Wrocław

Middle Ages

Church of Saint Giles (pl) erected in the 1220s at Ostrów Tumski, the oldest section of Wrocław

The medieval chronicle, Gesta principum Polonorum, written by Gallus Anonymus in 1112–1116 AD, named Wrocław, along with Kraków and Sandomierz, as one of the three capitals of the Polish Kingdom.

During Wrocław's early history, the control over it changed hands between Bohemia (until 992, then 1038–1054), the Kingdom of Poland (992–1038 and 1054–1202), and after the fragmentation of the Kingdom of Poland, the Piast-ruled duchy of Silesia. One of the most important events during this period was the foundation of the Diocese of Wrocław by the Polish Duke (from 1025 King) Bolesław the Brave in 1000. Along with the Bishoprics of Kraków and Kołobrzeg, Wrocław was placed under the Archbishopric of Gniezno in Greater Poland, founded by Pope Sylvester II through the intercession of the Emperor Otto III in 1000 AD, during the Congress of Gniezno. In the years 1034–1038 the city was affected by Pagan reaction in Poland.^[11]

The oldest printed text in the Polish language – Statuta Synodalia Episcoporum Wratislaviensis printed in Wrocław by Kasper Elyan, 1475

The city became a commercial centre and expanded to Wyspa Piasek (Sand Island), and then to the left bank of the River Oder. Around 1000, the town had about 1,000 inhabitants.^[12] In 1109 during the Polish-German war, Prince Bolesław III Wrymouth defeated the King of Germany Henry V at the Battle of Hundsfeld, stopping the German march into Poland. By 1139, a settlement belonging to Governor Piotr Włostowic (a.k.a. Piotr Włast Dunin) was built, and another was founded on the left bank of the River Oder, near the present seat of the University. While the city was Polish, there were also communities of Bohemians, Jews, Walloons^[11] and Germans.^[13]

In the 13th century, Wrocław was the political centre of the divided Polish kingdom.^[14] In April 1241, during the First Mongol invasion of Poland the city was abandoned by the inhabitants and burned for strategic reasons. During the battles with the Mongols the Wrocław Castle was defended by Henry II the Pious and was never captured.^[15]

After the Mongol invasion the town was partly populated by German settlers^[16] who, in the following centuries, would gradually become its dominant ethnic group; the city, however, retained its multi-ethnic character, a reflection of its position as an important trading city on the Via Regia and the Amber Road.^[17]

St Martin's Church, the only remainder of a medieval Piast stronghold that once stood in Wrocław

With the influx of settlers the town expanded and adopted in 1242 German town law. The city council used Latin and German, and "Breslau", the Germanized name of the city, appeared for the first time in written records.^[16] The enlarged town covered around 60 hectares (150 acres), and the new main market square, which was surrounded by timber frame houses, became the new centre of the town. The original foundation, Ostrów Tumski, became the religious centre. The city adopted Magdeburg rights in 1261. The Polish Piast dynasty^[18] remained in control of the region, but the right of the city council to govern independently increased. In 1274 the prince Henryk IV Probus gave the city the staple right.

Wrocław, which for 350 years belonged to the Polish, after the death of Henry VI the Good in 1335 was incorporated into the Kingdom of Bohemia, then a part of the Holy Roman Empire.

Between 1342 and 1344, two fires destroyed large parts of the city. The city joined the Hanseatic League in 1387.

In June 5, 1443, the city was affected by an earthquake of the strength of at least 6 degrees on the Richter scale, which destroyed or seriously damaged many buildings in the city. From 1469 to 1490 it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary and the King of Hungary Matthias Corvinus even had a mistress from the city with whom he had a son. In 1474, the city left the Hanseatic League.

In 1475, Kasper Elyan printed in Wrocław Statuta Synodalia Episcoporum Wratislaviensium, first in the history of printing in the Polish language, it contains three Catholic prayers.

Renaissance, Reformation and Counter-Reformation

Map of the city from 1562, with its fortifications around the Oder River

The Protestant Reformation reached the town in 1518 and the city became Protestant. However, from 1526 Silesia was ruled by the Catholic House of Habsburg. In 1618, it supported the Bohemian Revolt out of fear of losing the right to freedom of religious expression. During the ensuing Thirty Years' War, the city was occupied by Saxon and Swedish troops, and lost 18,000 of 40,000 citizens to plague.

The Austrian emperor brought in the Counter-Reformation by encouraging Catholic orders to settle in the city, starting in 1610 with the Franciscans, followed by Jesuits,^[10] Capuchins, and finally Ursulines in 1687. These orders erected buildings which shaped the city's appearance until 1945. At the end of the Thirty Years' War, however, it was one of only a few Silesian cities to stay Protestant.

Battle of Breslau during the Seven Years' War (Third Silesian War 1756–1763)

The Polish Municipal school opened in 1666. It operated until 1766.

The precise record keeping of births and deaths by the city led to the use of their data for analysis of mortality, first by John Graunt and then later by Edmond Halley. Halley's tables and analysis, published in 1693, are considered to be the first true actuarial tables, and thus the foundation of modern actuarial science.

During the Counter-Reformation, the intellectual life of the city flourished, as the Protestant bourgeoisie lost its role to the Catholic orders as the patron of the arts. The city became the centre of German Baroque literature and was home to the First and Second Silesian school of poets.^[19]

The Kingdom of Prussia annexed the town and most of Silesia during the War of the Austrian Succession in the 1740s. Habsburg empress Maria Theresa ceded the territory in the Treaty of Breslau in 1742. Austria attempted to recover Silesia with Breslau during the Seven Years' War and the Battle of Breslau, but unsuccessfully.

In 1766, Giacomo Casanova stayed in Breslau.

Napoleonic Wars

Entry of Prince Jérôme Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon I, to Breslau, 7 January 1807

During the Napoleonic Wars, it was occupied by an army of the Confederation of the Rhine. The fortifications of the city were leveled^[10] and monasteries and cloisters were secularised. The Protestant Viadrina European University of Frankfurt (Oder) was relocated to Breslau in 1811, and united with the local Jesuit University to create the new Silesian Frederick-William University (Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelm-Universität, now University of Wrocław). The city became the centre of the German Liberation movement against Napoleon, and the gathering place for volunteers from all over Germany, with the Iron Cross military decoration founded by Frederick William III of Prussia in early March 1813. The city was the centre of Prussian mobilisation for the campaign which ended at Leipzig.^[20]

Prussia and Germany

Napoleonic redevelopments increased prosperity in Silesia and the city. The levelled fortifications opened space for the city to grow beyond its old limits. Breslau became an important railway hub and industrial centre, notably of linen and cotton manufacture and metal industry. The reconstructed university served as a major centre of sciences, while the secularisation of life laid the base for a rich museum landscape. Johannes Brahms wrote his Academic Festival Overture to thank the university for an honorary doctorate awarded in 1881.

In 1821, (Arch)Diocese of Breslau was disentangled from the Polish ecclesiastical province (archbishopric) in Gniezno and made Breslau an exempt bishopric. On 10 October 1854, the Jewish Theological Seminary opened. The institution was the first modern rabbinical seminary in Central Europe. In 1863 the brothers Karl and Louis Stangen founded the travel agency Stangen, this was the second travel agency in the world.^[21]

Town Hall, 1900

The Unification of Germany in 1871 turned Breslau into the sixth-largest city in the German Empire. Its population more than tripled to over half a million between 1860 and 1910. The 1900 census listed 422,709 residents.

In 1890, construction began on the forts of Breslau Fortress. Important landmarks were inaugurated in 1910, the Kaiser bridge and the Technical University, which now houses the Wrocław University of Technology. The 1900 census listed 98% as German-speakers, with 5,363 Polish-speakers (1.3%), and another 3,103 (0.7%) speaking both German and Polish.^[22] The population was 58% Protestant, 37% Catholic (including at least 2% Polish)^[23] and 5% Jewish (totaling 20,536 in the 1905 census).^[22] The Jewish community of Breslau was among the most important in Germany, producing several distinguished artists and scientists.^[24]

Since 1912 Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Wrocław and director of the Clinic of Psychiatry (Königlich Psychiatrischen und Nervenklinik) was Alois Alzheimer and, in the same year, professor William Stern introduced the concept of IQ.

Market Square, 1890–1900

Feniks Department Store, built in the years 1902–1904

In 1913, the newly built Centennial Hall housed an exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of the historical German Wars of Liberation against Napoleon and the first award of the Iron Cross.

Following the First World War, Breslau became the capital of the newly created Prussian Province of Lower Silesia of the Weimar Republic in 1919. After the war the Polish community began holding masses in the Polish language at the Church of Saint Anne, and, as of 1921, at St. Martin's and a Polish School was founded by Helena Adamczewska.^[25] In 1920 a Polish consulate was opened on the Main Square.

In August 1920, during the Polish Silesian Uprising in Upper Silesia, the Polish Consulate and School were destroyed, while the Polish Library was burned down by a mob. The number of Poles as a percentage of the total population fell to just 0.5% after the reconstitution of Poland in 1918, when many moved to Poland.^[23] Antisemitic riots occurred in 1923.^[26]

The city boundaries were expanded between 1925 and 1930 to include an area of 175 km² (68 sq mi) with a population of 600,000. In 1929, the Werkbund opened WuWa (German: Wohnungs- und Werkraumausstellung) in Breslau-Scheitnig, an international showcase of modern architecture by architects of the Silesian branch of the Werkbund. In June 1930, Breslau hosted the Deutsche Kampfspiele, a sporting event for German athletes after Germany was excluded from the Olympic Games after World War I. The number of Jews remaining in Breslau fell from 23,240 in 1925 to 10,659 in 1933.^[27] Up to the beginning of World War II, Breslau was the largest city in Germany east of Berlin.^[28]

Aerial view of pre-war Breslau, 1920

Known as a stronghold of left wing liberalism during the German Empire,^[29] Breslau eventually became one of the strongest support bases of the Nazis, who in the 1932 elections received 44% of the city's vote, their third-highest total in all Germany.^[30]

KZ Dürrgoy, one of the first concentration camps in the Third Reich, was set up in Breslau in 1933.

After Hitler's appointment as German Chancellor in 1933, political enemies of the Nazis were persecuted, and their institutions closed or destroyed; the Gestapo began actions against Polish and Jewish students (see: Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau), Communists, Social Democrats, and trade unionists. Arrests were made for speaking Polish in public, and in 1938 the Nazi-controlled police destroyed the Polish cultural centre.^[31][32] In September 1941 the city's 10,000 Jews were displaced from their homes and soon deported to camps. Few survived the Holocaust.^[33] Also many other people seen as "undesirable" by the Third Reich were sent to concentration camps.^[31] 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.^[34]

The last big event organised by the National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise, called Deutsches Turn-und-Sportfest (Gym and Sports Festivities), took place in Breslau from 26 to 31 July 1938. The Sportsfest was held to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the German Wars of Liberation against Napoleon's invasion.^[35]

Second World War and afterwards

Blindfolded German army officers walking to negotiate the capitulation of Festung Breslau, 6 May 1945

For most of World War II, the fighting did not affect Breslau. In 1941 the remnants of the pre-war Polish minority in the city, as well as Polish slave labourers, organised a resistance group called Olimp. The organisation gathered intelligence, carrying out sabotage and organising aid for Polish slave workers. As the war continued, refugees from bombed-out German cities, and later refugees from farther east, swelled the population to nearly one million,^[36] including 51,000 forced labourers in 1944, and 9,876 Allied PoWs. At the end of 1944 an additional 30,000–60,000 Poles were moved into the city after Germans crushed the Warsaw Uprising.^[37]

In February 1945 the Soviet Red Army approached the city. Gauleiter Karl Hanke declared the city a Festung (fortress) to be held at all costs. Hanke finally lifted a ban on the evacuation of women and children when it was almost too late. During his poorly organised evacuation in January 1945, 18,000 people froze to death in icy snowstorms and −20 °C (−4 °F) weather. By the end of the Battle of Breslau (February-May 1945), half the city had been destroyed. An estimated 40,000 civilians lay dead in the ruins of homes and factories. After a siege of nearly three months, Festung Breslau capitulated on 6 May 1945, two days before the end of the war.^[38] In August the Soviets placed the city under the control of German anti-fascists.^[39]

Along with almost all of Lower Silesia, however, the city became part of Poland under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. The Polish name of "Wrocław" was declared official. There had been discussion among the Western Allies to place the southern Polish-German boundary on the Glatzer Neisse, which meant post-war Germany would have been allowed to retain approximately half of Silesia, including Breslau. However, the Soviets insisted the border be drawn at the Lusatian Neisse farther west.

After the war

Fighting Solidarity logo

Wrocław dwarf

In August 1945, the city had a German population of 189,500, and a Polish population of 17,000. After World War II the region was placed under Polish administration by the Potsdam Agreement under territorial changes demanded by the Soviet Union.^[39] Almost all of the German inhabitants fled or were forcibly expelled between 1945 and 1949 and were settled in the Soviet occupation zone and Allied Occupation Zones in Germany. The city's last pre-war German school was closed in 1963. A small German minority (about 1,000 people) remains in the city.^[40] The Polish population was dramatically increased by the resettlement of Poles during postwar population transfers during the forced deportations from Polish lands annexed by the Soviet Union in the east region, many of whom came from Lviv (Lwów), Volhynia and Vilnius Region.

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 1948, Wrocław organised the Recovered Territories Exhibition and the World Congress of Intellectuals in Defense of Peace.

In 1963 Wrocław was declared a closed city because of a smallpox epidemic.

In 1982, during martial law in Poland, the anti-communist underground organizations Fighting Solidarity and Orange Alternative were founded in Wrocław. Wrocław's dwarfs made of bronze famously commemorate Orange Alternative.

In 1983 and 1997, Pope John Paul II visited the city.

PTV Echo, the first non-state television station in Poland and in the post-communist countries, began to broadcast in Wrocław on 6 February 1990.

In May 1997, Wrocław hosted the 46th International Eucharistic Congress.

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. About one-third of the area of the city was flooded.^[41] An earlier equally devastating flood of the river took place in 1903.^[42] A small part of the city was also flooded during the flood in 2010. From 2012 to 2015 the Wrocław water node was renovated and redeveloped to prevent further flooding. It cost more than 900 million PLN (c. 220 million euro).

Three matches in Group A of the UEFA Euro 2012 championship were played in the then newly constructed Municipal Stadium in Wrocław.

In 2016 Wrocław was European Capital of Culture.

In 2017 Wrocław hosted the 2017 World Games.

Wrocław won the European Best Destination title in 2018.^[43]

Air pollution

Map of Wrocław's areas where PM10 standards were exceeded in 2015

Wrocław is one of the most polluted European and Polish cities. In a report by French Respire organization from 2014, Wrocław was named the eighth most polluted European city, with 166 days of bad air quality yearly.^[44] Air pollution mainly occurs in winter.

According to the Wrocław University research from 2017, high concentration of particular matters (PM2.5 and PM 10) in the air causes 942 premature deaths of Wrocław inhabitants per year.^[45] Air pollution also causes 3297 cases of bronchitis among Wrocław's children per year.^[45]

84% of Wrocław inhabitants think that air pollution is a serious social problem, according to the poll from May 2017. 73% of people think, that air quality is bad.^[46]

In 2012, there were 71 days, when the PM10 standards, set by Cleaner Air For Europe Directive, were exceeded. In 2014, there were 104 such days.^[47]

In February 2018, Wrocław was the most polluted city on Earth, according to the Airvisual website, which measures the air quality index.^[48][49]

In 2014, inhabitants founded an organization, called the Lower Silesian Smog Alert (Dolnośląski Alarm Smogowy, DAS), to tackle the air pollution problem. Its goals are to educate the public and to reduct emission of harmful substances.^[50]

Climate

Wrocław has a humid continental climate (Dfb in the Koeppen climate classification). It is one of the warmer cities in Poland. Lying in the Silesian Lowlands between Trzebnickie Hills and the Sudetes, the mean annual temperature is 9.04 °C (48 °F). The coldest month is January (average temperature −0.7 °C), with snow being common in winter, and the warmest is July (average temperature 18.9 °C). The highest temperature in Wrocław was recorded on August 19, 1892^[51] and August 8, 2015 (+38.9 °C).^[52] The previous records were +38 °C on June 27, 1935 and +37.9 °C on July 31, 1994. The lowest temperature was recorded on February 11, 1956 (−32 °C).

Fauna

In Wrocław, the presence of over 200 species of birds has been registered, of which over 100 have nesting places here. As in other large Polish cities, the most numerous are pigeons. Other common species are the sparrow, tree sparrow, siskin, rook, crow, jackdaw, magpie, swift, martin, swallow, Kestrel, mute swan, mallard, coot, merganser, black-headed gull, great tit, blue tit, Long-tailed Tit, Greenfinch, Hawfinch, Collared Dove, Common wood pigeon, fieldfare, redwing, Common starling, gray heron, white stork, Common chaffinch, blackbird, jay, nuthatch, bullfinch, cuckoo, waxwing, Lesser spotted woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, White-backed woodpecker, white wagtail, blackcap, Black redstart, Old World flycatcher, Emberizidae, goldfinch, Western marsh harrier, Little bittern, Common moorhen, reed bunting, Remiz, Great reed warbler, Little crake, Little ringed plover and White-tailed eagle.

In addition, in the city there live rats, hedgehogs, foxes, wild boars, bats, martens, squirrels, deer, hares, beavers, polecats, otters, badgers, weasels, stoats and raccoon dogs. May also appear Muskrat, American mink, raccoon.

Water

The city lies on the Oder River and its four tributaries, which supply it within the city limits: Bystrzyca, Oława, Ślęza and Widawa. In addition, the Dobra River and many streams flow through the city area.

Wrocław draws drinking water from the area of water – bearing areas supplied with groundwater and surface waters of the Oława and Nysa Kłodzka rivers through the Nysa-Oława Canal.

The city has a sewage treatment plant on the Janówek estate.

Districts

Wrocław was previously subdivided into five boroughs (dzielnica):

• Fabryczna ("Factory Quarter")
• Krzyki, (German: Krietern, meaning "Wranglers")
• Psie Pole (German: Hundsfeld, "Dogs' Field", named so after the alleged Battle of Psie Pole or poor quality of the fields)
• Stare Miasto (old town)
• Śródmieście (midtown)

However, the city is now divided into 48 osiedles (districts): Bieńkowice, Biskupin-Sępolno-Dąbie-Bartoszowice, Borek, Brochów, Gaj, Gajowice, Gądów-Popowice Płd., Grabiszyn-Grabiszynek, Huby, Jagodno, Jerzmanowo-Jarnołtów-Strachowice-Osiniec, Karłowice-Różanka, Klecina, Kleczków, Kowale, Krzyki-Partynice, Księże, Kuźniki, Leśnica, Lipa Piotrowska, Maślice, Muchobór Mały, Muchobór Wielki, Nadodrze, Nowy Dwór, Ołbin, Ołtaszyn, Oporów, Osobowice-Rędzin, Pawłowice, Pilczyce-Kozanów-Popowice Płn., Plac Grunwaldzki, Polanowice-Poświętne-Ligota, Powstańców Śląskich, Pracze Odrzańskie, Przedmieście Oławskie, Przedmieście Świdnickie, Psie Pole-Zawidawie, Sołtysowice, Stare Miasto, Strachocin-Swojczyce-Wojnów, Szczepin, Świniary, Tarnogaj, Widawa, Wojszyce, Zacisze-Zalesie-Szczytniki, and Żerniki.

Municipal government

Wrocław is currently governed by the city's mayor and a municipal legislature known as the city council. The city council is made up of 39 councillors and is directly elected by the city's inhabitants. The remit of the council and president extends to all areas of municipal policy and development planning, up to and including development of local infrastructure, transport and planning permission. However, it is not able to draw taxation directly from its citizens, and instead receives its budget from the Polish national government whose seat is in Warsaw. The city's current mayor is Rafał Dutkiewicz, who has served in this position since 2002. Previous mayors include Stanisław Apoznański (25.05.1984–13.12.1985), Stefan Skąpski (26.03.1986–4.06.1990), Bogdan Zdrojewski (5.06.1990–8.05.2001) and Stanisław Huskowski (8.05.2001–19.11.2002).

Landmarks and points of interest

Ostrów Tumski is the oldest part of the city of Wrocław. It was formerly an island (ostrów in Old Polish) known as the Cathedral Island between the branches of the Oder River, featuring the Wrocław Cathedral built originally in the mid 10th century.

The 13th century Main Market Square (Rynek) features the Old Town Hall. In the north-west corner of the market square there is the St. Elisabeth's Church (Bazylika Św. Elżbiety) with its 91.46 m tower, which has an observation deck (75 m). North of the church are the Shambles with Monument of Remembrance of Animals for Slaughter. The Salt Square (now a flower market) is located at the south-western corner of the market square. Close to the square, between Szewska and Łaciarska streets, there is the St. Mary Magdalene Church (Kościół Św. Marii Magdaleny) established in the 13th century.

The St. Vincent and St. James' Church and the Holy Cross and St. Bartholomew's Collegiate Church are burial sites of Polish monarchs Henry II the Pious and Henry IV Probus respectively.

Pan Tadeusz Museum- Operating since May 2016 year. Located in the building of the Golden Sun in the Market. You'll find the manuscript of the national epos- "Pan Tadeusz", multimedia exhibits, interactive educational halls and museum workshops there.

The Centennial Hall (Hala Stulecia; German: Jahrhunderthalle), designed by Max Berg in 1911–13, is a World Heritage Site inscribed by UNESCO in 2006.

Other points of interest include:

• Wrocław Zoo, home of the Africarium - the only oceanarium devoted solely to exhibiting the fauna of Africa and the oldest zoological garden in Poland established in 1865. It is also the third largest zoo in the world in terms of the number of animal species on display.
• Multimedia Fountain
• Szczytnicki Park with Japanese Garden (Wrocław)
• Miniature park and Dinosaur park on the Wróblewskiego Street 9
• Botanical Garden in Wrocław – founded in 1811
• Olympic Stadium
• Municipal Stadium – UEFA Euro 2012 arena
• The Sky Tower (212 m) – tallest building in Poland with a vantage point at an altitude of 200 meters.
• Poland's largest model railway "Kolejkowo" on Station Świebodzki
• Hydropolis – water multimedia museum
• University of Wrocław with Mathematical Tower
• Church of the Name of Jesus
• Wrocław water tower
• The Royal Palace which houses the Wrocław City Museum
• White Stork Synagogue
• Old Jewish Cemetery, Wrocław
• Cemetery of Italian Soldiers
• Wrocław Main Station
• Wrocław Opera
• Polinka – gondola lift
• Ropes course on the Opatowicka Island

Small passenger vessels on the Oder offer city tours, as do historic trams or the converted open-topped historic bus Jelcz 043. Another interesting way to explore the city is seeking out Wrocław's dwarfs, small bronze figurines found throughout the town.

In Wrocław functions "Free Walking Tour" – https://freewalkingtour.com/wroclaw/

A frequent destination for tourists visiting Wrocław is the Sudety Mountains, especially the nearby Mount Ślęża.

Swimming

• Aquapark Wrocław (all year)
• Wrocław SPA Center (all year)
• Orbita (all year)
• swimming pool AWF Wrocław (all year)
• swimming pool WKS Śląsk Wrocław (all year)
• Sports center and swimming "Redeco" (all year)
• Morskie Oko (only in summer)
• Glinianki WakePark Wrocław (Pedalo, Skimboarding, Wakeboarding, Waterskiing)(only in summer)
• Królewiecki pond (only in summer)
• swimming pool Kłokoczyce (only in summer)

Shopping malls

• Wroclavia
• Galeria Handlowa Sky Tower
• Galeria Dominikańska
• Pasaż Grunwaldzki
• Arkady Wrocławskie
• Centrum Handlowe Borek
• Magnolia Park
• Wrocław Fashion Outlet
• Futura Park
• Centrum Handlowe Korona
• Renoma, a 1930s department store of architectural interest over and above its shopping value
• Feniks
• Wrocław Market Hall
• Marino
• Aleja Bielany in Bielany Wrocławskie – the largest shopping mall in Poland

Entertainment

Świdnicka Cellar Restaurant

National Forum of Music

The city is well known for its large number of nightclubs and pubs. Many are in or near the Market Square, and in the Niepolda passage, the railway wharf on the Bogusławskiego street. The basement of the old City Hall houses one of the oldest restaurants in Europe – Piwnica Świdnicka (operating since around 1275), while the basement of the new City Hall contains the brewpub Spiż. There are many other craft breweries in Wrocław: three brewpubs – Browar Stu Mostów, Browar Staromiejski Złoty Pies, Browar Rodzinny Prost; two microbrewery – Profesja and Warsztat Piwowarski; and seven contract breweries – Doctor Brew, Genius Loci, Solipiwko, Pol A Czech, Baba Jaga, wBrew, Wielka Wyspa. Every year on the second weekend of June the Festival of Good Beer takes place. It is the biggest beer festival in Poland. Every year in November and December the Christmas market is held at the Market Square.

Museums

The National Museum at pl. Powstańców Warszawy, one of Poland's main branches of the National Museum system, holds one of the largest collections of contemporary art in the country.^[58]

• City Museum of Wrocław (pl)
• The Museum of Bourgeois Art in the Old Town Hall
• Panorama Racławicka (Racławice Panorama)
• Museum of Architecture
• Archaeological Museum (pl)
• Museum of Natural History at University of Wrocław
• Archdiocese Museum (pl)
• Museum of Military in the Arsenal
• Princes Lubomirski Museum (pl)
• Museum of Pharmacy (pl)
• Post and Telecommunications Museum (pl)
• Geological Museum (pl)
• Mineralogical Museum (pl)
• Ethnographic Museum (pl)
• Ossolineum Library with history of major World War II theft of collections after the takeover of Lwów by the Soviet Union

Population

Religion

Wrocław Cathedral in the oldest district of Ostrów Tumski

Wrocław's population is predominantly Catholic (Roman Catholic). The diocese was founded in the city as early as 1000, it was one of the first dioceses in Poland at that time. Now the city is the seat of an Archdiocese.

Prior to World War II, Breslau had a majority of Protestants, a large Roman Catholic and a small Jewish minority. In 1939, of 620,976 inhabitants 368,464 were Protestants (United Protestants—mostly Lutherans and minority Reformed—in the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union), 193,805 Catholics, 2,135 other Christians and 10,659 Jews. Post-war resettlements from Poland's ethnically and religiously more diverse former eastern territories (known in Polish as Kresy) and the eastern parts of post-1945 Poland (see Operation Vistula) account for a comparatively large portion of Greek Catholics and Orthodox Christians of mostly Ukrainian and Lemko descent. Wrocław is also unique for its "Dzielnica Czterech Świątyń" (Borough of Four Temples)—a part of Stare Miasto (Old Town) where a Synagogue, a Lutheran Church, a Roman Catholic church and an Eastern Orthodox church stand near each other. Other Christian denominations present in Wrocław include: Adventist, Baptist, Free Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Latter-day Saints, Methodist and Pentecostal. There also exist associations practicising and promoting Slavic neopaganism.^[75][76]

In 2007, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wrocław established the Pastoral Centre for English Speakers, which offers Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, as well as other sacraments, fellowship, retreats, catechesis and pastoral care for all English-speaking Catholics and non-Catholics interested in the Catholic Church. The Pastoral Centre is under the care of Order of Friars Minor, Conventual (Franciscans) of the Kraków Province in the parish of St Charles Borromeo (Św Karol Boromeusz).

Prior to World War II, Wrocław, then known as Breslau, had the third largest Jewish population of all cities in Germany.^[77] Its White Stork Synagogue was built in 1840.^[77] It was only rededicated in 2010.^[77] Four years later, in 2014, it celebrated its first ordination of four rabbis and three cantors since the Second World War.^[77] The Polish authorities together with the German Foreign Minister attended the official ceremony.^[77]

Men's sports

• Śląsk Wrocław: men's football team, Polish Championship in Football 1977, 2012; Polish Cup winner 1976, 1987; Polish SuperCup winner 1987, 2012; Polish League Cup winner 2009. Now in Ekstraklasa (Polish Premier League).
• Śląsk Wrocław (previous names: BASCO Śląsk Wrocław, ASCO Śląsk Wrocław, Bergson Śląsk Wrocław, Era Śląsk Wrocław, Deichmann Śląsk Wrocław, Idea Śląsk Wrocław, Zepter Idea Śląsk Wrocław, Zepter Śląsk Wrocław, Śląsk ESKA Wrocław, PCS Śląsk Wrocław, WKS Śląsk Wrocław)—men's basketball team, 17 times Polish Champion, six times runner-up, 14 times third place; 12 times Polish Cup winner.
• Śląsk Wrocław: men's handball team, 15-time Polish Champion.
• WTS Sparta Wrocław: motorcycle speedway team, four-time Polish Champion.
• KS Rugby Wrocław: rugby union team.
• Panthers Wrocław: American football team.

Women's sports

• KŚ AZS Wrocław: women's football team.
• AZS AWF Wrocław: women's handball team.
• AZS AE Wrocław: women table tennis team.

Twin towns and sister cities

Wrocław is twinned with:^[83]

Partnerships

• Vienne, French département.^[83]

Notes

Bibliography