Depot History Centre in Wrocław

In August 1980, about 20,000 people gathered outside the gate of this depot while bus drivers went on strike inside. Today the same red-brick hall on ul. Grabiszyńska houses the Depot History Centre (Centrum Historii Zajezdnia), a museum that tells how the German city of Breslau became Polish Wrocław. It is one of the best places to understand the city's post-war identity, even if communist-era history is not usually your thing.

History: from trams to Solidarity

The building went up at the end of the 19th century as a depot for Breslau's municipal trams. It is a fine example of red-brick industrial architecture of the time and survived the 1945 siege of the city with only minor damage. After the war it served as a bus depot of the city transport company MPK, later numbered Depot VII. Here, on 26 August 1980, the first Inter-Enterprise Strike Committee in the region was formed, and the sit-in strike lasted until 1 September. On 29 August, Father Stanisław Orzechowski celebrated Mass for the strikers and the crowd outside the gate.

MPK used the depot until 2015. The complete conversion cost over PLN 36 million and was co-financed by Norway Grants and EEA Grants. The museum opened on 16 September 2016 and is run by the Remembrance and Future Centre (Ośrodek „Pamięć i Przyszłość”).

The exhibition "Wrocław 1945–2016"

The permanent exhibition fills the former depot hall on two levels and is divided into eight chapters. It begins in interwar Poland and ends in present-day Wrocław. It covers the border changes agreed by the Big Three, the arrival of settlers from Poland's former eastern territories and from central Poland who moved into homes left by expelled Germans, everyday life under communism, culture and the opposition. The lower level is dedicated to anti-communist and independence movements. There are more than 500 original objects, plus reproductions of documents and photographs.

What to look out for

• Stage sets: a pre-war street in Lwów (today's Lviv), a Warsaw sewer and a 1980s butcher's shop from the years when shelves were often empty.
• An original RUCH newspaper kiosk and a cattle wagon, a symbol of the post-war resettlements.
• Multimedia: touchscreens, projections and sound recordings that work well for teenagers.
• The clock outside: it was moved here from the underpass at the junction of ul. Świdnicka and ul. Kazimierza Wielkiego. Since 2020, the dwarf figure Zajezdniak has stood beneath it, holding a "Solidarność" banner next to a miniature Jelcz 043 bus. Wrocław is famous for hundreds of these small bronze dwarfs.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Grabiszyńska 184, Wrocław.
• Exhibition hours: Tue–Wed 9:00–17:00, Thu 10:00–17:00, Fri–Sun 10:00–18:00. Last entry one hour before closing; the museum is closed on selected holidays (including Easter, 1 November and 24–26 December).
• Tickets: standard PLN 20, reduced PLN 10, family PLN 55 (two adults and at least two children), school groups PLN 80. A guided tour costs an extra PLN 100 in Polish or PLN 150 in English; book on +48 71 715 96 02.
• Time needed: allow 2–3 hours, as the exhibition is dense.

Tripto tip

A temporary car park arrangement applies at the museum, so it is easier to come by tram or bus along ul. Grabiszyńska. If you are short of time, focus on the sections about 1945 and August 1980, and skim the rest. Step out onto the square afterwards: the clock and Zajezdniak make a good final photo.