This postcard was sent to me by Olga from Poland via postcrossing [LT-104698]. As she writes me, in Wrocław there are 173 dwarfs located in very different places of the city, 122 bridges and 12 islands. After World War II 80% of the city was rebuilt.
Wrocław (German: Breslau, Czech: Vratislav) is the chief city in south-western Poland, situated on the River Oder (Polish: Odra). Over the centuries, the city has been either part of Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia or Germany. According to official population figures for June 2009, its population is 632,240, making it the fourth largest city in Poland. The city's name was first recorded in the year 1000 by Thietmar's Latin chronicle called Thietmari Merseburgensis episcopi Chronicon as Wrotizlawa.The city is traditionally believed to be named after Wrocisław or Vratislav, often believed to be Duke Vratislaus I of Bohemia. It is also possible that the city was named after the tribal duke of the Silesians or after an early ruler of the city called Vratislav [wikipedia]
The Dwarfs of Wroclaw appeared on the streets of the city in August 2005.
Their history is connected with the Orange Alternative movement and the year 1982. It is then that some dwarfs with funny hats and smiling faces were painted as a graffiti covering anti-Communist slogans. The present day dwarfs are statues sculpted by Tomasz Moczek, graduate of the local Fine Arts Academy. There are as many as five dwarfs in the city. Each of the dwarfs has a name, e.g. Dwarf the Sleepyhead in sw. Mikolaja Street or Dwarf the Butcher in Jatki Street. There is also a museum dedicated to the dwarfs in one of the ''Hansel and Gretzel'' houses near the St. Elizabeth's Church in the town centre. [link]
If you want to know more about the Darfs of Wroclaw, go here.
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