Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons
Old townWrocław, Lower Silesia
Wrocław Old Town with children: what to see, map and route
Market Square and Cathedral Island in Wrocław. In the Turi app, the same map shows your position, guides you from point to point and lets you tick off the places you’ve visited.
free entrymuseums and towers have separate tickets
The walk starts at the tourist information point on the Market Square and ends at the cathedral on Cathedral Island (Ostrów Tumski). It is a one-way route: you can walk back to the Market Square in about 20 minutes or take a tram from Plac Bema or Świętokrzyska Street. If you are already in the Old Town, Turi will guide you from the nearest point. The route is flat and a pushchair can manage all of it, with uneven cobbles only in the Old Shambles and on Cathedral Island. Walking around the Market Square, the bridges and the island is free. Tickets are needed for the Penitents' Bridge, the tower of St Elizabeth's, the cathedral tower, the museum in the Town Hall and the Aula Leopoldina. The gas lamps on Cathedral Island are lit by the lamplighter at dusk, so in winter it is worth getting there before dark. Toilets can be found by Salt Square, at the university, in the Market Hall and on Cathedral Island, among other places.
At home, open the place in Turi and tap “Save for offline”: the map, descriptions and photos will work without signal.
Visit the furthest points first, while the kids still have energy.
Tick things off as you go, and by the exit you’ll know what’s left.
Wrocław Old Town in the Turi app
Live position, a route from point to point, descriptions to read and listen to. Free, no account, and in English, German and Ukrainian too.
The same map as in the app. Tap a point to see its photo and description; in Turi you’ll see yourselves on it too.
1recommended, in route orderother pointsWCtoilets, food, tickets
Map: OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Descriptions and photos: Turi and Wikimedia Commons. Something not right? Report it in the app at that point.
Worth seeing
Wrocław is a city on islands, with more than a hundred bridges and more than a thousand bronze dwarfs hiding on pavements, windowsills and lamp posts. The walk starts on the Market Square, one of the largest in Europe, by the Gothic Town Hall and the Hansel and Gretel houses. It then leads along the lane of the old butchers to the Baroque university on the Oder, through the market hall and over two bridges to Cathedral Island, where the city began more than a thousand years ago. On the way you will climb to a footbridge hung between church towers and stroke bronze animals, and at the end you will look for a stone dumpling on the gate by the cathedral.
Photo SchiDD, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons1
Attraction
Salt Square
The Market Square's little brother, laid out in 1242 when the city was being rebuilt after the Mongol invasion. Salt from the Wieliczka mine was traded here, along with hides, honey and wax. Today flower stalls stand in the middle, open around the clock, so you can buy a bouquet even at three in the morning. Wrocław is famous for its bronze dwarfs, and there are already more than a thousand of them in the city. Look for your first one here: the dwarf called Słupnik sits on top of a tall pole.
Photo Szczecinolog, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons2
Building / monument
Old Town Hall
One of the best-preserved Gothic town halls in Poland. It was built bit by bit over some 250 years, starting at the end of the 13th century, which is why every wall looks different. On the east wall hangs an astronomical clock from 1580 with a golden sun in the middle of its face. Inside is the Museum of Bourgeois Art, and in the cellars the Piwnica Świdnicka, one of the oldest restaurants in Europe. Walk all the way round the Town Hall and look for stone knights, animals and strange creatures on the walls. By the south wall stands a small fountain with a bear cub.
Photo Robot8A, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons3
Attraction
Penitents' Bridge
The two towers of St Mary Magdalene's Church are joined by a narrow footbridge hanging 45 metres above the ground. It was first mentioned in 1459. Legend says that at night it is swept by the souls of girls who preferred fun to work and would not help at home. You can climb to the bridge by the stairs in the tower, and from the top you can see the whole Market Square. Two little bronze witches, Tekla and Martynka, sit on the railing. Count the steps on your way up.
Photo Bożena Radzikowska (…, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons4
Attraction
Zdrój Fountain
The glass fountain on the west side of the Market Square has been running since 1996. Water flows down upright sheets of glass set in granite boulders and looks like a mountain waterfall. At first many locals disliked it, because it did not match the old townhouses. Today it is hard to imagine the square without it. Right beside it stands Życzliwek, a dwarf who waves his hand in greeting. Find him and wave back.
Photo Szczecinolog, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons5
Building / monument
Hansel and Gretel
Two little houses in the corner of the Market Square hold hands like the brother and sister from the fairy tale: they are joined by a stone gateway. The lower one is Hansel, the taller one Gretel. They were built in the 15th century for the altarists, priests who looked after the altars in the neighbouring St Elizabeth's Church. The gateway once led to a cemetery, which is why a Latin inscription above it reads “Death is the gate of life”. An unusual number of dwarfs live around here. Look for the Pożarki, firefighters rushing with a hose to put out a fire.
fot. Slawek Ilski, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons6
Attraction
Old Shambles
A narrow lane where, from 1242, two rows of butchers' shops stood. “Jatka” is the old Polish word for such a meat stall. Today artists' studios and galleries have taken the butchers' place. At the entrance from Odrzańska Street stands the monument “In Honour of Slaughtered Animals”: a goose, a goat, a pig with a piglet, a rooster and a rabbit in bronze, all life-size. Children can climb on them and stroke them. Somewhere in the lane the dwarf Butcher is at work too. Count the animals and find the dwarf.
Photo Jar.ciurus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons7
Building / monument
University of Wrocław
This Baroque building on the Oder is 171 metres long and was meant to be longer still: the money ran out, and of the three towers planned only one was built. The university was founded in 1702 by Emperor Leopold I, and building began in 1728 on the site of the old castle of the Piast dukes. Inside is the Aula Leopoldina, a hall so richly decorated that not a patch of bare wall can be seen. You can climb the Mathematical Tower and look out over the city from its terrace. By the entrance, look for the dwarf called the Professor.
Photo SchiDD, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons8
Building / monument
Market Hall
From the outside it looks like a brick castle with a clock tower, but inside there is a surprise: the roof rests on huge concrete arches, curved like the ribs of a whale. When the hall opened in 1908, a reinforced concrete structure like this was one of the first in the world. It was built to bring trade from the streets and squares under a roof. People still buy vegetables, fruit, cheese, dumplings and flowers here. Step inside, look up and count the arches.
Photo Panek, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons9
Attraction
Tumski Bridge
This green steel bridge from 1889 leads to Ostrów Tumski, Cathedral Island, the place where Wrocław began more than a thousand years ago. In the past the city's authority ended beyond the bridge and the bishop's land began. Two stone figures guard the entrance: St Hedwig, patron saint of Silesia, and St John the Baptist, patron saint of Wrocław. Gas lamps still burn on the island today. Every evening at dusk a lamplighter in a cape and top hat lights each one by hand, and there are more than a hundred of them. A dwarf called Gazuś hangs from one of the lamps by the bridge. Look for him.
Photo Jg44.89, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons10
Building / monument
Cathedral of St John the Baptist
The most important church in Wrocław and one of the oldest cathedrals in Poland. The first one stood here around the year 1000, and the present Gothic one dates from the 13th and 14th centuries and is already the fourth on the same spot. Its two towers are almost 100 metres high. During the siege of the city in 1945 the cathedral was largely destroyed and it took many years to rebuild. A lift goes up one of the towers, so even those who have had enough of stairs can see the view of the Oder and the islands. By the entrance, look for the stone lions.
Photo Anastasiya Lvova, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons11
Attraction
Dumpling Gate
The little gate beside the cathedral has a stone dumpling on top. The legend tells of a peasant called Konrad who, after his wife died, longed for her Silesian dumplings. His wife appeared to him in a dream and gave him a pot that refilled itself, on condition that one dumpling was always left at the bottom. Konrad could not resist and tried to eat the last one too. The dumpling fled onto the gate and turned to stone, and the pot never filled again. This is where the walk ends. Look up and find the dumpling.
All points (26)
Grouped as in the map legend. A star marks recommended points.
Attraction 10
Salt Square ★The Market Square's little brother, laid out in 1242 when the city was being rebuilt after the Mongol invasion. Salt from the Wieliczka mine was traded here, along with hides, honey and wax. Today flower stalls stand in the middle, open around the clock, so you can buy a bouquet even at three in the morning. Wrocław is famous for its bronze dwarfs, and there are already more than a thousand of them in the city. Look for your first one here: the dwarf called Słupnik sits on top of a tall pole.
Penitents' Bridge ★The two towers of St Mary Magdalene's Church are joined by a narrow footbridge hanging 45 metres above the ground. It was first mentioned in 1459. Legend says that at night it is swept by the souls of girls who preferred fun to work and would not help at home. You can climb to the bridge by the stairs in the tower, and from the top you can see the whole Market Square. Two little bronze witches, Tekla and Martynka, sit on the railing. Count the steps on your way up.
Zdrój Fountain ★The glass fountain on the west side of the Market Square has been running since 1996. Water flows down upright sheets of glass set in granite boulders and looks like a mountain waterfall. At first many locals disliked it, because it did not match the old townhouses. Today it is hard to imagine the square without it. Right beside it stands Życzliwek, a dwarf who waves his hand in greeting. Find him and wave back.
Old Shambles ★A narrow lane where, from 1242, two rows of butchers' shops stood. “Jatka” is the old Polish word for such a meat stall. Today artists' studios and galleries have taken the butchers' place. At the entrance from Odrzańska Street stands the monument “In Honour of Slaughtered Animals”: a goose, a goat, a pig with a piglet, a rooster and a rabbit in bronze, all life-size. Children can climb on them and stroke them. Somewhere in the lane the dwarf Butcher is at work too. Count the animals and find the dwarf.
Tumski Bridge ★This green steel bridge from 1889 leads to Ostrów Tumski, Cathedral Island, the place where Wrocław began more than a thousand years ago. In the past the city's authority ended beyond the bridge and the bishop's land began. Two stone figures guard the entrance: St Hedwig, patron saint of Silesia, and St John the Baptist, patron saint of Wrocław. Gas lamps still burn on the island today. Every evening at dusk a lamplighter in a cape and top hat lights each one by hand, and there are more than a hundred of them. A dwarf called Gazuś hangs from one of the lamps by the bridge. Look for him.
Dumpling Gate ★The little gate beside the cathedral has a stone dumpling on top. The legend tells of a peasant called Konrad who, after his wife died, longed for her Silesian dumplings. His wife appeared to him in a dream and gave him a pot that refilled itself, on condition that one dumpling was always left at the bottom. Konrad could not resist and tried to eat the last one too. The dumpling fled onto the gate and turned to stone, and the pot never filled again. This is where the walk ends. Look up and find the dumpling.
Aleksander Fredro MonumentThe gentleman with a quill and a scroll of paper is Aleksander Fredro, one of Poland's best-loved comedy writers. The monument was made by Leonard Marconi in 1879 and stood in Lviv for half a century. After the war Lviv was no longer in Poland and many of its people moved to Wrocław. In 1956 Fredro followed them. Today it is a favourite meeting place: locals simply arrange to meet “at Fredro's”. See what the poet is holding in his hands.
PilloryThe stone post in front of the Town Hall is where punishments used to be carried out. Thieves, swindlers and dishonest merchants were chained here in front of the whole town, so that everyone could see them. The original was put up in 1492 beneath the windows of the courtroom. The one you see is a faithful copy. At the very top stands a stone executioner with a sword and a birch rod. Look up and find him.
Fencer FountainThe naked young man with a sword has stood in front of the university since 1904. He was sculpted by Hugo Lederer, a professor at the Academy of Arts in Berlin. Students say he is a warning: the sculptor is supposed to have once lost at cards everything he had on him, clothes included. His companions left him only his sword, because honour cannot be taken away. For years students have been playing pranks on the Fencer and dressing him up in all sorts of outfits. Check whether he is wearing anything today.
Sand BridgeThe oldest bridge in Wrocław. There was already a crossing over the Oder here in the Middle Ages, on the trade route from western Europe to the east. The iron structure you are walking on dates from 1861. The bridge leads to Sand Island, the first of the islands you cross on the way to Ostrów Tumski, the oldest part of the city. Wrocław lies on a dozen or so islands and has more than a hundred bridges. Look out over the Oder and count how many bridges you can see from here.
Building / monument 9
Old Town Hall ★One of the best-preserved Gothic town halls in Poland. It was built bit by bit over some 250 years, starting at the end of the 13th century, which is why every wall looks different. On the east wall hangs an astronomical clock from 1580 with a golden sun in the middle of its face. Inside is the Museum of Bourgeois Art, and in the cellars the Piwnica Świdnicka, one of the oldest restaurants in Europe. Walk all the way round the Town Hall and look for stone knights, animals and strange creatures on the walls. By the south wall stands a small fountain with a bear cub.
Hansel and Gretel ★Two little houses in the corner of the Market Square hold hands like the brother and sister from the fairy tale: they are joined by a stone gateway. The lower one is Hansel, the taller one Gretel. They were built in the 15th century for the altarists, priests who looked after the altars in the neighbouring St Elizabeth's Church. The gateway once led to a cemetery, which is why a Latin inscription above it reads “Death is the gate of life”. An unusual number of dwarfs live around here. Look for the Pożarki, firefighters rushing with a hose to put out a fire.
University of Wrocław ★This Baroque building on the Oder is 171 metres long and was meant to be longer still: the money ran out, and of the three towers planned only one was built. The university was founded in 1702 by Emperor Leopold I, and building began in 1728 on the site of the old castle of the Piast dukes. Inside is the Aula Leopoldina, a hall so richly decorated that not a patch of bare wall can be seen. You can climb the Mathematical Tower and look out over the city from its terrace. By the entrance, look for the dwarf called the Professor.
Market Hall ★From the outside it looks like a brick castle with a clock tower, but inside there is a surprise: the roof rests on huge concrete arches, curved like the ribs of a whale. When the hall opened in 1908, a reinforced concrete structure like this was one of the first in the world. It was built to bring trade from the streets and squares under a roof. People still buy vegetables, fruit, cheese, dumplings and flowers here. Step inside, look up and count the arches.
Cathedral of St John the Baptist ★The most important church in Wrocław and one of the oldest cathedrals in Poland. The first one stood here around the year 1000, and the present Gothic one dates from the 13th and 14th centuries and is already the fourth on the same spot. Its two towers are almost 100 metres high. During the siege of the city in 1945 the cathedral was largely destroyed and it took many years to rebuild. A lift goes up one of the towers, so even those who have had enough of stairs can see the view of the Oder and the islands. By the entrance, look for the stone lions.
St Elizabeth's BasilicaA Gothic church with a tower more than 91 metres high, one of the tallest in Wrocław. More than 300 steps lead up to the viewing terrace, which is about 75 metres above the ground. On a clear day you can see not only the Market Square and the Oder but even the mountains. The church burned several times, most recently in 1976, and was rebuilt each time. That fire is what the firefighter dwarfs standing in front of the entrance recall. If your legs are up to it, climb to the top.
OssolineumOne of Poland's most important libraries is housed in a former Baroque monastery. It was founded in Lviv by Józef Maksymilian Ossoliński, and after the war, in 1947, part of the collection came to Wrocław. The Ossolineum keeps the manuscript of Adam Mickiewicz's “Pan Tadeusz”, Poland's national epic, and a first edition of Copernicus's work on the revolutions of the heavenly spheres. The Baroque garden with its neatly trimmed hedges is free to enter, and you can rest on a bench there. A dwarf called Ossolinek lives by the building. Look for him.
Church of St Mary on the SandThis tall Gothic church from the 14th century gave its name to the whole island. In Latin it was called Sancta Maria in Arena, and the word “arena” was translated as sand. The first church here was founded in the 12th century by the nobleman Piotr Włost and his wife Maria. Inside, look up at the vault, which resembles a net of stars. In a side chapel there is a moving nativity scene with hundreds of figures, toys and lights, open all year round. Find something in the crib that spins.
Collegiate Church of the Holy CrossTwo churches in one: the lower one, St Bartholomew's, and the upper one, the Holy Cross, built on top of it. The collegiate church was founded in 1288 by Duke Henry Probus as a sign of peace after a long quarrel with the bishop. Legend says that a root shaped like a cross was found when the foundations were being dug, and that is where the name comes from. In front of the church stands a tall Baroque monument to St John of Nepomuk, patron saint of bridges and protector against floods, much needed in a city built on islands. Count the little angels on the monument.
Toilets / tickets / parking 7
Tourist informationThe tourist information point at 14 Rynek, on the west side of the Market Square. Pick up a dwarf map and ask about opening hours for the viewing towers, the Town Hall and the Aula Leopoldina.
Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons
Photo SchiDD, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons1
Photo Szczecinolog, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Photo Robot8A, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Photo Bożena Radzikowska (…, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Photo Szczecinolog, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
fot. Slawek Ilski, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Photo Jar.ciurus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons
Photo SchiDD, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Photo Panek, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons
Photo Jg44.89, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Photo Anastasiya Lvova, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Photo Koroniec, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons
Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons