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Wrocław - Market Square and Ostrów Tumski

late Gothic city hall building
The magnificent Old Town Hall in Wrocław. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

How far is it from Warsaw to Wrocław?

The distance from Warsaw to Wrocław is 348 km.

Wrocław is one of the oldest, largest and most beautiful cities in Poland. It's the capital of Lower Silesia. Since I live only 80 km from Wrocław, I am there quite often. In this post I will focus mainly on the Wrocław Market Square and Ostrów Tumski, although the city has a lot to offer in terms of art, culture and history.

When visiting Wrocław's Market Square, you can't pass by the magnificent Old Town Hall. It is a late Gothic building that currently houses the Museum of Bourgeois Art. It's decorated with magnificent bay windows, has a 66-meter-high tower and a famous astronomical clock, one of the oldest of its kind in Europe. It consists of five clock faces! The tower houses the oldest clock bell in Poland from 1368 (it's older than the famous Sigismund Bell in Krakow).

in front a group of tourists and the historic pillory, behind them the town hall building with a square clock face on it
In the foreground, a faithful reconstruction of the historic pillory in Wrocław. The original was built in 1492. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

Right next to the market square is the (from 1523 the first Protestant church in Wrocław), inside which a Renaissance pulpit from 1579–1581 has been preserved.

a huge, brick church
Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalene in Wrocław. Photo by A. Rybczyńska
old pulpit in a church which is hold by the stone figures
Historic pulpit in the Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalene in Wrocław. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

It's especially worth going to the Bridge of Penitents, which is 45 m high and offers a beautiful view of the Wrocław Market Square. The bridge connects the towers of the Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalene. There are several legends associated with the bridge, such as the one that young women were once locked up on the Penitent Bridge, who instead of starting a family and living in fidelity to one man, led a debauched lifestyle. As a punishment, the young women were to sweep the bridge and weren't allowed to leave it. Some of the unfortunate women committed suicide by throwing themselves off it.

two little gnomes sitting on the railing of the viewpoint
The number of dwarves in Wrocław is constantly growing. There are now over 600 of them and new ones are constantly being created! For children - little seekers of these charming figures, there is even a special map "On the Trail of Wrocław Dwarfs". Photo by A. Rybczyńska

Historic tenement houses on the Wrocław Market Square. The largest of these tenement houses is the former Louis Lewy Department Store, opened in 1904 (The owner of the building was the Louis Lewy Jr. company, which produced and sold women's coats). The tenement house on the left, with a brick facade, is the Tenement House Under the Golden Dog. 

colorful tenement houses
Currently, the Tenement House under the Golden Dog houses the Golden Dog brewery. Wrocław. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

The tenement house on the right (with the inscription “Biblioteka”) is the Tenement House Under the Golden Palm. In the background, the tower of the Garrison Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary is visible.

colorful tenement houses on a market square
The photo shows, among others, the Tenement House under the Gryfs (with white gryfs), built around 1300. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

The "Zdrój" fountain is a rectangular basin 22.5 metres long and 2.3 metres wide. It contains 29 panes of insulated glass – one panel weighs 450 kg.

a fountain made of glass imitating a surface of water
The "Zdrój" fountain in Wrocław. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

My husband looks at the Dwarf Leszko from Wrocławca (Leszek the Guitarist). The Dwarf is holding a guitar in his raised hand, and on his shirt is written: Guitar Guinness Record. It stands opposite the city hall on the Wrocław market square, facing the stage where the Wrocław Guinness Guitar Record has been broken every year for the past fifteen years. The event is organized by Leszek Cichoński, in whose honor the dwarf was created.

a man sitting under an antique lamppost, behind him an antique building and a city hall
The Dwarf has the face of Leszek Cichoński, a Polish guitarist and blues vocalist, the organizer of a guitar event in Wrocław.

Monument to Count Aleksander Fredro, who is considered the most outstanding comedy writer in the history of Polish literature. 

monument to a Polish writer in front of the town hall
Fredro in Wrocław. Photo by A. Rybczyńska
city hall building
The magnificent bay windows of the Old Town Hall in Wrocław. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

The Cathedral of St. Vincent and St. James in Wrocław, which was initially a church, was founded by Henry the Pious in the 13th century. In the last days of World War II, the church suffered heavy damage, including the collapse of the tower, and with it part of the side wall and vaults. Reconstruction took over 40 years.

a brick church with an added baroque chapel
The Cathedral of St. Vincent and St. James in Wrocław. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

View from the Sand Bridge to Daliowa Island and the Oder River.

view from the bridge to the river
Odra in Wrocław. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

The Market Hall was built at the turn of 1908/1909. At that time, it was a very modern and original reinforced concrete structure. The main author of the Hall's design, Richard Plüdemann, had been a building advisor for Wrocław since 1885 and for 23 years had a decisive influence on the city's architecture. The building area of ​​the Market Hall is 3,591 m2, and the volume is 60,505 m3. The building has a full basement and 3 longitudinal naves. Today, in the Market Hall you can buy fresh fish, meat and cold cuts from local producers, domestic and imported fruit and vegetables, bread and confectionery, flowers. There are clothing and accessory stalls, small catering and service premises: a shoemaker, a leatherworker, a watchmaker and a hairdresser.

two tram stops and behind them a building with a brick tower, above the entrance to the building the date 1908
The Market Hall in Wrocław. Photo by A. Rybczyńska
the market hall building seen from across the river
Market Hall seen from the Odra River. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

View of Ostrów Tumski - the oldest, historic part of Wrocław.

view of the historic district of the city, visible church towers
Ostrów Tumski in Wrocław. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

Once Ostrów Tumski was situated on an island. The castle on Ostrów Tumski, the seat of the first Piast dynasty, was probably founded in the 10th century.

a woman steps onto a cobblestone bridge that leads to the old part of the city
I'm on the Tumski Bridge, which was built in 1889. Photo by A. Rybczyński
a cobbled street with colorful tenement houses on both sides and the church towers looming in the background
Ostrów Tumski has its own unique character. For me, it's the most beautiful place in Wrocław. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

In the garden at the Archbishop's Palace there is a monument to Edmund Bojanowski, the founder of the congregation of the Sisters Servants of God. 

a stone monument to the founder of the Sister Servants Association, standing in the garden
Monument to Edmund Bojanowski. Photo by A. Rybczyńska
a church with tall towers seen from up close
The Archcathedral of St. John the Baptist in Wrocław. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

The Archcathedral of St. John the Baptist in Wrocław is a beautiful church. I was enchanted by its interior. The current cathedral was built in the 13th-14th centuries, on the site of three previous churches. It's a three-nave basilica, with a transept and a presbytery. The main nave is covered with a cross-ribbed vault, while the side naves are covered with a cross-barrel vault. The cathedral has two towers, each 98 meters high. It is considered the first fully Gothic temple on Polish soil.

The Wrocław Cathedral can be visited all year round (visiting the cathedral is not possible during services).

the interior of the church is illuminated by the colored light coming from the stained glass windows
In 1723, a marble pulpit with white alabaster sculptures by Urbański was placed in the main nave of the Wrocław Cathedral. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

The magnificent stalls with numerous bas-reliefs and stained glass windows show the beauty of the church. The cathedral houses many valuable works of art, including the main altar of St. John the Baptist from 1591, known as the silver altar founded by Bishop A. Jerin. The cathedral is surrounded by a ring of chapels, mostly from the Gothic period. It also has four Baroque chapels for example the chapel of St. Elizabeth and the chapel of Corpus Christi, known as the electoral chapel.

altar close up
I was enchanted by the stalls in the church and the stained glass windows. Photo by A. Rybczyńska
a small chapel with a small altar and stained glass window
One of the chapels in the Archcathedral of St. John the Baptist in Wrocław. Ostrów Tumski. Photo by A. Rybczyńska
colorful stained glass close up
The beautiful stained glass windows create a unique atmosphere of the cathedral in Wrocław. Ostrów Tumski. Photo by A. Rybczyńska
benches on which people sit, behind them a cathedral with two towers and two round domes
Behind the cathedral there is Cathedral Square, where you can sit on a bench and rest after sightseeing. Wrocław. Ostrów Tumski. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

18th century sculpture of St. John of Nepomuk. The monument is made of sandstone, in the Baroque style, on a plan similar to a Greek cross. It is about 9.5 meters high and is the tallest sculpture of Nepomuk in the world.

cathedral with 2 towers close up
The Archcathedral of St. John the Baptist in Wrocław. Ostrów Tumski. Photo by A. Rybczyńska
stone statue behind it church with 1 high tower
Sculpture of St. John of Nepomuk in Wrocław. Ostrów Tumski. Photo by A. Rybczyńska

How to get to Wrocław

Polish map outline and website address
If you have any questions,
please write to me
Agnieszka Rybczyńska

aga@gotopoland.net

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