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Market Square and surroundings Ostrow Tumski Island University and surroundings Outside the Historical CentreOstrów Tumski (The Cathedral Island) with the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Archbishop’s Palace, the Church of the Holy Cross and the Church of Saint Bartholomew. It is the oldest part of the city of Wroclaw. It represents the splendid medieval religious architecture in the Gothic style and is full of old churches and quiet, mysterious allies. The archaeological works discovered the existence of the small wooden church on the island dating back to the XI century. In that time on the island of Ostrów Tumski there were about 1 500 inhabitants. In all probability the base of the Piast dynasty of Silesia was established here in the X century. It was constructed of wood and surrounded by the fence made of wood and soil. The first construction made of bricks was the chapel of Saint Marcin. In the end of the XIII century the medieval town developed and it was converted in a castle and in 1315 in the whole island of Ostrów Tumski religious jurisdiction was applied.
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.
Archbishop's Palace (Palac Arcybiskupa) is the building in Neo classical style; at present the central office of the Papal Institute of Theology.
Church of the Holy Cross and of Saint Bartholomew: This impressive church is actually formed by 2 different churches. The first one, the gothic style dedicated to the Holy Cross, occupied the first floor, while in the crypt, the other church is built in a Greek-catholic style is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew.
Tumski Bridge(Most Tumski): the first wooden construction existed here already in the XII century and it separated the municipal jurisdiction (on the Sand Island) from the sacred one (Ostrów Tumski, the Cathedral Island). The metal bridge was installed here in 1889.
The Sand Island(Wyspa Piaskowa) with the Church of Blessed Virgin Mary and the Church of Saint Marcin (the first chapel in Wrocław constructed using the long lasting materials and the only building that remained of the castle of the Piast dynasty in Silesia). In front of the chapel there is a monument of Pope John XXIII.
Botanical Gardens: founded in 1811 in the island of Ostrów Tumski. It has a precious flower exhibition, greenhouse and cactus display. The whole collection has approximately 7 500 species of plants and flowers and is the biggest of the kind in Poland.
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