Day 34 - Wroclaw

We quickly found out that Wroclaw is not pronounced Ro claw but instead it is a bit more like 

Ver Rot Wa.  No wonder the guy at the Edinburgh airport could not work out where we wanted to go!

With his Scottish and our non-existent Polish I had to show him the Itinerary for him to be sure we were off to Poland.

It was named Breslau by the Germans when they took control of this whole region, but after the war in 1945 the remaining Poles gave it back its original name of Wroclaw.  

Today was unexpectedly hot.  We went on a 3 hour walking tour in 32 degree heat.  The guide seemed to have more trouble with the heat than us, but we managed to tour the old town university, 5 churches, the river Odra, the bridge of love with its thousands of padlocks and the town hall and museum.

We had to dodge the many bus loads of German tourists and the golf carts used to take the tourists to see the many interesting sights.

The bridge of love is an interesting place.  Lovers buy a padlock (for sale just nearby!), lock it to the bridge and then throw the key into the river.  It's supposed to represent eternal love.

Wroclaw is one of Poland's most attractive cities with a fascinating historical core.  There is a mix of Polish, Bohemian, Austrian, Prussian and German influences.The city is situated on 12 islands with the twin-towered St. John the Bapist's Cathedral on Tumski (Cathedral Island). 

Market Square with its restored baroque hub is an amazing sight with restaurants, pubs and shopping stores all there.  A visit to the old jail was interesting, and then on to the execution plaza where prisoners were disposed of.  Not many escaped from a strict legal system.

Wroclaw has 89 churches, 9 universities and a thriving economy. 

Poland has a population of about 38 million, which has fallen since WWII as people returned to Germany and Russia, or went to other overseas countries.  Poland was not affected by the 2008 financial slump and has a better economic record than other EU countries.  

Wroclaw is located 350 kms from Berlin and the same to Kraków.  

We really enjoyed the short time we have had here.  The fascinating and complicated history made for superb story-telling by the excellent guide.

St Elizabeth, the main Catholic Church in Market Square.

All these buildings have been faithfully restored to near their original condition before the war damage.

The town hall in the old town.

One of the many universities.

Bullet holes remain in the walls to remind all of the fighting which took place not so long ago.

The River Odra.

The "love bridge" with all the padlocks.  It has been decided to build another bridge here, but the owners of the locks are resisting the move.  Will be interesting to see who wins !

A view of St John the Bapist's Church after the bombing during the Second World War.

This is the same view today with the building on the right hand side that has not been repaired.

The twin spires with much of the old roof has been restored.

This statue is outside the university and is in recognition of the student who gambled, lost all of his money, and then all of his clothes.

There are 300 of these bronze gnome statues around the old town and people rub them for luck.  

Each one is approximately 300 mm high and they are found in unusual places in a variety of poses.