Wroclaw, Poland
Breslau
Information
Wrocław is the chief city in south-western Poland, situated on the River Oder. Over the centuries the city has been either part of Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia or Germany. Wrocław is the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. According to official population figures for June 2009, its population is 632,240, making it the fourth largest city in Poland.
A panel of Polish and European Union experts chose Wrocław, capital of Lower Silesia in southwestern Poland, as European Capital of Culture 2016.
The city competed with Gdańsk, Katowice, Lublin and Warsaw. Wrocław will be Poland’s second city (after Kraków in 2000) to benefit from the huge visibility and opportunity to boost tourism and the local economy.
Upon reaching their decision, the experts congratulated the city but stressed that a lot of work still needed to be done, which would entail strong commitment from public authorities.
It is also one of four Polish cities; which will host football during the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament.
The Old Town is comparable to Krakow's in beauty and size, and includes the Gothic St. John's Cathedral, the Renaissance houses near the Market Square, the Baroque university and lots of fine examples of Art Nouveau and Functionalism.
The capital of Lower Silesia (Dolny Slask) has a huge Old Town built on several islands connected by over 100 bridges. Apart from its unique location, Wroclaw amazes with its volume of Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture. Several musical and theatre festivals, as well as its busy nightlife, attract innumerable visitors from all over Poland and abroad. Wroclaw's extremely complicated history, combining the cultural influences of Germany, Bohemia, Austria and Poland, has left its mark on the atmosphere of the city.
After Hitler's takeover of the German government in 1933, political enemies of the Nazis were persecuted, and their institutions closed or destroyed; in the city the Gestapo began actions against Polish and Jewish students, Communists, Social Democrats, and trade unionists. Arrests were even made for speaking Polish in public.
In 1938 the police destroyed the Polish cultural centre. Many of the city's 10,000 Jews as well as many other enemies of the Third Reich were sent to concentration camps; those Jews who remained were killed during the Holocaust.
A network of concentration camps and forced labour camps was established around Breslau, to serve industrial concerns, including FAMO, Junkers and Krupp. Tens of thousands were imprisoned there.
Wrocław is now a unique European city of mixed heritage, with architecture influenced by Bohemian, Austrian and Prussian traditions, such as Silesian Gothic and its Baroque style of court builders of Habsburg Austria (Fischer von Erlach). Wrocław has a number of notable buildings by German modernist architects including the famous Centennial Hall (Hala Stulecia or Jahrhunderthalle) (1911–1913) designed by Max Berg.
In July 1997, the city was heavily affected by a flood of the River Oder, the worst flooding in post-war Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. Around one third of the city's area stood under water. An earlier equally devastating flood of the river took place in 1903.
Main Tourist Sights
- Rynek (market square)
- Kościół Św. Elżbiety ("St. Elisabeth's Church")
- Hala Stulecia by Max Berg - a World Heritage Site
- Multimedia Fountain
- Szczytnicki Park with Japanese Garden
- Zoo
- Botanical garden
- Ostrów Tumski ("Cathedral Island", German: Dominsel) with Wrocław Cathedral
- Panorama Racławicka ("Racławice Panorama")
- Plac Grunwaldzki ("Grunwald Square", named for the Battle of Grunwald)
- Wrocław Palace
- White Stork Synagogue
Transport
Wrocław has easy access to the A4 motorway, which allows for quick connection with Upper Silesia, Kraków and finally Ukraine to the east and Dresden and Berlin to the west. Now an A8 motorway (Wrocław ring road) and S8 express road are being built, which will connect Wrocław and Warsaw. The city is served by Wrocław International Airport and a river port.
Public transport in Wrocław consists of many bus lines and over 20 tram lines operated by MPK (Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacyjne/The Municipal Transport Company). Today, a fast tram line is being built to connect the eastern part of city with the stadium and airport.
Copernicus Airport Wrocław - Live Flight Arrivals Information
Copernicus Airport Wrocław - Live Flight Departures Information
Map of Wroclaw