Wrocław – A City Built on Culture, History and Modernity
Radosław MICHALSKI
‘A recent survey of Polish opinion shows that Wrocław is not built around good PR but on the real and established experiences of both residents and visitors, many of whom not only express a desire to visit again but also encourage others to do so. Wrocław builds its future on knowledge, education and modernity,’ writes Radosław MICHALSKI
.Wrocław established its Brand Department last June. Similar units have been standard in many cities in Europe and around the world for years. The initiative was born out of a desire for long-term strategic promotion of the city and building its lasting image.
We knew, however, that we were not starting from scratch – we were simply continuing the wonderful adventure that had begun in the city’s early history and resumed post-1990. A series of very sensible mayors has given the Wrocław brand its stable (though not unchanging) foundations. To properly continue this process, we needed to know where we stood in this history and set priorities for our work on that basis.
In January 2025, the Polish Institute for Internet and Social Media Research (IBMS) surveyed a representative group of Poles residing outside Wrocław to gauge their views on the city. Our questions covered various topics, such as the connotations of the city, its main attractors and its perception as a potential place to live. The results showed both the strengths of the Wrocław brand and areas needing further work.
We were particularly pleased to see that 27% of all respondents named Wrocław as a potential place to move to if they were considering a change of residence in the future. In addition, 40 % of those already planning to move in the next few years named Wrocław as their target destination. Their choice was primarily driven by the prospect of finding a good job and developing their careers – in other words, thinking about the future. This was followed by considerations of safety and green spaces – factors which contribute to a sense of a high quality of life.
As a large city, Wrocław is facing demographic challenges and wants to attract young people, so we also examined its perceived appeal as a place to study. Respondents cited the cost of living, housing, transport, safety and future job opportunities as the most significant determinants of Wrocław’s appeal as a study destination. It turns out that more than half of the respondents (aged up to 25) think that Wrocław is more attractive than other university cities in Poland. This is largely due to our city’s academic environment and the diversity of our labour market.
One of Wrocław’s greatest strengths is the presence of a wide range of industries, from manufacturing to corporate development subsidiaries to companies involved in the design of new technologies.
This synergy between academia, business and the city, which supports new opportunities in the labour market and attracts creative people to Wrocław, puts the city neck and neck with Warsaw as the start-up capital of Poland: as many as 21% of all Polish start-ups are based here.
Potential and current residents also value the stability of employment in Wrocław. We owe this to the great versatility of the industries. Diversification was particularly noticeable during the COVID-19 pandemic. While some sectors suffered stagnation, others flourished as they better responded to the needs created by the new market reality.
We also used the survey to learn about people’s opinions about Wrocław’s main tourist and cultural attractions. When asked, ‘What comes to mind when you think of Wrocław?’ the vast majority of respondents pointed to the Wrocław Zoo and the Wrocław Dwarfs. We are not surprised by this, as these are currently our city’s most famous attractions. Opened over a decade ago, the Arkaim continues to draw visitors to the zoo, while the dwarves remain a somewhat humorous link between modern Wrocław and its historical memory. This is because the gnomes often appear in important places from the city’s past, catching the attention of tourists and passers-by.
But these are not the only things associated with Wrocław. For example, respondents very often cited the Racławice Panorama – probably the first major tourist attraction of the post-war city and still popular today. They also mentioned the many bridges in Wrocław – the city has more than 100 of them – as well as the Market Square, Ostrów Tumski and the modernist Centennial Hall, which are considered architecturally beautiful. Though heavily damaged in World War II, much of the architecture was salvaged and restored.
The survey revealed that many Poles outside of Wrocław frequently travel there. When asked, ‘When was the last time you visited Wrocław?’, 42% of respondents said they had been to the city in the last four years, 16% in the last two to three years and 15% in the last year. 27% of respondents admitted they had never been to Wrocław. We will continue to work on systematically reducing the latter number.
We also asked respondents about their awareness of cultural events taking place in our city. This is important to us because we want to attract ‘quality’ tourists – not necessarily the wealthy ones but those who are looking for deeper values in their travel, such as a variety of experiences. In response to the question ‘What events, festivals or other initiatives do you associate with Wroclaw?’, the most frequent answer was the Jazz nad Odrą festival, which has been held in our city for decades and is about to embark on its next edition.
The Christmas Market was also frequently mentioned. This event has already become an established winter tradition in Wrocław, drawing a large proportion of the almost 6 million tourists who visited our city (according to 2023 data). Apart from that, the respondents cited the New Horizons Film Festival, the Actors’ Song Review and the Guinness Guitar Record. The latter indeed attracts many daredevils, hoping to set a new Guinness World Record for the most people playing ‘Hey Joe’ simultaneously on guitar in one location. Being in Wrocław in early May means navigating a guitar-filled Market Square, which is challenging, but the event is truly spectacular.
Poles also recognise Wrocław’s sporting events, such as the Night Half Marathon, which grows in popularity every year. Suffice it to say that all tickets for this year’s edition have long been sold out. When asked about the quality of all these cultural and sporting events, respondents rated them very highly, with an average rating of more than 8 on a 10-point scale.
.To summarise, the briefly presented survey data on Polish perspectives of Wroclaw not only shows us what we still have to work on but, above all, places a tremendous responsibility on us not to belittle what has already been achieved. The results add up to a beautiful story of Wrocław as a city built not around PR but on the real experiences of the people who live here and who visit us. Wrocław is a city founded on its history, culture and the hard work of those who came here from many different regions, especially from the pre-war Borderlands. A city building a future based on knowledge, education and modernity. And a city open to the future and new residents.
