Wroclaw
There’s gnome place like Wrocław
Words Ewa Tomankiewicz
Photos Lee Grubb
They say that Wrocław is a fairy-tale city: pretty winding streets, ornate architecture, picturesque bridges. A matter of taste, perhaps. But if further evidence were needed, how about this… the city is populated with gnomes.
You can see them everywhere, climbing lampposts, playing by fountains or quietly reading books. And with new members cropping up every month, they have claimed not only the city streets but the hearts of inhabitants and visitors alike.
Walking around the Old Town you can’t help but bump into gnome tours. Eager tourists with their crinkled maps and attentive eyes feverishly sweep the ground, calling to mind the “Grail Hunters” who invade French churches bearing thumbed copies of The Da Vinci Code. The aura of the hidden and the mysterious is the same, but in Wrocław you can drop the conspiracy theory gobbledygook and just join in with the fun.
Start the hunt on the corner of ul. Kazimierza Wielkiego and ul. Świdnicka where, standing on a gigantic finger tip, Papa Krasnal commemorates the gnomes’ participation in the downfall of communism. Although these figures usually date back to “once upon a time”, the Wrocław gnomes have their own, very determinate place in the history of the anti-communist protests of the bleak 1980s.
Despite being better known for their interest in mining and jovial work songs than in politics, they came to represent the Orange Alternative (Pomarańczowa Alternatywa) movement. Members of this protest group drew gnomes on white patches of paint left by communists painting over protest slogans. They organised gatherings in which thousands of people appeared dressed as gnomes.
The gnome soon became a symbol of the movement’s peaceful protest, which employed the absurd and the nonsensical to ridicule the pompous communist propaganda.
During communism a great many aspects of normal life went underground, and this is brilliantly captured in another group of statues on the corner of Świdnicka and Piłsudzkiego, which literally goes underground and emerges on the other side of the street. In those times any sign of originality or quirkiness was very therapeutic. “When something started being funny, it ceased to be scary,” explained Waldemar Frydrych, founder of the movement.
The heyday of the Orange Alternative is over, as are the totalitarian times in which it thrived. That does not mean, though, that the gnomes don’t stay watchful. If you keep your head high when walking down Świdnicka, you might spot one of the Slupniki (gnomes that climb lampposts), keeping his eyes peeled for potential danger. As gnomes go, these are pretty ugly.
“I wanted them to look fairytale-like, not realistic,” explains their creator, Michal Osuch. “There are different types of gnomes.” Many, however, find other epithets than “fairytale-like” to describe them. Truth be told, this particular gnome’s grin borders on the demonic!
Yet, paradoxically, this is the beauty the Wrocław krasnale (gnomes); they have little to do with their garish and shiny cousins who populate German gardens. There is something genuine and convivial about them. “Gnomes were never pretty. They are nice but ugly, and we love them for what they do, not what they look like,” declares Kasia, a frequent guest on one of the many gnome-related internet forums. There, as well as on the official site (www.krasnale.pl), the good folk of Wrocław can let themselves go and engage in ardent discussion of gnome aesthetics, elaborate on the issue of bearded female gnomes or simply download the latest updated maps of gnome routes.
Using a map is the safe way, but going impromptu is where the real fun lies.
The Old Town and the Square are teeming with gnome life, mirroring that of the surroundings. Outside Pizza Hut is Glutton gnome lying on a plate, huge stomach filled to bursting. Outside the Old Prison is Wieziennik (the Jailer), who sits behind a barred window overlooking ul. Wiezienna. “Their characters and special traits are inspired by different spots in Wrocław,” explains Scibor Szapk of Wanilia, the advertising agency responsible for the first gnomes. “We first chose the spot and then thought of a gnome who could represent it,” he explains. A couple of streets away is Rzeznik, the tipsy butcher propped against a wall of the old slaughterhouse on ul. Jatki. Both the prison and the slaughterhouse are worth visiting along with the gnome attraction – they are picturesque tokens of the Wrocław of yore, and offer great spots for a night of revelry or a day of souvenir shopping.
As well as offering a guide to the more interesting, off-the-beaten-track highlights of Wrocław, the gnomes have another advantage. “It’s a great way of keeping the kids happy,” says Mike from the UK, holidaying for the week with his family. “It keeps them interested and really excited about finding the next gnome,” he adds, while his son tries to pull off the pointy hat of a gnome called Spioch, napping by the entrance to the gnome kingdom next to St Elisbeth’s Church.
To find it, go under the quaint Hansel and Gretel buildings gracefully “holding hands” on the corner of ul. Odrzaska and Sw. Mikolaja just off the Square. There, just two inches above the ground, hangs a red plaque marking the Gnome Museum.
According to local legend, you have to be a true gnome believer to get in. According to fact, it doesn’t matter. You won’t get in either way because it doesn’t exist. In this case the chase really is more fun than the catch.
But fun doesn’t stop here. One idea doing the rounds at the moment in the city is for a gnome theme park. “At the moment we are working on other ways to promote the Krasnal as the symbol of the city, we want to give potential investors a bigger diversity of ideas,” says Scibor.
Gnomes seem to have put their fingers into every walk of Wrocław life. They raise awareness (the famous gnome on a wheelchair by the entrance to the Town Hall), they lure tourists to restaurants and shops, inspire artists and writers; and they are a true object of local patriotism. This is a city full of remarkable sights – the Gothic Town Hall, the serene Cathedral Island, the lavish botanic gardens and the famed Centennial Hall, to mention just a few. But the battle for the visitors’ attention is often lost to the gnomes.
Wrocław is enthall to gnome-mania. A feat worthy of a magical imp indeed.
THE PICK OF THE CITY’S BRIDGES
If you want a break from the small scale of the gnomes, Wroc³aw has a lot of large-scale sights. Known as the Venice of the North, the city is built on the confluence of five rivers and prides itself on 200 bridges.
If bridges are all about connecting, the Tumski Bridge is all about connecting people. It’s said that if two people meet there, they are bound to get married. However, some couples want to be extra sure so, to seal their eternal happiness together, they put a padlock on the rails of the bridge. One may smile condescendingly at such superstitions, but all smiles fade when the bridge’s illuminations come on at night and spiders, together with their embroidery of webs, are revealed.
Their fondness of this bridge makes the Tumski the eeriest, but the cream of the Wroc³aw crop is the Grunwaldzki Bridge, which is the longest and prettiest suspension bridge in the city. During the World War II it was used as a plane runway as well as for carrying tanks and heavy artillery.
Today you are more likely to see tanked up lads and lasses but both bridges are stunning examples of the city’s beautiful architecture.
