Wroclaw is located in southwestern Poland, on both banks of the Odra. It is one of the largest and oldest cities in the country. Of course, it is full of a variety of attractions. The gnomes of Wroclaw are one of the main tourist highlights of this beautiful city. It will be discussed in our article.
Wroclaw - the city of gnomes
Magnificent churches, pretty old houses, beautiful narrow streets, museums and galleries - all this annually attracts a huge number of tourists to Polish Wroclaw. But not only is this city famous. Perhaps the main attraction of Wroclaw is its gnomes (in Polish - krasnoludky).
Many tourists who first met the gnome on the streets of Wroclaw naively believe that there are only seven of them in the city (by analogy with one famous fairy tale). In fact, there are many more figures. How much exactly? We will talk about this a bit later.
The figurines themselves are small in size (average height - 30-40 centimeters). All figures are made of bronze. Some of them are in a conspicuous place, others are hiding in completely unexpected places. And finding them is not so simple.
Where did the gnomes come from?
Researchers of the origin of “tiny little men” once discovered the “Chronicles”, which say that the very first gnome appeared on the lands of modern Wroclaw. Papa Gnome - that's what he was called. Over time, his family grew and grew. Soon, the dwarves met people and together began to build a large and beautiful city.
According to another version, the inhabitants of Wroclaw could not cope with the naughty and malicious "Odra River Brownies" in no way. They decided to turn to the brave gnomes for help. They arrived in the city as a whole group and quickly dealt with the prankster, throwing him in a city dungeon. In gratitude for this service, the locals suggested that the dwarves permanently relocate to their city.
Of course, these are only beautiful legends composed by the Wroclaw people themselves. But how was it really?
The true story of the gnomes of Wroclaw
After the end of World War II, Poland found itself in the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. All real power in the country passed to the Polish United Workers Party (PUWP), based on the ideology of Marxism-Leninism. The streets of Polish cities were filled with red flags and banners, as well as images of the faces of the socialist leaders.
In the early 80s, an underground group arose in Wroclaw, which began to declare the meaninglessness and hypocrisy of this universal “red reality”. The organization, led by writer and artist Waldemar Fiedrich (see photo below), called himself the "Orange Alternative." In addition to Wroclaw, group members were also active in Warsaw and Lodz.
The “Orange Alternative” based its activity on the idea of nonviolent resistance. The main weapons of the group were pickets, sedentary protests and strikes. However, their most famous action was drawing gnomes on a variety of urban surfaces. They were applied directly to fresh spots of paint, which policemen painted over anti-communist slogans. Very soon, the whole of Wroclaw was full of cheerful orange drawings.
On June 1, 1987, the Orange Alternative held a march in honor of Children's Day, during which activists handed out sweets and hand-sewn orange hats to passers-by. The leadership of the city police gave the command to arrest all the “dwarves". But the activists behaved in an extremely original way: they not only did not resist, but also began to help police arrest themselves. At the same time, law enforcement officers were bombarded with sweets. The success of the action was colossal, primarily due to the absurdity of the whole action.
The very first sculptures
The first gnome in Wroclaw appeared relatively recently - in 2001. This is a small figure 40 cm high, installed on Svidnitskaya Street (just at the place where the so-called “Dwarf revolution” took place in 1987). The author of the monument was the local sculptor Olaf Brzeski. The sculpture itself was nicknamed Papa Gnome (Papa Krasnal).
In 2005, local authorities turned to another well-known sculptor, Tomasz Mochek, with a proposal to create new figures of gnomes that would fit perfectly into the urban landscape. Moschek created five different sculptures from bronze, which are located on the central streets of Wroclaw. In the future, the emergence of new figures and compositions was funded by various companies and institutions of the city. Today, the gnomes of Wroclaw are one of the most interesting sights of all of Poland.
Total number of gnomes
So how many gnomes are there in Wroclaw in total? Now there are about 350 of them. By the way, the Wroclaw gnomes have their own personal website. On its main page there is a counter that counts their total number at the moment.
Every year, several dozen new gnomes appear in Wroclaw. Most of them were manufactured in 2008 and 2015 (58 and 56 pieces respectively). Unpleasant moment: Wroclaw gnomes are regularly stolen. Moreover, the stolen sculptures are not handed over for scrap, but are left to their memory. The absolute leader in the number of thefts is the Dwarf Skier. In 2016, city authorities installed GPS beacons on the most popular figures.
Next, we will introduce you to the five most popular and most remarkable, in our opinion, Wroclaw gnomes.
Sisyphus
Sisyphus (pol. Syzyfki) - perhaps the most famous gnomes of Wroclaw. You can see the photo of this sculptural composition below. In the city they appeared one of the first. Once two gnomes promised people to help in the reconstruction of Wroclaw and began to move one of the massive granite balls. Of course, the ball was overly heavy for them. So they still roll it, for fun to other dwarves.
Sculpture address: Svidnitskaya street.
Sweet tooth
In one of the central streets of Wroclaw, you can see an entertaining picture. A pair of gnomes (Ciastuś i Amorinek) steal from a sweet pastry in broad daylight. One of them is on the ledge by the window and lowers a tray filled with cakes to his comrade.
Sculpture address: Vita Stvosha street.
Glutton
Another hedonist was so carried away by the process of absorbing food that he fell asleep right at ease. Near the body lies a huge spoon. The corresponding name for the dwarf is Obieżysmak. There is a figure in the heart of the city, near the institution Pizza Hut.
Sculpture address: Market Square.
Prisoner
The Prisoner (floor Więzień) is a gnome who should be sought outside the old city prison building. Take a closer look at the windows - you will see him behind the bars of one of them. What this poor fellow sits for is not exactly known. According to one version, he was punished for stealing dumplings from his friend. Yes, the laws in the dwarf world are harsh.
Sculpture address: Prison Street.
Well-wisher
Another popular gnome in the city is the Well-Wisher (Paul yczliwek). Absolutely to all tourists he gives flowers, kindness and his unique radiant smile. By the way, this is the only gnome of Wroclaw with whom you can chat on Facebook.
Sculpture address: Market Square.
How to search for gnomes?
For fifteen years now, the Wroclaw "gnomomania" has been going on. And the tourism industry takes advantage of this to the maximum. In any souvenir shop in the city you can purchase special booklets and maps for finding figures. A detailed map with all objects is also on the site already mentioned above. In addition, there are a number of applications that help tourists find the most secret gnomes (for example, Go Wroclaw Dwarfs).
Dwarves are one of the main symbols of Wroclaw. Therefore, it is not surprising that a lot of the most diverse souvenirs are devoted to them. These are miniature figures, trinkets, magnets, postcards, bags and T-shirts with images of “red people”.