[Flawerwell]

Most of institutions and many inhabitants were taken from Lwów to Wrocław. I put my photos to compare both cicties (Lwów is in another thread). Point out, that Wrocław was stronger destroyed than Lwów. First part: from a southern area to Main Square.

 

[geoff189d]

Hard to believe Wroclaw was a pile of rubble at the end of WW2. Looks a nice place now.

 

[Munichpictures1970]

Very nice pictures!

 

[christos-greece]

Awesome, very nice shots from Wroclaw

 

[Flawerwell]

 

[surovy_mag]

Super!

 

[cameronpaul]

There is obviously still a lot of restoration needed but it so good to see how much has been done to bring this lovely city back to life again - Poland has so much heritage and I hope it continues to prosper.

 

[Flawerwell]

There is obviously still a lot of restoration needed but it so good to see how much has been done to bring this lovely city back to life again - Poland has so much heritage and I hope it continues to prosper.

It's a sad thing - the contrast between colorful centre and grey outskirs. I hope that Wrocław will be continuing restoration.

 

[rychlik]

Was communism's goal to make everything ugly?? It's sad how all these post-communist countries only in the last 15 or so years, have begun to renovate and revitalize their cities and architecture.

 

[Flawerwell]

Was communism's goal to make everything ugly?? It's sad how all these post-communist countries only in the last 15 or so years, have begun to renovate and revitalize their cities and architecture.

No, it wasn't a goal, but communists focused on building new housing estates (famous concrete blocks), new megalomanic office buildings and of course industry. They completely forgot about historic buildings, because they were a symbol of past, bad system. Exeptionally they firstly rebuilt Old Towns in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdańsk, but other old areas remained neglected.

Only since 1989 started a big program of renovation. The change is really big, I remember 90's (I was a kid) - everything grey and fragments of walls falling on the head. Now the situation is getting better year by year

 

[Damian1]

Was communism's goal to make everything ugly?? It's sad how all these post-communist countries only in the last 15 or so years, have begun to renovate and revitalize their cities and architecture.

Communism is the worst ideology ever. The communist mindset, is never about building, only destroying. They ruined so many beautiful cities, with their drab, depressing, gray and beige, square concrete monstrosities. Warsaw looks hideous, compared to what it was before the war. Wroclaw has suffered as well, albeit, not as much as Warsaw, Bucharest, Moscow etc....Wroclaw is still very beautiful, it simply needs a face lift. The cracks need to be filled, the walls need to be repainted, and the city will be just fine. The one thing i recall from my trip to Wroclaw, and something that has given me nightmares, is the train station. It is very beautiful from the outside, but once you make your way inside the thing, you start to wish, you never made your way in there(the city still has a way to go).

 

[Flawerwell]

Communism is the worst ideology ever. The communist mindset, is never about building, only destroying. They ruined so many beautiful cities, with their drab, depressing, gray and beige, square concrete monstrosities. Warsaw looks hideous, compared to what it was before the war. Wroclaw has suffered as well, albeit, not as much as Warsaw, Bucharest, Moscow etc....Wroclaw is still very beautiful, it simply needs a face lift. The cracks need to be filled, the walls need to be repainted, and the city will be just fine. The one thing i recall from my trip to Wroclaw, and something that has given me nightmares, is the train station. It is very beautiful from the outside, but once you make your way inside the thing, you start to wish, you never made your way in there(the city still has a way to go).

You're wrong. Communists in style of building looked up to Le Corbusier. A complex of buildings near Marszałkowska (Domy Centrum, Rotunda PKO) is a great example of modernism architecture, Novotel too. And about destroying Warsaw: Thanks to stupid generals, who came up with Warsaw Uprising.

 

[Offspring]

Was communism's goal to make everything ugly?? It's sad how all these post-communist countries only in the last 15 or so years, have begun to renovate and revitalize their cities and architecture.

You're wrong. Communists in style of building looked up to Le Corbusier. A complex of buildings near Marszałkowska (Domy Centrum, Rotunda PKO) is a great example of modernism architecture, Novotel too. And about destroying Warsaw: Thanks to stupid generals, who came up with Warsaw Uprising.

Communism (or, to be precise, socialism) left not only grey blocks, but also great modernist architecture (center of Warsaw). The point is that after it falls we cannot maintain its heritage well: center of Warsaw remains neglected, good architecture is destroyed by "modern" restorations and so on.

There is obviously still a lot of restoration needed but it so good to see how much has been done to bring this lovely city back to life again - Poland has so much heritage and I hope it continues to prosper.

In case of Wroclaw it is mainly German heritage.

 

[jwojcie]

Good thing is that since 89' "German heritage" is not obstacle for renovation.

 

[Damian1]

You're wrong. Communists in style of building looked up to Le Corbusier. A complex of buildings near Marszałkowska (Domy Centrum, Rotunda PKO) is a great example of modernism architecture, Novotel too. And about destroying Warsaw: Thanks to stupid generals, who came up with Warsaw Uprising.

Modernist architecture can be quite ugly and confusing. I am not a huge fan, of any of the newer buildings in Warsaw. BTW, what kind of architectural style does the train station fall under? That has to be the ugliest structure in all of Warsaw(built during communist years).

 

[Damian1]

Good thing is that since 89' "German heritage" is not obstacle for renovation.

What do you mean by that? German heritage, has left Poland with a lot of beautiful cities.

 

[Powelll]

They also destroyed a big part of our, Polish heritage, to be precise.

 

[Damian1]

They also destroyed a big part of our, Polish heritage, to be precise.

So what's your point? Maybe we should put up, a lot ugly modern buildings, in Wroclaw and Gdansk, just to spite the Germans?

 

[Damian1]

No, it wasn't a goal, but communists focused on building new housing estates (famous concrete blocks), new megalomanic office buildings and of course industry. They completely forgot about historic buildings, because they were a symbol of past, bad system. Exeptionally they firstly rebuilt Old Towns in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdańsk, but other old areas remained neglected.

Only since 1989 started a big program of renovation. The change is really big, I remember 90's (I was a kid) - everything grey and fragments of walls falling on the head. Now the situation is getting better year by year

Communists wanted everything to look the same. They didn't give a damn about building something better, and more inspiring. The whole point, was to disconnect people from their past, and not to build something better. The best way to crush somebody's spirit, is to make everything as ugly, unappealing, and uninspiring as possible. I'll concede, a few communist era buildings are decent, but you can't tell me, that the good, outweighs the bad. Look at Bucharest as an example. One of the most lovely cities in all of Europe at one point. Forty years of communist rule, and the city no longer looks like the "Paris of the east". That distinction has been lost forever, all because, of one low IQ, megalomaniac.

 

[Elvenking]

^^ Although you're right about disconnecting people from their past, also destroying social ties and "programming" new socialist mentality for people, I think you miss the point about architecture. It wasn't that bad. Commieblocks are scattered all over the world, in western Europe as well, also there are very good and modern (even for today's standards) examples of socialistic modernism, in fact it wasn't much different from the western architecture. Maybe not so sophisticated and built from cheaper materials, but still not bad. Time spoiled most of these buildings, now they're grey and dirty, but I assure you they'd look very modern after proper restoration. Even ugly commieblock can be renovated so that it looks acceptable Of course people in countries of former eastern block have hardly no idea about aesthetics, painting blocks and other modern architecture of period in ugly, trashy, colorful way (yellow/green/pink and so on :bash: ) - that's biggest problem.