The Dwarfs of Wroclaw
Firstly a disclaimer: I fully realise that the word dwarf is not an appropriate word to use, however in Wroclaw it is widely used to describe these small statues that are scattered throughout the city, and they have strong links with Polish history during the cold war.
The Orange Alternative was an anti-communist movement in Poland that started in Wraclaw. When the state paint over anti-communist posters, the Orange Alternative would paint a small dwarf. It was a peaceful form of protest the spread throughout Poland.
In 2001 a dwarf statue was unveiled to commemorate the movement, and they started to spread from there. Every dwarf has a full back-story, they are located on some city maps, and you can even download a mobile app to read about and spot the over 350 dwarfs.
Here are just some of the dwarfs that we found in Wraclaw.
Sts. Peter and Paul Church
I love visiting old churches, and the Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Gorlitz (yes, dedicated to two saints) is no exception. Just look at the lovely organ in the second picture. There has been a church on this site since the 1200’s.
In the library
I found this library by chance in Gorlitz. It was about 2 doors down from our apartment in a small museum. I was wondering around the museum when a security guard called me, took me up a flight of stairs and through a few doors for me to see this beautiful room. I was surrounded by rows and rows of books going into the distance.
If you want to see the library you have to know to look for it; you can find it here: Barockhaus Neißstraße 30 Kulturhistorisches Museum Görlitz. In the museum you might need to ask somebody to take you to the library, its magnificent.
Gorlitz tram tracks
I love the old-time look of this shot with the tram-tracks merging in the distance. The pedestrians and bicycles make it look like it could have been taken 50 years ago.
Old waterwheel
The Four-wheel Mill is an old mill on the river on the side of Gorlitz. It is now a restaurant with a lovely terrace and beautiful view of the river. The gates on the bottom left is where the water was channeled through the wheels. I can’t find any history of the mill, so if anybody knows what the mill was used for I would love to know.