Architecture, Wroclaw

Centennial Hall was recognised as one of the greatest architectonic achievements of the 20th century. It was designed to serve the citizens of Wrocław and the guests visiting the capital of Lower Silesia. https://visitwroclaw.eu/en/place/centennial-hall

Surrounded by the river Oder, the old burgh, the origin of the city, has fantastic architecture. The greatest ones are the Gothic St. John Baptist cathedral, rebuilt after World War II and Holy Cross church. https://visitwroclaw.eu/en/place/ostrow-tumski-en

Old Town Hall is a unique Gothic building in European architecture. It has 2 storeys, 3 parts with a rectangular building of the councils, which is attached to the northern wall and a square tower. Located in the city centre, it was being built for about 250 years (13 - 16th century). It used to serve as the seat of the city authorities and the court. The oldest part of the Town Hall was built ca. 1299 (according to the sources). This part is called consistorium (Latin: place of gatherings) and now belongs to the building. The consistorium has two parts: the underground hall covered with the ceiling and the Western tower. After buying the rights of the voyt, the meaning of the Council was much bigger. The growing number of the Council members demanded a new building. In the years 1328-1333, near the consistorium a new, smaller building was built - praetorium (Latin: the seat of the leaders). The building is the northern part of the Town Hall, near the square with the whipping post. Since the very beginning the Town Hall has witnessed many important historical events and has been a representative building where the authorities invited their honourable guests. This tradition is still alive. The most important world leaders, monarchs, clergy and artists have been invited into the Town Hall. In the cellar of the building there is one of the oldest restaurants in Europe - the legendary Piwnica Świdnicka. https://visitwroclaw.eu/en/place/old-town-hall-in-wroclaw

From 2009 the palace is the main building of the City Museum of Wrocław and presents, among others the exhibition “1000 years of Wrocław”. The Royal Palace (Pałac Królewski) was called Spaetgen’s Palace, from the name of one of the first owners. In 1717 baron Heinrich G. Spaetgen bought a small baroque mansion close to Rynek. After his death in 1750, a Prussian King Frederick II bought the palace. It became a royal mansion, and Wrocław joined Berlin and Königsberg (today’s Kaliningrad) as a residence city. The next Prussian kings extended the palace, changed its design and character. In the middle of the 19th century the palace extended itself from Wolności Square to Kazimierza Wielkiego Street. After the fall of the empire the palace was taken by the city authorities, in the 20s the Palace Museum was opened. During World War II the building was seriously damaged. https://visitwroclaw.eu/en/place/royal-palace-historical-museum

It is one of the most popular places for walks. Apart from a few hundreds of original plants, trees, bushes and flowers, there are also Japanese buildings: the gate and the tea pavilion. One of the attractions of the Garden is a pond with enormous carps and other species of fish. The Garden often hosts events like tea perking, concerts and open-air happenings. The Japanese Garden was created in the beginning of the 20th century, on the occasion of the Global Exhibition in 1913. It was an initiative of count Fritz von Hochberg, who employed a Japanese gardener Mankichi Arai. After the Exhibition it was dismantled but the plants and the arrangement of alleys and the pond remained the same. The idea of renewing the Japanese Garden in Wrocław appeared in the 90s. The reconstruction lasted three years, the specialists from Japan came to assist, but the Garden did not survived for long. Two months after the inauguration, the Garden was destroyed by the flood. 70% of the plants were lost. The next opening of the Japanese enclave took place in October 1999. https://visitwroclaw.eu/en/place/japanese-garden-wroclaw

Wrocław Puppet Theatre presents adaptations of children literature (Astrid Lindgren’s “Och, Emil”, Piotr Jerszow’s “Konik Garbusek”) and classic fairy tales - Beauty and the Beast, Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Puss in Boots. But the Theatre plays not only classics - the latest premieres were mainly original spectacles based on contemporary plays, written especially for Wrocław Puppet Theatre. These are new, highly educational plays, which cross the borders of a regular puppet theatre. https://visitwroclaw.eu/en/place/wroclaw-puppet-theatre