Wroclaw – The Best City to Take Kids in Europe

For all parents that want to experience a really fun couple of days in a city, and for free, Wrocław is the place to go. We’ve all wanted our children, our students, our friends’ kids to enjoy the places we’ve brought them to; and, well, they sometimes just don’t.

It’s exasperating and frustrating. Why can’t cities, museums, places of historical interest keep children in mind at all times? Well folks, Wrocław has done it! I hope they become an example for all city tourist boards! Wroclaw with kids; it’s where you want to go!

Wroclaw with Kids! The Best Way to See the City

There are so many things to do in Wroclaw, especially for kids, it and has become the City of the Dwarfs. There are foot-high statues all over the city of one, or more, dwarfs representing a job or an activity, and often, but not always, related to the location. For example, the money machine dwarfs just happen to have their machine located next to three cash machines at one of the banks. Just walking along the streets becomes a treasure hunt for any kid, young or old.

Why Do Dwarfs Inhabit Wroclaw City Center?

According to the Wrocław City website, the dwarf statues first started appearing in 2005 and have grown to a number of around 300.

Why dwarfs? Well, I don’t think the city initially thought of all the kids in the world looking for them, and instead, it began as political statement and a tribute to the Orange Alternative and its founder Waldemar Fydrych. This anti-communist group was active in the late 1980s and would try to undermine the current regime in whimsical and silly ways so that the militia would look foolish when they tried to suppress them.

One way it would do so was through graffiti. It is a tradition that Wrocław still embraces today. You can see graffiti on almost every wall and door. It can be extremely unsightly; and, during the communist regimes, the militia could easily find the graffiti culprits.

Many were arrested and imprisoned,the anti-communist slogans painted over, and everything would go back to normal, for a while. The OA started painting small dwarfs over the painted-over graffiti. These were more difficult to locate, and they were seemingly less threatening. Regardless, Fydrych was still arrested and given a life-long sentence.

At any rate, graffiti or no, Wrocław is a joy to walk around. Not only does it have a gorgeous city hall, as well as many other beautiful buildings, it has these fantastical and fun little dwarfs to search out.

I challenge all of you kids, from 2 to 102, to go out there and find some of these dwarfs.

If you would like to find out more about the dwarfs, they do thave their own website, and you can also pick up a map of all the dwarfs’ locations at the Tourist Information. It is located right in the middle of the town square (Rynek).

After searching for Dwarfs, why not do some Polish Pottery shopping at Poland’s Pottery Capital, Boleslawiec.

We love staying in Wroclaw at the Cleopatra Apartment. They are modern, clean and affordable and right in the old town with secure parking. We don’t have any type of special partnership with them or anything, but having the extra rooms and kitchen makes for a very comfortable stay, especially with children.

Author Bio: Corinne Vail is a travel photographer, food lover, and a perpetual traveler who has been travel writing for over 14 years. For many years she lived overseas in Germany, Japan, Turkey, South Korea, and the Netherlands teaching the children of the US. military. She’s visited over 90 countries, and she’s not stopping anytime soon.

Have you been to Wrocław with kids?  How many dwarfs did you catch?

Other Articles for some Travel with Kid Inspiration

• Tips for Traveling with Kids
• Wroclaw, The Best City for Kids in Poland
• Playmobil Fun Park, Nuremberg, Germany
• Open Air Museums in Germany
• Musee des Arts Forains in Paris- Great for Kids!
• Gardens By the Bay – Singapore
• The Real Fairytale City – Odense, Denmark
• Riding on the Children’s Railway in Budapest
• Making Ramen at the Cup Noodle Museum in Yokohama
• The Pokemon Cafe, Tokyo
• The Kawaii Monster Cafe, Tokyo
• Biking the Trails of Hoge Veluwe in the Netherlands
• German Christmas Markets with Kids
• Taking Christmas Traditions on the Road with You

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