One hundred and twenty nine architects from across the world are taking part in a tender to design the World War Two museum to be built in Gdańsk.

The largest number of design firms come from Poland, with the United States, France, Germany, Britain and Spain next on the list.

The winner of the tender will be announced on 1 September and will receive 80, 000 euros and an invitation to participate in the work on the construction project and the development of the entire museum site.

An international jury to judge the design competition includes leading Polish and foreign architects such as Grzegorz Buczek, Daniel Libeskind, George Ferguson and Jack Lohman, the director of the Museum of London, as well as graphic artist Andrzej Pągowski and theatre and costume designer Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda.

Construction work is to begin next year and the opening of the museum is scheduled for 1 September 2014, the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of war.

The museum is to document the history of World War Two in the context of  both the geopolitics of the time and the experiences of ordinary people, in Poland and other countries. (mk)