Wroclaw: the jewel of Silesia

The colourful Rynek: the nicest market square I have ever seen.

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Very nice and modern hotel right in the old town, a stone-throw from the Rynek, which is really a plus. It also has a nice restaurant in an arcade on the premises, as well as many other comforts: haidresser, travel agent and so on. Web address: http://www.exbud-hotel.wroc.pl

The restaurant serves polish specialities and international cuisine. It's generally-speaking a good restaurant. Their business lunches for 25 zlotis are surely good value. One comment about Polish food in general: it's extremely greasy and fat, so it might not appeal to all tastes. Sauerkraut and cabbage seem to be the base of every meal (sadly).

Rynek>

The rynek is Wroclaw's market square. It's the main square of the city and it's the ost impressive sight in town. it's also quite large, 173 wide x 208 metres long, and it's all lined up with beautiful and colourful buildings - all belonging to different styles (Habsburg, Prussian and so on). They show the city's rich and mixed cultural heritage. Unfortunately during WWII it was partially destroyed: it was later faithfully reconstructed and, in recent years, thanks to the town council's help, revamped and brightly repainted.

Plac Solny

It's a smaller square adjacent to the rynek: there are equally colourful houses, though maybe less imposing since the square is of diminuitive size. Solny means salt, and originally salt was sold here. This type of trade is nowadays no longer popular and flower-sellers have now taken over the square. There are about 30 different stalls there, which doesn't come as a surprise: Polish people are fond of offering flowers. In this case two rules apply: never offer flowers in an even number, and never leave the wrapping on: it's considered impolite.

Ratusz

It's the city's town hall and it's located right in the middle of the main square (rynek). This building is part of a larger block of buildings: it's so big that 3 alleys run through it. Walking along them it's very quuiet and peaceful: one has the feeling of having left the hustle-and-bustle of the city behind. The town hall itself is a very suggestive building on the southern side of the block. It`s built partly in Gothic style and partly in Reneissance style, since it took nearly two centuries to complete and decorate. Next to it stands an amazing bell tower. Some interesting details of the Town Hall are the 1580 astronomical clock on the facade, the pregierz (medieval whipping post where they carried out public floggings) in front of it, and the curious bear fountain on the right side of it.

Church Town

Ostrow Tumski was once an island on the river Odra until they filled in one of its arms, so it's not exaclty an island anymore. More important, however, is the fact that it's here where people first settled in Wroclaw. The area is a pedestrial one and it's the religious centre of the city: locals call it affctionately Church Town. Wroclaw's oldest church can be found here, right by the bridge, as well as the Cathedral (don't miss the Marian Chapel) and the Church of the Holy Cross, which houses two churches within the same building (you really must see it to believe it). The area is interesting during the day but it's magical at night: to see the shapes and outlines of these churches lit by street gas-lamps is very special. The area is very quiet and very safe, too... so there's no reason to miss it.