Cemeteries and monuments
an 18th-century sculpture considered the largest monument to St John of Nepomuk in the world
Cemeteries and monuments
a 21-metre installation made from an upright historic Ty2-1035 steam locomotive on Plac Strzegomski
Cemeteries and monuments
fourteen bronze figures set into the pavement of Świdnicka Street, modelled on Jerzy Kalina's installation
Cemeteries and monuments
an equestrian monument to the king from 2007 on Świdnicka street, the first of its kind in post-war Wrocław
Cemeteries and monuments
a bronze figure of the author of "Maidens' Vows", cast in Lwów in 1897, on the Market Square since 1956
Cemeteries and monuments
a cross-shaped monument of granite and bronze commemorating the victims of the Katyn massacre in Słowacki Park
Cemeteries and monuments
sculptures of slaughter animals on Stare Jatki lane, created between 1997 and 2017 by a collective of artists
Cemeteries and monuments
a stone pillar with a figure of the executioner Roland, a reconstruction of the 15th-century site of public punishment in the Market Square
Cemeteries and monuments
an Armenian stone stele from 2012 commemorating the Armenian genocide and the victims in the Eastern Borderlands
Cemeteries and monuments
an active parish cemetery in Tarnogaj, established in 1918 as the Cemetery of St Henry
Cemeteries and monuments
one of the largest cemeteries in Wrocław, resting place of professors, artists and scientists
Cemeteries and monuments
Cemeteries and monuments
a wartime necropolis of 763 Soviet officers from 1945, with Roman Feliński's gloriette at the entrance
Cemeteries and monuments
a historic necropolis from 1866 with a brick entrance gate and the graves of eminent Wrocław residents
Cemeteries and monuments
Cemeteries and monuments
four burial fields and a monument from the 1960s commemorating soldiers who died near Wrocław in 1945
Cemeteries and monuments
a necropolis from 1928 for Italian prisoners of war from the Battle of Caporetto, today surrounded by Grabiszyński Park
Cemeteries and monuments
a granite, flame-shaped obelisk recalling medieval events on Solny Square
Cemeteries and monuments
a classicist column from 1806 in Szczytnicki Park, modelled on the Roman Trajan's Column
Cemeteries and monuments
a nine-metre concrete chair sculpture by Tadeusz Kantor, designed in 1970, erected in 2011
Cemeteries and monuments
tombstones of the Silesian Piasts in the former nave of the Poor Clares' church on Nankiera square
Cemeteries and monuments
a ceramic sculpture of two armchairs and a seated woman from 1980, opposite the National Museum
Cemeteries and monuments
a bronze sculpture of Cupid on Pegasus from 1913, standing in Mikołaja Kopernika Park above the former City Moat
Cemeteries and monuments
a bronze monument to the poet and mystic Angelus Silesius in the courtyard of the Ossoliński National Institute, from 2007
Cemeteries and monuments in Wrocław: the Anonymous Passer-By, Train to the Sky, Kantor's Chair and old necropolises. All free, some are memorials.
The easiest start is Świdnicka Street. The Monument to an Anonymous Passer-By consists of fourteen bronze figures that disappear into the pavement and emerge from it; it was unveiled on the night of 12-13 December 2005. Its prototype was the installation "Przejście" by Jerzy Kalina from 1977. Nearby stands the monument to Bolesław Chrobry, unveiled on 15 September 2007, the first equestrian monument in postwar Wrocław.
On the Market Square, see the Pillory, a reconstruction of a structure from 1492, with a figure of the executioner known as Roland. Next to it stands the monument to Aleksander Fredro, made by Leonard Marconi for Lviv and in Wrocław since 1956. The writer is seated, holding a pen and a roll of paper. From the Market Square you can also walk to Stare Jatki, where sculptures of slaughtered animals recall the butchers' stalls that worked here from 1242.
The most surprising is Train to the Sky on Strzegomski Square: a real Ty2-1035 steam locomotive set upright, 21 metres tall and weighing 82 tonnes. Its author is Andrzej Jarodzki. The Chair is a nine-metre concrete sculpture by Tadeusz Kantor, designed in 1970 for the Wrocław '70 Art Symposium and built only in 2011.
On Grunwaldzki Square stands the Atom, a white reinforced-concrete ball about two and a half metres across, drilled through so that from the right spot you can see the cathedral tower. Solny Square has a granite obelisk shaped like a flame, from 1996, by Adam Wyspiański. In Copernicus Park you will find the bronze Cupid on Pegasus from 1913, and on Kępa Mieszczańska the Powodzianka, a monument to the residents' fight against the flood of the millennium in July 1997.
Yes, and very old ones. On Cathedral Square stands the statue of Our Lady with the Child, unveiled in 1694, the oldest surviving monument in the city. The Jesuits put it up as a sign of Catholicism's triumph over Protestantism. On Church Square stands the statue of St John of Nepomuk from 1730-1732, designed by Christoph Tausch and considered the largest monument to this saint in the world.
In Juliusz Słowacki Park stands a monument to the poet, unveiled in 1984 after a sculpture by Wacław Szymanowski from 1909. In the courtyard of the Ossolineum you will find the 2007 monument to Angelus Silesius, since the poet was a monk in the monastery that stood in today's building. Joseph von Eichendorff has a monument in the Botanical Garden, unveiled in 2012 as a reconstruction of a work from 1911. Chopin stands in Południowy Park in Borek: Jan Kucz's monument from 2004 commemorates his concert in Wrocław in 1830.
Two objects wait in Szczytnicki Park. The Diana monument is a 2015 reconstruction of Ernst Seger's sculpture, which went missing in 1945. The Column of Frederick William II from 1806 is modelled on Trajan's Column; the earlier wood-and-plaster one burned down in 1805. For more greenery see parks and nature in Wrocław.
These monuments call for quiet attention. In Słowacki Park stands the Monument to the Victims of the Katyn Massacre, designed by Tadeusz Tchórzewski: a cross of granite slabs, an Angel of Death and a Katyn Pietà, built from 1994 to 2000. Next to the Opera stands Tadeusz Teller's 1989 monument to the victims of Stalinism, shaped like a dolmen. In Huby you will find the 2024 monument to the Unbroken Soldiers, and on Janickiego Street an Armenian khachkar from 2012 commemorating the Armenian genocide.
The Grabiszyński Cemetery is one of the largest in the city, now a fragment of a former three-part complex of necropolises. Notable figures of science and culture rest here. Also in Grabiszyn is the Italian Soldiers Cemetery: 1,016 people are buried there, mostly Italian soldiers taken prisoner after the Battle of Caporetto in 1917. It was built in 1927-1928.
In Ołbin is St Lawrence Cemetery from 1866, covering 4.3 hectares, with its brick gate preserved. The Soviet Soldiers Cemetery on Skowronia Góra is a war necropolis where about 7,500 soldiers who fell during the siege of Wrocław in 1945 are buried. Active parish cemeteries include Holy Family in Sępolno from 1928 and the Cemetery of the Holy Spirit in Tarnogaj, over 8 hectares on Bardzka Street. In the former nave of the Church of St Clare and St Hedwig you will find the Mausoleum of the Silesian Piasts with the tomb slabs of dukes and duchesses.
Monuments in public space are free, while cemeteries and memorials ask for calm and respect. At active cemeteries keep quiet and do not photograph people visiting graves. For the whole region see the page on cemeteries and monuments.
Most visitors seek out the Anonymous Passer-By, Train to the Sky and the Pillory on the Market Square.
On Church Square on Ostrów Tumski. The statue from 1730-1732 is considered the largest monument to this saint in the world.
Yes, but these are places of remembrance and prayer, and some cemeteries are still active. Keep quiet and check opening hours before you go.
The nine-metre concrete sculpture stands in the Old Town. It follows a design from 1970 and was built in 2011.
