Colourful Wroclaw Colorful tenement houses in the Old Town of Wroclaw

From brick red through subdued beige and pastel blues to brown or even black - each of the buildings in Wroclaw's square today has an original colourful facade. Often very bold - such as in violet or pink, although the latter is rare.

Where did this blaze of colours on the buildings come from, which were erected prior to the Napoleonic era? If we believe the historians, this is how facades were painted in Wroclaw then. It was a symbol of prosperity of the owners, who got rich thanks to the international trade - Wroclaw was located close to the most important transport routes, which connected southern Europe with the Baltic and Western Europe with Russia. As the Wroclaw residents were not only resourceful but also open-minded and go-getting, they spent their earned money to show off - they built tenement houses and then covered them with vivid colours.

It’s not surprising that when a few years ago they commenced to renovate them, it was decided to restore the historical colours - the colours closest to the original ones were chosen. The current owners of the tenement houses, however, were given a choice of several colours - according to the principle: the older the building was, the more often it was repainted in the past.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Colourful townhouses surrounding the Wroclaw square were gradually erected - since the Middle Ages. The ones in the city centre were painted with bold colours, whereas the ones in the midtown were covered with pastels, primarily bright beige or pure white. The colours were also accompanied by original names, such as Hansel and Gretel, Golden Sun and Golden Jubilee tenement houses.

During the renovation, the restoration of old decorations was also taken care of - as a result, golden finishing or e.g. angel statue (on the roof) were found on tenement houses, which are of a rectangular shape.

In the central part of the square, which is almost 3.8 hectares, there is the City Hall, the seat of the city authorities. It is the tallest building in the square, preserved mainly in the Gothic style (although other epochs made their impact too). From aerial photos it resembles a church or castle with a high tower, from which 11 streets divaricate to all directions.