Plans to bury Polish president Lech Kaczynski at a cathedral complex reserved for the burial of kings, generals and national heroes, has sparked controversy and threatened to distrupt the national unity in the aftermath of his death, DPA reported.
Kaczynski and his wife Maria were among the 97 politicians and military brass and crew who died in a plane crash in Smolensk, Russia while en route to a ceremony to mark the Soviet-era Katyn massacre of some 22,000 Polish officers.
The tragedy has united Poles across the political spectrum as they grieve in a week-long period of national mourning and gather by the thousands to add to the sea of tulips, roses and candles at the entrance to the presidential palace.
But controversy was sparked when it was announced the presidential couple would be buried in the crypts of the Wawel Cathedral, known as the royal burial place of kings, generals and national heroes, in the city of Krakow on Sunday.
"Stay in Warsaw!" and "Lech Kaczynski was not a king," protestors were quoted by the Polish Press Agency PAP as having said Tuesday night.
The group of several hundred said they planned further protests Wednesday, claiming the burial place was chosen without the consent of the public. Others said the burial place was "exaggerated" and "undeserved," as the cathedral housed the graves of Polish kings.
The gothic Wawel Cathedral, which sits atop Wawel Hill, has hosted coronations and Pope John Paul II's first mass as priest. It has has also served since the 14th century as the burial site of Polish monarchs.
The crypts hold such Polish greats as Jan Sobieski III, known for his victory over the Ottoman Turks in 1683, and Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a brigadier general in the American Revolutionary War.
The ancient limestone outcrop where the cathedral is located overlooks the Vistula River and includes the city's majestic Royal Castle.
The Kaczynskis are to be buried near the crypt of Marshal Jozef Pilsudski, who won independence for Poland in 1918 after more than a century of partitions.
While Kaczynski had cited the marshal as his favorite national hero, critics now argue that the late president is not worthy of such eminent company.
"I think this is an unjust decision because the Wawel holds the graves of our kings," a high school student identified only as Martyna told PAP.
Officials appealed for unity and calm over Kaczynski's final resting place as thousands of mourners streamed to the presidential palace, where the coffins of the presidential couple went on public view Tuesday.
If Krakow officials deemed the Wawel a proper place, then that should be "the end of the discussion, period," Witold Waszczykowski, deputy head of the National Security Bureau, said on TVN24.
"I don't understand the people who have the strength for protests," member of parliament Pawel Poncyljusz told the broadcaster. "Honour the mourning and the pain we are all in. This (protest) will give you nothing."