Plan Your Trip

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Trip 1

Discovering Old Wrocław

Wrocław was built on the banks and islands of the River Oder. The town attracted those who recognised its highly defensible location — all the neighbouring powers were interested in seizing its wealth. The forces of nature haven’t always been kind to the city either — in a great storm in 1529, for example, the 427-foot tall tower of the St. Elisabeth’s church was toppled by high winds. It had been one of the world’s tallest structures of the time. Despite all this, Wrocław, often called "the Flower of Europe", has managed to maintain its historical charm and is still one of Poland’s most enchanting cities.

• The memorial of Pope John XXIII has been one of the city’s symbols since 1968;
• St. Martin chapel in the Old Town founded in the 12^th century;
• The Holy Cross collegiate church from the end of the 14^th century;
• St. John the Baptist Cathedral;
• The Old Sufragan Palace and the old Bishop’s Palace;
• The restored Bishop’s Gardens on the banks of the Oder;
• St. Giles Church, Wrocław’s oldest church, and the Archsee Museum featuring an Egyptian mummy, Etruscan pitchers and a collection of Silesian art;
• The Wrocław University Botanical Gardens and the Museum of Natural History featuring an original skeleton of a whale;
• The Gothic style Blessed Virgin Mary church;
• P. Włostowic boulevard and S. Kulczyński boulevard;
• The River Oder islands: Słodowa Island, Młyńska Island (featuring the more than 600-year-old Maria Mill), Piaskowa Island (featuring the Blessed Virgin Mary church with the only nativity scene in the city that is displayed year round);
• X. Dunikowski boulevard (a memorial to those murdered in the eastern borderlands), Academy of Fine Arts;
• An observation deck in an old defensive stronghold, known as the Polish Hill;
• Ostrów Tumski and Piaskowa Island views;
• Gondola Bay, remains of the Old Town’s moat;
• National Museum and the Rotunda featuring the Racławice Panorama;
• Constitution of May 3 memorial and the Katyń Victim Memorial;
• J. Słowacki park with a memorial to the poet;
• Museum of Architecture and Museum of Post and Telecommunications;
• St. Adalbert Church (with the Baroque chapel of Czesław the Dominican, who defended Wrocław against the Mongol invasion of 1241 and is patron of the city);
• Fragments of the old defensive walls and a defensive tower;
• Market Hall;
• St. Jacob’s church (today: St. Vincent’s church);
• The Old Clare Nuns monastery (currently Ursulines) with a mausoleum of Wrocław’s Piasts;
• Most Holy Name of Jesus Church (with frescoes by F.A. Scheffler’s and a copy of Michelangelo’s pieta) in the Baroque style;
• Main building of the Wrocław University (frescoes by F.A. Scheffler’s, the Baroque Leopold Assembly Hall, the Mathematics Tower, the Chancellor’s Corridor and the Oratorium Marianum);
• 14^th century city prison (today: Polish Academy of Sciences Ethnology Institute)
• Jatki — 14^th century meat stalls and a memorial to butchered animals (today it houses Wrocław artists’ galleries and art shops);
• St. Elisabeth Basilica (Gothic interior with the tombstones and epitaphs of Wrocław’s patricians, a church tower with an observation deck) belonging to the protectors of altars in St. Elisabeth’s church;
• The Renaissance arsenal from the 15^th century (with two departments of the City Museum: Museum of the Military and the Archaeological Museum);
• Council of the Birth of the Holy Mother of God, previously St. Barbara’s church;
• The ‘Under the White Stork’ synagogue;
• Gothic church of St. Stanislaw, Wenceslas and Dorothy with 18th century Baroque furnishings;
• The ‘Monopol’ building — Wrocław’s oldest trade centre;
• The 19^th century Lower Silesia Opera;
• Memorial to the Victims of Stalinism;
• Body of Christ Church;
• ‘Podwale’ trade centre built in 1897;
• A weather clock, displaying the current weather;
• The 19^th century Puppet Theatre;
• Memorial of ‘the Dwarf.’ commemorating the Orange Alternative Movement;
• Market Square (City Hall, reconstruction of a stone pillory built in 1492);
• Maria Magdalena Church, currently a cathedral of the Polish Catholic Church — this is where Wratislavia Cantans Festival concerts are held;
• The Świdnik Cellar, one of Europe’s oldest restaurants and a memorial to Aleksander Fredro.

Northern bank & islands:

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Southern bank:

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Trip 2

Bridges and Crossings

Wrocław is often called the ‘Venice of the North,’ due to its large number of bridges and river crossings. There are more than 120 of them.

This route leads across Wrocław’s most enchanting bridges and crossings, passing around the Downtown area, Ostrów Tumski, Na Grobli Street and Parkowa Street.

• Bourgeois Bridges;
• Sikorski Bridge, one of the oldest bridges in town (built in 1875);
• The three Pomerania Bridges;
• The two University Bridges;
• A crossing on Grodzka Street, passing the St. Matthias Bridge;
• The Sand Bridge, which forms Wrocław’s oldest bridged route together with the Mill Bridges;
• S. Kulczyński Boulevard on Piasek (Sand) Island;
• The Piaskowa (Sand) footbridge;
• The Słodowa footbridge;
• The Słodowa Island route towards the Żabia footbridge;
• From Bielarska Island over the Clara Bridge and back to Słodowa Island;
• The Słodowy Bridge leading to Młyńska (Mill) Island, and via the Mill Bridges to Piaskowa Island;
• The Tumski Bridge leading to Katedralna Street then toward the Bridge of Peace;
• Leaving the bridge, via J. Słowacki Coast, under the Grunwald Bridge, to Oławski Bridge;
• Na Grobli Street leading toward the Zwierzyniecka footbridge;
• Toward the Zwierzyniecki Bridge and on to Bartla Street;
• The last highlight on this route is the Szczytnicki Bridge.

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