Circling through Poland - with a bit of Germany thrown in.

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Around Krakow

Parts of the old city wall still exists and there is a lovely perimeter park that reminded us a bit of Muenster.





Krakow Barbican built around 1498 - "is one of only three such fortified outposts still surviving in Europe, and the best preserved."

Kraków Barbican - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

A very new addition to the city being built in 2010





A nearby building





Juliusz Słowacki Theatre. Erected in 1893.





St. Florian's Gate (Brama Floriańska) built in the 14th century

St. Florian's Gate - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

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More around the Old Town area







Jagiellonian University and Museum,. The oldest in Poland it was founded in 1364 and established in Krakow in 1400.

Uniwersytet Jagielloński – Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia

pl.wikipedia.org

The gardens

 

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The date on the plaque, 1928, is bang in the Art Deco era.



It seems to say the building was built as a Savings Bank





The Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Completed around 1619





My store



It was busy at night

 

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I have previously complained that some Polish cities didn't seem to make much use of their river frontage. Krakow certainly has put some effort in it river frontage.








There was a park bench near here that played a song by a Polish artist when you pushed a button. We though it would only play for 30 seconds or so but it went on for over 3 minutes.

An electric bus recharging in the middle of a busy street





The trams were mostly pretty modern



The seats are embroidered with Lajkonik said, amongst other claims, to celebrate the defeat of a Tatar invasion at the city walls.

Lajkonik - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You can never go wrong ordering cakes and pastries in Poland. All of them seemed very nice



And we got our own Lajkonik

 

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Former Power Station





Kazimierz Town Hall. Built in 1414 but destroyed and rebuilt twice. This is in what was once the Jewish quarter.





Nearby is Schindler's List Passage. Used in the the famous film.







Images from the film





Well of St. Stanislaus in the grounds of the Monastery of St Paul



One of the older trams.

 

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You rarely came away from a Polish meal feeling hungry





A little hole-in-the wall Pierogi place







This road leads off from the Market Square. Obviously trams once ran through the Old Town but now it is mostly pedestrianised



Krakow train station is pretty labyrinthine. A large shopping centre and car park is attached. You can take the lifts from the platforms directly to the roof top car park. This is also where you can take a taxi or ride share.









I think that Krakow was the most 'beautiful' of the major cities we visited. It would certainly be pleasant to go back again.

 

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More around the Old Town area

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Jagiellonian University and Museum,. The oldest in Poland it was founded in 1364 and established in Krakow in 1400.

Uniwersytet Jagielloński – Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia

pl.wikipedia.org

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The gardens

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Loving this Tr and the photos but love the water spout

 

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It was actually a pretty interesting train trip from Krakow to Wroclaw. For once it wasn't mostly flat rolling fields

Just before Katowice we passed by some remnants of a lost Industrial Plant. The Water Tower and Administration Building of the former "Uthemann" steelworks










Just after Katowice we passed by a Steam Train lovers paradise. The remnants of a railyard with a water tower, part of a semi-circular Roundhouse and old engines and carriages





Roundhouse with the turntable in front and water tower at the back



Old rolling stock











Gliwice Harbour - on the Gliwice Canal which connects to the Oder River.


A couple of crossings of the canal





This was at the end of the station platform at Wroclaw. I can't remember the last time I saw one of these in the 'flesh'. The was another one a bit further away but it was rusted out.



Two in one video. You get a quick glimpse of the water outlet and an engine named after Jan Czochralski the man who invented the method for growing single crystals that is still used in the manufacture of 90% of all electronics that use semi-conductors.

Jan Czochralski: the forgotten hero of the silicon age

Today's silicon chips are all made using a technique invented by this scientist more than a century ago. But his life ended in ignominy and tragedy

edconway.substack.com

 

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Wroclaw - pronounced vrot-slav.

It is the third biggest city in Poland with a metropolitan population of around 1.25 million. Over the centuries it as been ruled by many different political groupings but in the 1740's it was annexed by Prussia and remained 'German' until after WW2. Initially called Wroclaw the use of the name Breslau came into use in the 13th century

Wrocław - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Unlike Krakow Wroclaw was almost completely destroyed at the end of WW2 when Hitler proclaimed it as another of his fanciful 'fortress cities'. The remaining German population was expelled after the end of the war.

Wroclaw 1945





Wroclaw Old Town Hall in the main market square - built from the 13th century. Luckily it suffered only minor damage in WW2.







Market Square













Wroclaw is famous for its brass dwarf figurines. "It started with a political protest in the 1980s – the so-called „Orange Alternative” movement – to show dissatisfaction with the communist regime." -- "For example, anti-communist graffiti was regularly painted over so that its unwanted message was no longer visible. Starting in August 1982, members of the movement began painting pictures of dwarfs over the painted-over graffiti. Because wouldn’t it be ridiculous if the government censored murals of dwarfs?"

The first bronze statue did not appear until 2001 and it is now believed that there are over 700 of them in Wroclaw. We probably saw about 50 or 60 of them. hem so I will just put a few at the bottom of each post.

Why are there so many little dwarfs in Wroclaw? - WroclawGuide.com

The little dwarfs in Wroclaw - everybody who already was in Wroclaw knows them. We are explaining here why so many dwarfs are in Wroclaw...

www.wroclawguide.com

They often relate to their location. For example this pair was outside the Opera House

 

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One night we went to the Neon Lights Gallery. Old neon signs from the 1960's/70's have been saved and put in place in a side alley

Ruska 46

ruska46.pl

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/neon-side-gallery

It is a very trendy little spot with lots of 'hipster' restaurants and the like







Even flying pigs









More dwarves

 

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Wroclaw Market Hall - "Designed by Richard Plüddemann, it was built between 1906 and 1908 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." It survived WW2













Inside is a recreation of a Communist Era working class cafeteria

https://www.inyourpocket.com/wroclaw/Wroclaw-Milk-Bars

Bar Karmazyn Hala Targowa Domowe Obiady, Wroclaw, Poland - Reviews, Ratings, Tips and Why You Should Go – Wanderlog

Karmazyn. Bar. Galas K. is a fantastic bar located in the bustling Hala Targowa, one of Wroclaw's largest indoor markets. The place offers delicious traditional Polish cuisine at very affordable prices, with generous portions and a variety of options to choose from. The atmosphere is casual and...

wanderlog.com

Not fancy but filling






No chance of loss of fittings here





Communist era consumer goods

 

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Very elegant concrete arches











There is a tavewrn in the cellars of the market hall. We came back one night for a meal





As usual very filling food

 

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While we were in Wroclaw we were joined by a German friend. She visited us in Australia last year and also came to see us in Strasbourg earlier this year. Her journey to Wroclaw was almost more complicated than when she flew to Perth. She lives about 40 km out of Stuttgart so she drove for around 6 hours to Gorlitz where she left her car. Then she took a 'local' train for about a 30 minute hop across the border. She then had to wait for about 2 hours to take a 2 hour train trip to Wroclaw.

So when she suggested a place that she saw on a trip many years ago that she would like to revisit it seemed only reasonable that we agree. But it was a good choice to agree as her suggestion led us to a very interesting place. It was also a sort of companion piece to the concrete architecture of the Market Hall but with a much larger vision.

The Hala Stulecia (Centennial Hall). It was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig (Battle of the Nations and was initially called the Jahrhunderthalle. It was renamed as the "Peoples Hall" during the communist era but reverted back to the Polish version of Centennial Hall after the fall of the communist regime.

It was completed in 1912 - 90 days ahead of schedule. Its pioneering usage of reinforced concrete has resulted in it being given UNESCO World Heritage Status.

"We call it the “pearl of modernism in Wrocław”, and yet at the time of its creation, at the beginning of the 20th century, it had no equal in the world. It was years ahead of La Corbusier’s manifestos and handy sentences of Mies van der Rohe (Less is more), apostles of the new direction."

"Technology of the future​

On 28 June 1911, the project received a formal building permit. The function-driven form translated into specific construction solutions by Max Berg. Architects all over the world rubbed their eyes in disbelief. Engineers discreetly but steadily tapped on the forehead with their index finger. The concept was an absolute novelty, also because of the material used – reinforced concrete.

The hall is a quatrefoil, i.e. quadruple leaf – symbolically this shape is reflected in our visual identification. The plan of such a complex central building has at least two intersecting axes of symmetry, and the central space is dominated by the height above the side rooms, the walls or the system of supports separated inside the building. In one word, the Centennial Hall’s structure consists of two autonomous elements. Basis in the form of curved arches and ribs and a dome resting freely like a bowler on the head of a pre-war elegant gentleman – radially meeting reinforced concrete ribs, leaning against the lower and upper rings. Terrace roofing system made it possible to install rows of windows, enchantingly illuminating the interior of the Hall. Intentionally raw, uncovered concrete surfaces reflect the sincerity and functionality of the structure, which heralded the beginnings of a modern movement in architecture (modernism)."

About the Hall - Hala Stulecia

The Centennial Hall is a symbol. It lasts, despite historical changes, being a bridge between generations, systems, nations. Although, we prefer to say – between people. This timeless building with the green areas surrounding it constitute a unique meeting point where everyone can find something...

halastulecia.pl

It is certainly far less bombastic, and more useful, than the other large memorial to the Battle of Leipzig that we had seen in Leipzig in 2023.



The hall is situated in a large park with an illuminated musical fountain display and various gardens and outbuildings



There is a large café/restaurant there as well.







Unfortunately we didn't get to see it at night

 

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There is an entrance fee but it includes entrance to a small but interesting museum about the hall and its history.

Currently it can seat 10,000 people







The concrete arches form a beautiful pattern









Internal passageway



The hall was used as a filming location for the film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

 

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Outside

The logia - curving around the fountains for several hundred metres






The Iglica - Polish for spire. Built in 1948 and originally 106 metres tall now 90 metres. "It was originally topped by a spinning contraption of mirrors, creating an "umbrella of light" at night, but this was struck by lightning within a day of completion, and prior to the official opening"

There was a small festival on when we visited.



Some stainless steel 'statuary'.





Communist era 'heroic worker' style additions







Naturally enough the was a dwarf figurine



The fountains are illuminated but we were too early to see anything but some colour at the base of each jet.







The fountain displays are backed with 'loud, musical accompaniment. There was a display every few hours in the afternoon and early evening rotating through a number of selections

Theme from the movie 633 Squadron by Ron Goodwin

Richard Strauss - "Also sprach Zarathustra" (Opening theme to 2001: A space Odyssey)

 

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Wroclaw was busier than I expected especially in the evenings. It apparently has a large student population and that certainly made for very lively Saturday and Sunday nights in the centre of town.

And now some various views around Wroclaw

The remains of the old city moat



The banks of the Oder River. Another branch of the Oder runs further north of here and that is the one used by shipping.



Wroclaw Cathedral (St John the Baptist) has the twin towers and the single tower belongs to the Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross and St. Bartholomew. The buildings in between form the Archbishops Palace.



Quick sketch by our travelling companion





This is on the foreshore promenade



The next evening we took a tram to the area of the Cathedral





This area did not escape the destruction at the end of WW2







Another extravagant piece of 'guttering'.





Looking across to where the sketch was made

 

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The reason we went towards the cathedral in the evening is because of the 'Lamplighter". Gas lights came to Wroclaw in 1846 - "in the 1960s, most of the gas lanterns have been modernized in Wroclaw and therefore disappeared, only with the exception of Cathedral Island. This part of Wroclaw is mostly owned by the church and somehow this ancient but beautiful tradition has survived."

https://www.wroclawguide.com/en/lamplighter-in-wroclaw/

There was quite a crowd waiting for him to arrive. He was a few minutes late and then he turned up in his traditional carriage. He has 102 lamps to light taking about an hour.



There was quite a procession folllowing him around









The lamplighter in action

On Cathedral Island






At the edge of the Old Town there were a number of plaques highlighting important dates in Wroclaw/Breslau's history.

A few of them



Occupied by Jerome, Napoleon's youngest brother in 1807.





Building of the Centennial Hall

 

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Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalene - The Penitent Bridge. Not only would my knees not have let me walk the 247 steps to reach the bridge but my fear of heights would have kept me fr0m walking across it except at a fast place and not really looking around.





Memorial to Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was born in Breslau and was murdered by the naz_'s





The memorial is just outside St. Elizabeth's Church







An interesting fountain



Built in 1930 - "it was once the largest and most luxurious department store in the city"

Renoma - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Our German friend had met someone on the train to Wroclaw and he met up with us for a evening. I was interested to note that when they were talking to each other in German they referred to the city as Breslau. Annoyingly, to a monoglot like me, they both spoke German, French and English fluently.

Late on Sunday evening in the market square

 

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Some street art just across the road from our hotel







An nice little lane







Rose Of The Winds - 19th Century weather station





A rather unusual building



From a practical point of view there was a excellent laundromat not far from our hotel. Payment could be made by card.