One of the biggest events was the annual Independence March, held in the capital Warsaw, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Amid heavy police presence, participants waved Poland-coloured flags as they marched through the streets of Warsaw to the grounds around the national stadium, for a concert of patriotic songs.
Meanwhile, some 700 people gathered in the western city of Poznań for an Independence Day procession titled Poland Connects Us, rmf24.pl reported. Police said the march was peaceful and incident-free, according to gloswielkopolski.pl.
In the southwestern city of Opole, central and local government officials and NGO activists attended a Holy Mass for the Homeland, before taking part in the region’s main Independence Day event, at the Monument to the Fighters for a Polish Opole Silesia, the PAP news agency reported.
The day’s main observance ceremony took place at noon in the Marshal Józef Piłsudski Square in Warsaw, with President Andrzej Duda, First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in attendance, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Also present were Deputy Prime Ministers Mariusz Błaszczak and Piotr Gliński, senior government officials and top lawmakers, as well as a special guest, the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, according to officials.
President Duda issued a warning as he told compatriots: “Independence and freedom are not given once and for all, they can be lost, they can be absent, somebody may take them away, as indeed they were taken away from the Polish people living in the late 18th and early 18th century.”
Duda also thanked Poles for the hospitality and support extended to the Ukrainian people following the Russian invasion of February 24.
He said: “I thank everyone who helped our Ukrainian neighbours…. Those who welcomed refugees from Ukraine into their homes. Without asking who they are, without asking whether they are rich or poor.”
Poland regained independence on November 11, 1918, the day World War I ended, after 123 years of partition by Russia, Austria and Prussia.
One of the highlights of this year's festivities will be the opening of a new Mausoleum of the Polish Presidents-in-Exile.
Friday is day 261 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP, rmf24.pl, gloswielkopolski.pl