Wroclaw Breslau Poland Town Hall Rynek Square market fountain
Wrocław (['vrɔʦwaf] (help·info); German: Breslau (help·info); Czech: Vratislav; Latin: Wratislavia or Vratislavia) is the capital of Lower Silesia in southwestern Poland, situated on the Oder River (Odra). As of 2004, the city's population was estimated to be 638,000. It is the principal city of the Lower Silesia region and the administrative seat of the Lower Silesian Voivodship (since 1999), previously of Wrocław Voivodship. The city is also a separate city-county. From a Slavic town, Wrocław was gradually transformed into a wholly German city during the Middle Ages, becoming an important city of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. As a city severely hit and destroyed by the scourges of World War II and the subsequent expulsion of all its German citizens, it remains a town with a disputed history as well as a symbol of the cruelty of the last world war at all sides, comparable to Gdańsk (Danzig) and Kaliningrad (Königsberg). The city was first recorded in the year 1000 by Thietmar's chronicle: Johannes Wrotizlaensis, bishop of Wrotizla, a newly established diocese, is mentioned, as was later the city itself (as Wortizlawa). The first municipal seal says: Sigillum civitatis Wracislavie, and a simplified city name is given in 1175 as in Wrezlawe. Early records show that the medieval city name was Wrocisław in Polish and Vratislav in Czech, meaning Wrocisław/Vratislav's town. The Polish name was later phonetically simplified from Wrocisław to Wrotsław to Wrocław, a name which has been used since the 12th century. The Czech spelling was used in Latin documents as Wratislavia or Vratislavia, while the Polish pronunciation was also influential in the spelling Wracislavia. At that time, Prezla was used in Middle High German, which became Preßlau. The Early New High German (and later New High German) of the name —Breslau— was used as the official name when the city was part of Austria, Prussia, and Germany for over 400 years. Town square Enlarge Town square The
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Photo credit: © Piotr & Irena Kolasa / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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