Called The Treasures of the Świnoujście-Szczecin Waterway Track, the exhibition was launched in the European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium, on Wednesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
It presents the most valuable finds from among 100 tonnes of relics unearthed in the Polish waterway during work to deepen the passage, according to officials.
The PLN 1.9 billion (EUR 410 million) project was completed last year, the PAP news agency reported.
At the exhibition’s opening on Wednesday, Marek Gróbarczyk, a Polish deputy infrastructure minister, said: “The Świnoujście-Szczecin waterway has been modernised. We are pleased to be able to organise events where we can showcase the effects of such important projects.”
Guests at the ceremony included Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Piotr Gliński.
The historical artefacts found beneath the waterway include the remains of a US Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber, which was shot down over what is now northwestern Poland at the height of World War II, in October 1944.
The machine’s Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial engine is among the exhibits shown in the European Parliament.
Other relics dredged up from the Świnoujście-Szczecin waterway include parts of the German heavy cruiser Lützow, which was bombed by British aircraft in April 1945 in Świnoujście.
Also on show is a medieval sword and fragments of a 5.4-tonne British World War II-era Tallboy bomb that was probably air-dropped on the Lützow, the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, portalmorski.pl