Things to see and do Silesia

Originally built in the ^13th century, this superb castle has been extended several times, and is now the largest in Silesia, with 415 rooms, and the third largest in Poland. It was inhabited by Hitler during the Second World War, who stripped it of its treasures. Later, the Soviets turned it into barracks, before it was finally renovated and transformed into a museum and opened to visitors today.

The highest peak in the Karkonosze and Sudetenland (1,602 m) is shaped like a cone, with three ridges separating it: Grzbiet Rozovej to the northeast (1,390 m), Grzbiet Równi pod Sniezka to the west and Czarny Grzbiet z Czarna Kop (1,407 m) to the east. This site has a sub-polar microclimate, so alpine plants can be found here, and it's possible for the snow to hold almost all year round. The first expedition to this mountain dates back to 1456, on the Czech side. On a clear day, the view from the summit stretches for 100 km.

The Centenary Hall, erected in 1913 to celebrate the Allied victory over Napoleon, lies between the zoo and Szczytnicki Park. Its immense reinforced concrete dome, inspired by the Pantheon in Rome and Saint Sophia in Istanbul, is a feat of engineering. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006, it now houses a sports center, concert hall, cinema and exhibition space. This emblematic monument still divides public opinion, but remains an architectural masterpiece in Poland

This is one of the largest panoramic canvases in Europe. Gigantic at 15 m high and 114 m long, it is installed in a building dedicated to it. The highly symbolic canvas depicts the Battle of Racławice on April 4, 1794, the last Polish victory over the Russians before their final annexation. The painting was completed a century later in Lwów, but it wasn't until 1980 that Soviet reluctance was overcome and it was once again exhibited. Online booking is recommended.

This building, built between the ^13th and ^16th centuries in Gothic style, shines in the middle of Wrocław's central square. The seat of the German bourgeoisie for centuries, it has been miraculously spared destruction. Small sculptures depicting the daily life of Breslau's bourgeoisie can be seen on its southern facade. Inside, you'll find the Museum of Bourgeois Art, whose rooms and artifacts have been wonderfully preserved; the highlight of the show is the sumptuous Knights' Hall. Access is from the west.

The Rynek is spacious (it's the second largest in Poland after Krakow, at 173 m by 208 m) and elegant, and well worth several tours. Some ^13th-century facades remain, and while others have been restored to their original appearance, you'll find the Church of St. Elisabeth, nicknamed Jaś i Małgosia (Hansel and Gretel). On the Rynek you'll also see some of the bronze gnomes that nestle in the town. The tourist office has a brochure with a map to help you discover them all.

Located on Tumski Island, it stands on the site of the former Romanesque cathedral, built around the year 1000, destroyed by the Bohemian Bratoslav around 1035 and rebuilt in the ^12th century. The present ^13th-century building was badly damaged during the Second World War, but has since been superbly rebuilt. A typical Wroclaw feature, colorful Baroque chapels have been added to the Gothic body. You can climb to the top of the north tower and enjoy the beautiful panorama.

Its classical frontal architecture and stucco facade are the signature of the Jesuits who founded it. In keeping with their credo, the interior is absolutely grandiose and contrasts with the façade: it is one of the most beautiful Baroque churches in Central Europe, made of pomp, marble, swirling woodwork and missionary frescoes. It was built at the end of the ^16th century as a university church on the site of the former Piast castle.

Located to the north of the Rynek, this superb ^18th-century Baroque university is well worth a visit, with its fantastic exterior and wooden and wrought-iron gates. It was founded in 1702 by the Austrian Emperor Leopold II. German until 1945, it trained a number of Nobel Prize winners, including the famous physician Alois Alzheimer, who discovered the disease to which he gave his name. After the Second World War, the entire University of Lwów was relocated to replace the academics in Breslau.

Founded in 1865, it is the largest zoological garden in Poland in terms of the number of animal species present, indeed one of the largest in Europe. Do not miss the magnificent neon sign, a legacy of communist Poland. The zoo has recently been enriched by a new space called Afrykarium, a unique oceanarium presenting different ecosystems related to the water environment in Africa. Coral reefs from the Red Sea, hippos, freshwater fish from lakes Malawi and Tanganyika, rays, sharks, crocodiles and manatees.

Slightly to the west of the Rynek, this superb square has been faithfully rebuilt with red and blue Baroque facades. Formerly the town's salt market square, it now houses a 24-hour flower market. The square was built in the ^13th century and, until 1827, was known as the "Polish Market". The name was changed to Blücherplatz in the ^19th century, when a monument to Field Marshal von Blücher was erected on the square. Beneath the square, a large WWII bunker houses a cinema theme park.

Originally a place of worship for the Knights of Malta, whose sign can be seen on the walls, built in the 14th century in the center of a pretty square not far from the Rynek, this Gothic church has retained its original exterior appearance, but the interior decorations have been redone in the most flamboyant Baroque style. They are among the most beautiful in Poland, with an unprecedented abundance (in marble, gold ...) testifying to 250 years of Baroque. You can attend organ concerts.

Considered to be the most beautiful of the region. In the summer, animations are offered, such as concerts (classical music or popular songs), in the open air or in the pijalnia, beautiful building housing the fountains from which the right waters flow in the iron of Kudowa.

This magnificent Baroque complex painted in bright red impresses and is sublime in summer, when the golden sun hits its wide windows. Today, it houses the Ossolineum Library, an impressive collection of manuscripts and documents that is virtually sacred in terms of Polish cultural history. The collection was assembled from 1817 onwards by the great philosopher Józef Maksymilian Ossoliński, curator of the Imperial Library in Vienna, precursor of Slavic studies and a great name in Polish Enlightenment.

Located in a neo-Gothic water reservoir dating from 1893, this new multimedia museum is dedicated to water. Divided into eight thematic sections, the subject may seem boring, but its ultramodern museography is enough to seduce and make it one of the city's great attractions. The visit begins with a film projected onto a circular screen that takes you from the Big Bang to the formation of the planets and the origin of water on Earth. Highly informative and absolutely impressive, this museum is well worth a visit. The museum is accessible by streetcar!

Although the museum's exterior has recently been renovated, its display and museography have certainly not changed since the communist era (apart from the purges of socialist propaganda) and it is delightfully quaint. In addition to objects related to the history of the city, including glass work, there is a magnificent collection of old clocks that are the attraction of the visit. Worth a visit if you have an hour to kill on your way.

Located in a complex that includes a church, a seventeenth-century bell tower and a cemetery, this small chapel is entirely lined with 3,000 skulls and countless human bones, which belonged to victims of the Seven Years' War and the epidemics of the second half of the eighteenth century. There are another 21,000 in the chapel's crypts. It was Wacław Tomaszek, that he collected these bones, between 1776 and 1804, helped by the gravedigger J. Langer. His skull and that of the gravedigger are of course there, according to their last wishes.

An emblem of the city, this bridge spans the Młynówka Canal and connects the Old Town with Sable Island. It dates back to the end of the 14th century and has six groups of statues on its parapets erected in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is a magnificent example of a medieval bridge as few remain in the region. Just stand in the middle of it, look at the water under the parapet for a moment and close your eyes to be transported to a distant past.

Built on a small island in the heart of Wrocław, this ^14th-century church was originally one of the country's oldest Gothic churches in the German period. Its appearance shows architectural trial and error, as well as a plan halfway between the Romanesque style and the Gothic canons. Serving as HQ for the German army desperately trying to resist the Soviet advance on the Reich border, it was destroyed before being rebuilt after the war.

Located just across the Tumski Bridge, which overlooks the University Island on the Oder River, this church welcomes you on your way to the cathedral. Although it is visible, you will not immediately find the entrance to this small, beautiful but very soberly decorated church, dating from the 15th century. In fact, you have to pass by the building located just nearby, the Orphanotrophaeum, a former orphanage for children of the nobility, built in the early 18th century.