A mural will be created in Stołczyn to commemorate the first settlers.

The mural will be painted on the wall of the Szczecin Stołczyn station building. It will tell the story of the great population exchange that took place in the Recovered Territories in 1945. It was created by Sanok-based artist Arkadiusz Andrejkow and conceived by the FORUM Association of Friends of Stołczyn.

It is intended to commemorate the settlers who came to Western Pomerania after World War II as part of the population exchange (which began on July 5, 1945). The mural is being created to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and is the first of its kind among others planned by the FORUM Association of Friends of Stołczyn. The project is titled "Stołczyn 1945. On the 80th Anniversary of the End of World War II." Organizers are also planning a city game and exhibitions.

The mural will be painted by Arkadiusz Andrejkow, a graduate of the University of Rzeszów and creator of the "Silent Memorial," which has been in the works since 2017 and includes hundreds of murals and so-called "descales"—portraits painted on old boards. Andrejkow is a recipient of, among others, a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (2017) and the Silver Cross of Merit (2024). In his work, he combines art with social memory, bringing figures from old photographs back to the collective consciousness.

"When I was developing the idea, I immediately thought of Arkadiusz Andrejkov. I knew him as the author of 'Silent Memorial,' and I really liked that work," explains Paulina Romanowicz, president of the FORUM Association of Friends of Stołczyn.

The Stołczyn mural, which will be created between July 14th and 18th, will be a collage of three photographs. In the foreground, we see a settler couple with an infant, and behind them, a woman with a child. This is a fragment of a photograph documenting the arrival of the first Poles in Szczecin. In the background, a train is visible – the type used by the first inhabitants of the so-called Recovered Territories after World War II. In the background, the chimneys of the Stołczyn steelworks – a symbol of the settlement – ​​are visible. However, here, a fragment of a pre-war photo of the plant was used. The project includes additional graphic elements, giving it a more modern dimension.

– The mural is intended to commemorate Polish settlers in Western Pomerania, but in a broader sense, it also serves as a reminder of the resettlements that affected various nationalities – says Paulina Romanowicz. ©℗

Agata JANKOWSKA