Wroclaw, Poland

About Wroclaw

Where is Wroclaw? Wroclaw, the capital of the south-western region of Lower Silesia, is Poland's 4th largest city with a population of just under 700,000 and is situated on the banks of the River Oder (Polish: Odra). With over 100 bridges scattered through the city, creating a truly charming atmosphere, it is sometimes referred to as "The Venice of the North".

The city was previously a part of Bohemia, the Habsburg Empire, the Prussian Empire and subsequently Germany, where it was known as Breslau. However, following the Red Army's highly destructive 4 month siege of the city and the unconditional surrender of the Nazis when it was finally taken, it was turned over to Poland.

The Polish authorities replaced the departing German population with the similarly displaced Polish inhabitants of Lyviv, a Polish city which was retained by the Soviets and is now a part of the Ukraine, and the huge task of rebuilding the city from scratch began.

However, in little over 60 years, the architectural and cultural revitalisation of Wroclaw has been nothing short of miraculous and the city is now hailed by Poles and visitors alike as being one of the most fun, youthful and beautiful cities in the country.