An ecological education centre about water, housed in a former underground filtration reservoir of Wrocław's waterworks.
Hydropolis is an ecological education centre in Wrocław devoted to the subject of water. The facility is housed in a former underground drinking-water reservoir on Na Grobli street. It is the only centre of its kind in Poland and one of the few in the world.
The building was constructed as part of Wrocław's waterworks. The city drew water from the Oder through slow sand filters, and between 1890 and 1892 a covered reservoir of 4600 m2 was built, known as Filter V. In the early 20th century, drawing water from the Oder was abandoned in favour of groundwater, and the reservoir itself served as the city's main water store, holding 12 million litres in 1905.
The facility went through difficult periods: a pump failure in 1919, after which a new pumping station was commissioned in 1924, and roof damage during the fighting of 1945. The millennium flood of 1997 caused serious damage and halted water production at this site. The reservoir has been on the heritage list since 2002, and it continued to serve its original function until 2011. After a four-year renovation, the Hydropolis Ecological Education Centre opened on 5 December 2015.
The structure reaches 360 cm below ground; its walls of clinker brick are up to 126 cm thick, and the whole is covered by a layer of clay and soil 160 cm thick. The interior consists of four rectangular chambers covered by brick barrel vaults. The entrance on the southern side is made of copper, echoing the building's existing copper elements. The roof is covered with a meadow, and the chimneys visible on the surface recall the building's former function.
The exhibition is divided into seven thematic zones: Depths, Ocean of Life, Relaxation Zone, Man and Water, History of Water Engineering, City and Water, and States of Water. The installations include, among others, a water printer 46.5 metres long, a water vortex 3.5 metres high, a panoramic 360-degree screen 60 metres long, a 1:1-scale replica of the bathyscaphe Trieste, and a 1:1-scale model of a shark and fifteen hundred tuna. The exhibition also includes a 1:2-scale acrylic copy of Michelangelo's David, as well as a preserved historic boiler room. On the roof there is a green viewing point with a telescope and a view of Wrocław's dwarf statues.
Hydropolis received the title "Wonder of Poland 2016" awarded by National Geographic Traveler, the "Best Tourist Product in Poland 2018" award, a TripAdvisor quality certificate and a Traveller's Choice award in 2020, as well as the Copper in Architecture Award 2017. The centre also runs educational workshops in line with the school curriculum and guided group tours.
The centre is adapted to the needs of wheelchair users.
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