WUWA

WUWA is a housing estate in the Dąbie district of Wrocław, built in 1929 as an architectural exhibition, the Wohnungs- und Werkraumausstellung, meaning the Dwelling and Workspace Exhibition. Today it is listed on the heritage register as a complex of architectural significance.

The 1929 Werkbund exhibition

The exhibition was organised by the Silesian branch of the Deutscher Werkbund. The person who contributed most to its creation was Heinrich Lauterbach, founder of the Silesian branch of the association, who together with Adolf Rading took artistic charge of the project. The exhibition featured both avant-garde and moderate architects, though all were local Werkbund activists. Construction of the estate was financed by the Siedlungsgesellschaft Breslau A.G. (Wrocław Housing Estate Society), which then rented out the completed buildings.

Purpose of the exhibition

The aim was to present new solutions for small and medium-sized flats, taking into account technological and economic aspects. The buildings were meant to be cheap while still giving every resident their own sleeping room, separated from the others.

Location

The estate is located in the Dąbie district, near Szczytnicki Park, on the area between the present-day streets of Tramwajowa, Dembowskiego, Kopernika and Zielonego Dębu, adjoining the exhibition grounds next to the Centennial Hall. The monument is entered in the register of immovable heritage sites under number A/1003.

What to see

On the estate stand historic houses from the turn of the 1920s and 1930s, designed by various architects who took part in the exhibition. The DOIA kindergarten has been reconstructed here and reopened in 2014; visitors can view the estate's plans, information about the individual houses and their designers, and historical and present-day photographs of the buildings.

Practical information

• Address: the area between Kopernika, Dembowskiego, Tramwajowa, Wróblewskiego and Zielonego Dębu streets, in the Biskupin-Sępolno-Dąbie-Bartoszowice district of Wrocław.
• Getting there: the estate lies close to the Japanese Garden and the grounds by the Centennial Hall, reachable by bicycle, tram, bus or car.
• What to expect: a walk among historic houses from the 1920s and 1930s and a visit to the reconstructed DOIA kindergarten.
• It is worth checking the opening hours of the kindergarten and information points on the estate's website before a visit.