Wroclaw Town Hall © Sybille Yates
We spent the final two nights of our October Polish adventure, staying in the city of Wroclaw, and used the intervening day to discover some of the delights it has to offer. Until 1945, Wroclaw was part of Germany and known as Breslau. In the last few months of the Second World War, it suffered serious destruction, with the Nazi forces seeking to defend the city, only surrendering to the Soviet Red Army on 6th May 1945, just two days before the official end of the war.
As Sybille had organised advance booking of our accommodation for the two previous nights, she declared it was my turn to both find and pay, for somewhere for us to stay in Wroclaw. So, whilst enjoying a mid-morning coffee, sitting in the central market square of Poznan, I got online and reserved us a room for two nights at the B&B Hotel Wroclaw Centrum. It was little more expensive and upmarket compared to where we had stayed in Malbork and Poznan, but I decided we deserved it for the last nights of our holiday. The hotel was located within easy walking distance of the historic city centre, had secure off-street parking for the ‘Carly’, and all the reviews said that its wifi was excellent 🙂 The reviews were correct!
Determined to avoid a repeat of the problems we’d had, trying to drive to our hostel in Poznan the previous afternoon, I’d found the street on which the B&B Hotel is located, using the city centre plan in our Polish guidebook, and worked out a route of how to get there. All went perfectly to plan, except that we found ourselves driving along on the opposite side of the street to the hotel, with a set of tramlines in-between, which it was impossible to drive across 🙁 Fortunately, we kept our sense of direction and managed to eventually find a legitimate way to drive back up the other side of the street and reach the hotel and its car park.
After checking into the hotel and getting our belongings from the car to our room, we set out to walk into the historic city centre and main market square, just as it was getting dark. The floodlit Gothic Town Hall looked magnificent, as you can see in the photograph at the top of this post. The square has numerous bars and restaurants. We eventually chose to eat at a Greek restaurant and shared an amazing seafood platter.
The weather next morning was cloudy and grey. By mid-morning, it started to rain and got progressively heavier as the day went on. This was great shame as there was much to see. The rain and lack of light, also made taking photographs more difficult. Those that follow, were taken before the rain really set in.
Buildings on one side of Wroclaw Market Square © Sybille Yates
Ornamental façade of the House of the Seven Electors © Ricky Yates
Various creatures on the gable end of a building in Wroclaw © Sybille Yates
Tower of the Church of St Elizabeth © Ricky Yates
Memorial to Dietrich Bonhoeffer © Sybille Yates
Near the Church of St Elizabeth, (which was unfortunately closed due to major restoration work taking place), we found this memorial to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran Pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident, who was born in Wroclaw in 1906.
Plaques below the memorial. In Polish on the left, in German on the right © Sybille Yates
In the afternoon rain, we walked from the city centre, to an island in the Odra/Oder river, to visit the Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist.
 Wroclaw Cathedral from a distance across the Odra/Oder river © Sybille Yates |
 Wroclaw Cathedral © Sybille Yates |
 Interior of Wroclaw Cathedral © Sybille Yates |
 Wroclaw Cathedral in 1945 © Sybille Yates |
Whilst walking to the Cathedral, we spotted a statue of St. James. Within the Cathedral was a sign indicating it as being a point on the Via Regia, leading to Zgorzelic/Görlitz and the der Ökumenische Pilgerweg which Sybille had walked earlier in 2015.
 St James © Sybille Yates |
 Noticeboard in the Cathedral © Sybille Yates |
Outside was a map, showing various waymarked pilgrimage routes. Notice how far it is to Santiago de Compostela!
Routes to Santiago © Sybille Yates
Hi Ricky,
A pity you had such wet weather, the old city centre of Wroclaw is so beautiful and at every turn there is some building or streetscape to catch the eye, even if only the funny little ‘gnome’ figures. We particularly enjoyed the walks along the Fosse Miasto and the banks of the River Odra, exploring the parks and monuments and the jumble of islands where the city began. Thanks for refreshing some great memories Ricky.
Hi Sean,
It was a shame regarding the weather. However, in our 15 days of travel in Poland, that day, together with late afternoon/evening of the day we arrived in Malbork, were the only times when rain interfered with the enjoyment of our holiday. Overall, we couldn’t really complain. Pleased to bring back some great memories for you. I plan to feature some Wroclaw dwarfs, in a final post about our Polish trip.
Hi Ricky,
Reading about your adventures in Poland has been very interesting and, of course, educational. You’ve probably realised that you have lots of potential here to give future talks on your work and travels to U3As and various other organisations when you, eventually, retire.
No sign of winter here yet. High winds today and quite mild. Any snow in Prague?
Best wishes to you and Sybille.
Heather and Fred
Hi Heather,
Thank you – very pleased to know that you’ve enjoyed my Polish posts & found them interesting & educational. Retirement is now less than 18 months away but I’m sure I will have plenty occupy myself when it does come.
We’ve had a few snow flurries but nothing more. Away from Prague, there has been lying snow, but the city is always two or three degrees warmer than other parts of the CR.
Handsome pictures in this post, even in the grey rain. It sounds like you had a lovely time despite the inclement weather.
I saw Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s cell at Buchenwald a number of years ago and was moved by his story – what a true man of God, theologian and martyr. Thank you for featuring his memorial!
We did have a great time, Em – despite the weather. Thanks for your compliments regarding our photos.
Bonhoeffer certainly was a remarkable man – a 20th century Christian martyr. Despite having read an excellent biography of his life, entitled in English, ‘A Spoke in the Wheel’, a copy of which still sits on my bookshelves, neither of us had remembered that Bonhoeffer was born and grew up in Wroclaw, until we saw this memorial. It was also nice to see that there was a plaque in German as well as Polish.
What a shame the weather let you down, Ricky, but I still loved the wonderfully decorated and elaborately gabled houses and another fine cathedral. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of my heroes.
We could certainly have done without the rain, Perpetua, but I still did enjoy Wroclaw, especially spotting the various dwarfs who appear in the following post, as well as the architecture. The cathedral was another example of how well buildings have been restored, following the serious damage caused by WW2. I also share your admiration of Bonhoeffer.