The historic Gdańsk Shipyard was the birthplace of the Solidarity movement. The movement's origins date back to the workers' strike of 1970, which was bloodily suppressed by the socialist authorities.

Ten years later, a new wave of strikes prompted the government to give in and sign the historic August Agreements in 1980 with Lech Wałęsa.

The accords were signed in the premises of the shipyard and allowed the first independent trade union in the Eastern Bloc: NSZZ "Solidarność.

From this moment on, Solidarity continuously promoted democracy and civil liberties in Poland and triggered similar social movements across Eastern European countries in the 1980s.

Find out more about the selection of the site from the panel's report.