WROCŁAW - In Your Pocket

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