THE HISTORY OF WROCLAW
In 1741 King Frederick the Great II seized Lower Silesia and brought it under Prussian rule. Wroclaw spent the next two hundred years in German hands and by the end of the 19th century it was the third largest Prussian city behind Berlin and Hamburg, and began to be heavily industrialised. After the demise of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the city remained under Prussian administration and joined Imperial Germany upon its creation in 1871. The Kings of Prussia saw to it that Breslau became a major industrial centre, notably of linen and cotton manufacture, more than tripling in population between 1860 and 1910 to over half a million. Its municipal boundaries were greatly extended in 1928. When the Nazis seized power in 1933, Poles still living there (along with the Jews) were politely asked to leave. Wroclaw, or Breslau as it had then been known for 200 years, was so Germanised by that time that it eventually became the last stronghold of the Nazis. It was the last town to surrender to the Soviets, after a 14-week siege, on May 6th 1945. After the war, as a result of the Potsdam conference, Wroclaw was handed back to Poland as the whole country was effectively shifted westwards. The remainder of the German residents were expelled and the city was re-populated by Poles. Gradually the old city was restored to its beauty. Nearly all of the monumental buildings were preserved. Now it is a uniquely European city of present-day Poland. But the year 1997, was a year of a dramatic fight with the greatest flood in the city’s rich history. Almost 30% of Wroclaw was covered by water, immaterial losses are uncountable.

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