence was held on the last day of national mourning, declared by President Karol Nawrocki for 8 and 9 November. The authorities of Kraków have, however, decided on a longer period of remembrance. In the city the period of mourning will last until the end of Wednesday, 11 November.
During this time the flags on public buildings will remain at half-mast or draped in black crepe. Signs of mourning have also appeared on public transport – flags with black ribbons have been placed on Kraków’s buses and trams.
Residents who want to express their sympathy to the families of the victims can also write in a book of condolence.
The traditional book has been made available in the lobby of Kraków City Hall on Wszystkich Świętych Square. It can be signed until Wednesday 11 November, between 9:00 and 19:00.
The city has also opened an online condolence book which will remain available until 11 November at 19:00.
Injured police officers decorated by the president
Even before the March of Silence began, information emerged that two officers who had been seriously wounded while intervening against the attacker were to be honoured.
The head of the National Security Bureau, Bartosz Grodecki, announced on social media that President Karol Nawrocki had decided to award Senior Constable Jakub Kulik and Senior Constable Artur Morański the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
The decorations were awarded for special services in actions for public safety and order, as well as for courage and dedication in the performance of their duties.
“The heroic conduct of the officers, who at the risk of their own lives stopped the attacker, inspires admiration and deserves the highest recognition. I thank both officers for their decisive intervention and their readiness to defend others. I wish them a swift recovery” said Bartosz Grodecki, conveying the president’s position.
Both injured police officers received the decorations from the President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki in person.
First words of one of the injured police officers after waking from coma
27-year-old Senior Constable Artur Morański and 24-year-old Senior Constable Jakub Kulik were the first to intervene directly against the armed attacker who opened fire in the centre of Kraków on Saturday.
During the operation they neutralised the attacker, but were themselves shot by him and taken to hospital in a critical condition. Morański and Kulik were then placed in a medically induced coma.
On Sunday doctors began the process of waking both officers. A day later further information appeared on the condition of the 27-year-old.
The mayor of Kraków, Łukasz Gibała, reported that the officer had been extubated and his condition had started to improve.
As the mayor of Muszyna, Jan Golba, said on social media, Morański first words after waking up were: Is Kuba [Jakub] alive? (“A Kuba żyje?”).
Bloodbath in tourist hotspot
On Saturday a 24-year-old man, Michał Oksiński, drove a car onto the main market square in Kraków and opened fire with an automatic weapon, apparently at random.
Six people were killed and 16 were injured, including two police officers and the attacker, who died in hospital early on Monday morning.
Those killed in Krakow’s mains square and tourism hotspot were four Polish citizens, a British man and an Austrian woman. Among the 15 wounded are people from Britain, Portugal, Russia, Germany and Austria.
In Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, in the attacker’s family flat, police also found the bodies of his parents and sister, believed to have been killed hours before the attack in the centre of Krakow.
