Centennial Hall, Wrocław, Poland

The Centennial Hall was constructed according to the plans of architect Max Berg in 1911–1913, when the city was part of the German Empire. The building and surroundings is frequently visited by tourists and the local populace.

As an early landmark of reinforced concrete architecture, the building became one of Poland"s official national Historic Monuments, as designated April 20, 2005, together with the Four Domes Pavilion, the Pergola, and the Iglica. Its listing is maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland. It was also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006.

It was in the Silesian capital of Breslau on 10 March 1813 where King Frederick William III of Prussia called upon the Prussian and German people in his proclamation An Mein Volk to rise up against Napoleon"s occupation. In October of that year, at the Battle of Leipzig, Napoleon was defeated.

The opening of the hall was part of the celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of the battle, hence the name. Breslau"s municipal authorities had vainly awaited state funding and ultimately had to defray the enormous costs out of their own pockets. The landscaping and buildings surrounding the hall were laid out by Hans Poelzig were opened on 20 May 1913 in the presence of Crown Prince William of Hohenzollern. The grounds include a huge pond with fountains enclosed by a huge concrete pergola in the form of half an ellipse. Beyond this, to the north, a Japanese garden was created. The Silesian author Gerhart Hauptmann had specially prepared a play Festspiel in deutschen Reimen, however the mise-en-scène by Max Reinhardt was suspended by national-conservative circles for its antimilitaristic tendencies.

After the memorial events, the building served as multi-purpose recreational building, situated in the Exhibition Grounds, previously used for horse racing. It was largely spared from the devastation by the Siege of Breslau and after the city had become part of the Republic of Poland according to the 1945 Potsdam Agreement, the hall was renamed Hala Ludowa ('People"s Hall') by the communist government. In 1948, a 106 m (348 ft) high needle-like metal sculpture called Iglica was set up in front of it. The hall was extensively renovated in 1997 and in 2010.

The hall continues to be in active use for sporting events and concerts.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Thorsten Hackenbroich (9 months ago)
What an awesome architecture. Highly recommend to visit this place. Take your camera with you ;-)

Natalia Paz (11 months ago)
Absolutely not worthy! No vale la pena! I entered the centennial hall and was given no instructions at all. Walked around for 10 min trying to find anything to do (as I paid for the googles) and I was surprised to a very angry man kicking everyone out. We walked back to reception and asked for our money back and the receptionist gave zero importance and just told us that we couldn’t have gone where we went (????). There are no signs at all and the receptionist gave zero instructions were the attraction was. I asked for my money back and she denied me the refund because she said there was no reason for a refund. Absolutely disrespectful! Tourists go to this place as it’s a famous place in the city. It should have people at the entrance telling where the attraction is or at least have signs. I find it very disrespectful to be kicked out when I was trying to find where the attraction was and then I was denied a refund. Absolutely non sense and crew extremely unprepared.

monoglobe (13 months ago)
Could no go onto the floor arena to look directly up at celing as some prep for a concert closed that area of so was a shame. The building structure is impressive. There is a virtual tour which helps to improve your experience. Clean toilets if you need them. There are free lockers for you bags, if a day rucksack.

PandyManiac (PandyManiac) (14 months ago)
Very spacious, clean and acoustics within are amazing for concerts. If you have an opportunity to get in i would highly recommend it

Martin Hergert (14 months ago)
Interesting architecture. Very nice park with fountain which featured a music program the Sunday we visited. Relaxing Japanese garden (10 Zloty entrance).

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The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

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