What to See in Wrocław - Top Sights and Attractions

Established zoo with conservation focus. The Wrocław Zoological Garden, known simply as the Wrocław Zoo, is a zoo on Wróblewskiego Street in Wrocław, Poland. It is the oldest zoo in Poland, having been opened in 1865 as the Breslau Zoological Garden while the city was part of Prussia. It is also the largest zoo in Poland. The zoo covers 33 hectares in downtown Wrocław. It is home to about 10,500 animals representing about 1,132 species. In terms of the number of animal species it is the third largest zoological garden in the world.

The Wrocław Zoo is the most visited zoo in Poland and the fifth most visited zoo in Europe.

The zoo is an accredited member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).^[1]

Museum in Wrocław, Poland. The National Museum in Wrocław, established 28 March 1947 and officially inaugurated on 11 July 1948, is one of Poland's main branches of the National Museum system. It holds one of the largest collections of contemporary art in the country.

The holdings of Wrocław Museum are closely connected with the history of border shifts in Central Europe following World War II. After the annexation of Eastern half of the Second Polish Republic by the Soviet Union, main parts of Poland's art collections were transferred from the cities incorporated into the USSR like Lviv. Collections not returned included the Ossolineum holdings which became part of the Lviv National Museum. The cultural heritage shipped in 1946 included Polish and European paintings from 17th to 19th centuries.^[7]

Place of burial. The Old Jewish Cemetery is a historic necropolis-museum situated on 37/39 Ślężna Street, in the southern part of Wrocław, Poland. Opened in 1856, the cemetery's eclectic layout features many architectural forms and styles on a monumental scale.

The current shape of the cemetery evolved mostly throughout the 19th century, during the times of the German Empire. The first burial took place in what was then the village of Gabitz (Gajowice), just outside city limits. The cemetery area was then expanded twice. In 1943, the burial ceremonies were abandoned and the necropolis was leased for five years to a gardening center. During World War II, the cemetery became a fierce battleground, the marks of which are still visible on many tombstones. It was inscribed into the register of city monuments in 1975.^[11]

Cobblestone square with many vendors. The Market Square, Wrocław is a medieval market square in Wrocław, in southwestern Poland. The square is rectangular with the dimensions 213 by 178 metres and now serves as a pedestrian zone. It is one of the largest market squares in Europe, with the largest two city halls in the country.

The buildings around the square are built according to different styles: the middle part (German: Tritt) of the ring is occupied by a block of buildings consisting of the Old City Hall, the New City Hall as well as numerous citizens' houses. The market square is an urban ensemble with the two diagonally contiguous areas, the Salt Market and the square in front of St. Elisabeth's Church. Eleven streets lead to the market: two to each corner, two narrow lanes and an opened outside square, Kurzy Targ "Chicken Market".

The market was founded according to Magdeburg law as early as the rule of Polish Duke Henry I the Bearded between 1214 and 1232. Over time, the patricians' houses appeared and by the middle of the 14th century they had formed a closed construction with the limits of the plots defined.

In the 19th century the square was connected to the tram lines, at first a horse-drawn system, but after 1892 electric.

During World War II, the market square was damaged, however, most of the buildings remained intact and were carefully restored.

Through to the end of the 1970s, vehicles were able to drive through along an east–west axis. Between 1996 and 2000 the square was resurfaced, while the east side, the last to be accessible to cars, was pedestrianised.

There are now 60 numbered plots on the market square, with some buildings occupying several. The limits of the plots often follow lines different from those first laid out since estates were often merged and divided in the late Middle Ages. Each property has a traditional name, usually associated with the coat of arms visible on the facade or related to the history of the house itself, for instance Under the Griffins, Under the Blue Sun and Old Town Hall (tenement house, which collects the city council before the construction of the first town hall; now there is a McDonald).^[12]

Sports dome in Wrocław, Poland. The Centennial Hall, formerly named Hala Ludowa, is a historic building in Wrocław, Poland. It was constructed according to the plans of architect Max Berg in 1911–1913, when the city was part of the German Empire. Max Berg designed Centennial Hall to serve as a multifunctional structure to host "exhibitions, concerts, theatrical and opera performances, and sporting events". The hall continues to be used for sporting events, business summits, and concerts.

As an early landmark of reinforced concrete architecture, the building became one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomnik historii), as designated 20 April 2005, together with the Four Domes Pavilion, the Pergola, and the Iglica. Its listing is maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland. It was also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006.^[13]

Park in Wrocław, Poland. Szczytnicki Park in Wrocław, Poland is located to the east of Plac Grunwaldzki and the old Oder river, and covers approximately 1 square kilometre of land. The park, besides offering many sightseeing attractions, also has many dendrological rarities.

The land under the park was first mentioned in writing in 1204, when Henryk I the Bearded donated the village Stitnic to the monastery of St. Vincent, where shields were produced for the duke's forces. The village was also inhabited by fishermen and farmers. In 1318, the monks sold the village to the city council, becoming the first estate outside the city walls, called Szczytniki. The forest in Szczytniki was already popular among the inhabitants of Wrocław in the 18th century. In 1783, Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen bought the terrain and established one of the first parks on the European continent in the English style. The park was ruined, however, by French soldiers during a siege of the city.

The park hosts a Japanese Garden (Wrocław), prepared for the World's Fair of 1913, restored by a Japanese foundation, partially destroyed by the 1997 flood and reconstructed. There is also a wooden church from the turn of the 17th century, originally in Stare Koźle.^[15]

The Fountain of the Bear is a reconstruction of a pre-war fountain, located by the southern wall of the Old Town Hall in Wrocław, Poland.

The original bronze fountain was made by Ernst Moritz Geyger in 1902. On August 17, 1904, it was placed by the City Hall in a small stone pool, into which water from the bear's mouth was flowing. During the World War II the statue was lost. The reconstruction of the statue was initiated by Maciej Łagiewski and the Wrocław Shooting Fraternity. The sculpture, which weights 270 kg and is 1.5 m high, was reconstructed by Ryszard Zamorski to resemble the original, and the fountain by the Town Hall was unveiled on 18 June 1998. The bronze cast was made by the Gliwice Plant of Technical Devices with funds from Wrocław Centrozlot and Wrocław Piast Brewery.^[16]

Towering needlelike monument from 1948. Iglica is a needle-like monument in Wrocław, Poland. It was built in 1948 and was 106 metres tall. Today, after renovation, the top ten metres have been removed and it is now 96 metres tall.

This structure was constructed by Polish Communists for an exhibition to celebrate regaining control over the "Regained Territories" after the Second World War. The Iglica is located very close to the Centennial Hall.

Originally topped by a spinning contraption of mirrors, creating an "umbrella of light" at night, this was struck by lightning within a day of completion, and prior to the official opening. The remnants of this damaged structure were apparently removed by two climbing enthusiasts at no cost, the military being unable to tackle the task.

The spire was named one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomnik historii), as designated April 20, 2005, together with the Four Domes Pavilion, the Pergola, and Centennial Hall. Its listing is maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland.^[20]

Suspension bridge in Wrocław, Poland. Grunwald Bridge is a suspension bridge over the river Oder in Wrocław, Poland, built between 1908 and 1910. Initially the bridge was called the Imperial Bridge, then the Bridge of Freedom. Architectural designer of the bridge was a city councilor, Richard Plüddemann. The bridge opened on 10 October 1910 in the presence of Emperor Wilhelm II.

It is one of the longest bridges of its kind in Poland, being 112.5 meters long, 18 meters wide, and weighing 2.3 thousand tons. It was constructed of Silesian granite.

The bridge was damaged during World War II but by September 1947 it had been repaired and reopened. Presently, the national road 98 and a tram line runs across the bridge.^[22]

Stadium in Wrocław, Poland. The Stadion Wrocław, known for sponsorship reasons as the Tarczyński Arena Wrocław since 2021, is a UEFA Category Four association football stadium built for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship. The Stadium is located on aleja Śląska in the district of Fabryczna, Wrocław. It is the home stadium of the Śląsk Wrocław football team playing in the Polish Ekstraklasa. The stadium has a capacity of 45,105 spectators, all seated and all covered.

The Stadion Wrocław is the largest arena in Ekstraklasa and the third largest in the country (after the Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw and the Stadion Śląski in Chorzów).

Stadium construction began in April 2009 and was completed in September 2011.

Stadium opening took place at 10 September 2011 with boxing fight between Tomasz Adamek and Vitali Klitschko for WBC heavyweight title. The first football match, between Śląsk Wrocław and Lechia Gdańsk, was played on 28 October 2011. Śląsk won the match 1–0 and Johan Voskamp was the first goalscorer at the new stadium.^[26]

Romanesque House in Wrocław, or House of the Ladies of Trzebnica in Wrocław, is a Romanesque villa at Plac Biskupa Nankiera in Wrocław. More precisely, it is an early-Gothic building with Romanesque elements that dates back to the beginning of the 13th century, partly reconstructed after World War II. It was the centre for the Cistercians of Trzebnica, which is why it was called the House of the Ladies of Trzebnica. Nearby, along the Kotlarska Street, were the Nowe Jatki, a medieval shopping center belonging to the monastery.

The building was erected on a trapezoidal plan made of brick laid in a Wendish thread. The Romanesque elements of this building, including the arches in the central part, are mixed with Gothic details of the windows and the arches of the vaults. On each of the two floors of the building there were originally three rooms. The building was repeatedly rebuilt, and remained the property of the monastery until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1810.

During WWII the site around Bishop Nankier's Square was damaged. During the renovation in 1959, historic fragments of the oldest architectural foundation of the building located under the street level were discovered. From 1966 to 1969, the site was partially reconstructed according to the project of Henryk Dziurla. Over eight centuries, the level of neighbouring streets has risen to the height of the upper storey of the building, which is why the entrance today is subterranean. In the southern part of the lower storey there are fragments of the old barrel vaults, and on the upper floor, cross vaults.

During the reconstruction the ceiling was partially removed, joining the upper and lower storeys, and the whole building was covered with a contemporary reinforced concrete roof. The above-ground part was glazed from the outside. The place was then adapted for the needs of the art gallery under the patronage of the Center for Cultural Arts in Wrocław. Later, the gallery was transformed into Foto-Medium-Art Gallery, and become one of the most important Neo-avantgarde centres in Poland. Then it changed its name to the Lower Silesia Centre of Photography, "Romanesque House". From January 2017 it is called the Foto-Gen Gallery. In April 2017, a bronze plaque commemorating the Cistercian foundation "House of the Ladies of Trzebnica" was placed in the facade of the building and the name Dom Panien Trzebnickich came back into official use.

Foto-Gen Gallery specializes in showing photography and new media. There are regular exhibitions for home and international artists, presentations as well as lectures organized there. Media reportages from these events can be seen on Centre for Cultural Arts in Wrocław video channel, local and nationwide media.^[27]

Museum in Wrocław, Poland. The Museum of Architecture is in Wrocław, Poland. The museum was founded in 1965 and located in the historic Old Town.

The museum is the only architecture museum in Poland. It is located in a 15th-century post-Bernardine set of buildings, including the St Bernardine of Sienna Church and a monastic quadrangle with a garden.

The Museum of Architecture was a founder-member of the International Confederation of Architectural Museums (ICAM).

The museum's collections illustrate the evolution of architecture in general, although with a specific focus on Poland. The largest collection of stained glass in Poland can be found here. Permanent exhibitions on display are: "Relics of Wroclaw's Mediaeval Architecture"; "Architectural Craft from the Twelfth to the Twentieth Century"; "Wroclaw: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow"; "The Art of Geometry: A Gallery of Polish Geometrical and Constructivist Art".^[28]

Historic, traditional indoor market. Wrocław Market Hall is a food hall in central Wrocław, Poland. Designed by Richard Plüddemann, it was built between 1906-08 as the Breslauer Markthalle Nr 1, when the city was part of German Empire. The Hall was renowned for its then-innovative application of reinforced concrete trusses, which was unique in Europe at the time.

The complex is situated by Piaskowa Street (Sandstraße), at the junction of Plac Nankiera (Ritterplatz) and Św. Ducha Street (Heiligegeiststraße) close to Main Market Square and the historic Old Town. It was erected at the same time as another smaller hall with the same interior structure at Kolejowa Street. Both buildings were created in order to organize street trading in the city center. Once completed, all street markets were moved into the newly opened halls.

The building was not severely damaged during World War II and continued to be used as originally intended shortly after, whereas the Kolejowa Hall was destroyed and its ruins demolished in 1973. The Wrocław Market Hall was refurbished between 1980-83, and again in the years 2018-2019; it remains one of the biggest produce markets in the city.^[31]