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66 SIGHTSEEING<br />
Partisan Hill<br />
Partisan Hill B-4. If<br />
you’re walking along ul. Ks.<br />
Skargi it’s impossible to<br />
miss the white crescentshaped<br />
structure rising<br />
by Most Skargi. Wzgórze<br />
Partyzantów (Partisan Hill)<br />
is one of the few remaining ancient fortifications that<br />
once protected the Old Town from invasion. Built between<br />
1594 and 1598, and originally awarded the name Bastion<br />
Sakwowy (Saddlebag Bastion), the buildings you see<br />
now topping the horizon date from the 19th century when<br />
the area was redeveloped to serve as public recreational<br />
space. A fearsome tower, designed by Berlin architect<br />
Carl Schmidt was added in 1867, though this was demolished<br />
during WWII to prevent advancing Russian troops<br />
from using it as a reference point for artillery shelling.<br />
At the start of the siege of Festung Breslau the subterranean<br />
bunkers and catacombs were used as HQ by Nazi<br />
high command, though they relocated in March 1945 as<br />
the Red Army drew closer. After the war the hillock was<br />
re-christened Partisan Hill and the old cellars temporarily<br />
housed a museum. Despite various areas being occupied<br />
by beer gardens, a jazz club, strip club, and now a new<br />
restaurant/bar in the old observatory, much of the area<br />
remains unrenovated, forlorn and forgotten - a once<br />
gleaming construction littered with smashed bottles<br />
and spray can squiggles. The wind-swept loneliness that<br />
greets visitors is ripe for myth and legend, and stories of<br />
secret Nazi tunnels and the ghostly shrieks of prisoners<br />
tortured to death in medieval times abound.<br />
The Ossolineum<br />
The Ossolineum B-2, ul. Szewska 37, tel. (+48) 71<br />
344 44 71, www.oss.wroc.pl. This stunning Baroque<br />
palace complex on the Odra riverbank was rebuilt to its<br />
late 17th century designs after being damaged heavily<br />
during the war and is today one of the most outstanding<br />
works of Baroque architecture in PL. Originally a<br />
hospital and convent, later a college, today the magnificent<br />
grounds are home to the Ossolineum Library - an<br />
important research centre and national archive, the<br />
country’s oldest still-running publishing centre and one<br />
of its largest library collections. Established in 1817 by<br />
Józef Maksymilian Ossoliński when he began collecting<br />
Polish manuscripts and cultural documents in his Vienna<br />
flat, recognising their importance to national culture<br />
after Poland was wiped from the world map, Ossoliński’s<br />
private library became a national institute and was<br />
eventually moved to L’viv where it expanded generously.<br />
After post-war border changes the collection was forced<br />
to move to Wrocław, however communist authorities<br />
confiscated over 80% of it which presumably remains in<br />
L’viv today. The collections of the Ossolineum are some of<br />
the most valuable in the country and include manuscripts<br />
by Polish bards Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Słowacki,<br />
writings by Copernicus, and drawings by Rembrandt and<br />
Durer. The site of regular exhibitions, often free, the Ossolineum<br />
is otherwise worth a look around for the building<br />
itself, with the library and inner and outer courtyards all<br />
accessible to the public. Q Open 08:00 - 15:00, Mon,<br />
Fri 10:00 - 18:00. Closed Sat, Sun. From October open<br />
08:00 - 20:00, Sat 09:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun<br />
Post & Communications Museum (Muzeum<br />
Poczty i Telekomunikacji) C-3, ul. Krasińskiego<br />
1, tel. (+48) 71 343 67 65, www.muzeum.wroclaw.<br />
pl. Housed inside 1929’s former Central Post Office, this<br />
magnificent building was one of the first high-rises in Wrocław<br />
and is easily recognisable from the Old Town thanks to the<br />
crown of satellite dishes on its roof. Today it houses one<br />
of the city’s most idiosyncratic and fascinating museums,<br />
displaying the complex history of Poland’s postal service<br />
and the development of communications technology from<br />
the 16th century to the present day. Over two floors you’ll<br />
see a wealth of paintings and graphics, postage stamps,<br />
mailboxes, carriages, uniforms, decorative letter scales and<br />
other instruments including early telegram machines, telephones,<br />
radios and computers. The unique and engrossing<br />
experience even includes information in English and is a great<br />
way to change your attitude towards PL’s postal service from<br />
one of frustration to admiration and wonder. Visiting takes<br />
about 1 hour and is recommended. QOpen 10:00 - 15:00,<br />
Wed 10:00 - 17:00, Sun 11:00 - 16:00. Closed Tue. Admission<br />
7/6zł. Groups over 10 people 4zł per person, Sun free.<br />
The Royal Palace, History Museum (Pałac<br />
Królewski, Muzeum Historyczne) A-3, ul. Kazimierza<br />
Wielkiego 35, tel. (+48) 71 391 69 40, www.mmw.<br />
pl. Wrocław isn’t particularly known for its museums, the<br />
majority of which are underfunded and outdated. However<br />
the opening of the main branch of the Wrocław City Museum<br />
inside the renovated Baroque Royal Palace changed all that.<br />
Purchased by Frederick the Great of Prussia in 1750, the<br />
palace was converted to become the royal residence of the<br />
Prussian Hohenzolern kings - a function which it served from<br />
the 17th to 20th century. Badly damaged during WWII, only<br />
half of the structure survived and now houses the permanent<br />
exhibition, ‘1000 Years of Wrocław’, tracing the complex history<br />
of the Silesian capital from the Middle Ages to modern<br />
day through its art and artefacts, including meticulous recreations<br />
of the royal apartments and the unique Beyersdorf<br />
Room decorated entirely in Dutch tiles from the 17th century.<br />
The upstairs contains a collection of contemporary, post-war<br />
paintings. Also don’t miss the regal baroque gardens behind<br />
the palace. QOpen 10:00 - 17:00, Sun 10:00 - 18:00. Closed<br />
Mon. Admission 15/10zł. English-speaking guided tour 400zł.<br />
Audio guides in English and German 10 zł.<br />
Town Hall, Museum of City Art (Ratusz, Muzeum<br />
Sztuki Mieszczańskiej) A-3, Rynek, tel. (+48) 71<br />
347 16 90, www.mmw.pl. The first thing you’ll probably<br />
notice about the Town Hall (Ratusz) is that it seems to be<br />
patched together from bits and pieces of a dozen different<br />
buildings, and in many ways it was. Construction began in<br />
the end of the 13th century and continued - through all the<br />
changing political and artistic forces - for about 250 years.<br />
The Town Hall was the centre of city life up until the early<br />
20th century, housing the Town Council, merchants’ stalls<br />
and - most importantly - a beer cellar. The building escaped<br />
relatively unscathed after World War II (an estimated 10%<br />
was damaged). After reconstruction work, it was re-opened<br />
as the Museum of City Art (Muzeum Sztuki Mieszczańskiej).<br />
<strong>In</strong>side you can see the remarkable Gothic interiors and a<br />
collection of silver and other city artefacts. <strong>In</strong> the Treasury<br />
room, look for the new flower-shaped decorative keystones<br />
which replaced Nazi symbols installed during World War II.<br />
The most fun part of the Town Hall to explore is the elaborate<br />
exterior decoration. See if you can find scenes from Aesop’s<br />
fables, or grotesque scenes of medieval pub life. Note that<br />
exhibits are poorly marked, there are few signs and finding<br />
your way around can be a bit of a stab in the dark. QOpen<br />
10:00 - 17:00, Sun 10:00 - 18:00. Closed Mon, Tue. Admission<br />
10/7zł, Wed free.<br />
Wrocław <strong>In</strong> <strong>Your</strong> <strong>Pocket</strong> wroclaw.inyourpocket.com<br />
While you’re gawping at the medieval beauty of Wrocław’s<br />
Market Square (Rynek) keep this in mind: in 1945 much of<br />
the square was levelled by the war. Such was the dedication<br />
of Wrocław’s ‘pioneers’ - the resettlers from the east - that<br />
the remarkable ensemble you see today was faithfully rebuilt,<br />
though not before many of the original bricks had been sent<br />
to help with the post-war Warsaw rebuilding effort. Done<br />
with a remarkable attention to detail, tourists can now even<br />
admire a replica of the stone pillory (south east of the Town<br />
Hall) used to flog people from 1492 to well into the 18th<br />
century. Topped with the figure of a hangman the column<br />
was originally the work of Briccius Gauske and it was here<br />
that prostitutes and thieves were lashed. <strong>In</strong>deed, being on<br />
the wrong side of the law in Wrocław was a dangerous occupation.<br />
Other punishments meted out on this spot included<br />
the severing of hands, ears and noses, all of which would be<br />
enthusiastically lapped up by the watching crowds.<br />
Wrocław’s principal gallows was positioned outside the<br />
house on Rynek 19, the condemned accompanied on their<br />
final walk by the doleful dong of the ‘Sinners Bell’ once found<br />
in St. Mary Magdalene’s Church. According to local legend<br />
the town bellmaker killed his apprentice in a blind fury after<br />
the lad interfered with the important churchbell, casting it<br />
without him. Finding it perfectly crafted, the repentant bellmaker<br />
confessed his sin and was sentenced to hang. His<br />
final request was to walk to the gallows to the perfect pitch<br />
of the bell, and from there the tradition stuck.<br />
Further on the south side of the Rynek stands the strange<br />
sculpture of a brown bear on a tree stump outside the<br />
entrance of Piwnica Świdnicka in the Town Hall; rub his<br />
tongue for luck before continuing on to the statue of Count<br />
Alexander Fredro. A legendary comedy writer, his statue<br />
was brought from Lvov in 1956, replacing the statue that<br />
had previously occupied the space up until the end of the<br />
war - that of Kaiser Wilhelm. Formerly the home of the<br />
Wrocław fish market, from 1545 until 1745 it was also the<br />
site of ‘the madman’s shed’ - a cage where drunks and other<br />
miscreants would be incarcerated. City records reveal those<br />
imprisoned ranged from a cross-dressing woman to a pair<br />
of compulsive gamblers caught engrossed in a card game<br />
during a church sermon.<br />
wroclaw.inyourpocket.com<br />
OLD TOWN<br />
The market square and much of the grid of streets around it<br />
was laid out by city planners in 1241. It was then and remains<br />
even now one of the largest squares of its kind in Europe.<br />
Its centre is dominated by the Gothic Town Hall and an ensemble<br />
of buildings that replaced the original trading stalls.<br />
Surrounding the Town Hall are buildings whose facades range<br />
from Gothic to Art Nouveau (Rynek 6) - with only a little bit of<br />
modern thrown in for comparison’s sake: for instance, that grey<br />
ten-storey office building at Rynek 11. Completed in 1931 the<br />
structure was designed by Heinrich Rump and is a glimpse at<br />
what the market square might have looked like had a ludicrous<br />
project to modernize the historic centre ever come to fruition.<br />
It was the idea of Max Berg - creator of the concrete bliss<br />
called Centennial Hall - to demolish the buildings surrounding<br />
the Town Hall, replacing them with 20 storey concrete towers.<br />
After much deliberation city authorities abandoned the plan, in<br />
the process saving the Wrocław loved by all today.<br />
<strong>In</strong> lieu of addresses, the buildings originally had symbols from<br />
which they took their names. Since the symbol was generally<br />
placed above the door, the buildings would be called, for example,<br />
Under the Golden Eagle (Pod Złotym Orłem, Rynek 4).<br />
Most of these are still visible and have given their name over<br />
to whatever restaurant or bar has moved in. The majority come<br />
steeped in legend and history, with the building at number 7<br />
once serving as an inn for visiting regents and nabobs. Under<br />
the Golden Dog (Pod Złotym Psem, Rynek 41), meanwhile, is<br />
one of the most haunted houses in Wrocław. The sounds of<br />
carpentry can allegedly be heard on the stroke of midnight, while<br />
another tale claims that Frederick the Great was once staying in<br />
the residence, when all of a sudden a demonic force snatched<br />
his feather quilled pen and hurled him across the room. It’s not<br />
the only house where you’ll find scary goings-on. The house on<br />
the corner of the Rynek and ul. Mikołaja is allegedly haunted<br />
by a particularly nasty chap who was possessed by a goblin<br />
living in the bell tower of St. Elizabeth’s Church. Motivated by<br />
greed he murdered his grandmother for the sake of her fortune.<br />
Adjacent to the Market Square is Plac Solny, which is almost<br />
as impressive architecturally, especially with its elaborate<br />
reliefs and figurines bursting from the facades. Formerly<br />
home to a bazaar specializing in salt, leather and honey the<br />
centre is now a 24 hour flower market - which is good news<br />
for budding romeos, looking to delight any beauties they<br />
may have seduced on the dance-floors of Wrocław. But Plac<br />
Solny has also played a darker role in Wrocław’s past. It was<br />
from the windows of a house here that John of Capistrano<br />
conducted fire and brimstone sermons in 1453. Holding a<br />
human skull in one hand, his diatribes and rants inspired his<br />
captivated flock to throw cards and mirrors into a bonfire.<br />
Unfortunately the fiery antics didn’t stop there. It was partly<br />
under John’s instigation that a panel of city chiefs ordered<br />
the arrest of all Jews. They were given a stark choice: convert<br />
to Christianity, or face death at the stake. They chose the<br />
latter with many, including the rabbi, committing suicide. The<br />
other 41 were famously burned at the stake on Plac Solny<br />
on July 4th, 1453.<br />
Although much of Wrocław’s historic centre was subject<br />
to meticulous renovation after the war the millhouses and<br />
wooden cottages that once lined the canal were never rebuilt,<br />
and nowadays this belt of land remains a quiet, meditative<br />
spot in the centre of the city. Delving back into the heart of<br />
the historic centre the numerous side streets that sprout<br />
off ul. Kiełbaśniczna are well worth exploring, most notably<br />
Stare Jatki; formerly filled with rows of butchers stalls, this<br />
cobbled alleyway features a collection of cast-iron farm<br />
animals in reference to its past, though today its principal<br />
industry lies in selling local artwork to those with plenty of<br />
cash at their disposal.<br />
September - December 2012<br />
67