State Visit to Poland

King Harald and Queen Sonja were formally welcomed by His Excellency President Bronisław Komorowski and Mrs Anna Komorowska in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. After the official welcoming ceremony, the King and Queen and the President and Mrs Komorowska continued into the palace for an exchange of gifts and discussions.

Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre, Norwegian Minister of Defence Espen Barth Eide, and Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Lisbeth Berg-Hansen are accompanying the King and Queen on their State Visit, and will take part in bilateral meetings. Three new cooperation programmes on research, education and culture are expected to be signed during the visit.

King Harald attended several meetings in the course of the day, and had discussions with His Excellency Prime Minister Donald Tusk and His Excellency Marshal of the Senate Bogdan Borusewicz.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was erected in Warsaw in 1925 to commemorate the unknown Polish soldiers who had fallen in the First World War and the subsequent Polish-Soviet War. An unknown soldier was buried here along with a medal of Poland’s highest military order and 14 urns containing soil from as many battlegrounds. After the Second World War, soil from 24 additional battlegrounds was added to the urns.

Today King Harald laid a wreath at the tomb to commemorate the fallen.

Chopin museum

Fryderyk (or Frédéric) Chopin is Poland’s most renowned and influential composer. A master of Romantic music, Chopin composed the vast majority of his works for piano. He composed until his death in the mid-1800s.

Today Queen Sonja visited the Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw to view the largest collection of Chopin-related material in the world. The collection includes original music manuscripts, correspondence and personal belongings, as well as reviews and other documents that give insight into how Chopin’s contemporaries experienced him and his music. The museum has built a modern, interactive collection, and also organises concerts and competitions of Chopin’s music.

Reception for the trade delegation

In the afternoon the King and Queen attended a reception for the Norwegian trade delegation. Cooperation between Norway and Poland is growing steadily. One hundred and fifteen representatives of some 80 companies are taking part in the Norwegian trade delegation during the visit.

Welcome banquet at the Presidential Palace

In the evening, the King and Queen attended an official welcome banquet hosted by the president and his wife at the Presidential Palace.

Since its construction in the mid-1600s, the palace has been the site of a number of historic events. The Warsaw Pact was signed here in 1955, and representatives of the labour union Solidarity met here for talks with the communist government in 1989. The palace has been home to numerous aristocratic families throughout the centuries before becoming the official seat of the President of Poland in 1993.