Fancy doing something unusual? Go paintballing, shooting, go karting, parashuting or see Wroclaw panorama from a plane???   

Contact us at wroclaw@nathansvilla.com

Ostrów Tumski 

(the Cathedral Island)

Ostrów Tumski is the oldest part of the city. Its name in Old Polish meant an "island with cathedral", and indeed, up until the 19th century, when one of the branches of the river Oder was filled in, it was an island. Ostrów Tumski is a complex of sacral buildings. The most significant of them is the Cathedral, the patron saint of which, like Wrocław and Silesia, is St.John the Baptist(along with St. Jadwiga).In 2000 the city celebrated the millennial anniversary of the foundation of bishopric here.

  Rynek

  (The Market Square)

  One of the largest town squares in Europe.The center piece of the square is the town hall(Rynek-Ratusz).The Wrocław Town Hall is frequently referred to as a pearl of Gothic bourgeois architecture. Its construction commenced in the 1270's and finished as late as the middle of the 16th century.

Originally the Town Hall was a single-story building and fulfilled only commercial functions. As the time went by further rooms were added and another storey was built. It took on its present late-Gothic form at the end of 15th century. The Town Hall was the centre of city life up until 20th century, housing the Town Council, merchants'stalls and - most importantly - a beer cellar. The building was destroyed during the World War II (an estimated 10% was damaged). After reconstruction work, it was re-opened as the Museum of City-Dwellers'Art.Inside you can see the remarkable Gothic interiors and collection of silver and other artefacts.

The museum is open:
Muzeum Sztuki Medalierskiej from 11:00-17:00, Sun from 10:00-18:00

 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gothic_architecture_in_Poland

  Kościół Najświętszego Imienia Jezusa

 (University Church of the Blessed Name of Jesus)

This Late Baroque church has been ranked among the most beautiful in Central Europe. It's certainly the most impressive in Wrocław. The Jesuits built the church as part of the university complex in the late 17th century on the site of the Piast castle. Part of the castle structure can still be seen in the northern sacristy, the alcove at the far end of the church. The interior, painted to imitate marble and gilt, is very well preserved and most of the furnishings are original. Look up to see the fresco on the vaults; the figures are 18th-century depictions of natives from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe.Open half an hour before mass.

                                                            http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wroc%C5%Uniwersytet_Wroc.C5.82awski       

Stare Jatki

(Old butcher's stalls)

  Old Wrocław had very narrow streets. The oldest street of Wroclaw called "Jatki" - where meat was once traded.The modern constructions have little in common with the former medieval stands though architects have managed to preserve the site's original, narrow, commercial-craft side-street atmosphere with gutters and wooden arcades. Currently several art galleries operate at Jatki. There is also a unique monument featuring statues of several animals and bearing the unusual inscription: "In honor of the slaughtered animals - from the consumers".

 http://wroclaw.dlastudenta.pl/lokale/index.php?act=show_photo&idz=44411&idw=3419#photo

Panorama Racławicka in Wrocław, an impressive relic of 19^th – century mass culture, is one of only few examples of this genre preserved in Europe. The large painting (15 x 114 m) “transfers” the viewer into an altogether different time, a reality of its own, by artfully combining painterly devices (special kind of perspective) and technical effects (lighting, artificial terrain, dark and usually tortuous passage to the viewing platform). Panorama of the Battle of Racławice is the oldest and only extant example of panorama painting in Poland.

The museum is open:

02.11.2006 - 15.04.2007 from 9.00 A.M. to 16.00 P.M. from Tuesday through Sunday                                   
16.04.2007 - 31.08.2007 from 9.00 A.M. to 17.00 P.M. from Monday through Sunday                                    
01.09.2007 - 31.10.2007 from 9.00 A.M. to 17.00 P.M. from Tuesday through Sunday                                   
02.11.2007 - 15.04.2008 from 9.00 A.M. to 16.00 P.M. from Tuesday through Sunday

 www.panoramaraclawicka.pl/en_index.htm

   Ogród Zoologiczny
 (The Zoological Garden)

The Zoological Gardenin in Wroclaw was founded in 1865, but it wasn't until the end of the 19th century that appropriate areas were built to meet the requirements of exotic animals (e.g., elephants, monkeys, as well as the Nature House).  n the first decade of 20th century the collection of rare animals and ornamental plants was expanded by approximately 100 species. In 1921 the Zoological Garden was closed due to destruction and the economic crisis following World War I. It reopened in 1927. During the inter-war period pavilions for monkeys, bears, seals, wisents (European bison) and antelopes opened. Many animals were lost and buildings destroyed when World War II raged through Europe. The University of Wroclaw reopened the zoo on July 16, 1948 with a restricted number of animals - approximately 150. 

Today, as half a century ago, Wroclaw Zoo is very popular among Poles, foreign tourists and specialists in this domain. It is worth noting that nearly half the visitors are adults.

Approximately 500,000 people visit zoo in a given year. Attendance was exceptionally low in 1997 when Wroclaw citizens were forced to fight a flood during the summer and only a few dared to wade through the flooded city centre to visit "their zoo".

Today the zoo covers the area of 33 hectares with a collection of 6815 animals of 559 species. About 100 species reproduce in the zoo environment, increasing the number of these invaluable natural treasures.

www.wroclaw.pl/m6865/

                                                                           Ogród botaniczny 

                                                                      (Botanical Garden )

An oasis of beauty and restfulness this is what our Botanical Garden is called and such is its importance for the 7 hundred thousand inhabitants of Wrocaw. Beautifully situted in the oldest part of the city, i.e. Ostrw Tumski, nearby monumental Gothic churches, the Garden is an attractive centre of recreation for numerous visitors; the vegetation ravishes the eye with its seasonally changing beauty. The Garden was established as a scientific institution of Wrocaw University in 1811, the year of its foundation. It ows its existence to cognoscitive passion and zeal for collecting, studying and cultivating plants, and is a result of acclimatization research and continual enrichment of the collection with new species and varieties. The plants grown here come both from natural sites and botanical gardens, the staff permanently co-operating with ca 300 gardens worldwide. The plants, grouped in sections, provide material for classes and scientific research. The Garden gives schoolchildren and students an opportunity to learn botany through live lessons, and enables lovers of nature to find out its secrets. (A geological cross-section) One of the Gardens peculiarities is a geological cross-section of hard coal deposit from the environs of Wałbrzych, built more than 100 years ago in the alpinarium area. Dark coal-seams are separated by layers of sedimentary rocks: sandstones and shales. The section has been encrusted with fossils of extinct plants (no 1-6), which, during millions of years, turned into hard coal..

/http://www.wroclaw.pl/m6866/

SPA-CENTRUM 

  (ul. Teatralna 10-12)

The three indoor swimming pools open 06:00-23:00, Sat 08:00-22:00, Sun 09:00-21:00( tickets: 9-10 zł)

Fitness, massages, joga open 09:00-21:00

                    http://www.spa.wroc.pl/06_imprezy/06_imprezy.html 

                                                        Tor Wyścigowy Partynice

                                                       (Racecourse Partynice)

wroclaw@nathansvilla.com

The tradition of horse racing in Wroclaw goes back to the Middle Ages, but the first racecourse was built in 1833. It encompassed a part of the present zoological gardens and Centenary Hall together with the adjacent pergolas. On May 31st, 1833 the first races took place at this course. Since 1870 the races have been organised together with a race lottery. The leasing contract for that course expired in 1907, and so the Silesian Horse Breeders and Races Association bought 70 hectares of land in Partynice in 1905. On October 1st, 1905 the construction of the racecourse commenced based on the design by R. Jurgens from Hamburg. The construction was financed with a loan granted to the Association by the Municipality and the horserace lottery organised by the Association. In less than two years, on the 75th anniversary of the Silesian Horse Breeders and Races Association, the Partynice Racecourse officially opened. The inauguration of the first postwar racing season in Wroclaw took place on July 11th, 1953. For several years many kinds of gallop races were organised: flat, hurdle and obstacle races. At present, there are 180 horses trained at the course: half-blooded and full-blooded English.

                                                                                                     http://www.wroclaw.pl/m6868/

Szczytnicki Park

The park is located in the eastern part of the city, between the Old Odra river and Wroblewskiego, Kopernika, Mickiewicza, Paderewskiego and Rozyckiego Streets. It is one of the most beautiful sightseeing parks in Wroclaw, covering approximately 100 ha and of high quality and botanical value.

                                                                                Things worth seeing:

Many botanical peculiarities, including Taxodium distichum, Castanea sativa, Pterocarya fraxinifilia, Pseudolarix amabilis, Tsuga canadensis, Pinus ponderosa.

The Japanese Garden located in Szczytnicki Park close to Hala Ludowa (Centenary Hall) at Mickiewicza St. It was restored between 1995 and 1998 with the cooperation of Japanese landscape architects according to Japanese garden art principles.

  Open daily: between April 1st and October 31st from 9⁰⁰ AM till 7⁰⁰ PM. Tickets: standard – 3 PLN, discount – 1,5 PLN.

                                http://www.wroclaw.pl/m6867/ 

• Flower gardens in the neighbourhood of Kopernika and Mickiewicza streets.
• Diana Garden.
• Children's playgrounds in the neighbourhood of Chopina Street