The gnomes of Wrocław are one of the Polish city’s most popular attractions.
Walking around Wrocław (pronounced « vrotsouaf »), Poland, requires above all observation. Exploring a new city often involves visiting the must-see sites, but in the capital of Lower Silesia, the locals do as much as the tourists.
Over the past ten years, at least 280 gnomes (« Krasnale » in Polish) have invaded the city of Wrocław, and there are more every year. It all began when a statue of a gnome was erected in honor of theAlternative Orange, an anarchist underground movement, which was founded here in 1981. The Alternative Orange organized events, painted absurd goblin graffiti on city walls and was one of the most colorful elements of the Polish opposition to the communist regime of the People’s Republic of Poland.
This statue was the first to be installed in 2001, which launched the
Their campaign was a huge embarrassment for the party, and once the Communist regime had well and truly fallen, the liberated city wanted to commemorate the movement. At first, there was only oneofficial statue, but it was soon followed by several others, and statues of dwarfs began to blossom all over the streets of Wrocław. Various local businesses were even lining up to get theirs.
Since then, new gnomes have appeared every month, and it’s hard to find a « register » that lists the precise location of each statue, so you visit the town at random without really realizing it.
It’s fun and unusual to discover the city thanks to these gnomes. In general, each gnome refers to the place where it is located (restaurant, square, store, museum, etc.). Here are some photos of gnomes you might come across during a stay in Wrocław:
Consult this map for the exact location of the krasnale surveyed.
Photo sources: Alexander Johmann on Flickr, Pnapora on Wikimedia, Klearchos Kapoutsis on Flickr