When you arrive in Wroclaw Poland, your first thoughts as you walk out into the beautiful Medieval Market Square (Rynek we Wrocławiu) and its small adjacent square Plac Solney will likely be that it is one of the most beautiful squares in Europe.
Your eyes are immediately flooded with color as you take in the facades which are painted in a riot of paintbox hues and the mix of historic architectural styles lend a story-book quality to the view.
Your eyes are immediately flooded with color as you take in the facades which are painted in a riot of paintbox hues and the mix of historic architectural styles lend a story-book quality to the view.
Wroclaw is located on the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe and is the historical capital of Silesia and the Silesian Lowlands. Throughout its long and sometimes turbulent history, it has been part of the Kingdom of Poland, Bohemia, Hungary, the Austrian Empire, Prussia and Germany.
It was first recorded in the 10th century as the Bohemian town of Vratislavia and sat strategically at the intersection of two ancient trade routes originally named the Via Regia and the Amber Road. Today, you can buy fabulous Baltic Amber in both Wroclaw and Krakow.
By the year 1000, the settlement became a commercial center and by the 13th century, Wrocław was the political center of the Polish Kingdom. In 1335, Wrocław, together with almost all of Silesia, was incorporated into the Kingdom of Bohemia and then became a part of the Holy Roman Empire.
The city belonged to the Hanseatic League from 1387 – 1474. A few of the guild houses lining the square which were built during this period and during the continuing rise of the merchant class, can be found nestled among architecture influenced by Bohemian and Prussian traditions along with the Silesian Gothic and the style of the court builders of Habsburg Austria.
Below: House of the Seven Electors - Paintwork from 1672
Below: House of the Golden Sun built in 1727
Today, bars, restaurants and shops populate the beautiful historic buildings surrounding the Gothic Town Hall which sits in the center of the square, built between 1470 and 1510. The Town Hall sits beside a another picturesque structure which was built at the end of the 19th century and hosts more businesses and shops.
There is not a large cathedral inside the square as is often the case in European market squares, though slightly off in a northern corner, the Church of St. Elizabeth, built in the 14th century, presides with its tall Gothic tower. Originally built as a Catholic basilica, after the arrival of the Protestant Reformation in Wroclaw in 1518, the church became Protestant in 1525.
Off the opposite corner of the square is the beautiful Baroque Royal Palace of the Prussian Monarchy built in 1717. It now houses the city museum filled with artifacts from the history of Wroclaw.
The flower market is located in the small adjacent square called Plac Solney and one of our tour guides informed us that it was open 24 hours a day so that lovers could buy flowers at any time as flower-giving is a favorite custom in Wroclaw.
We spent lots of time in this square during the four days we visited Wroclaw and the surrounding countryside, we hope you enjoyed its storybook beauty in this photo introduction to lovely Wroclaw Poland!
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