Wrocław
Wrocław, (, , ,
Latin:
Wratislavia or
Vratislavia) is the capital of
Lower Silesia in southwestern
Poland, situated on the
Oder River (Odra). As of
2004, the city's population was estimated to be 638,000. It is the principal city of the
Lower Silesia region and the administrative seat of the
Lower Silesian Voivodship (since
1999), previously of
Wrocław Voivodship. The city is also a separate city-county.
As a city which from
Slavic influences was gradually transformed into a wholly
German city during the
Middle Ages, and as a city severely hit and destroyed by the scourges of
World War II and the subsequent
expulsion of all its, German, citizens, it remains a town with a disputed status and history as well as a symbol for the last world war, comparable to
Gdansk (Danzig) and
Kaliningrad (Königsberg).
The city was first recorded in the year
1000 by
Thietmar's chronicle:
Johannes Wrotizlaensis,
bishop of Wrotizla, a newly established diocese, is mentioned, as was later the city itself (as
Wortizlawa). The first municipal seal says:
Sigillum civitatis Wracislavie, and a simplified city name is given in
1175 as
in Wrezlawe.
Early records show that the medieval city name was
Wrocisław in Polish,
Vratislav in Czech, which means Wrocisław/Vratislav's town. The Polish name was later phonetically simplified in two stages: Wrocisław->Wrotsław->Wrocław, and this simplified name has been used since the
12th century. The Czech spelling was used in Latin documents,
Wratislavia or
Vratislavia, but Polish pronunciation was also influential as shown in the spelling of
Wracislavia. At that time, in
Middle High German,
Prezla was used, then
Preßlau. The German version of the name —
Breslau— was used as the official name when the city was part of
Austria,
Prussia and finally
Germany for over 400 years.
|
The town square in Wrocław |
The city is traditionally believed to be named after a person called Wrocisław/Vratislaw, although it is unclear what, if any, connection exists to a
Czech duke called
Vratislav I. It is also possible the city was named after the tribal duke of the Silesians, or after the early owner of the city, called Vratislav. There is also another version that city was named after Polish duke Wrócisław, in old Polish language it means "he will be back famous".
The name of the city may be an issue among German and Polish nationalists. Despite claims that the use of
Breslau is considered as highly unpopular or even offensive among the present Polish inhabitants, the city's website says
Willkommen in Wrocław/Breslau in its German version [
1], and uses only
Breslau in the following text.
Name variations used in other languages:
* Vratislav (
Slovak)
* Vroclav (Slovak,
Serbian)
* Breslavia (
Italian)
* Vroclavas (
Lithuanian)
* Boroszló (
Hungarian)
Feudal era
Situated at a long existing trading place, a city was first recorded in the
10th century as
Vratislavia (Wratislaw) (the origin of its various later names) after
Vratislav I. The settlement was conquered by the Piast duke
Mieszko I in the
990s. Already a place of some importance, it became the capital of
Silesia in
1138, where Silesians had founded a settlement south of the river. During the
Mongol invasion in
1241 most of the population of the city was evacuated. The settlement was then sacked and burned by the Mongols, but they had no time to besiege the
castle where the rest of the burghers found refuge.
Documents of that time refer to the town by many variants of the name, including
Bresslau,
Presslau,
Breslau and Wratislaw. The restored town was given
Magdeburg Rights in
1262, the population loss was compensated by a large influx of Germans from the west. The first illustration of the city was published in the
Schedelsche Weltchronik in
1493.
Under direct overlordship of the
Holy Roman Empire, the emperors granted government positions to members of various ducal and royal dynasties. The city was a member of the
Hanseatic League of northern
European trading cities. During much of the
Middle Ages Wrocław was ruled by its
dukes from the
Piast dynasty. Although the city was not part of its principality, the bishop of Breslau was a
prince-bishop since Bishop Preczlaus of Pogarell (1341-1376) bought the Duchy of
Grottkau from Duke Bolesław of
Brieg and added it to the episcopal territory of
Neisse, after this the bishops of Breslau had the titles of Prince of Neisse and Duke of Grottkau, and took precedence of the other Silesian rulers.
In
1335, it was incorporated with almost the entirety of Silesia into the Kingdom of
Bohemia and was part of it until the
1740s; from
1526, it was ruled by the Empire's
Habsburg dynasty. By this time the inhabitants, although of mixed Silesian, Bohemian, Moravian, and Polish ancestry, had become mainly linguistically and culturally German. The overwhelming majority became
Lutheran Protestants during the
Reformation as did most of Lower Silesia, but they were forcibly suppressed during the
Catholic Reformation by Austrian and Polish
Jesuits, who were working with the support of the Habsburg rulers.
After the extinction of local Piast rulers in
1675, the
Habsburg Monarchy of
Austria inherited the city of Breslau. They resorted to forceful conversion of the city to back to
Catholicism. During the
War of the Austrian Succession in the
1740s, Silesia was annexed by the
Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia's claims were derived from the agreement, rejected by Habsburgs, between the Piast rulers of the Duchy and the
Hohenzollerns who secured the Prussian succession after the extinction of the Piasts.
Modern history
After the demise of the
Holy Roman Empire in
1806,
Prussia became a member of the
German Confederation with only all these territories inhabited by Germans. In
1813 the King of Prussia,
Frederick William III gave a speech
"An mein Volk" ("to my people") at Breslau as a signal that
Prussia would join
Russia in fighting
Napoleon. Two years before, in
1811, the
Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelm-Universität (
Breslau University) was reestablished. In
1871 Germany was unified. Breslau became the sixth largest city of
Imperial Germany and a major industrial centre, notably of linen and cotton manufacture, more than tripling in population between
1860 and
1910 to over half a million. New Germans from the west came to Breslau, as well as Polish immigrant workers and their families, which led to the construction of Polnisch Neudorf suburb. Breslau municipal boundaries were greatly extended in
1928.
Many of the city's 10,000
Jews were killed during the
Nazi genocide of
World War II. As the
Red Army was approaching the city in February
1945, Breslau was declared a
fortress by the fanatical Nazi
Gauleiter Hanke. When it was almost already too late, he finally stopped preventing the evacuation of the women and children. During his poorly organised evacuation of German women and children in early March, temperatures were about -20°C. In the icy snowstorms, around 18,000 froze to death, mostly children and young babies. Some 200,000 German civilians remained in the city, as the railway connection to the west was damaged and overloaded. To build fortifications,
slave labour was needed to augment civilian workers, and
concentration camp prisoners were forced to help.
To re-supply the fortress, the population was given the order to construct a military airfield. A modern residential district, around the
Kaiserstraße (now known as
Plac Grunwaldzki) was razed for that purpose. Those of the people who refused to work there were threatened with being shot as deserters. According to the estimation of an eyewitness, approximately 13,000 died under enemy fire on the airfield alone. In the end, the only plane to take off was that of a fleeing Gauleiter Hanke.
Following the
Battle of Breslau, two thirds of the city were destroyed. Some 40,000 Breslauers and forced labourers lay dead in the ruins of their homes and factories. After a siege of nearly three months, the strategically relatively unimportant "Festung Breslau" surrendered on
May 7, the last major city in
historical Eastern Germany to fall.
|
Wrocław town square and St Elisabeth church |
Like almost all of Lower Silesia, Breslau was placed under Polish administration according to the terms of the agreement reached at the
Potsdam Conference. Most of the surviving German inhabitants were
forcibly expelled to one of the post-war German states between 1945 and
1949; the ones not directly "evacuated" left due to Polish repression or poverty later on. However, as with other Lower Silesian cities a considerable German presence remained until the late
1950s. In fact, the last German school in the city was not closed until
1963. Wrocław was resettled by Poles either from the small towns and villages of central Poland or those expelled by the Soviets from territories lost by Poland to the USSR. Many of these were from
Lwów (now L'viv,
Ukraine),
Wilno (now
Vilnius,
Lithuania) and
Grodno (now
Hrodna,
Belarus).
|
Hala Ludowa or Jahrhunderthalle by modernistic architect Max Berg. |
Gradually the old city was restored to its beauty. Nearly all of the monumental buildings were preserved. Now it is a uniquely European city, located in present-day Poland, with its architecture echoing that in Austria, Bohemia, or Prussia. Wrocław's
Gothic style is originally Silesian; its
Baroque style owes much to court builders of Habsburg Austria (
Fischer von Erlach,
Ch. Tausch); and Wrocław still has a number of buildings by eminent German
modernist architects, such as
Hans Poelzig or
Max Berg, the famous
Jahrhunderthalle (
Hala Ludowa) by
Berg (
1911–
13) being the most important.
|
Destruction in the center of the city after 1997 flooding. |
In July
1997, the city was hit by a severe flooding of the Oder River. In 2005, the city was hit by a freak storm that felled a number of trees and killed three people. The storm was local and did not affect any other major cities.
|
Famous department store building known as «In the Junkernstraße», owned by Kaufhaus Petersdorff before the war, designed by famous architect Hans Poelzig in 1912 |
Significant events in the 20th century
External links with photo galleries, mostly in Polish* 1997 -
1997 great flood of Oder River - photo gallery* 1948 -
"Retrieved Country Exhibition" - Polish claim on renamed Breslau, defending expulsion and annexation* 1945 -
Festung Breslau (Wrocław Fortress) siege by Soviet Army - photo gallery* 1938 -
"All-German Festival of Sports & Gymnastics" (Internet Explorer only)* 1937 -
12th "All-German Singing Meeting"* 1913 -
"100th Aniversary of Leipzig greater Battle Exhibition, 1913"* 1907 -
7th "All-German Singing Meeting, 1907"* 1903 -
1903 great flood of Oder riverHistorical population
1800: 64,500 inhabitants
1831: 89,500 inhabitants
1850: 114,000 inhabitants
1852: 121,100 inhabitants
1880: 272,900 inhabitants
1900: 422,700 inhabitants
1910: 510,000 inhabitants
1925: 555,200 inhabitants
1933: 625,198 inhabitants
1939: 629,565 inhabitants
1946: 171,000 inhabitants (Original German population expelled, killed or evacuated.)
1956: 400,000 inhabitants
1960: 431,800 inhabitants
1967: 487,700 inhabitants
1970: 526,000 inhabitants
1975: 579,900 inhabitants
1980: 617,700 inhabitants
1990: 640,577 inhabitants
1999: 650,000 inhabitants
2003: 638,000 inhabitants
*
Hala Ludowa by
Max Berg - a
UNESCO World Heritage Site*
Ostrów Tumski*
Panorama Racławicka*
Plac Grunwaldzki*
Kościół św. Elżbiety (St. Elisabeth's Church)*
Wrocław Palace |
City Hall in 14th century German Backstein Gothic style. |
|
Cathedral in Ostrów Tumski |
*
Jerzy Grotowski - theatre director and a leading theatrical
avant garde figure
*
Mirosław Hermaszewski - Polish
astronaut*
Ludwik Hirszfeld -
microbiologist, co-discovers of the inheritance of the BO blood type
*
Marek Hłasko - writer
*
Lech Janerka - singer, musician and composer
*
Tadeusz Różewicz - poet and writer
*
Wanda Rutkiewicz - one of the most famous woman mountaineers (what is her connection ?)
*
Andrzej Sekula - Cinematographer and film Director
*
Alois Alzheimer - discoverer of
Alzheimer's Disease*
Adolf Anderssen -
19th century chess master*
Max Berg - architect, designer of the
Hala Ludowa/Jahrhunderthalle*
Dietrich Bonhoeffer - religious leader in the resistance movement against
Nazism*
August Borsig (* 1804), entrepreneur
*
Ernst Cassirer, philosopher
*
Otfrid Foerster (* 1873), neuro-surgeon
*
Alfred Kerr - theatre critic and essayist
*
Otto Klemperer (* 1885), conductor
*
Gustav Robert Kirchhoff - physicist
*
Carl Ferdinand Langhans - architect
*
Ferdinand Lassalle - German socialist politician and reformer
*
Carl Friedrich Lessing (* 1808), artist
*
Adolph von Menzel - artist
*
Rudolf Meidner - Swedish economist and socialist theorist
*
Joachim Cardinal Meisner - Cardinal priest and archbishop of Cologne
*
Manfred von Richthofen - WWI flying ace.
*
Julius von Sachs - botanist
*
Friedrich Schleiermacher - theologian and philosopher
*
Angelus Silesius (Johannes Scheffler) -
17th century German religious poet
*
Edith Stein - German philosopher and Roman Catholic martyr
*
Hugo Steinhaus - mathematician
*
Christian Wolff - philosopher
Nobel Prize laureates from Breslau (Wrocław)
listed chronologically, by year of award *
Theodor Mommsen (
1902)
*
Philipp Lenard (
1905)
*
Eduard Buchner (
1907)
*
Paul Ehrlich (
1908)
*
Gerhart Hauptmann (
1912)
*
Fritz Haber (
1918)
*
Friedrich Bergius (
1931)
*
Otto Stern (
1943)
*
Max Born (
1954)
*
Reinhard Selten (
1994)
Today's Wrocław has ten state-run universities, including:
*
Wrocław University (
Uniwersytet Wrocławski)
*
Wrocław University of Technology (
Politechnika Wrocławska)
*
Medical Academy of Wrocław (
Wrocławska Akademia Medyczna)
*
University School of Physical Education. (
Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego),
*
Wrocław University of Economics (
Akademia Ekonomiczna im. Oskara Langego)
*
The Agricultural University of Wrocław (
Akademia Rolnicza we Wrocławiu)
*
Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław (
Akademia Sztuk Pięknych we Wrocławiu)
*
The Karol Lipiński University of Music (
Akademia Muzyczna im. Karola Lipińskiego)
*
University School of Theatre (
Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Teatralna)
* The
Tadeusz Kościuszko Land Forces Military Academy (
Wyższa Szkoła Oficerska Wojsk Lądowych)as well as numerous private institutions of higher education, including
*
Wyższa Szkoła Filologiczna*
Dolnośląska Szkoła Wyższa Edukacji TWPWrocław's major industries were traditionally the manufacture of railroad cars and electronics. The city is served by
Wrocław International Airport and a
river port.
Major corporations
* Volvo Polska sp. z o.o., Wrocław
* Siemens, Wrocław
* Hewlett Packard, Wrocław
* Grupa Lukas, Wrocław
* AB SA, Wrocław
* Polifarb Cieszyn-Wrocław SA, Wrocław
* KOGENERACJA S.A., Wrocław
* Impel SA, Wrocław
* Europejski Fundusz Leasingowy SA, Wrocław
* Telefonia Dialog SA, Wrocław
* Wrozamet SA, Wrocław
* American Restaurants sp. z o.o., Wrocław
* Hutmen SA, Wrocław
* MPEC Wrocław SA, Wrocław
* SAP Polska
* Hologram Industries Polska
Administrative divisions
Wrocław is divided into five boroughs, called
dzielnice:
*
Fabryczna ("Industrial")
*
Krzyki ("Screams")
*
Psie Pole ("Dog Field")
*
Stare Miasto ("Old Town")
*
Śródmieście ("City Center")
Psie Pole's settlements:
* Karłowice (Carlville)
* Kleczków ("Kleczka" - an old bell of cow)
* Kłokoczyce ("
Kłokoczka" it's polish shrub)
* Kowale (Blacksmiths)
* Lesica (Forestville in female form)
* Ligota
* Lipa Piotrowska (Peterville's lime)
* Miłostków/Marzanów ("Miło"-nice)
* Mirowiec
* Osobowice
* Pawłowice (Paulville))
* Polanka (A Little glade)
* Polanowice ("Pole"-field)
* Poświętne ("Poświęcic" - devotion)
* Pracze Widawskie (Widawa washermen)
* Psie Pole (Dog Field)
* Rędzin
* Różanka (Little Rose)
* Sołtysowice ("Sołtys" - village administrator)
* Strachocin ("Strachota" - it's a legendary dragon, wich terrorized the village)
* Swojczyce
* Świniary ("Świnia" - pig)
* Widawa (it's name of river wich is near this settlement)
* Wojnów
* Zakrzów (Behindbushville)
* Zgorzelisko (land of burned forest)
Fabryczna's settlments
* Gajowice (Groveville)
* Gądów Mały
* Grabiszyn ("Grab"-a hornbeam)
* Grabiszynek ("Grab ... ek"-a little hornbeam)
* Janówek (Johnyville)
* Jarnołtów
* Jerzmanowo
* Kozanów ("Koza"-a goat)
* Kuźniki ("Kuźnia"-a smithy/forge)
* Leśnica (it's mean "forest" in female form)
* Marszowice
* Maślice (Butterville))
* Mokra (Wets/Moists)
* Muchobór Mały
* Muchobór Wielki
* Nowa Karczma (New Tavern)
* Nowe Domy (New Hauses)
* Nowy Dwór (New Manor-house)
* Oporów
* Pilczyce
* Popowice (Pop's ville)
* Pracze Odrzańskie (Oder Wachermen; "Oder" it's a big polish river)
* Pustki (Nowhere)
* Ratyń
* Stabłowice
* Strachowice i Osiniec
* Złotniki (Goldtown)
* Żar (Red-heat)
* Żerniki
Krzyki's settlements
* Bieńkowice ("Bieńko" - old polish surname)
* Bierdziany
* Borek (One of name of forest)
* Brochów ("Broch" ol polish name)
* Dworek (A Little Manor-House)
* Gaj (A Grove)
* Glinianki (Clay-pits)
* Huby (A touchwoods)
* Jagodno ("Jagoda"-A Blackberry)
* Klecina
* Krzyki (Sreamers)
* Księże Małe i Wielkie (Small and Big Princes)
* Lamowice Stare (Old Lambville)
* Nowy Dom (New House)
* Ołtaszyn ("Ołtarz"-An Altar)
* Opatowice
* Południe (South)
* Przedmieście Oławskie (Oława suburb; "Oława" it's small town in Lower Silesia)
* Rakowiec ("Rak"-A Crab)
* Siedlec
* Świątniki
* Tarnogaj (Industrial Grove)
* Wilczy Kąt (Wolf Corner ) * Wojszyce
Śródmieście's settlements:
* Bartoszowice ("Bartosz"-Bartholomew)
* Biskupin ("Biskupin" it's ancient village in center Poland)
* Dąbie ("Dąb"-An oak)
* Nadodrze (over Oder)
* Ołbin
* Plac Grunwaldzki (Grunwald Place
* Sępolno ("Sęp"-A Vulture)
* Zacisze (A Stillness place)
* Zalesie (Place where's gove up a lot of trees, bushs etc) * Szczytniki ("Szczyt"-old type of cold weapon)
Stare Miasto's settlements:
* Stare Miasto (Old Town)
* Przedmieście Świdnickie (Świdnica subrub, "Świdnica" it's medium town in Lower Silesia)
* Szczepin ("Szczepan"-Stephen)
Municipal politics
There are many popular professional sports teams in the Wrocław area. The most popular sport today is probably
basketball, thanks to
Idea Śląsk Wrocław, the award-winning men's basketball team (former Polish champions, 2nd place in
2004). Amateur sports are played by thousands of Wrocław citizens and also in schools of all levels.
Men's professional teams
*
Era Śląsk Wrocław - (previous names: Deichmann Śląsk Wrocław, Idea Śląsk Wrocław, Zepter Idea Śląsk Wrocław, Zepter Śląsk Wrocław, Śląsk ESKA Wrocław, Śląsk Wrocław, CWKS Wrocław) men's
basketball team, former Polish Champion, 2nd place 2004 in
Era Basket Liga*
Śląsk Wrocław - men's
football team (
Polish Championship in Football 1977;
Polish Cup winner
1976,
1987;
Polish SuperCup winner
1987) (2nd league in season 2005/2006)
*
Śląsk Wrocław - men's
handball team (1st league in season 2003/2004)
*
Atlas Wrocław - men's
speedway racing team (1st league in season 2003/2004)
*
Gwardia Wrocław - men's
volleyball team (
Polska Liga Siatkówki (PLS) in season 2003/2004)
*
Gwardia Wrocław - men's
boxing team (1st league in season 2003/2004)
*
Polar Wrocław - men's
football team (3rd league 2004/2005)
*
KS Hefra Gwardia Wrocław - men's
volleyball team playing in
Polish Volleyball League (Polska Liga Siatkówki, PLS: Seria A in 2003/2004, Seria B in 2004/2005 season).
Women's professional teams
*
ZEC ESV Gwardia Wrocław- women's
volleyball team playing in
Polish Seria A Women's Volleyball League: 6th place in 2003/2004 season.
*
AZS Wrocław - women's
football team (1st league in season 2003/2004)
*
AZS AWF Wrocław - women's
handball team (1st league in season 2003/2004)
*
AZS AE Wrocław - women
table tennis team (1st league in season 2003/2004)
|
A skating rink in the Rynek (Market Square), December 2003 |
*
Archdiocese of Wrocław*
Lower Silesia*
Silesia*
WikiSatellite view of Wrocław at WikiMapia *
Municipal website*
Wrocław-Life.com portal*
Breslau: The story of Wrocław's German heritage*
Hotels in Wroclaw*
Virtual Wrocław *
Wratislaviae Amici *
Site with important links on Breslau and city history *
Wroclaw's coat of arms, logo, and colours.*
Encyklopedia Wrocławia. Wrocław 2001
*
Wrocław jego dzieje kultura. Warszawa 1978
* G. Scheuermann.
Das Breslau-Lexikon. Dülmen 1994
* K.Maleczyński, M.Morelowski, A.Ptaszycka,
Wrocław. Rozwój urbanistyczny. Warszawa 1956
* W.Długoborski, J.Gierowski, K.Maleczyński,
Dzieje Wrocławia do roku 1807., Warszawa 1958
*
Microcosm, Portrait of a Central European City, by
Norman Davies and
Roger Moorhouse (
Jonathan Cape, 2002) ISBN 0224062433 (ISBN 8324001727 – Polish translation)
