The Market Square (Rynek) with its Town Hall is located in the heart of Wroclaw and it is one of the majestic gothic constructions in Central Europe. The Market Square is the second biggest in Poland (the first one is in Cracow). It is surrounded by the Gothic and Renaissance style bourgeois houses. Two of the most interesting ones are: The house of the Sun and of the Gold (late Baroque style) and The House of the 7 Electors with the paintings on its façade from the XVII century. The walk through the area of the Market Square is a great opportunity to discover hidden, magic places.
        
The Town Hall represents the late gothic style of Silesia and it is one of the best preserved town halls in Poland. The most historic part is the old tribunal that represents the Roman style. The construction of the Town Hall took many years and it was done between XIII and XVI centuries. In one part of the Town Hall there was a 67 meter tower constructed with a helmet in a Renaissance style. And on top of it there is the oldest bell in Poland that dates back to 1368 while in the façade of the Town Hall there is a medieval astronomical clock from the XVI century built in. At present the Town Hall houses the Historical Museum of Wroclaw where the Silesian art is presented. Around the Town Hall there are numerous restaurants and cafeterias with outdoor terraces. It is worthwhile taking advantage of it and resting for a while enjoying the beauty of The Town Hall and the very special atmosphere of Wroclaw.
        
Piwnica Swidnicka is one of the oldest converted cellar-restaurants in Europe. It is located in the Town Hall in the main Town Square and it dates back to the medieval times (XV century). It has 10 dining areas that occupy the total area of 900 meters. The restaurant serves a variety of traditional Polish and International cuisine.
        
Feniks-Commercial centre of the Brothers Barasch located in front of the Town Hall. It was designed by architect George Schneider and constructed in the early XX century (1904). Its owner was a Jewish family Barasch (their tomb can be seen at the Jewish cemetery in Wroclaw). When it was opened its top was decorated with a characteristic, huge globe, but unfortunately soon afterwards it was destroyed by the thunder and it was never restored to its old design.
    
The Salt Market (Plac Solny): the old market square, today flower market and crafts market. One of the most interesting buildings on the square is the Stock Exchange building designed in the classicist style by architect Carl Ferdinand Langhans in 1822 (he also designed the Opera in Wroclaw, Lipsk y Berlin; he was a son of Carl Gotthard Langhans, born in the outskirts of Wroclaw, the architect of the famous Brandenburg Gate in Berlin).
        
The Church of St. Elisabeth constructed in the XIII century in gothic style with a tower that offers fantastic panoramic views of the city and it is the highest in Wroclaw. After the Second World War it was damaged by the fire 3 times (1960, 1975 and 1976) and it required the complete reconstruction that took a lot of time and eventually the church and the tower were opened to public in 1997.
        
Jas and Malgosia– two medieval buildings connected with each other by an arch, most probably constructed in the XV century. They formed part housing complex built for the monks. Between the two buildings, below the arch there was an entrance to the cemetery, closed in XVIII century. Today, there is an inscription in Latin saying: “Mors Ianua Vitae” that means: The death is the door to life”.
In 1728 an architect, Christoph Hackner incorporated a number of elements in the baroque style into the door between the buildings. The actual names of the buildings “Jas (Hansel- the lower building) and Malgosia (Gretel- the higher building) come from those who arrived to Wroclaw to settle down after the Second World War. The two buildings connected with each other with an arch resembled two children from the fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel”of Grimm brothers. Next to the door of the building Jaœ there is an entrance to the Museum of Gnomes.
     
Royal Palace of Wroclaw, also called Spatgen Palace or Palace of the Kings of Prussia. Its oldest part dates back to 1719 and in 1750 it was purchased by the King of Prussia, Frederick II, the Great and from that moment it was named the Royal Palace. Initially the palace represented the baroque style with some classicistic elements. In this palace, on 10th of March 1813, his son, Frederick William III Hohenzollern, whose army was defeated by Napoleon Bonaparte, created a military decoration called the Iron Cross. In the following years, a number of extensions was added to the palace (the Neo Renaissance style) and after the First World War the palace was converted to a museum. During the Second World War a big part of the palace was burned down and it was demolished in the 50’s. In the most recent years the main building was a base of the Ethnographical Museum and the Archeological Museum and at present it is converted in the City Museum.
        
The Opera of Wroclaw was constructed in 1839-1841; it was a project of Carl Ferdinand Langhans, with a modern stage and the auditorium for approximately 1600 spectators. In the interior of the opera most of the original decorative elements are present today: especially the ceiling with portraits of the famous compositors, the main chandelier and the Emperor box. The total surface of the decorative elements made of gold equals 10 000 m2 while the total surface of the crystal mirrors is 200 m2. Among the artists that performed there were: Antonina Miklaszewska - Campi, Carl Maria von Weber, Franz Liszt and Niccolo Paganini. From 1997 the Opera also presents some of the productions outdoors, next to the People’s Hall in the Szczytnicki Park. Until now the operas of Verdi: AIDA and CARMEN, and NABUCCO of Bizet were presented this way.
       
The Synagogue: the small synagogue in Wroclaw is situated in the Pawla Wlodkowica Street nr 9. It was built in 1945 and at present all the Sabbaths and other Jewish festivities are celebrated there.
      
The Church of Maria Magdalena– the first church was constructed on its site in XI century. It was then rebuilt a number of times to get the final shape in the gothic style. In the XV century there were two towers constructed connected on top with a small bridge. One of the towers and the bridge are accessible offering magnificient city views.
         
University of Wroclaw: A document of foundation of the University in Wroclaw by the Polish King Ladislaus Jagellon was first announced on 20 July 1505. Unfortunately because of the protest of the University of Cracow the project was rejected by the Pope Julius II and the actual inauguration didn’t take place until 20 July 1702 when the Emperor Leopold I founded the Jesuit Academy with all the privileges of other European Universities. In 1811 the Leopoldina Academy joined the University of Viadrin in Frankfurt Oder forming the University of Silesia (of Frederic Wilhelm) with 5 faculties: Catholic theology, Evangelic theology, law, medicine and philosophy. From 24 August 1945 the University became a part of the Polish National Academic Institutions. 15 November 1945 a Polish professor Ludwik Hirszfeld gave the first lecture and on 9 June 1946 an official inauguration of the University of Wroclaw took place.
        
Leopoldina Hall is located in the University's main building and it was created 15 XI 1702. It was named after its founder, the Emperor Leopold I. It is one of the biggest Baroque and most representative interiors of this kind in Poland. In the Leopoldina Hall illusionist frescoes made by J.Ch. Handke, sculptures by F.J. Mangoldt and stucco works made by I.A.Provisore can be admired.
        
Oratorium Marianum: located in the University's main building. Originally it was a chape, later converted to the Musical Room hosting the very famous musicians like Liszt or Paganini.
        
Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist: the first church was constructed here already in the X century. After the year 1000, in which the foundation of bishopric took place, it was replaced by another one, much bigger and much more impressive built in a Pre- Roman style. In XIII century a new renovation took place and the cathedral was rebuilt in the Gothic style.
In 1540 the cathedral was destroyed by the fire and afterwards renovated in the Renaissance style. During the battles with the Swedes in XVII century the cathedral was destroyed again but this time the renovation didn’t not take much time and still in the XVII a Baroque chapel was constructed adjacent to the cathedral.
Another fire that destroyed the cathedral occurred in 1759 and this time the renovation process was very slow taking approximately 150 years. The renovation was done in the classicist style while the interior of the cathedral was renovated by Karl Ludecke in the Neo Gothic style. Once the archbishopric was established in Wroclaw in 1930 the cathedral was converted to Archcathedral.
In 1991 on top of the two towers of the cathedral there were two helmets placed (each one weighs about 17 tons) and at present the towers are approximately 97 meters high. In one of the two towers there was also a specially designed lift constructed that allows access to the viewing platform to admire the magnificent view of the city.
        
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