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Wroclaw: Complex history, rich culture

July 7, 2024July 22, 2018 by Gary Kirkpatrick

July 2018

The train carried us for a bit over two hours in a full six person compartment, my 20 kilo suitcase perched precariously above our heads. We are going from Poznan to Wroclaw. Wroclaw has a complex history. It was born in Poland, later controlled by the kingdoms of Bohemia, Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Prussia. and Nazi Germany. It was founded circa 950, like Poznan on an island in a river. Also like the other cities we’ve visited it was a member of the Hanseatic League (1387), which helped make it a wealthy city. Among its famous inhabitants are a director of the Clinic of Psychiatry, Alois Alzheimer. A professor named William Stern developed the concept of IQ in the same turn of the century era.

During the war there was no fighting until February, 1945. The Germans decided to hold the city and did so until after the fall of Berlin. About 50% of the city was destroyed, some by the Nazis who did so in their efforts to fortify the city and the rest by Russian carpet bombing, with 40,000 civilians killed. By that time refugees from Germany and elsewhere had increased the population to nearly one million, including some 50,000 slaves and 30,000–60,000 Poles relocated after the end of the Warsaw Uprising. After the war the German population of 190,000 was forced out. Poles ejected from its eastern territory, mostly around Lviv now in Ukraine but then in the Soviet Union, then moved in.

Wroclaw, called Breslau when it was in Germany, is jam-packed with notable architecture of various styles including the predominant Gothic, some significant examples of the Baroque, at least one Bauhaus (the bank building in the Rynek), Art Nouveau, and of course some Soviet era concrete block.

. The Rynek is spectacular, a large open space surrounded by fabulous buildings in various styles

The Brick Gothic Old Town Hall in the Rynek dates from the 13th c. You can visit the original council chambers, with period furniture.

Also in the Rynek is the Gothic style St. Elisabeth’s Church (Bazylika Św. Elżbiety). It has a 91 meter/300′ tower. St. Mary Magdalene Church (Kościół Św. Marii Magdaleny), dating from 13th c, is not far.

The city was founded on an island now called Ostrów (island) Tumski (Cathedral) in the Oder River. Wroclaw Cathedral dates from circa 950. There are several islands and altogether there are hundreds of bridges making it among the highest number in the world, just barely behind Venice.

We paid the extra to see the chapels, rewarded by the superb sculptures of the Giacome Schianzi chapel. I later learned that the St. Elizabeth is by Ercole Ferrata, a student of Bernini, and that the cardinal’s tomb is by another Bernnini student, Domenico Guidi. Bernini! No wonder I was so floored.

Detail of sculpture, chapel by Giacome Schianzi

St Elizabeth in the chapel by Giacome Schianzi

The unemployment rate is just 2.2%. People from around Europe come here looking for work as a result. This is inflating wages and prices generally, although it is quite inexpensive still compared to France, UK and even less than Spain. We have had lunches for two with a beer for from $10, in Valencia lunches start at $12 with wine, in Paris closer to $18 plus wine.

Poland’s Enigma in WW2

July 7, 2024July 17, 2018 by Gary Kirkpatrick

We ran across the sculpture and exhibit concerning the breaking of the German Enigma code while walking in the downtown area of Poznan. I’d heard both that the Polish a Brits broke the enigma code. There is an excellent movie called “The Imitation Game” about Alan Turing, (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing )

In late 1932 Marian Rejewski broke the code of the German Enigma machine. Without knowing how the machine was wired, he was unable to read the messages. Hans-Thilo Schmidt, a French spy obtained information including the daily keys used in the fall of 1932. They put these materials into Polish hands. With that information and actual coded messages Rejewski was able to turn the coded messages into understandable text. Later the Germans added two more rotors. The Poles did not have the resources to break the code again, and thus passed the baton to the UK in July of 1939. Rejewski, and cryptanalysts Jerzy Różycki and Henryk Zygalski in the interim developed extensive materials which they gave to the UK as well. Thus Turing was not starting from scratch.

Churches of Poznan

July 7, 2024July 15, 2018 by Gary Kirkpatrick

There are three outstanding churches in Poznan. The most important and oldest is not the most beautiful although in its setting it is quite charming. The other two rank as among the best Baroque churches anywhere, which I say having been in all of the great ones in Rome, Palermo and elsewhere in Italy. I have every reason to believe that they were both done by Italians using Italian marble and other materials.

Archcathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul is on Cathedral Island which is also shares with two excellent museums. The first church on the site was built in 968. The remains are still visible in the basement. Starting in the 1300’s the church was rebuilt in the Gothic style, renovated into the Baroque style after a fire in the 1600’s. The damage in 1945 led to its reconstruction in the Gothic we see today. Pope John Paul II visited and is honored in the church. The setting is a amidst lovely trees and buildings, some church owned, on the small island where Poland was founded. The site was at one point a palace. Archaeologists have excavated the area, which is in front of the cathedral.

St Stanislaus

This stunning church was built in the 1600’s. Along with it is a Jesuit college. For interesting details see St Stanislaus

S

Church of St Anthony

For more information click on the link above

Murals in Poznan

July 7, 2024July 12, 2018 by Gary Kirkpatrick

Poznan has some excellent murals. The largest and most fabulous is in the Śródka district, one of the oldest towns in Poland, now a district of Poznan near Cathedral Island.

ul. Kantaka 8/9, Created by Italian street artist Blu, who has also painted murals in Wrocław, Gdańsk, and Kraków

Strolling Torun

July 7, 2024July 11, 2018 by Gary Kirkpatrick

Torun is small and thus easy to walk. It is full of remarkable architecture, with many restaurants, bars and cafes to add to your enjoyment. The buildings range from the brick structures daring from the 14th century Teutonic Knights to the Gothic to Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The town was not damaged in WW2, so the buildings are not newly rebuilt.

One of **Toruń** ‘s fabulous buildings in the small old town

Toruń is another of several Polish city members of the Hanseatic League. The prosperity led to the three main styles, Gothic (dating from 1200’s) in brick, Mannerism and Baroque. The city walls and the now ruined castle are from the Gothic period.

The Cathedral of SS. John the Evangelist and John the Baptist (14th century) has some wonderful sculptures and paintings from the era, including a Moses and St. Mary Magdalene. The multiple altars are ourstanding.

Copernicus was born here and, if you will allow just this one pun, the city revolves around him. There are two museums that deal with him at least in title, this statue in front of city hall, and lots of reproductions of famous portraits.

While you wander about you are tempted by the lody – ice cream – which is very popular in this comparatively warm weather, with temperatures as high as 28c, 80f in generally partly cloud skies. Donuts are elaborately presented, a variety of calorie rich cakes. The city is most famous for its gingerbread, which fortunately for my waist line I do not like. There is very good cappuccino, espresso and macchiato (small cappuccino) — be careful about the latter as there is a small macchiato espresso and a the very large latte macchiato. There are waffles with real whipped cream and cherry jam. Gone are the pretzels, hard and soft, found in Cracow and the multitude of fruit stands and street markets from everywhere we have been. Remaining is the ever-present beer, with wine still an expensive alternative, and I hope you do not like sugar-free colas as they are harder to find if not impossible. Pierogies are everywhere in Poland so here as well, but I could not find latke, potato pancakes. Since our 1998 visit the Italians and Turks have moved in, so pizza and donor kebab are popular, as well as hamburgers even.

With our flat located within blocks of the Rynek (central square) we had the shortest possible commute. This turned out to be not the case in our next destination, the historical city of Poznan. On the other hand, we had two flights of these stairs:

It’s impolite to stair!

July 7, 2024July 7, 2018 by Gary Kirkpatrick

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It is impolite to stair! Our place for a few days in Torun. It’s two flights up, a piece of cake for us without baggage, a puffer with my 20 kilos. The exterior and staircase both need renovation, but the flat is beautifully done with some odd things left out, such as towel racks, soap holders for the shower, soup spoon and coffee maker of some sort — we travel with a hand-held cloth filter, having run across this more than once. And really crappy kitchen knives, also a common problem, and one for which we prepare.

The Gates of Gdansk

July 7, 2024July 5, 2018 by Gary Kirkpatrick

Gdansk has numerous impressive gates allowing entrance into the old town. The first two you see here are about 50 meters apart, in between there is another old structure that houses the amber museum, amber having been a major trade item in earlier times.

Golden Gate

The Golden Gate in the style of Dutch Mannerism (1612–14) replaced a 13th-century gothic gate, called the Brama Długouliczna (Long Street Gate). It is located on ulica Długa, the main street, which you see framed through its arch. Along with Brama Wyżynna, just 50 meters away, and Wieża Więzienna , it was part of the old city fortifications. It sits next to the late-gothic building of the Brotherhood of St.George.

Inscribed in Latin: Pax (Peace), Libertas (Freedom), Fortuna (Wealth) and Fama (Fame). On the east side they are Concordia (Agreement), Justitia (Justice), Pietas (Piety) and Prudentia (Prudency). The Latin inscription: Concordia res publicæ parvæ crescunt – discordia magnæ concidunt (“In agreement small republics grow, because of disagreement great republics fall”).

Largely destroyed by Soviet shelling, beautifully rebuilt in 1957.

Upland Gate– Brama Wyzynna

The Brama Wyzynna, or Upland Gate, was erected in the 16th century as part of the city’s fortification wall. As such it was once joined to an earthen wall of equal height.There are three coats of arms. In the center is that of Poland, on the right Gdansk, and the left is Royal Prussia. Below in Latin it says, “‘Justice and piety are the foundations of all states.” Chlebnicka Gate

Chlebnicka Gate

They built this brick Gothic style gate in 1450 at the end of Chlebnicka Street, facing the Motlawa River. On that side of the gate there is a shield with two crosses but no crown. This was the first symbol of Gdansk. It is not displayed elsewhere in the city. On the street side you see a stylized lily, this the gate is also called the Lily Gate. There are various varieties of lilies in Gdansk.

Mariacka Gate

Mariacka Street has both the tall tower of Mariacka Church but also Mariacka Gate which connects to the Old Town. It was built in 1485 with the two towers with typical small windows. In this photo you can also see the cobble stone streets which are throughout the old town.

Green Gate

The Royal Route, which the king would pursue on city visits, passed through the Golden Gate, the Upland Gate, and this one. The Green Gate was built as the official royal residence while in Gdansk, which no king ever used, considering its location too close to street traffic, noise and the citizenry. It was inspired by Antwerp’s City Hall. The Amsterdam architect Regnier built it in 1568-71. Today the Green Gate houses the National Museum.

Other gates

The Krowia Gate, Straganiarska Gate, Swietojanska Gate, Zulawska Gate, and the famous Gdansk Crane and the Nizinna Gate

Malbork Castle

July 7, 2024July 2, 2018 by Gary Kirkpatrick

Teutonic Knights built Malbork Castle in the 13th century. At that time Malbork was in Prussia, shifting in and out of Polish control, changing into Polish control in 1945. It is the largest castle in the world by the land area it covers and when built the largest brick castle in the world. Sitting along the Nogat River, it has been a Polish royal palace, later to become a Nazi fortification in the waning days of the Third Reich, subjecting it to Russian bombardment. Heavily damaged and afterwards faithfully restored, today you see a structure in fine condition and a great place to wander around, through narrow passages and steep winding staircases.

I’ve included some of the interesting artwork you find there. The walls were beautifully painted, judging by the remains. There are many interesting statutes and a few paintings.

There are 6 or 8 of these finely painted panels.

The castle also has a mill. Here is a pen and ink of the mechanism:

Solidarity Forever

July 7, 2024June 28, 2018 by Gary Kirkpatrick

June 28, 2018

Yesterday we took a walking tour offered by the tourist bureau. There are two, and we chose the Solidarity tour, which covers the period starting in 1945. She made no comments about the present disturbing situation in Poland, although it was clear she is not a supporter of the current authoritarians in power.

Gdansk is the home of Solidarity, the first non-governmental trade union in the former Soviet bloc. It became a political movement, reaching a peak of over 9 million members. Today there remain some 400,000. It’s full name is Independent Self-governing Labor Union.

In its effort to crush Solidarity, the government imposed martial law in 1981, imprisoning thousands including Lech Walesa. This brought financial support from Pope John Paul 2nd, from Krakow, and the US government and the AFL- CIO. The list of demands made in 1978 was precipitated by female dock workers, our guide recounted, who pressed for additional concessions from the government beyond allowing the formation of a non-government union, including the elimination of censorship. On the 31st of August 1980, the government agreed to the demands and Solidarity was formed from over twenty labor committees.

Another demand was a monument to victims of Communist suppression, the first such in a Communist country. Thirty people died when a 1970 protest was met with machine gun fire

A combination of bad working conditions, massive increases in food prices, shortages and other economic failures led to workers’ decision to take on the Communist government. The government was backed by the Soviet Union, massively residing on its border, with post war repressions in the Czech Republic and Hungary vividly recalled. The Soviet Union took 45% of Polish territory following the Yalta conference, a fact which must have been still fresh in the minds of organizers. That territory remains part of Russia.

The movement was closely tied to Roman Catholic social policies promoting the common good. Jean Paul II’s photos remains on the entrance to the Solidarity Museum and the shipyard, next to the list of demands.

The Monument to the fallen Shipyard Workers, 1970 killings

Our guide lived through many years of repression. I think she said that her family came from the eastern side of Poland that is now part of Russia. Along with hundreds of thousands, they left when the Russians took control. The Russian soldiers treated the Poles and particularly Polish women as they did Germans in the immediate post war period. Brutality and rape were common, thus contributing to this exodus.

She recalls rationing for just about everything — meat, potatoes, shoes to give just a few examples. Her shoes were wearing out during that period. The two stood in line for shoes, after which they could examine the offerings. There were always just two styles. Often the shoes came with not two but three shoes in the box. Sometimes the shoe sizes did not match. People stood outdoors and traded with others whose sizes were also mismatched.

The government controlled all the sources of information. When the government did not like what was happening and it suited their purposes it would not mention the incident or give a false version.

Our guide on the walking tour. She went to art school and is a sculptor

The museum recounts the events that led to the expansion of the union to about 9 million, the attempts to counter its impact and the eventual downfall of the Polish government.

The relationship between the union and the Church greatly facilitated union efforts. In Sollicitudo rei socialis, Pope John Paul II preached solidarity with the poor and marginalized. Wałęsa was publicly Catholic piety, said, “The Holy Father, through his meetings, demonstrated how numerous we were. He told us not to be afraid.” This sounds like natural reasoning and not an account of divine intervention, but be that as it may, the movement was successful in large measure.

The priest Jerzy Popiełuszko was very active with the union, celebrated masses during strikes. The Communist regime is blamed for his murder.

G’day from Gdansk, 2018 version

July 7, 2024June 24, 2018 by Gary Kirkpatrick

G’day from Gdansk, on the Baltic Sea in northern Poland. From here Lech Wałęsa led the dock workers union Solidarity on strikes and other actions that set in motion the downfall of the Soviet Union. It has been important in other eras, such as the 1700’s, when it too, like Krakow, was a member of the Hanseatic League — take a walk though the port area and you will think you are in Holland, with all the Dutch Golden Age architecture arising during that period.

Gdansk old town, Golden Age architecture

We traveled via train from Lublin, the first leg on a 1970’s vintage Intercity, a little worn but clean, and with new seat fabrics. The compartments were sparsely populated for the 0800 run. We changed in Warsaw three hours later, averaging just 60 km/35mph for this part of the journey. The next leg was on a sleek modernity which averaged 100km/60 mph, not the 250km/h you can get in France and Spain, but smooth as well as lovely in all respects.

We spoke with the woman sitting with us. She was no more than 40, and spoke English very well. How is it that so many people speak English so well in Poland, Peg asked? She said everyone is taught. She was the first generation to switch from Russian to English, starting class at age 14. The first year was difficult for her but once she got the basics she could begin to talk, helping her learn with relative ease. English grammar, she said, is a lot easier than the Polish, although spelling is more difficult. In Polish the marks on letters tell you which sound the letter makes, something which would of great benefit in English. Nowadays children start learning English in kindergarten, using the immersion method— the English teacher speaks only in English. This is producing excellent results, judging by the amount of English we encounter.

This is our second time in Poland. The first came in July of 1998. You can check it out at Poland 1998. Our impression of Poland is Poles apart (sorry about that pun!) from our current. Cars abound along with the traffic jams, instead of much more crowded public transport from the Communist era. Restaurants were fewer and lower in quality and there were few foreign, which now abound, especially Italian. The people then seemed more glum, and there were far fewer tourists, both conditions which no longer apply. No one spoke English, but today English effective language instruction is universal. While not everyone speaks English, the ones who get practice speak and understand tourist level English very well, and in some cases their skills go far beyond. Buildings are clean, new construction is common, while public areas are spic and span still.

There is a lot to see here, and we’ll be here for a few weeks. More posts on the way. Here are additional photos from our walk downtown yesterday https://photos.app.goo.gl/pzNEQNUK8ZkR1ckZ9