Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ;

Silesian German Silesian (Silesian: ', german: Schlesisch), Silesian German or Lower Silesian is a nearly extinct German dialect spoken in Silesia. It is part of the East Central German language area with some West Slavic and Lechitic influences. Silesian G ...

: ''Brassel'') is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in southwestern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and the largest city in the historical region of

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the

Silesian Lowlands Silesian Lowlands (or Silesian Plains, pl, Nizina Śląska, cs, Slezská nížina, german: Schlesische Niederung) are lowlands located in Silesia, Poland in Central Europe. A small part is located in the Czech Republic. It is part of the Centra ...

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

, roughly from the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

to the north and from the Sudeten Mountains to the south. , the official population of Wrocław is 672,929, with a total of 1.25 million residing in the metropolitan area, making it the third largest city in Poland. Wrocław is the historical capital of Silesia and

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

. Today, it is the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. The history of the city dates back over a thousand years; at various times, it has been part of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

, the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

, the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

, the Habsburg monarchy of Austria, the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Wrocław became part of Poland again in 1945 as part of the

Recovered Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands ( pl, Ziemie Odzyskane), also known as Western Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Zachodnie), and previously as Western and Northern Territories ( pl, Ziemie Zachodnie i Północne), Postulated Territories ( pl, Z ...

, the result of extensive border changes and expulsions after the Second World War. Wrocław is a university city with a student population of over 130,000, making it one of the most youth-oriented cities in the country. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the

University of Wrocław , ''Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau'' (before 1945) , free_label = Specialty programs , free = , colors = Blue , website uni.wroc.pl The University of Wrocław ( pl, Uniwersytet Wrocławski, U ...

, previously Breslau University, has produced nine

Nobel Prize laureate The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...

s and is renowned for its high quality of teaching. Wrocław also possesses numerous historical landmarks, including the Main Market Square, Cathedral Island,

Wrocław Opera The Wrocław Opera ( Polish: ''Opera Wrocławska'') is an opera company and opera house in the Old Town of Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in t ...

, the National Museum and the

Centennial Hall Centennial Hall (german: Jahrhunderthalle) may refer to: in Canada * Centennial Hall (London, Ontario), London, Ontario, Canada * Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada * Saskatoon Centennial Auditorium, former name of TCU Place in ...

, which is listed as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. The city is also home to the

Wrocław Zoo The Wrocław Zoological Garden, known simply as the Wrocław Zoo ( pl, Ogród Zoologiczny we Wrocławiu), is a zoo on Wróblewskiego Street in Wrocław, Poland. It is the oldest zoo in Poland, having been opened in 1865 as the Breslau Zoological G ...

, which was established in 1865, making it the oldest zoological garden in Poland. In 1989, 1995 and 2019 Wrocław hosted the European Youth Meetings of the

Taizé Community The Taizé Community is an ecumenical Christian monastic fraternity in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France. It is composed of more than one hundred brothers, from Catholic and Protestant traditions, who originate from about thirty countrie ...

and hosted the Eucharistic Congress in 1997 and the

2012 European Football Championship The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

. In 2016, the city was a European Capital of Culture and the

World Book Capital The World Book Capital (WBC) is an initiative of UNESCO which recognises cities for promoting books and fostering reading for a year starting on April 23rd, World Book and Copyright Day. Cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital carry out act ...

. Also in that year, Wrocław hosted the Theatre Olympics,

World Bridge Games The World Bridge Games are held quadrennially. The first two events were held in 2008 and 2012, in Beijing and Lille respectively, as part of the World Mind Sports Games (WMSG), and superseding the World Team Olympiad, which had been held every fou ...

and the

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

. In 2017, the city was host to the IFLA Annual Conference and the

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

. In 2019, it was named a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

City of Literature UNESCO's City of Literature programme is part of the wider Creative Cities Network. The ''Network'' was launched in 2004, and now has member cities in seven creative fields. The other creative fields are: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gas ...

. Wrocław is classified as a Gamma global city by

GaWC The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershire ...

. It was placed among the top 100 cities in the world for the Mercer Quality of Living Survey 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and in the top 100 of the smartest cities in the world in the IESE Cities in Motion Index 2017 and 2019 report. In February 2021, ''

fDi Intelligence ''fDi Intelligence'' is an English-language bi-monthly news and foreign direct investment (FDI) publication, providing an up-to-date review of global investment activity. The A4 glossy pages reach a circulation of 15,488 ABC audited, active corpo ...

'' published a report, "Global Cities of the Future 2021/2022", in which Wrocław was classified in 1st place among all medium and small cities in the world.

Etymology

The city is believed to be named after Duke

Vratislav I of Bohemia Vratislaus (or Wratislaus) I ( cs, Vratislav I.; – 13 February 921), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 915 until his death. Life He was a son of Duke Bořivoj I of Bohemia by his wife Ludmila and the younger broth ...

from the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemyslid ( cs, Přemyslovci, german: Premysliden, pl, Przemyślidzi) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–130 ...

, who ruled the region between 915 and 921. The city's name first appeared in the 10th century probably as ''Vratislava''. The oldest surviving document containing the recorded name of the city is the chronicle of

Thietmar of Merseburg Thietmar (also Dietmar or Dithmar; 25 July 9751 December 1018), Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death, was an important chronicler recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian (Saxon) dynasty. Two ...

from the early 11th century, which records the city's name as "Wrotizlava", and cites it as a seat of a new

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

at the Congress of Gniezno. The city's first municipal seal was inscribed with ''Sigillum civitatis Wratislavie''. The original

Old Czech The Czech language developed at the close of the 1st millennium from common West Slavic. Until the early 20th century, it was known as ''Bohemian''. Early West Slavic Among the innovations in common West Slavic is the palatalization of ve ...

language version of the name was used in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

documents, as ''Vratislavia'' or ''Wratislavia''. In the

Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...

, the city's name ''Wrocław'' derives from the name Wrocisław, which is the Polish equivalent of the Czech name Vratislav. The earliest variations of this name in the

Old Polish language The Old Polish language ( pl, język staropolski, staropolszczyzna) was a period in the history of the Polish language between the 10th and the 16th centuries. It was followed by the Middle Polish language. The sources for the study of the Ol ...

use the letter /l/ instead of /ł/. By the 15th century, the Early New High German variations of the name, ''Breslau'', first began to be used. Despite the noticeable differences in spelling, the numerous German forms were still based on the original West Slavic name of the city, with the ''-Vr-'' sound being replaced over time by ''-Br-'', and the suffix ''-slav-'' replaced with ''-slau-''. These variations included ''Vratizlau'', ''Wratislau'', ''Wrezlau'' or ''Breßlau'' among others. In other languages, the city's name is: modern cs, Vratislav, hu, Boroszló, he, ורוצלב (''Vrotsláv''), yi, ברעסלוי (''Bresloi''), szl, Wrocław,

: ''Brassel'' and la, Vratislavia, ''Wratislavia'' or ''Budorgis''. People born or resident in the city are known as " Vratislavians" ( pl, wrocławianie). During the German era, the demonym was " Breslauer".

History

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

times, there was a place called Budorigum at or near the site of Wrocław. It was already mapped on

Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importa ...

's map of AD 142–147. Settlements in the area existed from the 6th century onward during the migration period. The Ślężans, a West Slavic tribe, settled on the Oder river and erected a fortified gord on Ostrów Tumski. Wrocław originated at the intersection of two

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...

s, the

Via Regia The Via Regia (Royal Highway) is a European Cultural Route following the route of the historic road of the Middle Ages. There were many such ''viae regiae'' associated with the king in the medieval Holy Roman Empire. History Origins The V ...

and the

Amber Road The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Prehistoric trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe were defined by the amber trade. ...

. The city was first recognized in the 10th century as ''Vratislavia'' on account of the Bohemian duke Vratislav I's stronghold there, hence the name. When in 985, Duke

Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and a ...

conquered Silesia, Vratislavia's polonised form over time became ''Wrocław''. The town was mentioned explicitly in the year 1000 AD in connection with its promotion to an episcopal see during the Congress of Gniezno.

Middle Ages

During Wrocław's early history, control over it changed hands between the

Duchy of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia, also later referred to in English as the Czech Duchy, ( cs, České knížectví) was a monarchy and a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe during the Early and High Middle Ages. It was formed around 870 b ...

(until 992, then 1038–1054), the Duchy of Poland and the

(992–1038 and 1054–1202). Following the fragmentation of the Kingdom of Poland, the Piast dynasty ruled the

Duchy of Silesia The Duchy of Silesia ( pl, Księstwo śląskie, german: Herzogtum Schlesien, cs, Slezské knížectví) with its capital at Wrocław was a medieval duchy located in the historic Silesian region of Poland. Soon after it was formed under the Piast ...

. One of the most important events during this period was the foundation of the

Diocese of Wrocław In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

by the Polish Duke and from 1025, King

Bolesław the Brave Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to: In people: * Boleslaw (given name) In geography: *Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, Pol ...

in 1000. Along with the

Bishoprics In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

and Kołobrzeg, Wrocław was placed under the

Archbishopric of Gniezno The Archdiocese of Gniezno ( la, Archidioecesis Gnesnensis, pl, Archidiecezja Gnieźnieńska) is the oldest Latin Catholic archdiocese in Poland, located in the city of Gniezno.Greater Poland, founded by

Pope Sylvester II Pope Sylvester II ( – 12 May 1003), originally known as Gerbert of Aurillac, was a French-born scholar and teacher who served as the bishop of Rome and ruled the Papal States from 999 to his death. He endorsed and promoted study of Arab and Gre ...

through the intercession of Polish Duke Bolesław I the Brave and Emperor Otto III in 1000, during the Gniezno Congress. In the years 1034–1038 the city was affected by the

pagan reaction in Poland The pagan reaction in Poland ( pl, Reakcja pogańska w Polsce) was a series of events in the Kingdom of Poland in the 1030s that culminated in a popular uprising or rebellion, or possibly a series of these, that destabilized the Kingdom of Poland. ...

. The city became a commercial centre and expanded to Wyspa Piasek (Sand Island), and then onto the left bank of the River Oder. Around 1000, the town had about 1,000 inhabitants. In 1109 during the Polish-German war, Prince

Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth ( pl, Bolesław III Krzywousty; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between ...

defeated the King of Germany

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...

at the

Battle of Hundsfeld The Battle of Hundsfeld or Battle of Psie Pole was said to be fought on 24 August 1109 near the Silesian capital Wrocław between the Holy Roman Empire in aid of the claims of the exiled Piast dynasty, Piast duke Zbigniew of Poland, Zbigniew again ...

, stopping the German advance into Poland. The medieval chronicle, ''

Gesta principum Polonorum The ''Gesta principum Polonorum'' (; "''Deeds of the Princes of the Poles''") is the oldest known medieval chronicle documenting the history of Poland from the legendary times until 1113. Written in Latin by an anonymous author, it was most lik ...

'' (1112–1116) by

Gallus Anonymus ''Gallus Anonymus'' ( Polonized variant: ''Gall '') is the name traditionally given to the anonymous author of ''Gesta principum Polonorum'' (Deeds of the Princes of the Poles), composed in Latin between 1112 and 1118. ''Gallus'' is generally rega ...

, named Wrocław, along with

and

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Prov ...

, as one of three capitals of the Polish Kingdom. Also, the ''

Tabula Rogeriana The ''Nuzhat al-mushtāq fī ikhtirāq al-āfāq'' ( ar, نزهة المشتاق في اختراق الآفاق, lit. "The Book of Pleasant Journeys into Faraway Lands"), commonly known in the West as the ''Tabula Rogeriana'' (lit. "''The Book of ...

'', a book written by the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi in 1154, describes Wrocław as one of the Polish cities, alongside Kraków,

Gniezno Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

Sieradz Sieradz ( la, Siradia, yi, שעראַדז, שערעדז, שעריץ, german: 1941-45 Schieratz) is a city on the Warta river in central Poland with 40,891 inhabitants (2021). It is the seat of the Sieradz County, situated in the Łódź Voivode ...

Łęczyca Łęczyca (; in full the Royal Town of Łęczyca, pl, Królewskie Miasto Łęczyca; german: Lentschitza; he, לונטשיץ) is a town of 13,786 inhabitants () in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the ...

and

Santok Santok (german: Zantoch) is a village in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Santok. Geography It is located at the confluence of the Noteć and Warta rive ...

By 1139, a settlement belonging to Governor

Piotr Włostowic Herb ŁabędźPiotr Włostowic ( 1080 – 1153), also known as Peter Wlast or ''Włost'') was a Polish noble, castellan of Wrocław, and a ruler (''możnowładca'') of part of Silesia. From 1117 he was voivode (''palatyn'') of the Duke of Poland ...

(also known as Piotr Włast Dunin) was built, and another on the left bank of the River Oder, near the present site of the university. While the city was largely Polish, it also had communities of Bohemians (Czechs),

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

Walloons Walloons (; french: Wallons ; wa, Walons) are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group living native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of France. Walloons primarily speak '' langues d'oïl'' such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Wall ...

and

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. In the 13th century, Wrocław was the political centre of the divided Polish kingdom. In April 1241, during the

First Mongol invasion of Poland The Mongol Invasion of Poland from late 1240 to 1241 culminated in the Battle of Legnica, where the Mongols defeated an alliance which included forces from fragmented Poland and their allies, led by Henry II the Pious, the Duke of Silesia. ...

, the city was abandoned by its inhabitants and burnt down for strategic reasons. During the battles with the Mongols Wrocław Castle was successfully defended by

Henry II the Pious Henry II the Pious ( pl, Henryk II Pobożny; 1196 – 9 April 1241) was Duke of Silesia and High Duke of Poland as well as Duke of South-Greater Poland from 1238 until his death. Between 1238 and 1239 he also served as regent of Sandomierz and ...

. After the Mongol invasion the town was partly populated by German settlers who, in the ensuing centuries, gradually became its dominant population. The city, however, retained its multi-ethnic character, a reflection of its importance as a trading post on the junction of the Via Regia and the Amber Road. With the influx of settlers, the town expanded and in 1242 came under German town law. The

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

used both Latin and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, and the early forms of the name ''Breslau'', the German name of the city, appeared for the first time in its written records. Polish gradually ceased to be used in the town books, while it survived in the courts until 1337. The enlarged town covered around , and the new main market square, surrounded by timber-frame houses, became the trade centre of the town. The original foundation, Ostrów Tumski, became its religious centre. The city gained

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...

in 1261. While the Polish Piast dynasty remained in control of the region, the ability of the city council to govern itself independently increased. In 1274 prince

Henryk IV Probus Henryk IV Probus (Latin for ''the Righteous'') ( pl, Henryk IV Probus or ''Prawy''; german: Heinrich IV. der Gerechte) ( – 23 June 1290) was a member of the Silesian branch of the royal Polish Piast dynasty. He was Duke of Silesia at Wro ...

gave the city its

staple right The staple right, also translated stacking right or storage right, both from the Dutch ''stapelrecht'', was a medieval right accorded to certain ports, the staple ports. It required merchant barges or ships to unload their goods at the port and to ...

. In the 13th century, two Polish monarchs were buried in Wrocław churches founded by them, Henry II the Pious in the St. Vincent church and Henryk IV Probus in the Holy Cross church. Breslau, Martinskirche von Norden, 3

Wrocław, which for 350 years had been mostly under Polish

hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over oth ...

, fell in 1335, after the death of

Henry VI the Good Henry VI the Good (also known as of Wrocław) ( pl, Henryk VI Dobry or Wrocławski) (18 March 1294 – 24 November 1335) was a Duke of Wrocław from 1296 (with his brothers as co-rulers until 1311). He was the second son of Henry V the Fat, Du ...

, to the

, then a part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. Between 1342 and 1344, two fires destroyed large parts of the city. In 1387 the city joined the Hanseatic League. On 5 June 1443, the city was rocked by an earthquake, estimated at ca. 6 on the

Richter scale The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...

, which destroyed or seriously damaged many of its buildings. Between 1469 and 1490, Wrocław was part of the

, and king

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several m ...

was said to have had a Vratislavian mistress who bore him a son. In 1474, after almost a century, the city left the Hanseatic League. Also in 1474, the city was besieged by combined Polish-Czech forces. However, in November 1474, Kings

Casimir IV of Poland Casimir is classically an English, French and Latin form of the Polish name Kazimierz. Feminine forms are Casimira and Kazimiera. It means "proclaimer (from ''kazać'' to preach) of peace (''mir'')." List of variations *Belarusian: Казі ...

, his son Vladislaus II of Bohemia, and Matthias Corvinus of Hungary met in the nearby village of Muchobór Wielki (present-day a district of Wrocław), and in December 1474 a

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

was signed according to which the city remained under Hungarian rule. The following year was marked by the publication in Wrocław of the ''Statuta Synodalia Episcoporum Wratislaviensium'' (1475) by Kasper Elyan, the first ever Incunable in Polish, containing the proceedings and prayers of the Wrocław bishops.

Renaissance and the Reformation

In the 16th century, the Breslauer Schöps

beer style Beer styles differentiate and categorise beers by colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin. The modern concept of beer styles is largely based on the work of writer Michael Jackson in his 1977 book ...

was created in Breslau. The

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

reached the city in 1518 and it converted to the new rite. However, starting in 1526

was ruled by the Catholic

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

. In 1618, it supported the

Bohemian Revolt The Bohemian Revolt (german: Böhmischer Aufstand; cs, České stavovské povstání; 1618–1620) was an uprising of the Bohemian estates against the rule of the Habsburg dynasty that began the Thirty Years' War. It was caused by both relig ...

out of fear of losing the right to

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

. During the ensuing

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, the city was occupied by Saxon and Swedish troops and lost thousands of inhabitants to the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

. The

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

brought in the Counter-Reformation by encouraging Catholic orders to settle in the city, starting in 1610 with the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

s, followed by the Jesuits, then

Capuchins Capuchin can refer to: *Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from t ...

, and finally

Ursuline nuns The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women that branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula, in 1572. Like the Angelines, they t ...

in 1687. These orders erected buildings that shaped the city's appearance until 1945. At the end of the Thirty Years' War, however, it was one of only a few Silesian cities to stay Protestant. The Polish Municipal school opened in 1666 and lasted until 1766. Precise record-keeping of births and deaths by the city fathers led to the use of their data for analysis of mortality, first by

John Graunt John Graunt (24 April 1620 – 18 April 1674) has been regarded as the founder of demography. Graunt was one of the first demographers, and perhaps the first epidemiologist, though by profession he was a haberdasher. He was bankrupted later in li ...

and then, based on data provided to him by Breslau professor

Caspar Neumann Caspar (or Kaspar) Neumann (14 September 1648 – 27 January 1715) was a German professor and clergyman from Breslau with a special scientific interest in mortality rates. Biography Caspar Neuman was born September 14, 1648 in Breslau, to M ...

, by

Edmond Halley Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720. From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, H ...

. Halley's tables and analysis, published in 1693, are considered to be the first true actuarial tables, and thus the foundation of modern actuarial science. During the Counter-Reformation, the intellectual life of the city flourished, as the Protestant bourgeoisie lost some of its dominance to the Catholic orders as patrons of the arts.

Enlightenment period

Stammbuch Johann Gottfried Rüde Illustration Breslau 1760

The city became the centre of German Baroque literature and was home to the First and Second Silesian school of poets. In the 1740s the

annexed the city and most of Silesia during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...

. Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa ceded most of the territory in the

Treaty of Breslau The Treaty of Breslau was a preliminary peace agreement signed on 11 June 1742 following long negotiations at the Silesian capital Wrocław (german: Breslau) by emissaries of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria and King Frederick II of Prussia ...

in 1742 to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

. Austria attempted to recover Silesia during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

at the Battle of Breslau, but they were unsuccessful. The Venetian Italian adventurer,

Giacomo Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...

, stayed in Breslau in 1766.

Napoleonic Wars

Entrée du Prince Jérôme à Breslau le 7 janvier 1807

During the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, it was occupied by the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria an ...

army. The fortifications of the city were levelled, and monasteries and cloisters were seized. The Protestant

Viadrina European University European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (german: Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)) is a university located at Frankfurt (Oder) in Brandenburg, Germany. It is also known as the University of Frankfurt (Oder). The city is on the ...

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

was relocated to Breslau in 1811, and united with the local Jesuit University to create the new Silesian Frederick-William University (german: Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelm-Universität, now the

). The city became a centre of the German Liberation movement against Napoleon, and a gathering place for volunteers from all over Germany. The city was the centre of Prussian mobilisation for the campaign which ended at the Battle of Leipzig.

Industrial age

The Confederation of the Rhine had increased prosperity in Silesia and in the city. The removal of fortifications opened room for the city to expand beyond its former limits. Breslau became an important railway hub and industrial centre, notably for linen and

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

manufacture and the metal industry. The reconstructed university served as a major centre of science; Johannes Brahms later wrote his Academic Festival Overture to thank the university for an honorary doctorate awarded in 1879. In 1821, the (Arch)Diocese of Breslau withdrew from dependence on the Polish archbishopric of Gniezno, and Breslau became an exempt see. On 10 October 1854, the Jewish Theological Seminary opened. The institution was the first modern rabbinical seminary in Central Europe. In 1863 the brothers Karl and Louis Stangen founded the travel agency Stangen, the second travel agency in the world. Wrocław - Pałac Królewski

The city was an important centre of the Polish secret resistance movement and the seat of a Polish uprising committee before and during the January Uprising of 1863–1864 in the

Russian Partition The Russian Partition ( pl, zabór rosyjski), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Po ...

of Poland. Local Poles took part in Polish national mourning after the Russian massacre of Polish protesters in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

in February 1861, and also organized several patriotic Polish church services throughout 1861. Secret Polish correspondence, weapons, and insurgents were transported through the city. After the outbreak of the uprising in 1863, the Prussian police carried out mass searches of Polish homes, especially those of Poles who had recently come to the city. The city's inhabitants, both Poles and Germans, excluding the German aristocracy, largely sympathized with the uprising, and some Germans even joined local Poles in their secret activities. In June 1863 the city was officially confirmed as the seat of secret Polish insurgent authorities. In January 1864, the Prussian police arrested a number of members of the Polish insurgent movement. Breslau um 1900

The

Unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of t ...

in 1871 turned Breslau into the sixth-largest city in the German Empire. Its population more than tripled to over half a million between 1860 and 1910. The 1900 census listed 422,709 residents. In 1890, construction began of Breslau Fortress as the city's defenses. Important landmarks were inaugurated in 1910, the ''Kaiser bridge'' (today

Grunwald Bridge Grunwald Bridge ( pl, Most Grunwaldzki) is a suspension bridge over the river Oder in Wrocław, Poland, built between 1908 and 1910. Initially the bridge was called the Imperial Bridge (''Kaiserbrücke''), then the Bridge of Freedom (''Freiheits ...

) and the ''Technical University'', which now houses the

Wrocław University of Technology Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

. The 1900 census listed 98% of the population as German-speakers, with 5,363 Polish-speakers (1.3%), and 3,103 (0.7%) as bilingual in German and Polish. The population was 58% Protestant, 37% Catholic (including at least 2% Polish) and 5% Jewish (totaling 20,536 in the 1905 census). The

Jewish community Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

of Breslau was among the most important in Germany, producing several distinguished artists and scientists. From 1912, the head of the university's Department of Psychiatry and director of the Clinic of Psychiatry (''Königlich Psychiatrischen und Nervenklinik'') was

Alois Alzheimer Alois Alzheimer ( , , ; 14 June 1864 – 19 December 1915) was a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist and a colleague of Emil Kraepelin. Alzheimer is credited with identifying the first published case of "presenile dementia", which Kraep ...

and, that same year, professor William Stern introduced the concept of IQ. Breslau Ring Ostseite (1890-1900)

In 1913, the newly built

housed an exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of the historical German Wars of Liberation against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and the first award of the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

. The Centennial Hall was built by Max Berg (1870–1947), since 2006 it is part of the world heritage of UNESCO. The central station (by Wilhelm Grapow, 1857) was one of the biggest in Germany and one of the first stations with electrified railway services. Since 1900 modern department stores like Barasch (today "Feniks") or Petersdorff (built by architect Erich Mendelsohn) were erected. Following the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Breslau became the capital of the newly created Prussian

Province of Lower Silesia The Province of Lower Silesia (german: Provinz Niederschlesien; Silesian German: ''Provinz Niederschläsing''; pl, Prowincja Dolny Śląsk; szl, Prowincyjŏ Dolny Ślōnsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. Between ...

of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

in 1919. After the war the Polish community began holding masses in Polish at the Church of Saint Anne, and, as of 1921, at St. Martin's and a Polish School was founded by Helena Adamczewska.Microcosm, p. 361 In 1920 a Polish

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth c ...

was opened on the Main Square. In August 1920, during the Polish

Silesian Uprising The Silesian Uprisings (german: Aufstände in Oberschlesien, Polenaufstände, links=no; pl, Powstania śląskie, links=no) were a series of three uprisings from August 1919 to July 1921 in Upper Silesia, which was part of the Weimar Republic ...

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

, the Polish Consulate and School were destroyed, while the Polish Library was burned down by a mob. The number of Poles as a percentage of the total population fell to just 0.5% after the re-emergence of

as a state in 1918, when many moved to Poland. Antisemitic riots occurred in 1923. The city boundaries were expanded between 1925 and 1930 to include an area of with a population of 600,000. In 1929, the Werkbund opened '' WuWa'' (german: Wohnungs- und Werkraumausstellung) in Breslau-Scheitnig, an international showcase of

modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that for ...

by architects of the Silesian branch of the Werkbund. In June 1930, Breslau hosted the ''

Deutsche Kampfspiele The German Combat Games (german: Deutsche Kampfspiele) were a national multi-sport event established in 1922 by the Deutscher Reichsausschuss für Leibesübungen under Carl Diem. Deutsche Kampfspiele The events lasted from 1922 to 1934. Accor ...

'', a

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

ing event for German athletes after Germany was excluded from the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

after World War I. The number of Jews remaining in Breslau fell from 23,240 in 1925 to 10,659 in 1933. Up to the beginning of World War II, Breslau was the largest city in Germany east of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Known as a stronghold of left wing liberalism during the German Empire, Breslau eventually became one of the strongest support bases of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

, which in the 1932 elections received 44% of the city's vote, their third-highest total in all Germany.

KZ Dürrgoy KZ, K-Z, Kz, or kz may refer to: Arts and media * '' K-Z'', a 1972 Italian documentary film * ''Kz'' (film), a 2006 documentary film * ''Kuhns Zeitschrift'', the former colloquial name for the linguistics journal ''Historische Sprachforschung'' Pe ...

, one of the first concentration camps in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, was set up in the city in 1933. After

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

's appointment as German Chancellor in 1933, political enemies of the Nazis were persecuted, and their institutions closed or destroyed. The

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

began actions against Polish and Jewish students (see:

Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau The Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau (official name: ) was an institution in Breslau for the training of rabbis, founded under the will of Jonah Fränckel, and opened in 1854. The seminary, at what is now an empty building plot (used as a ...

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

, and

trade unionists A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...

. Arrests were made for speaking Polish in public, and in 1938 the Nazi-controlled police destroyed the Polish cultural centre. In June 1939, Polish students were expelled from the university.Mirosław Cygański, ''Hitlerowskie prześladowania przywódców i aktywu Związków Polaków w Niemczech w latach 1939 – 1945'', "Przegląd Zachodni", nr 4, 1984, p. 37 (in Polish) Also many other people seen as "undesirable" by Nazi Germany were sent to

concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

. A network of

and forced labour camps was established around Breslau to serve industrial concerns, including

FAMO FAMO, short for Fahrzeug- und Motoren-Werke (''Automobile and Engine Works'') was a German vehicle manufacturer in the early 20th century. Products * Sd.Kfz. 9: Heavy half-track used by German forces in World War II; some were also produced by V ...

, Junkers, and Krupp. Tens of thousand of forced laborers were imprisoned there. The last big event organized by the

National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise The National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise (german: Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen, abbreviated NSRL) was the umbrella organization for sports and physical education in Nazi Germany. The NSRL was kn ...

, called Deutsches Turn-und-Sportfest (Gym and Sports Festivities), took place in Breslau from 26 to 31 July 1938. The Sportsfest was held to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the German Wars of Liberation against Napoleon's invasion.

Second World War

During the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, which started

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, in September 1939, the Germans carried out mass arrests of local Polish activists and banned Polish organizations, and the city was made the headquarters of the southern district of the ''Selbstschutz'', whose task was to persecute Nazi crimes against the Polish nation, Poles. For most of the war, the fighting did not affect the city. During the war, the Germans opened the graves of medieval Polish monarchs and local dukes to carry out Anthropology, anthropological research for Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propaganda purposes, wanting to demonstrate German "Racial policy of Nazi Germany, racial purity". The remains were transported to other places by the Germans, and they have not been found to this day. In 1941 the remnants of the pre-war Polish minority in the city, as well as Polish slave labourers, organised a resistance group called Olimp (organization), Olimp. The organisation gathered intelligence, carrying out sabotage and organising aid for Polish slave workers. In September 1941 the city's 10,000 Jews were expelled from their homes and soon deported to concentration camps. Few survived the The Holocaust, Holocaust. As the war continued, refugees from bombed-out German cities, and later refugees from farther east, swelled the population to nearly one million, including 51,000 forced labourers in 1944, and 9,876 Allied PoWs. At the end of 1944 an additional 30,000–60,000 Poles were moved into the city after the Germans crushed the Warsaw Uprising. During the war the Germans operated four List of subcamps of Gross-Rosen, subcamps of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp in the city. Approximately 3,400–3,800 men were imprisoned in three subcamps, among them Poles, Russians, Italians, French people, Frenchmen, Ukrainians, Czechs, Belgians, Yugoslavs, Chinese people, Chinese, and about 1,500 Jews, Jewish women were imprisoned in the fourth camp. Many prisoners died, and the remaining were evacuated to the main camp of Groß-Rosen in January 1945. There were also three subcamps of the Stalag VIII-B, Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp, and two Nazi prisons in the city, including a youth prison, with multiple forced labour subcamps. In 1945, the city became part of the front lines and was the site of the brutal Siege of Breslau. Adolf Hitler had in 1944 declared Breslau to be a fortress (Festung), to be held at all costs. An attempted evacuation of the city took place in January 1945, with 18,000 people freezing to death in icy snowstorms of weather. In February 1945, the Soviet Union, Soviet Red Army, Army approached the city and the German Luftwaffe began an airlift to the besieged garrison. A large area of the city centre was demolished and turned into an airfield by the defenders. By the end of the three-month siege in May 1945, half the city had been destroyed. Breslau was the last major city in Germany to surrender, capitulating only two days before the end of the war in Europe. Civilian deaths amounted to as many as 80,000. In August the Soviets placed the city under the control of German communists.Mazower, M(2008) Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe, Penguin Press p. 544 Following the Yalta Conference held in February 1945 where the new geopolitics of

were decided, the terms of the Potsdam Conference decreed that with almost all of Lower Silesia, the city would become part of Poland in exchange for Poland's loss of the city of Lwów along with the massive territory of Kresy in the east, which was annexed by the Soviet Union. The Polish name of Wrocław was declared official. There had been discussion among the Allies of World War II, Western Allies to place the southern Polish-German boundary on the Glatzer Neisse, which meant post-war Germany would have been allowed to retain approximately half of Silesia, including Breslau. However, Joseph Stalin, Stalin insisted the border be drawn at the Lusatian Neisse farther west.

1945–present

Following World War II, the region became part of Poland under territorial changes defined by the Potsdam Agreement. The town's inhabitants who had not fled, or who had safely returned to their home town after the war officially had ended, Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II, were expelled between 1945 and 1949 in accordance to the Potsdam Agreement and were settled in the Soviet occupation zone or in the Allied-occupied Germany, Allied Occupation Zones in the remainder of Germany. The city's last pre-war German school was closed in 1963. The Polish population was dramatically increased by the resettlement of Poles during postwar Polish population transfers (1944–1946), population transfers during the forced deportations from Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union, Polish lands annexed by the Soviet Union in Kresy, the east region, some of whom came from Lviv (''Lwów''), Volhynia, and the Vilnius Region. A small German minority (about 1,000 people, or 2% of the population) remains in the city, so that today the relation of Polish to German population is the reverse of what it was a hundred years ago. Traces of the German past, such as inscriptions and signs, were removed. In 1948, Wrocław organized the

Exhibition and the World Congress of Intellectuals in Defense of Peace. Picasso's lithograph, ''La Colombe'' (The Dove), a traditional, realistic picture of a pigeon, without an olive branch, was created on a napkin at the Monopol Hotel in Wrocław during the World Congress of Intellectuals in Defense of Peace. Dewiza-SW

In 1963, Wrocław was declared a closed city because of :pl:Epidemia ospy we Wrocławiu, a smallpox epidemic. In 1982, during martial law in Poland, the Anti-communism, anti-communist underground organizations Fighting Solidarity and Orange Alternative were founded in Wrocław. Wrocław's dwarfs, Wrocław's dwarves, made of bronze, famously grew out of and commemorate Orange Alternative. In 1983 and 1997, Pope John Paul II visited the city. PTV Echo, the first non-state television station in Poland and in the post-communist countries, began to broadcast in Wrocław on 6 February 1990. In May 1997, Wrocław hosted the 46th International Eucharistic Congress. In July 1997, the city was heavily affected by a 1997 Central European flood, flood of the River Oder, the worst flooding in post-war Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. About one-third of the area of the city was flooded. The smaller Widawa, Widawa River also flooded the city simultaneously, worsening the damage. An earlier, equally devastating flood of the Oder river had taken place in 1903. A small part of the city was also flooded during the 2010 Central European floods, flood of 2010. From 2012 to 2015, the :pl:Wrocławski węzeł wodny, Wrocław water node was renovated and redeveloped to prevent further flooding. Municipal Stadium (Wrocław), Municipal Stadium in Wrocław, opened in 2011, hosted three matches in Group A of the UEFA Euro 2012 championship. In 2016, Wrocław was declared the European Capital of Culture. In 2017, Wrocław hosted the 2017 World Games. Wrocław won the ''European Best Destination'' title in 2018. Since the end of the Cold War, Wrocław has come to terms with its German heritage, restoring its historical coat of arms of Wrocław, coat of arms and embracing the Austrian and Prussian aspects of the city's history during anniversary celebrations. Wrocław is now a unique European city of mixed heritage, with architecture influenced by Bohemian, Austrian, and

n traditions, such as Silesian Gothic architecture, Gothic and its Baroque style of court builders of Habsburg Austria (Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Fischer von Erlach). Wrocław has a number of notable buildings by German modernism, modernist architects including the famous

(''Hala Stulecia'' or ''Jahrhunderthalle''; 1911–1913) designed by Max Berg.

Geography

Wrocław is located in the three Mesoregion (geomorphology), mesoregions of the

(Wrocław Plain, Wrocław Valley, Oleśnica Plain) at an elevation of around 105–156 metres (Gajowe Hill and Maślickie Hill) above sea level. The city lies on the Oder River and its four tributaries, which supply it within the city limits – Bystrzyca (Odra), Bystrzyca, Oława (river), Oława, Ślęza and Widawa. In addition, the Dobra River and many streams flow through the city. The city has a sewage treatment plant on the Janówek estate.

Flora and fauna

There are 44 city parks and public green spaces covering around 800 hectares. The most notable are ''Szczytnicki Park'', ''Park Południowy'' (South Park) and ''Wladyslaw Anders, Anders Park''. In addition, Wrocław University runs an historical University of Wrocław Botanical Garden, Botanical garden (founded in 1811), with a salient Alpine garden, a lake and a valley. In Wrocław, the presence of over 200 species of birds has been registered, of which over 100 have nesting places there. As in other large Polish cities, the most numerous are Rock dove, pigeons. Other common species are the House sparrow, sparrow, Eurasian tree sparrow, tree sparrow, Eurasian siskin, siskin, Rook (bird), rook, Hooded crow, crow, Western jackdaw, jackdaw, Eurasian magpie, magpie, Common swift, swift, Common house martin, martin, Barn swallow, swallow, Common kestrel, kestrel, mute swan, mallard, Eurasian coot, coot, Common merganser, merganser, black-headed gull, great tit, Eurasian blue tit, blue tit, long-tailed tit, European greenfinch, greenfinch, hawfinch, Eurasian collared dove, collared dove, common wood pigeon, fieldfare, redwing, common starling, grey heron, white stork, common chaffinch, Common blackbird, blackbird, Eurasian jay, jay, Eurasian nuthatch, nuthatch, Eurasian bullfinch, bullfinch, Common cuckoo, cuckoo, Bohemian waxwing, waxwing, lesser spotted woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker, white-backed woodpecker, white wagtail, Eurasian blackcap, blackcap, black redstart, old world flycatcher, emberizidae, European goldfinch, goldfinch, western marsh harrier, little bittern, common moorhen, Common reed bunting, reed bunting, remiz, great reed warbler, little crake, little ringed plover and white-tailed eagle. Jesienny Park Poludniowy

In addition, the city is periodically plagued by the brown rat, especially in the Market Square and in the vicinity of Eatery, eateries. Otherwise, due to the proximity of wooded areas, there are Erinaceidae, hedgehogs, Red fox, foxes, wild boar, bats, Beech marten, martens, Red squirrel, squirrels, Roe deer, deer, Leporidae, hares, Eurasian beaver, beavers, European polecat, polecats, Eurasian otter, otters, European badger, badgers, Least weasel, weasels, stoats and raccoon dogs. There are also occasional sightings of escaped muskrat, american mink and raccoon.

Air pollution

Air pollution is a considerable issue in Wrocław. In a report by French ''Respire'' organization, from 2014, Wrocław was ranked the eighth most polluted European city, with 166 days of bad air quality per year. Heavy air pollution mainly occurs in the colder months, during autumn and winter. According to Wrocław University research from 2017, high concentration of Particulates, particular matters (PM2.5 and PM 10) in the air causes 942 premature deaths of Wrocław inhabitants per year. Air pollution also causes 3297 cases of bronchitis among Wrocław's children per year. Approximately 84% of residents believe that air pollution is a serious social problem, according to a poll from May 2017, and 73% of people believe that air quality is poor. In 2012, there were 71 days, when the PM10 standards, set by Air quality and EU legislation, Cleaner Air For Europe Directive, were exceeded. In 2014, there were 104 such days. In 2014, the inhabitants founded an organization called the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Lower Silesian Smog Alert (''Dolnośląski Alarm Smogowy, DAS''), to address the air pollution problem. Its goals are to educate the public and to reduce emission of harmful substances.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification, Wrocław has an oceanic climate (''Cfb'') if to adopt the isotherm for the mean temperature of the coldest month, but is on the border with the humid continental climate (''Dfb'') if is assumed to be the border. The position of Wrocław in the

, which are themselves located just north of the Sudetes and to the southwest of the Trzebnickie Hills, creates a favourable environment for accumulation of heat in the Oder river valley between Wrocław and Opole. Wrocław is therefore the warmest List of cities in Poland, city in Poland, among those tracked by the :pl:Instytut Meteorologii i Gospodarki Wodnej, Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW), with the mean annual temperature of . The city experiences relatively mild and dry winters, but with the skies frequently overcast; summers are warm and generally sunny, however, that is the period when most precipitation occurs, which often falls during thunderstorms. The city also sometimes experiences Foehn wind, foehn-like conditions, particularly when the wind blows from the south or the south-west. In addition to that, the temperatures in the city centre often tend to be higher than on the outskirts due to the urban heat island effect. Snow may fall in any month from October to May but normally does so in winter; the snow cover of at least stays on the ground for an average of 27.5 days per year – one of the lowest in Poland. The highest temperature in Wrocław recognised by IMGW was noted on 8 August 2015 (), though thermometers at the meteorological station managed by the

indicated on that day. The lowest temperature was recorded on 11 February 1956 ().

Government and politics

Wrocław is the capital city of Lower Silesian Voivodeship, a province (Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship) created in 1999. It was previously the capital of Wrocław Voivodeship. The city is a separate urban gmina and City with powiat rights, city-county. It is also the seat of Wrocław County, which adjoins but does not include the city.

Districts

Wrocław was previously subdivided into five boroughs (dzielnica): *Wrocław-Fabryczna, Fabryczna ("Factory Quarter") *Krzyki, (german: Krietern, meaning "Wranglers") *Psie Pole (german: Hundsfeld, "Dogs' Field", named after the Battle of Hundsfeld, Battle of Psie Pole) *Wrocław-Stare Miasto, Stare Miasto (Old Town) *Wrocław-Śródmieście, Śródmieście (Midtown) Since 1990, the city has been divided into 48 district quarters (''osiedle'') – Bieńkowice, Biskupin-Sępolno-Dąbie-Bartoszowice, Borek, Brochów, Gaj, Gajowice, Gądów-Popowice Płd., Grabiszyn-Grabiszynek, Huby, Jagodno, Jerzmanowo-Jarnołtów-Strachowice-Osiniec, Karłowice-Różanka, Klecina, Kleczków, Kowale, Krzyki-Partynice, Księże, Kuźniki, Leśnica, Lipa Piotrowska, Maślice, Muchobór Mały, Muchobór Wielki, Nadodrze, Nowy Dwór, Ołbin, Ołtaszyn, Oporów, Osobowice-Rędzin, Pawłowice, Pilczyce-Kozanów-Popowice Płn., Plac Grunwaldzki (osiedle), Plac Grunwaldzki, Polanowice-Poświętne-Ligota, Powstańców Śląskich, Pracze Odrzańskie, Przedmieście Oławskie, Przedmieście Świdnickie, Psie Pole-Zawidawie, Sołtysowice, Stare Miasto, Strachocin-Swojczyce-Wojnów, Szczepin, Świniary, Tarnogaj, Widawa, Wojszyce, Zacisze-Zalesie-Szczytniki, and Żerniki.

Municipal government

Wrocław is currently governed by the List of mayors of Wrocław, city's mayor and a municipal legislature known as the city council. The city council is made up of 39 councilors and is directly elected by the city's inhabitants. The remit of the council and president extends to all areas of municipal policy and development planning, up to and including development of local infrastructure, transport and planning permission. However, it is not able to draw taxation directly from its citizens, and instead receives its budget from the Polish national government whose seat is in Warsaw. The city's current mayor is Jacek Sutryk, who has served in this position since 2018. The first mayor of Wrocław after the war was Bolesław Drobner, appointed to the position on 14 March 1945, even before the Siege of Breslau, surrender of Festung Breslau.

Economy

Wrocław is the second-wealthiest of the large cities in Poland after

. The city is also home to the largest number of leasing and debt collection companies in the country, including the largest European Leasing Fund as well as numerous banks. Due to the proximity of the borders with Germany and the Czech Republic, Wrocław and the region of

is a large import and export partner with these countries. Wrocław's industry manufactures buses, railroad cars, home appliances, chemicals, and electronics. The city houses factories and development centres of many foreign and domestic corporations, such as WAGO Kontakttechnik, Siemens, Robert Bosch GmbH, Bosch, Whirlpool Corporation, Nokia Networks, Volvo, Hewlett-Packard, HP, IBM, Google, Opera Software, Bombardier Transportation, WABCO Vehicle Control Systems, WABCO and others. Wrocław is also the location of offices for large Polish companies including Getin Holding, AmRest, Polmos, and MCI Management SA. Additionally, Kaufland Poland has its main headquarters in the city. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the city has had a developing Information technology, high-tech sector. Many high-tech companies are located in the Wrocław Technology Park, such as Baluff, CIT Engineering, Caisson Elektronik, ContiTech, Ericsson, Innovative Software Technologies, IBM, IT-MED, IT Sector, Livechat Software, LiveChat Software, Mitsubishi Electric, Maas, PGS Software, Technology Transfer Agency Techtra and Vratis. In Biskupice Podgórne (Gmina Kobierzyce, Community Kobierzyce) there are factories of LG (LG Display, LG Electronics, LG Chem, LG Innotek), Dong Seo Display, Dong Yang Electronics, Toshiba, and many other companies, mainly from the electronics and home appliances sectors, while the Nowa Wieś Wrocławska factory and distribution centre of Nestlé Purina and factories a few other enterprises. The city is the seat of Wrocław Research Centre European Institute of Innovation and Technology, EIT+, which contains, inter alia, geological research laboratories to the unconventional and Lower Silesian Cluster of Nanotechnology. The logistics centres DHL, FedEx and United Parcel Service, UPS are based in Wrocław. Furthermore, it is a major centre for the pharmaceutical industry (U.S. Pharmacia, Hasco-Lek, Galena, Avec Pharma, 3M, Labor, S-Lab, Herbapol, and Cezal). Wrocław is home to Poland's largest shopping mall – :pl:Aleja Bielany, Bielany Avenue (pl. Aleja Bielany) and Bielany Trade Center, located in Bielany Wrocławskie where stores such as Auchan, Decathlon (retailer), Decathlon, Leroy Merlin, Makro, Tesco, IKEA, Jula, Obi (store), OBI, Castorama, Black Red White, Poco, E. Wedel, Cargill, Prologis and Panattoni can be found. In February 2013, Qatar Airways launched its Wrocław European Customer Service.

Major corporations

*3M *Akwawit–Polmos S.A. – Wratislavia vodka plant *The Bank of New York Mellon *Bombardier Transportation Poland * BSH – Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte *CD Projekt *CH Robinson Worldwide *Crédit Agricole Poland *Credit Suisse *Deichmann SE, Deichmann *DeLaval Operations Poland *DHL *Dolby Labs *Ernst & Young *Fantasy Expo – owner CD-Action *Gigaset Communications *Google *Hewlett-Packard *IBM *Kaufland Poland *KGHM Polska Miedź *Livechat Software, LiveChat Software *LG Electronics *McKinsey & Company *Microsoft *National Bank of Poland *Nokia Networks *Olympus Corporation, Olympus Business Services Europe *Opera Software *Parker Hannifin *PZ Cussons Poland *Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń, PZU *QAD Inc., QAD *Qatar Airways *Qiagen *Robert Bosch GmbH *SAP SE, SAP Poland *Santander Consumer Bank *Siemens *Südzucker *Techland *Tieto *UBS *United Parcel Service, UPS *United Technologies Corporation *Viessmann *Volvo Poland *WABCO Vehicle Control Systems, WABCO Poland *Whirlpool Corporation, Whirlpool Poland

Shopping malls

*Wroclavia *:pl:Galeria Dominikańska, Galeria Dominikańska *:pl:Arkady Wrocławskie, Arkady Wrocławskie *Sky Tower (Wrocław), Galeria Handlowa Sky Tower *:pl:Pasaż Grunwaldzki, Pasaż Grunwaldzki *Centrum Handlowe Borek *Tarasy Grabiszyńskie *:pl:Magnolia Park, Magnolia Park *Wrocław Fashion Outlet *Factoria Park *:pl:Centrum Korona, Centrum Handlowe Korona *Renoma (Wrocław), Renoma, a 1930s department store of architectural interest over and above its shopping value *Barasch Brothers' Department Store, Feniks *Wrocław Market Hall *Marino *Park Handlowy Młyn *Family Point *Ferio Gaj *Aleja Bielany in Bielany Wrocławskie, Bielany Wrocławskie (suburb of Wrocław) – the largest shopping mall in Poland

Transport

Wrocław is a major transport hub, situated at the crossroad of many routes linking Western and Central Europe with the rest of Poland. The city is skirted on the south by the A4 autostrada (Poland), A4 highway, which is part of the European route E40, extending from the Polish-German to the Polish-Ukrainian border across southern Poland. The 672-kilometre highway beginning at Jędrzychowice, Zgorzelec County, Jędrzychowice connects Lower Silesia with Opole and the industrial

n metropolis,

, Tarnów and Rzeszów. It also provides easy access to German cities such as Dresden, Leipzig, Magdeburg and with the A18 autostrada (Poland), A18 highway

, Hamburg. The toll-free A8 autostrada (Poland), A8 bypass (Wrocław Beltway, ring road) around the west and north of the city connects the A4 highway with three major routes – Expressway S5 (Poland), S5 expressway leading to Poznań, Bydgoszcz; the Expressway S8 (Poland), S8 express road towards Oleśnica, Łódź,

, Białystok; and the National road 8 (Poland), National Road 8 to Prague, Brno and other townships in the Czech Republic. Traffic congestion is a significant issue in Wrocław as in most Polish cities; in early 2020 it was ranked as the fifth-most congested city in Poland, and 41st in the world. On average, a car driver in Wrocław annually spends seven days and two hours in a traffic jam. Roadblocks, gridlocks and narrow cobblestone streets around the Old Town are considerable obstacles for drivers. The lack of parking space is also a major setback; private lots or on-street pay bays are the most common means of parking. A study in 2019 has revealed that there are approximately 130 vehicles per each parking spot, and the search for an unoccupied bay takes on average eight minutes.

Aviation

The city is served by Copernicus Airport Wrocław (coded WRO), situated around 10 kilometres southwest from the central precinct. The airport handles passenger flights with LOT Polish Airlines, Ryanair Sun, Buzz, Ryanair, Wizz Air, Lufthansa, Eurowings, Air France, KLM, Scandinavian Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines and air cargo connections. In 2019 over a 3.5 million passengers passed through the airport, placing it fifth on the list of busiest airports in Poland. Among the permanent and traditional destinations are

, Amsterdam, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Zürich and Budapest. Low-cost carrier, Low-cost flights are common among British, Italian, Spanish and Ukrainian travellers, based on the number of destinations. Seasonal charter flights are primarily targeted at Polish holidaymakers travelling to Southern Europe and North Africa.

Rail and bus

The main rail station is Wrocław Główny railway station, Wrocław Główny, which is the largest railway station in Poland by the number of passengers served (21,2 million passengers a year), and perhaps the most important railroad junction alongside Warszawa Centralna, Warsaw Central station. The station is supported by PKP Intercity, Polregio, Koleje Dolnośląskie and Leo Express. There are direct connections to Szczecin Główny railway station, Szczecin, Poznań Główny, Poznań, and to Warsaw Central through Łódź Fabryczna railway station, Łódź Fabryczna station. There is also a regular connection to Berlin Hauptbahnhof and Wien Hauptbahnhof (Vienna), as well as indirect to Praha hlavní nádraží (Prague) and Budapest Nyugati railway station, Budapest-Nyugati with one transfer depending on the carrier. Adjacent to the railway station, is a central bus station located in the basement of the shopping mall Wroclavia, with services offered by Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji Samochodowej, PKS, Neobus, Flixbus, Sindbad, and others.

Public transport

The public transport in Wrocław comprises 99 bus lines and a well-developed network of 23 Tramways in Wrocław, tram lines (with a length over 200 kilometres) operated by the Municipal Transport Company MPK (). Rides are paid for, tickets can be purchased in vending machines, which are located at bus stops, as well as in the vending machines located in the vehicle (payment contactless payment card, the ticket is saved on the card). The tickets are available for purchase in the electronic form via mobile app: mPay, Apple Pay, SkyCash, Mobill, Google Pay (payment method), Google Pay. Tickets are one-ride or temporary (0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 24, 48, 72, or 168 hours). All buses and big part of trams is low-floor. 3306Moderus

Over a dozen traditional taxicab firms operate in the city as well as Uber, , Bolt (company), Bolt and Free Now (service), Free Now.

Other

There are 1200 km of Cycling infrastructure, cycling paths including about 100 km paths on flood embankments. Wrocław has a bike rental network called the City Bike (''Wrocławski Rower Miejski''). It has 2000 bicycles and 200 self-service stations. In addition to regular bicycles, tandem, cargo, electric, folding, tricycles, children's, and handbikes are available, operating every year from 1 March to 30 November. During winter (December – February) 200 bikes are available in the system. Wrocław possesses a scooter-sharing system of Lime (transportation company), Lime, Bird (company), Bird, Bolt (company), Bolt and Free Now (service), Hive Free Now – motorized scooter rental is available using a mobile application. Electronic car rental systems include Traficar, Panek CarSharing (hybrid cars), GoScooter and electric Scooter (motorcycle), scooters using the mobile application. A gondola lift over the Oder called Polinka began operation in 2013. Wrocław also has a Inland port, river port on the Oder and several marinas.

Demographics

In December 2020, the population of Wrocław was estimated at 641,928 individuals, of which 342,215 were women and 299,713 were men. Since 2011, the population has been steadily rising, with a 0.142% increase between 2019 and 2020, and a 2.167% increase in the years 2011–2020. In 2018, the crude birth rate stood at 11.8 and the mortality rate at 11.1 per 1,000 residents.Miasto Wroclaw
stat.gov.pl/ (in Polish) The median age in 2018 was 43 years. The city's population is aging significantly; between 2013 and 2018, the number of Senior citizen, seniors (per Statistics Poland – men aged 65 or above and women aged 60 or above) surged from 21.5% to 24.2%. Historically, the city's population grew rapidly throughout the 19th and 20th centuries; in the year 1900 approximately 422,709 people were registered as residents and by 1933 the population was already 625,000. The strongest growth was recorded from 1900 to 1910, with almost 100,000 new residents within the city limits. Although the city was overwhelmingly German-speaking, the ethnic composition based on heritage or place of birth was mixed.Wroclaw liczby 2000
(in Polish) According to a statistical report from 2000, around 43% of all inhabitants in 1910 were born outside Silesia and migrated into the city, mostly from the contemporary regions of Greater Poland (then the Prussian Partition of Poland) or Pomerania. Poles and Jews were among the most prominent active minorities. Simultaneously, the city's territorial expansion and incorporation of surrounding townships further strengthened population growth. Following the end of the Second World War and Flight and expulsion of Germans, post-1945 expulsions of the pre-war population, Wrocław became predominantly Polish language, Polish-speaking. New incomers were primarily resettled from Eastern Borderlands, areas in the east which Poland lost (Vilnius and Lviv), or from other provinces, notably the regions of Greater Poland, Lublin, Białystok and Rzeszów. At the end of 1947, the city's population was estimated at 225,000 individuals, most of whom were migrants. German nationals who stayed were either resettled in the late 1940s and 1950s, or assimilated. Contemporary Wrocław has one of the highest concentration of foreigners in Poland alongside

and Poznań; a significant majority are migrant workers from Ukraine; others came from Italy, Spain, South Korea, India, Russia and Turkey. No exact statistic exists on the number of temporary residents from abroad. Many are students studying at Wrocław's schools and institutions of higher learning. ImageSize = width:900 height:350 PlotArea = left:60 right:30 top:25 bottom:30 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late Colors = id:linegrey2 value:gray(0.9) id:linegrey value:gray(0.7) id:cobar value:rgb(0.2,0.7,0.8) id:cobar2 value:rgb(0.6,0.9,0.6) DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:0 till:700000 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:100000 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:20000 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey2 PlotData = color:cobar width:20 align:left bar:1526 from:0 till:22000 bar:1710 from:0 till:40890 bar:1849 from:0 till:110702 bar:1871 from:0 till:207997 bar:1890 from:0 till:335186 bar:1900 from:0 till:422709 bar:1910 from:0 till:512105 bar:1919 from:0 till:528260 bar:1933 from:0 till:625198 bar:1939 from:0 till:629565 bar:1946 from:0 till:170656 bar:1947 from:0 till:224800 bar:1955 from:0 till:378619 bar:1965 from:0 till:474199 bar:1975 from:0 till:575890 bar:1985 from:0 till:637207 bar:1991 from:0 till:643640 bar:2000 from:0 till:633857 bar:2010 from:0 till:632996 bar:2020 color:cobar2 from:0 till:643782 PlotData= textcolor:black fontsize:S bar:1526 at: 22000 text: 22,000 shift:(-17,5) bar:1710 at: 40890 text: 40,890 shift:(-17,5) bar:1849 at: 110702 text: 110,702 shift:(-14,5) bar:1871 at: 207997 text: 207,997 shift:(-17,5) bar:1890 at: 335186 text: 335,186 shift:(-17,5) bar:1900 at: 422709 text: 422,709 shift:(-17,5) bar:1910 at: 512105 text: 512,105 shift:(-17,5) bar:1919 at: 528260 text: 528,260 shift:(-17,5) bar:1933 at: 625198 text: 625,198 shift:(-17,5) bar:1939 at: 629565 text: 629,565 shift:(-17,5) bar:1946 at: 170656 text: 170,656 shift:(-17,5) bar:1947 at: 225000 text: 224,800 shift:(-17,5) bar:1955 at: 378619 text: 378,619 shift:(-17,5) bar:1965 at: 474199 text: 474,199 shift:(-17,5) bar:1975 at: 575890 text: 575,890 shift:(-17,5) bar:1985 at: 637207 text: 637,207 shift:(-29,5) bar:1991 at: 643640 text: 643,640 shift:(-23,5) bar:2000 at: 633857 text: 633,857 shift:(-12,5) bar:2010 at: 632996 text: 632,996 shift:(-15,5) bar:2020 at: 643782 text: 643,782 shift:(-17,5)

Religion

Wrocław's population is predominantly Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic, like the rest of Poland. The diocese was founded in the city as early as 1000, it was one of the first dioceses in the country at that time. Now the city is the seat of a Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wrocław, Catholic Archdiocese. Prior to World War II, Breslau was mostly inhabited by Protestants, followed by a large Roman Catholic and a significant Jewish minority. In 1939, of 620,976 inhabitants 368,464 were Protestants (United Protestants; mostly Lutherans and minority Reformed tradition, Reformed; in the Prussian Union of churches, Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union), 193,805 Catholics, 2,135 other Christians and 10,659 Jews. Wrocław had the third largest Jewish population of all cities in Germany before the war.Polish city marks first rabbinic ordination since World War II
''The Times of Israel'', 3 September 2014 Its White Stork Synagogue was completed in 1840, and rededicated in 2010. Four years later, in 2014, it celebrated its first ordination of four rabbis and three cantors since the Holocaust. The Polish authorities together with the German Foreign Minister attended the official ceremony. Synagoge zum Weißen Storch Fotografin Isabelle Knispel

Synagoge zum Weißen Storch Fotografin Isabelle Knispel

Post-war resettlements from Poland's ethnically and religiously more diverse former eastern territories (known in Polish as ''Kresy'') and the eastern parts of post-1945 Poland (''see Operation Vistula'') account for a comparatively large portion of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Greek Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox Christians of mostly Ukrainians in Poland, Ukrainian and Lemkos, Lemko descent. Wrocław is also unique for its "Dzielnica Czterech Świątyń" (Borough of Four Temples) — a part of Stare Miasto, Wrocław, Stare Miasto (Old Town) where a synagogue, a Lutheranism, Lutheran church, a Roman Catholic church and an Eastern Orthodox church stand near each other. Other Christian denominations present in Wrocław include Adventists, Baptists, Free Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Latter-day Saints, Methodists and Pentecostals. There are also minor associations practicing and promoting Slavic neopaganism, Rodnovery neopaganism. In 2007, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wrocław established the Pastoral Centre for English Speakers, which offers Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, as well as other sacraments, fellowship, retreats, catechesis and pastoral care for all English-speaking Catholics and non-Catholics interested in the Catholic Church. The Pastoral Centre is under the care of Conventual Franciscans, Order of Friars Minor, Conventual (Franciscans) of the Kraków Province in the parish of :pl:Kościół św. Karola Boromeusza we Wrocławiu, St Charles Borromeo (Św Karol Boromeusz).

Education

Wroclaw- Uniwersytet i Kosciol Uniwersytecki

Wrocław is the third largest educational centre of Poland, with 135,000 students in 30 colleges which employ some 7,400 staff. List of ten Public university, public colleges and universities: *

(''Uniwersytet Wrocławski''): over 47,000 students, ranked fourth among public universities in Poland by the ''Wprost'' weekly ranking in 2007 *

(''Politechnika Wrocławska''): over 40,000 students, the best university of technology in Poland by the ''Wprost'' weekly ranking in 2007 *Wrocław Medical University (''Uniwersytet Medyczny we Wrocławiu'') *:pl:Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego we Wrocławiu, University School of Physical Education in Wrocław *Wrocław University of Economics (''Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wrocławiu'') over 18,000 students, ranked fifth best among public economic universities in Poland by the ''Wprost'' weekly ranking in 2007 *Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences (''Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy we Wrocławiu''): over 13,000 students, ranked third best among public agricultural universities in Poland by the ''Wprost'' weekly ranking in 2007 *Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław (''Akademia Sztuk Pięknych we Wrocławiu''), *Karol Lipiński University of Music (''Akademia Muzyczna im. Karola Lipińskiego we Wrocławiu'') *Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts, Wrocław Campus (''Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Teatralna w Krakowie filia we Wrocławiu'') *The Tadeusz Kościuszko Land Forces Military Academy (''Wyższa Szkoła Oficerska Wojsk Lądowych'') Private universities: * Wyższa Szkoła Bankowa (University of Business in Wrocław) * University of Social Sciences and Humanities (''SWPS Uniwersytet Humanistycznospołeczny'') * University of Law (Wyższa Szkoła Prawa) *Coventry University Wrocław (Branch campus of the Coventry University, UK) Other cultural institutions: *Alliance française, Alliance Française in Wrocław * Austrian Institute in Wrocław *British Council in Wrocław
Dante Alighieri Society in Wrocław
* Grotowski Institute in Wrocław

Culture and landmarks

Old Town

The Old Town of Wrocław is listed in the Registry of Objects of Cultural Heritage and is, since 1994, on Poland's prestigious list of List of Historic Monuments (Poland), National Monuments. Several architectural landmarks and edifices are one of the best examples of Brick Gothic and Baroque architecture, Baroque architecture in the country. Fine examples of Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassicism, Gründerzeit and Historicism are also scattered across the city's central precinct. The Wrocław Opera, Wrocław Opera House, Monopol Hotel, :pl:Gmach Biblioteki Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego przy ul. Karola Szajnochy we Wrocławiu, University Library, Ossolineum, the National Museum and the castle-like District Court are among some of the grandest and most recognizable historic structures. There are several examples of Art Nouveau and Modernist architecture, Modernism in pre-war retail establishments such as the Barasch Brothers' Department Store, Barasch-Feniks, :pl:Dom Handlowy Kameleon, Petersdorff-Kameleon and Renoma (Wrocław), Renoma department stores. The Ostrów Tumski (Cathedral Island) is the oldest section of the city; it was once an isolated islet between the branches of the Oder River. The Wrocław Cathedral, one of the tallest churches in Poland, was erected in the mid 10th century and later expanded over the next hundreds of years. The island is also home to five other Christian temples and churches, the :pl:Pałac arcybiskupi we Wrocławiu, Archbishop's Palace, the Archdiocese Museum, a 9.5-metre 18th-century monument dedicated to Saint John of Nepomuk, historic tenements and the steel Tumski Bridge from 1889. A notable attraction are 102 original gas lighting, gas lanterns which are manually lit each evening by a cloaked lamplighter. The early 13th-century Main Market Square (Rynek) is the oldest medieval public square in Poland, and also one of the largest. It features the ornate Gothic Wrocław Town Hall, Old Town Hall, the oldest of its kind in the country. In the north-west corner of the square is St. Elisabeth's Church, Wrocław, St. Elisabeth's Church (Bazylika Św. Elżbiety) with its 91.5-metre-high tower and an observation deck at an altitude of 75 metres. Beneath the basilica are two small medieval houses connected by an arched gate that once led into a churchyard; these were reshaped into their current form in the 1700s. Today, the two connected buildings are known to the city's residents as "Jaś i Małgosia", named after the children's fairy tale characters from Hansel and Gretel. North of the church are so-called "Slaughterhouse, shambles" (Polish: ''jatki''), a former meat market with a :pl:Pomnik Pamięci Zwierząt Rzeźnych, Monument of Remembrance for Slaughtered Animals. The Salt Square (now a flower market) opened in 1242 is located at the south-western corner of the Market Square – close to the square, between Szewska and Łaciarska streets, is the domeless 13th-century St. Mary Magdalene Church (Wrocław), St. Mary Magdalene Church, which during the Reformation (1523) was converted into Wrocław's first Protestant temple. The Cathedral of St. Vincent and St. James, Wrocław, Cathedral of St. Vincent and St. James and the Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross and St. Bartholomew, Wrocław, Holy Cross and St. Bartholomew's Collegiate Church are burial sites of List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarchs,

and Henry IV Probus, respectively. The ''Pan Tadeusz Museum'', open since May 2016, is located in the "House under the Golden Sun" at 6 Market Square. The manuscript of the national Epic poem, epos, ''Pan Tadeusz'', is housed there as part of the Ossolineum, Ossolineum National Institute, with multimedia and interactive educational opportunities.

Tourism and places of interest

The Tourist Information Centre ( pl, Centrum Informacji Turystycznej) is situated on the Main Market Square, Wrocław, Main Market Square (Rynek) in building no 14. In 2011, Wrocław was visited by about 3 million tourists, and in 2016 about 5 million. Free Hotspot (Wi-Fi), wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) is available at a number of places around town. Wrocław is a major attraction for both domestic and international tourists. Noteworthy landmarks include the Wrocław Fountain, Multimedia Fountain, Szczytnicki Park with its Japanese Garden (Wrocław), Japanese Garden, miniature park and List of dinosaur parks, dinosaur park, the University of Wrocław Botanical Garden, Botanical Garden founded in 1811, Poland's largest railway model ''Kolejkowo'', Hydropolis Centre for Ecological Education,

with Mathematical Tower, :pl:Kościół Imienia Jezus we Wrocławiu, Church of the Name of Jesus, Wrocław water tower, Royal Palace, Wrocław, the Royal Palace, ropes course on the Opatowicka Island, White Stork Synagogue, the Old Jewish Cemetery, Wrocław, Old Jewish Cemetery and the :pl:Cmentarz Żołnierzy Włoskich, Cemetery of Italian Soldiers. An interesting way to explore the city is seeking out ''Wrocław's dwarfs'' – over 600 small bronze Homunculus, figurines can be found across the city, on pavements, walls and lampposts. They first appeared in 2005.

is home to the ''Africarium'' – the only space devoted solely to exhibiting the fauna of Africa with an oceanarium. It is the oldest List of zoos by country, zoological garden in Poland established in 1865. It is also the third-largest zoo in the world in terms of the number of animal species on display. Small passenger vessels on the Oder offer river tours, as do historic Tramways in Wrocław, trams or the converted open-topped historic buses Jelcz 043. The

(Hala Stulecia, german: Jahrhunderthalle), designed by Max Berg in 1911–1913, is a World Heritage Site listed by

in 2006.

Entertainment

The city is well known for its large number of nightclubs and pubs. Many are in or near the Market Square, Wrocław, Market Square, and in the Niepolda passage, the :pl:Estakada kolejowa we Wrocławiu, railway wharf on the Bogusławskiego street. The basement of the Wrocław Town Hall, old City Hall houses one of the oldest restaurants in Europe—Piwnica Świdnicka (operating since around 1273), while the basement of the new City Hall contains the Microbrewery, brewpub ''Spiż''. There are many other craft breweries in Wrocław: three brewpubs – Browar Stu Mostów, Browar Staromiejski Złoty Pies, Browar Rodzinny Prost; two Craft brewery and microbrewery, microbrewery – Profesja and Warsztat Piwowarski; and seven contract breweries – Doctor Brew, Genius Loci, Solipiwko, Pol A Czech, Baba Jaga, wBrew and Wielka Wyspa. Every year on the second weekend of June the Festival of Good Beer takes place. It is the biggest beer festival in Poland. Each year in November and December the Christmas market is held at the Main Market Square.

Museums

The National Museum at Powstańców Warszawy Square, one of Poland's main branches of National Museum of Poland, the National Museum system, holds one of the largest collections of contemporary art in the country. Wrocław, Wnętrza - fotopolska

Ossolineum is a National Institute and Library incorporating the :pl:Muzeum Książąt Lubomirskich we Wrocławiu, Lubomirski Museum (pl), partially salvaged from the formerly Polish city of Lwów (now Lviv in Ukraine), containing items of international and national significance. It has a history of major World War II theft of collections after the invasion and takeover of Lwów by

and the Soviet Union. Major museums also include the :pl:Muzeum Miejskie Wrocławia, City Museum of Wrocław (pl), Museum of Bourgeois Art in the Wrocław Town Hall, Old Town Hall, Museum of Architecture, Wrocław, Museum of Architecture, :pl:Muzeum Archeologiczne we Wrocławiu, Archaeological Museum (pl), Museum of Natural History at University of Wrocław, Museum of Contemporary Art in Wrocław, :pl:Muzeum Archidiecezjalne we Wrocławiu, Archdiocese Museum (pl), Galeria Awangarda, the :pl:Arsenał Miejski we Wrocławiu, Arsenal, :pl:Muzeum Farmacji Uniwersytetu Medycznego we Wrocławiu, Museum of Pharmacy (pl), :pl:Muzeum Poczty i Telekomunikacji we Wrocławiu, Post and Telecommunications Museum (pl), :pl:Muzeum Geologiczne im. Henryka Teisseyre we Wrocławiu, Geological Museum (pl), the :pl:Muzeum Mineralogiczne im. Kazimierza Maślankiewicza we Wrocławiu, Mineralogical Museum (pl), :pl:Muzeum Etnograficzne we Wrocławiu, Ethnographic Museum (pl).

Wrocław in literature

The history of Wrocław is described in minute detail in the monograph ''Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City'' by Norman Davies and Roger Moorhouse. A number of books have been written about Wrocław following World War II. Wrocław philologist and writer Marek Krajewski wrote a series of crime novels about detective Eberhard Mock, a fictional character from the city of Breslau. Accordingly, Michał Kaczmarek published ''Wrocław according to Eberhard Mock – Guide based on the books by Marek Krajewski''. In 2011 appeared the 1104-page Lexicon of the architecture of Wrocław and in 2013 a 960-page Lexicon about the greenery of Wrocław. In March 2015 Wrocław filed an application to become a

and received it in 2019. Wrocław was designated as the

for 2016 by

Films, music and theatre

Wrocław is home to the Audiovisual Technology centre (formerly Wytwórnia Filmów Fabularnych), the Film Stuntman School, ATM Grupa, Grupa 13, and Tako Media. Film directors Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Sylwester Chęciński, among others, made their film debuts in Wrocław. Numerous movies shot around the city include ''Ashes and Diamonds, The Saragossa Manuscript (film), The Saragossa Manuscript, Sami swoi, The Doll (1968 film), Lalka, A Lonely Woman, Character (film), Character, Aimée & Jaguar, Avalon (2001 film), Avalon, A Woman in Berlin (film), A Woman in Berlin, Suicide Room, The Winner (2011 film), The Winner, 80 Million, Run Boy Run (film), Run Boy Run, Bridge of Spies (film), Bridge of Spies and Breaking the Limits''. Numerous Polish TV-series were also shot in Wrocław, notably ''Świat według Kiepskich'', ''Pierwsza miłość'', ''Belfer (TV series), Belfer'', and ''Four Tank-Men and a Dog''. There are several theatres and theatre groups, including Polish Theatre in Wrocław, Polish Theatre (Teatr Polski) with three stages, and Contemporary Theatre (Wrocławski Teatr Współczesny). The International Theatre Festival Dialog-Wrocław is held every two years. Wrocław's opera traditions are dating back to the first half of the seventeenth century and sustained by the

, built between 1839 and 1841. Wrocław Philharmonic, established in 1954 by Wojciech Dzieduszycki is also important for music lovers. The National Forum of Music was opened in 2015 and is a famous landmark, designed by the Polish architectural firm, Stefan Kuryłowicz, Kurylowicz & Associates.

Sports

Wroclaw Olympic Stadium aerial photograph 2017 P04

The area of Wrocław is home to many popular professional sports teams; the most popular sport is Association football, football (Śląsk Wrocław club – Polish Champion in 1977 and 2012), followed by basketball (Śląsk Wrocław (basketball), Śląsk Wrocław Basketball Club – award-winning men's basketball team and 17-time Polish Champion). Matches of UEFA Euro 2012 Group A, Group A UEFA Euro 2012's were held at Wrocław at the Stadion Miejski (Wrocław), Municipal Stadium. Matches of EuroBasket 1963 and EuroBasket 2009, as well as 2009 Women's European Volleyball Championship, 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship and 2016 European Men's Handball Championship were also held in Wrocław. Wrocław was the host of the 2013 World Weightlifting Championships and will the host World Championship 2016 of Duplicate bridge and

2017, a competition in 37 non-Olympic sport disciplines. The Olympic Stadium (Wrocław), Olympic Stadium in Wrocław hosts the Speedway Grand Prix of Poland. It is also the home arena of the popular motorcycle speedway club WTS Sparta Wrocław, four-time Team Speedway Polish Championship, Polish Champion. A marathon takes place in Wrocław every year in September. Wrocław also hosts the Wrocław Open, a professional tennis tournament that is part of the ATP Challenger Tour.

Men's sports

* Śląsk Wrocław: men's Football in Poland, football team, List of Polish football champions, Polish Championship in Football 1977, 2012; Polish Cup winner 1976, 1987; Polish SuperCup winner 1987, 2012; Ekstraklasa Cup, Polish League Cup winner 2009. Now in Ekstraklasa (Polish Premier League). * Śląsk Wrocław (basketball), Śląsk Wrocław (previous names: BASCO Śląsk Wrocław, ASCO Śląsk Wrocław, Bergson Śląsk Wrocław, Era Śląsk Wrocław, Deichmann Śląsk Wrocław, Idea Śląsk Wrocław, Zepter Idea Śląsk Wrocław, Zepter Śląsk Wrocław, Śląsk ESKA Wrocław, PCS Śląsk Wrocław, WKS Śląsk Wrocław)—men's basketball team, 18 times Polish Champion, six times runner-up, 15 times third place; 12 times Polish Cup winner. * Śląsk Wrocław (handball), Śląsk Wrocław: men's Handball in Poland, handball team, 15-time Polish Champion. * WTS Sparta Wrocław: motorcycle speedway team, four-time Polish Champion. * Gwardia Wrocław (men's volleyball), Gwardia Wrocław: Volleyball in Poland, volleyball team, three-time Polish Champion. * KS Rugby Wrocław: rugby union team. * Panthers Wrocław: American football team. Panthers joined European League of Football (ELF) which is an eight-team professional league, the first league in Europe since the demise of NFL Europe. The Panthers will start playing games against teams from Germany and Spain in June 2021.

Women's sports

* WKS Śląsk Wrocław (formerly KŚ AZS Wrocław): women's Football in Poland, football team. * AZS AWF Wrocław: women's Handball in Poland, handball team. * AZS AE Wrocław: women's table tennis team. * Ślęza Wrocław (women's basketball), Ślęza Wrocław: women's basketball team.

Notable people

, psychiatrist and neuropathologist *Adolf Anderssen, chess master *Đorđe Andrejević-Kun, painter *Natalia Avelon, actress *Max Berg, architect *Max Bielschowsky, neuropathologist *Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident *Edmund Bojanowski, blessed of the Catholic Church *Max Born, theoretical physicist and mathematician, Nobel laureate *Leszek Czarnecki, businessman *Hermann von Eichhorn, Prussian field marshal *Artur Ekert, physicist *Hermann Fernau, lawyer *Władysław Frasyniuk, politician *Jolanta Fraszyńska, actress *Hans Freeman, biochemist *Henryk Gulbinowicz, archbishop *Jerzy Grotowski, theater director *Klaudia Jachira, politician and comedian *Fritz Haber, chemist and Nobel laureate *Jan Hartman (philosopher), Jan Hartman, philosopher *Felix Hausdorff, mathematician *Mirosław Hermaszewski, astronaut *Hubert Hurkacz, tennis player *Lech Janerka, musician *Carl Gotthard Langhans, architect *Clara Immerwahr, chemist *Alfred Kerr, German-Jewish critic *Hedwig Kohn, notable female physicist *August Kopisch, poet *Arthur Korn, physicist, mathematician and inventor *Urszula Kozioł, poet *Heinrich Gerhard Kuhn, physicist *Marek Krajewski, writer and linguist *Wojciech Kurtyka, mountaineer *Aleksandra Kurzak, operatic soprano *Olaf Lubaszenko, actor and film director *Hugo Lubliner, dramatist *Mata (rapper), Mata, rapper *Aharon Mor, Polish-born Israeli civil servant *Mateusz Morawiecki, politician, Prime minister of Poland *Alexander Moszkowski, satirist, writer and philosopher *Moritz Moszkowski, composer, pianist, and teacher *Ruth Neudeck, German SS death camps supervisor and war criminal *Rafał Omelko, athlete *Margaret Pospiech, writer, filmmaker *Sepp Piontek, football manager *Piotr Ponikowski, cardiologist *Michael O. Rabin, Michael Oser Rabin, mathematician and computer scientist *Manfred von Richthofen, fighter pilot *Tadeusz Różewicz, poet and dramatist *Wanda Rutkiewicz, mountaineer *Auguste Schmidt, educationist and feminist *Marlene Schmidt, Miss Germany 1961, Miss Universe 1961 *Eva Siewert, journalist and lesbian activist *Angelus Silesius (Johann Scheffler), convert from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism, mystic and religious poet *Max Simon, Waffen-SS officer *Agnes Sorma, actress *Daniel Speer, author, composer *Eva Stachniak, writer *Edith Stein, philosopher and Roman Catholic martyr *Charles Proteus Steinmetz, electrical engineer *Fritz Stern, historian *Julius Stern, composer * William Stern, psychologist *August Tholuck, theologian *Olga Tokarczuk, writer, Nobel laureate in Literature *Jan Tomaszewski, footballer *Dagmara Wozniak (born 1988), Polish-American U.S. Olympic sabre fencer *Ludwig von Zanth (1796–1857), architect

International relations

Diplomatic missions

There are 3 general consulates in Wrocław –

, Hungary and Ukraine, and 23 honorary consulates – Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Chile, Denmark, Georgia (country), Georgia, Estonia, France, Finland, Spain, India, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Korea, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Mexico, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, Italy.

Twin towns – sister cities

Wrocław is Sister city, twinned with: * Batumi, Georgia (2019) * Breda, Netherlands (1991) * Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte, United States (1991) * Dresden, Germany (1991) * Guadalajara, Mexico (1995) * Hradec Králové, Czech Republic (2003) * Kaunas, Lithuania (2003) * Lille, France (2013) * Lviv, Ukraine (2002) * Oxford, United Kingdom (2018) * Ramat Gan, Israel (1997) * Reykjavík, Iceland (2017) * Vienne, France (1990) * Wiesbaden, Germany (1987)

Notes

References

Bibliography

* *Till van Rahden, '' Jews and Other Germans: Civil Society, Religious Diversity, and Urban Politics in Breslau, 1860–1925'' (2008. Madison, WI
The University of Wisconsin Press
*Gregor Thum, ''Uprooted. How Breslau Became Wrocław During the Century of Expulsions'' (2011. Princeton:

* * * *Gregor Thum, Obce miasto: Wrocław 1945 i potem, Wrocław: Via Nova, 2006 * * * *

External links

Municipal website

Tourist Information Centre website

MPK Wrocław (transport company website)

Christmas market

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wroclaw Wrocław, Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Cities in Silesia City counties of Poland Populated places established in the 10th century Members of the Hanseatic League Magdeburg rights Burial sites of the House of Andechs 10th-century establishments in Poland Holocaust locations in Poland