Brief History of Wroclaw

The City of Many Names



Wrotizla, Wretslaw, Presslaw, Bresslau, Breslau, Wroclaw. All those apparently different names represent the same place on the map of Europe. All those names denote one city which in its history belonged to four different nations. As Wrotizla, it was the stronghold of the Polish Piast dynasty (1000-1335). However, both the Czechs (the name of the city derives from the Czech prince Wratislav) and the Germans (their language and culture gained increasingly strong position in Silesia), strived to wield control over it. As Wrestlaw, it belonged to the Kingdom of Bohemia (1335-1526). Preslav was its name under Austrian Habsburg rule (1526-1741). Bresslau, which was later shortened to Breslau, was the city's name in the Kingdom of Prussia (1741-1871) and then in the German Empire and the Third Reich (1871-1945). Following 1945, the city's last and hopefully final name variation is closest to its original form becoming Wroclaw.



Wroclaw has been the part of the four nations long enough to clearly made its mark in their respective histories. Gallus Anonymous, the first historian to have described Poland, listed Wroclaw as one of the three, along Cracow and Sandomierz, capitals of the Polish state under the Piast dynasty. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Wroclaw was the second most important city in the Czech Crown. When it fell into the hands of Prussians, Bresslau was called the jewel in the crown of the state as it was several times richer than the Prussian capital, Berlin. After the reunification of Germany, it became the third, after already enriched Berlin and Hamburg, city of the Reich. In postwar Poland, Wroclaw was second, next to Krakow, unofficial cultural capital.



Wroclaw has never been a city of one nation. Languages, people, religions and rulers came and went. What remained untouched, however, was the spirit of city. Not only Poles, Czechs, Germans and Austrians created the history of Wroclaw. Thanks to the Wallon weavers from France who settled here in the 12th century, Wroclaw became widely known center of cloth production. Also the Jewish community, which has lived in Wroclaw for almost a millennium, have stamped their influence in its history.



The Second World War changed Wroclaw the most. Almost untouched by serious war until the beginning of 1945, the capital of Lower Silesia paid a very high price for years of relative peace. January 1945, the time of forced evacuation of the fortress-city, saw severe frost which caused 80 thousand civilian deaths. Frantic defense of Festung Breslau against the advancing Red Army and the resultant devastation meant that more than 70 percent of Wroclaw was destructed.



Timeline of Wroclaw's History



? – The city was named after the Bohemian duke Vratislaus (888 – 921)

990 – Mieszko I, of the Piast dynasty and founder of the Polish state, conquered Silesia and Wroclaw

1000 – A bishopric established in Wroclaw by Boleslaw the Brave (the other two bishoprics were established in Cracow and Kolobrzeg). With 1000 residents, Wroclaw gradually becomes a commercial centre.

1038-1054 – Wroclaw temporarily belongs to Bohemia.

1140s – Silesian Dukedom was established. Wroclaw became established centre of international trade.

1241 – Mongol invasion forced Wroclaw residents to burn the city to make Mongols withdraw. Ostrow Tumski, the original founding place of Wroclaw, becomes a religious centre. The city is rebuilt around the Main Market Square. Beginnings of Wroclaw's Germanisation.

1273 – Guild of Craftsmen established in Wroclaw.

1335 – Wroclaw incorporated into the Czech Crown.

1342-1344 – Fire wreaked havoc in large parts of the city.

1526 – Wroclaw under the rule of the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria.

1618-1648 – Thirty Years' War and the plague epidemics wrought major damage to the city.

1702 – The Jesuit Academy was established by Emperor Leopold I and named after himself, the Leopoldine Academy.

1741 – Silesian wars. Wroclaw and Silesia fell under Prussian rule. Wroclaw became one of the three capital cities of Prussia.

1806-1807 – Besieged by Napoleon's army, Wroclaw finally conquered in 1807. City fortifications destroyed.

1811 – Wroclaw University founded. It absorbed the university formerly at Frankfurt-an-der-Oder and the Jesuit academy.

1842 – First railway opened.

1860s – Period of a dynamic growth of industry in Wroclaw.

1910 – Grunwaldzki Bridge is opened.

1914-1918 – First World War didn't damage Wroclaw, but caused some economical problems.

1928 – Exhibition of Architecture and Interior Design in Wroclaw.

1933 – Wroclaw became heavily Germanised. 20,000 Poles and Jews residents were forced to leave the city.

1941-1945 – Wroclaw turns into haven for refugees. Population approaches 1 million.

1944 – In September, Hitler declared Breslau a fortress - Festung Breslau, a part of so-called “Oder-line” of German defense system.

1945 – In May, the city surrendered to the Soviets. “Wroclaw is a ruin in flames.” As a result of the fierce Second WW battles, the city was destroyed in 70 per cent (the historic Old Town destroyed in 60 per cent). Lower Silesia with Wroclaw incorporated into Poland.

1946 – Expulsion of the German population and influx of Poles from Lviv, Vilnius and to a smaller extent from Warsaw, Poznan.

1948 – The Exhibition of the Regained Lands.

1985 – Restored Panorama Raclawicka painting is made available for public.

1990 – Communism collapsed in Poland. The first democratic elections for the City Council in Wroclaw.

1997 – The 46th the International Eucharistic Congress, attended by Pope John Paul II.

2009 – Wroclaw announced one of the host cities of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.