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Wroclaw is a town with a more colourful and torrid history than most. Located at the crossroads of Central Europe it has found itself embroiled in more than its fair share of fracas and power struggles. Today it is a town rising from the ashes of World War II and Communism, and once again is emerging as a cosmopolitan centre of commerce - a face that has defined its character through so much of history.
The first permanent settlers in Wroclaw were the Slavic Slezan tribe, who built a stronghold on the island of Ostrow Tumski sometime in the 9th century. (Ostrow Tumski is no longer an island since an arm of the river Odra was filled in 1810). Later this settlement was absorbed into Czech territory from where the name Wroclaw is thought to have been derived - after a Czech leader by the name of Wrocislaw. It wasn't until around 990AD that Prince Mieszko I, of the Piast dynasty and founder of the Polish state, seized control of Wroclaw and incorporated the region of Silesia into Poland.
By 1000 Wroclaw must have already been a town of some prominence as King Boleslaw the Brave established one of three bishoprics here, the other two being established in Krakow and Kolobrzeg: as a result the town became the religious centre of Silesia. Wroclaw continued to grow in the next two centuries mainly due to its thriving trade economy and craftsmanship; however in 1241, along with most of southern Poland, the city fell foul of the marauding Tartar army and was razed to the ground. 
The town leaders used this misfortune as an opportunity to rebuild the city around a massive Market Square on the south side of the river - the same Market Square that you can still see today. This ambitious building program was a success and soon Wroclaw was enjoying a healthy revival; however in 1336, the last of the Piast Princes died and the duchy of Silesia was annexed to Bohemia - despite the efforts of King Casimir III of Poland to hold onto it. His failure to do so meant that it was six hundred years until Wroclaw was returned to Polish hands.
Wroclaw, or Prezzla as it begins to be known as, continued to flourish under Bohemian rule and in 1387 gained admittance into the Hanseatic League, a powerful conglomeration of trading cities (think of it as a medieval version of G8!). The winds of change picked up again in the 16th century when King Ludwig died in battle, leaving no heirs, and the Bohemian estate elected Duke Ferdinand, of the Austrian line of Habsburgs, as King. Now Wroclaw was under Austrian rule.
The early 17th century saw a marked downturn in fortunes for Wroclaw, as both the Thirty Years' War (1618-48) and the plague took their toll on the city - indeed this period saw the population reduced by half. However when the warring factions of Europe eventually signed the Treaty of Westphalia and brought an end to the fighting, it was business as usual for Wroclaw and an economic and cultural revival began.
The next chapter in the city's colourful history began in 1741 when King Frederick the Great II seized Lower Silesia and brought it under Prussian rule. It was he who officially gave the city its German name of Breslau (or Prezzla), although it had been used for many centuries before by the large ethnic German population. Wroclaw spent the next two hundred years in German hands and by the end of the 19th century it was the third largest Prussian city behind Berlin and Hamburg, and began to be heavily industrialised.
When the Nazis seized power in 1933 the last vestiges of the city's Polish origins were all but gone, and the 20,000 Poles still living there (along with the Jews) were politely asked to leave. Wroclaw, or Breslau as it had then been known for 200 years, was so Germanised by that time that it eventually became the last stronghold of the Nazis. It was the last town to surrender to the Soviets, after a 14-week siege, on May 6th 1945.
After the war, as a result of the Potsdam conference, Wroclaw was handed back to Poland as the whole country was effectively shifted westwards. The remainder of the German residents were expelled and the city was re-populated by Poles from Lwow (now the Ukranian town of Lviv), which was lost to the Soviet Union, Wilno (now the Lithuanian town of Vilnius) as well as many arrivals from Warsaw and Poznan. The new settlers, or 'pioneers' as they were called, inherited a foreign city that was 70% destroyed.
In the sixty years since the war Wroclaw has had to undergo a painful rebuilding process, as well as having to survive and recuperate from the terrors and hardships of Communism and Soviet oppression. In 1989 however, when Poland held it's first elections and saw off the Russian regime, the city put the dark times behind it, and the last decade has seen its successful re-emergence as the economic, cultural and academic centre it has been for so much of history.
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 | | "Nazi Germany inflicted grief and pain to the rest of Europe in its war against the world. But we have to be honest and recognize that millions of Germans had to go through terrible suffering, losing their centuries-old heimat. I recommend that you read Guido Knopp beautiful account on the eviction of 15 millions from their lands. After 63 years we can have a quiet debate on our recent history and admit that Breslau was a German City that the terrible events of history turned to Poland, the same events that were turning the Polish city of Lwow to the USSR." | Nicola
Italy
Feb.16.2008
rates this page 2/5 |
| | "I found this brief history very interesting and helpful.
One small point "it's" should be "its"." | Chris
United Kingdom
Feb.13.2008
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "Went to Wroclaw May 2007 for a great weekend, beautiful place, people friendly. Have recommended it to many people. Abo" | abo
United Kingdom
Jan.29.2008
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "I'm heading over to Wroclaw tomorrow for almost a week. I'm excited to meet the good people of Poland. I sure have found good people everywhere including germany where my ancestors stem from. Let us all remember to love each other and change whatever has been done in the past to good will to each other. Let us remember what has been done in the past, and do our best to change things for the future. " | Angie
United States
Dec.28.2007
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "Yea, germans want compensation for being expelled from that part of europe - the only compensation they deserve is a big swift kick up the arse! They're country tried to take the whole of europe, killed millions, and lost - now they want compensation? What is this, the twilight zone??" | Michael
Australia
Nov.23.2007
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "What a privilege I've had since first visiting Wroclaw in 1989 and many summers since! I've been a witness to incredible historical changes---and have fallen in love with the Poles. They have done a magnificent job of rising from the ashes which were handed to them! It has become a vibrant, lively cultural center which people should definitely visit. " | Pam
United States
Nov.01.2007
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "What a privilege I've had since first visiting Wroclaw in 1989 and many summers since! I've been a witness to incredible historical changes---and have fallen in love with the Poles. They have done a magnificent job of rising from the ashes which were handed to them! It has become a vibrant, lively cultural center which people should definitely visit. " | Pam
United States
Nov.01.2007
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "Born in the former Breslau, with Silesian roots back to the 17th century and probably before, I am delighted that Wroclaw is a city open to all. My departure, as a child, from the city was as a refugee in 1945. My first return was in 1991 as a visitor who was most warmly received. Even the people in the house of my birth treated me like a friend. I wish Wroclaw well and cannot wait to return to that cosmopolitan and hospitable city of great beauty." | Dita
United Kingdom
Oct.17.2007
rates this page 2/5 |
| | "Hey David from Aug 25th posting. My grandparents were also of Jewish descent and lived in Breslau. Have some old pictures. I'd like to go back someday. Any advice?
Bob" | bob
United States
Oct.15.2007
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "Wroclaw, once in the hands of the Polish Kingdom now again and forever the hands of the Polish. Any German that feels they still have claims on my holy land is a dirty racist." | Daniel
United States
Sep.30.2007
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "Dan sounds like an idiot!" | Adam
Australia
Sep.23.2007
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "Dan
are you joking?" | Zenon
Poland
Sep.03.2007
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "I think the comments mentioned above are a little one sided and quite antagornistic, especially the one who seems to think that only Europeans are capable of killing. No state has clean hands in this respect and I don't think it helps anyone to point fingers for past generations.
The history of Wroclaw is very interesting and there is a definate feel that the city is rising from the ashes of the last 60 years. Today, thousands of tourists, including Germans, from all over Europe come here. I think the city has so much going for it with regard to a university city that is extremely well designed. Very easy to walk around by foot.
With regard to the first persons comments about whether it should be given back, the question seems a little naive. Even Germany has agreed that it has no claim to Lower Silesia, so why give a Polish city to Germany?" | Simon
New Zealand
Aug.25.2007
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "I am in Wroclaw as we speak visiting the place where my German-Jewish grandfather was born. We just got back from Auschwitz where part of my family perished.
Let all of us remember that Germany has forfeited any claim to any land, including their own, during the last century of bloodshed brought about by the continuing German canard of their "racial superiority."
It was extremely disturbing to see Wroclaw referred to as Breslau all the way to the Polish border. As Churchill stated, the seeds are planted.
What family survived the Holocaust now lives in Denmark, another land filled with bigots, their whipping children are the Muslims they invited to live as basically second class "workers" that the Danes apparently thought would happily submit to the tiny, narrow worldview they hold.
The last half of the second millenium is basically a story of Europeans rampaging around this planet, killing probably close to a billion people with their guns, germs and steel, destroying thousands of cultures, pillaging resources and subjugating whoever was left over.
To the comment regarding the American Indian, please note who was doing the killing/pillaging - it sure wasn't indigenous Americans, it was Europeans doing what they do best - killing." | David
United States
Aug.25.2007
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "It is interesting to note that the shift of the borders of Poland west was suggested by Winston Churchill at one of the conferences with Stalin and Roosevelt. Later, he had second thoughts, and said that it might produce the seeds of future wars. On the whole, I prefer the large Poland before the war to the small Poland, (subjugated by Russia) after the war." | Rodman E. Doll
United States
Aug.19.2007
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "Sure Dan, just after USA returns its land to the rightfull owners ie American Indians. " | Slav
United States
Jul.28.2007
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "Wroc³aw always polish!!!" | Piotrek
Poland
Jul.03.2007
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "Dont you think its time to return the region to its rightful owner ie Germany?" | Dan
United States
Jun.23.2007
rates this page 4/5 |
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