Russian President Dmitry Medvedev braved the closure of Europe’s air space caused by a volcanic ash cloud to attend the funeral in Krakow — a gesture of solidarity that reinforced Polish hopes for improved ties with their communist-era master.
After a solemn mass, two gun carriages bore the coffins of Kaczynski and his wife Maria, draped in the red-and-white national flag, through winding streets to their final resting place in Wawel cathedral high above Poland’s ancient capital.
Tens of thousands of Poles chanted “Lech Kaczynski, we thank you” and waved flags and banners of the 1980s anti-communist Solidarity movement which the combative nationalist and devout Roman Catholic once helped to build.
Their coffins were then laid to rest in the cathedral’s crypt — a hallowed spot for Poles usually reserved for their kings, leading poets and national heroes.
They will be made available for public viewing around the clock immediately after officials leave the site and many of the people gathered in the Krakow’s old town for the funeral ceremony started forming a long line to see the crypt.
Kaczynski, his wife and 94 other, mostly senior Polish political and military officials died when their plane crashed in thick fog near Smolensk in western Russia on April 10.
