Magical Wroclaw Poland

Wrocław Main Station

At the end of June we took a side trip to Wrocław. We took a Saturday afternoon train from Kraków to Wrocław, the journey took a little over 3 hours. The train ride was easy to book via the PKP Intercity App and the tickets were about $40 roundtrip for both of us. The trains were modern & comfortable, some even had wifi onboard. We departed from Kraków Głowny (Krakow's Main Station), so we just used a tram to get from the Podgórze neighborhood in Kraków to the main station. 

The reason we chose the end of June to visit Wrocław was.....a car show. Ultrace is a dream event for any european car lover.  It's one of the largest summer car shows in Europe. So many great cars and people just enjoying the car culture. New trends, lots of love and respect for each other's style. Some big names in the car industry, but my favorite thing about the car culture in Europe is that it's about the people, not about big names, big manufacturers and big money. They hosted a drifting exhibition at the event as well. It's a 3 day event, but we only attended the show on Sunday, the last day. All in all, I loved it and I hope to come back to attend another one. It is an EPIC event! 

Ultrace 2024 Car Culture Event - Tarczyński Arena

Aside from the car event, Wrocław was city we wanted to see and experience. We had seen so many videos on Wrocław, we couldn't wait to explore it for ourselves! We spent just under a week in Wrocław. What a wonderful city. The city's Old Town Market Square is a sight out of a fairytale. 

A must-visit Gothic Church right next to Old Town is St. Elizabeth's Church. It is one of the most iconic structures in the city. The church dates back to the 14th century. The main tower was originally 130 meters tall, but was heavily damaged by hail and reconstructed to 91.5 meters. You can get an awesome aerial view of the market square by climbing the tower at St. Elizabeth's Church. The cost is about $4 and there are 300 stairs to climb to the top. But the views are absolutely worth it! There is a great observation deck at the top where you can get amazing 360 degree views of the city and Old Square. It should go without saying, but make sure to step inside the church too. It is beautiful!

Old Town Wrocław from St. Elizabeth's Tower

Another must-see Gothic Cathedral is St. Mary Magdalene. It is listed as a Historic Monument of Poland. The church was heavily damaged during WWII, it was rebuilt between 1947 & 1953 like much of Wrocław. There is a bridge that connects the two towers of this cathedral, the bridge is called Witches' Bridge or Penitents Bridge. A legend says that the shadows visible on the bridge are the souls of the girls who used to seduce men without wanting to be married, being scared of housekeeping. There is a dwarf sculpture on the bridge of a girl sweeping next to a witch to symbolize this legend. This tower costs about $4 to climb the tower, but there are a few less steps to the top, 247. And, of course, take some time to check out the inside of the church.

Dwarf Figure on Witches' Bridge

There is a Late Baroque style church that has been ranked among the most beautiful in Central Europe. The Jesuits build the church as part of the Wrocław University complex in the late 17th century.

A hidden gem church you have to see (and it's easy to miss) is the Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. From the side we entered, it doesn't look impressive, but the moment you step inside your jaw will drop like ours. The designer the church was an Italian architect named Teodor Moretti. The frescos on the vaults and walls are breathtaking.

Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

The famous University of Wrocław is located next to this church. This university has produced 9 Nobel Prize winners! This university has produced over 100,000 graduates since 1945 and currently has a student base around 20,000. While we were there in early July, graduates were taking photos wearing their caps & gowns.

We weren't able to do this, it was closed during our visit... Aula Leopoldina is a museum at university that is supposed to be absolutely spectacular. It is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful Baroque rooms in the entire world. It forms part of the University.

Fountain in Front of University of Wrocław

Right next to this church there is a wall that is peppered with bullet and shell scars from WWII. About 50% of the old town in Wroclaw was destroyed during WWII. The southern and western districts of Wroclaw were 90% destroyed! Of the 30,000 buildings that existed before the war, 21,600 were left in ruin. In the 1950's the old town was rebuilt to resemble it's previous self. 

World War II Bullet Holes - Wrocław Poland

Cathedral Island (Ostrow Tumski) is a very old neighborhood of the city. This neighborhood dates from the 10th century! Something really cool happens here, every dusk a mysterious man appears dressed in black. He wears a cloak and a top hat, how cool is that. He goes around Cathedral Island each evening and lights up approximately 100 gas lamps. This same person puts them out each morning. He is also in charge of maintaining all of these lamps to make sure they are working properly and that they look nice. This is a really magical experience that you can't miss while there, heck it's a big reason for our visit. It's so darn cool to experience this!

Wrocław Cathedral - Ostrow Tumski - Cathedral Island

Unexploded WWII Shell - Right Tower - Wrocław Cathedral

 
We also took a free walking tour. We did this right away, the Monday after the car show so we could get a "lay of the land" and get an idea of the key spots and hidden gems we needed to see during our time there. This is a way to get a quick tour if your time is short, you'll always learn something. It served us well because we were able to plan out our week and create an amazing itinerary off of this one 3 hour tour. Wrocław used to be called Breslau when it was within Germany's border. We learned so much on our walking tour and saw all of the main sites, many of which we revisited later.

Old town square is stunningly beautiful. Cathedral Island (Ostrow Tumski) was our favorite, especially the lamplighter that comes out every evening to light around 100 gas lamps on Cathedral Island. There are only a few cities in the world where this occurs and let me tell you, it's magical to witness in person.

Hala Targowa is Wrocław's Main Market Hall. It's a beautiful 2 story structure with reinforced concrete trusses, which were innovative for their time. It was designed by a German Architect. This Market Hall was built in 1908 and not heavily damaged during WWII. The design was the inspiration for the design of Centennial Hall in eastern Wrocław.

Hala Targowa - Wrocław Market

Centennial Hall was designed by Architect Max Berg and built around 1913. The space is still used today for sporting events and concerts. The structure's standout feature is it's main dome, one of a kind for it's time. The dome is 226 feet in diameter! Both Hala Targowa and Centennial Hall were built during the time that Wrocław was ruled by Germany and called Breslau.

Centennial Hall

How do you spruce up drab gray walls on the back side of condos and apartments? Murals of course! Located off of Ulica Jedności Narodowej & Ulica Roosevelta, there is set of buildings that are very unsuspecting. Everything seems normal until you walk through the small alleyway on either end, then it hits you. Colorful murals all along the back of group of residential buildings. 

We were a little uncomfortable entering what seemed to me a private residential area. So, we just remained respectful, remembering that people actually live here. We made our way around the back of the complex and admired the murals. It was neat to see and at the time we were the only tourists there. So, if you want to see something really unique or you are in to street art, definitely check this out.

Colorful Backyards

With all of the ancient history in Wroclaw, there is no shortage of things to see, do and learn. We discovered some more recent history that actually really cool! Located at Ruska 46c, there are nearly 30 neon signs that line an alley. The alley is surrounded by bars, of course you need to visit at night. Most of the buildings that these signs used to adorn no longer exist. The foundation that owns the signs started in 2005. The location of Neon Side Gallery is actually the Old Reklama Enterprise which used to produce neon signs. This foundation is buying and protecting his form of history so that if a building with a neon sign is destroyed, the sign lives on and the history of that company/business lives on. History is history, this is definitely a unique way to remember more modern history.

Neon Side Gallery

 
If you know us, you know we love breakfast. Another thing about us, we love Europe, specifically France. So, temp us with a French Breakfast place and we can't say no. We discovered Giselle Cafe Bistro with a simple Google Maps search for "breakfast" This was an amazing breakfast spot that is worth mentioning. Great coffee, high quality food, big portions, and combined with a beautiful cafe and great prices.

Giselle Cafe Bistro

When we visit a town we love to try local cuisine. Of course, we had the local cuisine in Kraków, specifically we had Polish food at multiple Milk Bars (Bar Mleczny). Milk Bars are great, affordable comfort food and huge portions. During our walking tour the guide made a few recommendations on where to eat and this was at the top of his list. This gave us a chance to try local Wroclaw cuisine. 

Our lunch at Restauracja Wrocłaska was EXCELLENT! We enjoyed a delicious Potato pancakes (with beef stew, bell peppers, vegetables, sour cream & parsley). Wroclaw style Bigos (red cabbage with beef, pork, veal, raisins, apples, red wine cloves, cinnamon & spices). And to finish off a great lunch, Chocolate Perogies made with Belgian Chocolate. This meal was amazing and the service was perfect! We highly recommend this place!

Restauracja Wrocłaska

You cannot visit Wrocław and ignore the adorable dwarves. There are over 1000 dwarves spread all over town (according to our guide). Today, they are fun to spot and photograph. It brought a smile to our faces every time we found a new one, we felt like kids. In fact, many times we had to wait for kids that were posing with them so we could take our pictures.

The story behind the dwarves is interesting and unexpected. It's one of Polish humor and Polish resolve. The Poles are tough! The dwarf figure originated during the Orange Alternative which was Polish anti-communism underground movement that started in Wrocław. 

The first known actions of the Orange Alterative consisted of painting dwarf graffiti on spots created by the police, covering up anti-regime slogans on walls of Polish cities. Over time, more than 1000 of such pieces of graffiti were painted in the major Polish cities.

It's main purpose in the 1980's was to offer a wider group of citizens an alternative way of opposition against the authoritarian regime by means of peaceful protest that used silly elements. By doing so, members of the Orange Alternative could not be arrested by the police for opposition to the regime without the authorities becoming a laughing stock. Initially they painted ridiculous graffiti of dwarfs on paint spots covering anti-government slogans on city walls. The Orange Alternative movement inspired several other movements in authoritarian countries including Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Ukraine.

A Few of Wrocław's Dwarf Residents

We loved our time in Wrocław, if you have a chance you have to visit this magical city! Until next time! Thanks for coming along on this adventure!