Wroclaw - My Hometown

Imagine a city which changed its name officially at least ten times and was given about fifty other ones in the past thousand years. My hometown is renowned under many historical names: Wratislavia, Budorgis, Vratislav, Pressela, Brassel, Breslauia, Wretslaw, Breslau etc. The city has been ruled by many states, controlled by many nations, was influenced by a mix of cultures, languages and religions. Extensive trade made it large, rich and powerful with its apogee at the end of XV and beginning of XVI centuries when it was the largest in Central Europe and one of the largest on the continent being compared to Antwerp, Florence or London.

Embroiled in more than its fair share of power struggles, it’s a town with a more colorful and torrid history than any other on the European continent.

It’s a friendly cosmopolitan, international, place, located on 12 islands with 127 bridges. The city itself is a kind of bridge, linking two heretofore different lands, cultures, and customs. Culturally Wrocław has grown into one of the most exciting cities in Poland. This was emphasized when it received the nod as European Capital of Culture 2016, a title which no other Polish city except for Krakow had previously held.

Town Square, one of Europe’s finest and largest, painted in bright colors.

Town Square is dominated by the Gothic Town Hall

Much of the grid of streets around Town Square was laid out by city planners in 1241.

Salt Market in the Middle Ages specialized in salt trade. Fortunes were made here and it shows in impressive architecture with its elaborate reliefs and figurines bursting from the facades.

You’ll find approximately 127 bridges within the city boundaries, a figure that only three other European cities Venice, Amsterdam and St. Petersburg can beat.

In Wroclaw the tradition of giving flowers is so strong that there's an entire square devoted to their sale. Flower Market stays open every day for 24 hours.