If I asked you what European cities are well known for street art, Wroclaw probably wouldn’t be one of them.
In fact, this pretty Eastern gem has some of the best street art in Europe.
Public art pieces are scattered about the city. The famous gnomes (of which there are over 300) challenge any visitor to discover their many locations. Other life-like statues of people or farm animals can be spotted on the sidewalks in both open areas and side streets, waiting for the unsuspecting visitor to walk by and notice.
There are also a number of drab back alleys that have been transformed to vibrant and decorated masterpieces. We passed the entrance to Ruska Street Backyard twice before we finally found it. The alley doesn’t appear in Google Maps, so we could only go off the vague explanations provided on a few websites we’d found describing the location.
The entrance looked as though it was just a driveway leading between two apartment buildings. It wasn’t until we’d begun making our way down that its hidden secrets revealed themselves.
A million different colours were splashed onto every possible surface and crawled up every wall as high as they could reach. Even drainage pipes and exhaust units had been decorated with patterns and drawings, making a normally inanimate object into something worth looking at.
The alley stretches between Ruska Street and Świętego Antoniego, sneakily utilising the narrow leftover space between the buildings surrounding it. To find the alley, head west along Ruska Street and it will appear on your left.
It was obvious no one knew about this place, we were the only ones exploring it. It was our little secret.
That’s so neat! How did you stumble upon this place?
http://itsjpei.wordpress.com/
We found it online – I think we might have been searching for activities in Wroclaw on Trip Advisor, and it came up as one of the options. We were definitely glad we found it 😉
Great post, I enjoy looking at the street of different countries, it really shows the culture of a place.
That’s exactly what I think Beau – the street art really defines the underground culture of an area, you can see it on the walls!
I found your post so interesting that I had to look up the history of the city. Very touching as the former German population paid the price for Hitlers cruel policy and were removed. Before that I am quite sure the Polish population also has been removed. People has suffered under evil rulers, but the city is thriving never the less and as you write worth visiting.
Wow, that’s really interesting to know. Nuremberg is so rich with history, it was a fascinating place to visit!
This is a great find Ashlea! We haven’t been to Wroclaw yet, hopefully soon considering we keep hearing good things about it, plus the fact that there is street art is an extra reason to visit 🙂
You should definitely give it a go Franca, the old town and university district were some of the most beautiful areas we visited in Europe! And of course the street art is fantastic 😉
Very cool and nice find! I loved Wroclaw a lot when I was there, can’t even remember if I saw this little place or not though!
It’s really hidden off the beaten track, so it’s unlikely you’ll find it unless you know where it is! Next time you visit, it’s definitely worth seeking out 😉
wow very nice place…like this…
Thanks Angki, it was a really incredible alley to walk through 🙂
Amazing! The hidden places like these are my favorites to discover!
Mine too! I love the feeling of stumbling on something awesome that’s off the beaten path. Thanks Erika 😀
aww i really love street arts, next year i will visit Penang, and it’s famous by its street arts
cant waaaitt 🙂
Ooh I’ve heard that Georgetown especially has some fantastic street art – I’m sure you will love it Meidiana!
Agree! Wroclaw is special. I’ve been there only once but fell in love with it!
I know what you mean Jo – one visit to Wroclaw and it will immediately have your heart! I’d love to go back in the spring or fall though, I think it would be an entirely different place.
Thanks for a tip! We are going to Wroclaw tomorrow – hope we will find that place 🙂
No problem, Mary – I hope you find it! Have a great time in Wroclaw 🙂