WROCŁAW - In Your Pocket

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CENTENNIAL HALL & PARKS
fot. Stanisław Klimek
Once you’ve finished ogling the Old Town and Ostrów Tumski,
there’s one more district of this fine city that visitors will be
poorer heading home without having seen. Just east of the
city centre lie a clutch of outdoor attractions surrounding
Szczynicki Park and the Centennial Exhibition Complex,
including Wrocław’s only UNESCO site, the country’s oldest
zoo, the Japanese Garden and the city’s latest ‘tell-me-thatyou-love-me’
tourist lure, the Pergola Fountain. Intended as a
city showpiece since its creation, the area east of the Odra
long held a somewhat lukewarm public standing thanks to
dubious historical connotations and debatable aesthetic
appeal; however recent renovations, the UNESCO nod and
the addition of the magnificent multimedia fountain have
made it a favourite place of locals and cemented its place
as a Wrocław must-see.
Zoo I-4, ul. Wróblewskiego 1-5, tel. (+48) 71 348 30 24,
www.zoo.wroclaw.pl. Cross the picturesque Zwierzyniecki
Bridge (I-4) and you find yourself immediately alongside the
cagey enclosure of the Wrocław Zoological Gardens. A product
of the city’s dynamic development in the late 19th century,
Wrocław’s zoo dates back to 1865 and became the oldest
in the country when Poland inherited it after World War II.
Suffering severe wartime damage, many of the zoo’s elegant
historic buildings were reconstructed and can be found in the
southern part of the park. With over 6000 critters of some
600 different species, the zoo is one of Wrocław’s most visited
attractions and provides foreigners with an opportunity to pick
up a few phrases from one of the only Polish-speaking macaws
in the world (making good money on the side as a voice talent
for Polish dubovers of Disney flicks). Q Open 09:00 - 18:00,
Sat, Sun 09:00 - 19:00. From October open 09:00 - 17:00.
From November open 09:00 - 16:00. Last entrance 1 hour
before closing. Admission 25/15zł. From November (exact
date unknown) 20/10zł.
Iglica (Spire) I-4, Hala Stulecia, ul. Wystawowa 1.
Leaving the animal house antics of the zoo, turn onto ulica
Wystawowa (Exhibition Street) and you’ll soon find yourself
staring down the Centennial Hall promenade, including the
ivy-covered columns leading to the towering Iglica monument
and with monolithic Centennial Hall behind it (I-4, ul.
Wystawowa 1).
The iconic 96 metre tall steel spire Iglica (The Spire) was
erected on the Centennial Hall exhibition grounds in 1948
as part of the propagandic ‘Recovered Territories Exhibition.’
Meant to symbolise the soaring achievements of the
country’s newly acquired western territories since they were
‘returned’ to Communist Poland, like many of the Party’s
ideas, this one quickly went wrong. Originally 106 metres,
Iglica’s peak was adorned with a spinning contraption of
mirrors which would create a dazzling ‘umbrella of light’ at
night. The apparatus was ominously struck by lightning only
hours after completion with much of it crashing to the ground
in dazzling catastrophe. The remaining dangling bits posed
quite a hazard to the expected thousands who would attend
the exhibition. To the rescue came two college students who
were part of a climbing club and volunteered to dismantle the
top of the structure for free after the military proved unable
to sort the situation due to the inclement weather. Scaling
the Iglica took 24 hours and 15 minutes, dismantling it another
six, but the boys succeeded in becoming heroes of the
enormous media spectacle. In 1964, the spire was reduced
by 10 metres for safety reasons. During Martial Law, another
daredevil climbed the tower and attached a Solidarity flag to
its zenith. Today the ugly ribbed structure continues to stand
outside Centennial Hall (Hala Stulecia) and is probably one
of the tallest pieces of useless bolted metal in the world.
Centennial Hall & Discovery Centre (Hala Stulecia)
I-4, ul. Wystawowa 1, tel. (+48) 71 347 51 02,
www.halastulecia.pl. With Wrocław developing rapidly in
the late 19th century it was determined that the city required
an exhibition hall and the hundred year anniversary of Napoleon’s
defeat at the Battle of Leipzig (1813) was deemed a
timely occasion for an expensive, over-the-top exhibition hall
that would figuratively flex the architectural muscle of the German
Nation. Max Berg, who had been appointed as official
city architect in 1909, quickly set about designing his careerpiece,
and (what-do-ya-know?) his proposal was chosen over
42 others by city council despite abject objection from almost
everyone who laid eyes on the design, which resembled a
colossal concrete hatbox and would cost an enormous 1.9
million Reichmarks. Teaming with eminent architect Hans
Poelzig, the two personally oversaw the project which was
completed in 1913 and has become one of the most important
architectural monuments of the early 20th century. With
an inner diameter of 69 metres, a height of 42 metres and
a 10,000 person capacity, the Jahrhunderthalle (as it was
called) became the highest structure of its type in the world;
that type being a gigantic multi-purpose structure of radial
reinforced concrete ribs unlike anything the world had ever
seen. Though routinely left off lists of the world’s most attractive
buildings, one thing is undeniable: the Centennial Hall is
an engineering marvel. Building a structure of such size out
of steel and concrete was both revolutionary and extremely
daring; in fact the workers that helped build the behemoth
were afraid to go inside, so certain were they of its eventual
collapse. On the contrary, the Centennial Hall has inexplicably
survived two world wars and has in recent years hosted large
scale events including monumental operas, sporting events
and large concerts. It was here that Adolf Hitler held rallies
and Pope John Paul II held services during his famous visit in
1997. With the success of the Centennial Exhibition under its
Wrocław In Your Pocket wroclaw.inyourpocket.com
belt, the Jahrhunderthalle was to host an even more intriguing
exhibition following World War II. Renamed ‘Hala Ludowa’
(the People’s Hall), the exhibition centre became the site of
the People’s Republic of Poland’s ‘Recovered Territories
Exhibition’. The most expensive and publicised propaganda
event in the history of Poland, in the many decades following
1948’s Recovered Territories Exhibition and the coinciding
International Congress of Intellectuals, the Centennial Hall
complex continued to occasionally host large-scale events,
but until recently hadn’t really lived up to its UNESCO-listed
reputation for locals and tourists alike, with busloads of the
latter often standing in front of the concrete monstrosity
wondering how difficult it would be to get the pants they’re
wearing to qualification for the once exclusive list.
However, that’s no longer the case. Following a large-scale
renovation, Centennial Hall has been scrubbed clean and a
new interior exhibit not only transforms the structure from a
dubious photo-op to a bona fide tourist attraction, but also
does much to explain and justify its reputation as a modern
architectural masterpiece. Known as the Discovery Centre
(Centrum Poznawcze), this new exhibition gives visitors an
overview of Centennial Hall’s construction, its history and
its place in the pantheon of modern architecture. Most of
the information is conveyed via nifty touch-screen displays
covering topics as varied as Breslau architects, skyscrapers,
various world exhibitions, Polish UNESCO sites, and a lot more
related to architecture and Wrocław specifically. In addition
to the permanent exhibit, Discovery Centre includes a gallery
for temporary exhibitions and the option of a light and sound
show under the dome. Using video-mapping technology, the
dome of the Hall comes to life with a stunningly complex and
precise light show that emphasises the uniqueness of the
structure and is creatively choreographed to original music.
Between the light show, the computerised displays of the
permanent exhibit and the adjacent Wrocław Fountain - there
is some serious multimedia wizardry in this corner of town
that is sure to delight architect buffs and technophiles alike.
Despite its size (the permanent exhibition only covers two
small rooms), there is much to learn and discover, so allot
at least two hours for your visit. Q Open 10:00 - 19:00, Fri,
Sat 10:00 - 21:30. From November open 10:00 - 18:00, Sat,
Sun 11:00 - 19:00. Please note that the Discovery Centre
is closed to visitors during frequent special events and concerts;
check ahead. Discovery Centre: 12/9zł, permanent
exhibit plus gallery 14/11zł, permanent exhibit plus gallery
and light show 19/15zł.
Wrocław Fountain I-4, ul. Wystawowa 1, www.wroclawskafontanna.pl.
Hang a left from in front of the main
entrance to the Centennial Hall and you’ll find yourself a
witness to one of the most magnificent attractions Wrocław
has to offer. Unveiled on June 4, 2009, in honour of the 20th
anniversary of the first free elections in post-war Poland,
Wrocław showed off one of the most stunning attractions
in the country - a whiz-bang multimedia fountain of which
only a few exist in the world. Wrocław’s new toy projects
water up to 40 metres high through an array of 300 different
nozzles which have the ability to rotate, gyrate, pulse
and even create a 700 square metre screen of water on
which animated projections can be displayed; all the while
music orchestrates the show through the park’s speakers.
Equipped with 800 lights of varying size and power, the
Wrocław Fountain even has pyrotechnic capabilities with
fireworks and lasers implausibly shooting out of the large
semicircle basin next to Hala Ludowa. The result is one of
the most dazzling, delightful displays of light, sound and
water you’ll ever see, and has been immensely popular with
crowds of over 20,000 coming out in its early weeks for the
regular evening extravaganzas. Nothing puts a stamp on
wroclaw.inyourpocket.com
CENTENNIAL HALL & PARKS
the end of communism like indulging in some outrageously
expensive gadgetry; indeed, the cost of running this show
on a regular basis must be enormous, but you can see
it for free from May until the end of October (daily on the
hour from 10:00 to 22:00). Performances vary from 3.5 to
18 minutes with a short or long programme of classical
music (Wagner, Beethoven) on some hours, and modern
music (Apocalyptica, Faith No More) on the others. The real
stunners however are after dark on Friday and Saturday,
when the full functionality of the fountain is on display,
including lights. If you visit between November and April
you’ll miss the fountain unfortunately but you can still take
advantage of the area as the space is transformed into a
skating rink for the winter. For more programme specifics,
visit the official website.
Japanese Garden (Ogród Japoński) I-4, ul. Mickiewicza
(Park Szczytnicki), tel. (+48) 71 328 66 11.
Just north of the Centennial Hall, the Japanese Garden was
established in 1913 as part of the Artistic Gardening Exhibition
which accompanied the centennial celebrations and was
originally the work of Count Fritz von Hochberg and Mankichi
Arai. Despite its own share of devastation, including the
particularly cruel flood of 1997(see History) which occurred
only two months after a long restoration project (thanks in
part to the generosity of the Japanese Embassy in Warsaw),
the arrangement of the garden and its system of small
streams are part of its nearly hundred year old legacy. Two
symbolic water cascades which merge into one large pond
comprise the main attractions of the exquisitely manicured
gardens - one of the most tranquil escapes in the city. Q
Open 09:00 - 19:00. Closed from November. Re-opens in
April. Admission 3/1.50zł.
Szczytnicki Park I-3/4. A stroll away from the colonnades
of the pond area puts you in Szczytnicki Park (I-3/4),
the oldest and largest recreation space in the city. Covering
115 hectares and laid out in 1785, the once well-groomed
former estate park suffered devastation during the Napoleonic
Wars and WWII and today largely resembles a natural
landscape within the city borders. While there, keep your
eyes peeled for the small Church of St. John of Nepomuk
- a marvellous 14th century wooden church moved to the
park from the Opole region and miraculously undamaged
during the war.
Getting There
The easiest way to reach Szczytnicki Park and the Centennial
Exhibition Complex is via public transport. From
the city centre hop on trams 1, 2, 4 or 10; alternatively
take buses 145 or 146 east.
September - December 2012
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