Landmarks

University of Wrocław

The main building of the University of Wrocław, known as the Leopoldina, is one of the most beautiful Baroque academic buildings in Europe. Emperor Leopold I founded the university in 1702 as a Jesuit college, and the grand edifice on the Odra river has become one of the city's landmarks. Visits run through the University of Wrocław Museum, which opens the most precious interiors — from the monumental staircase with its sculptures, through the Oratorium Marianum, to the Aula Leopoldina.

The Leopoldina Hall, which gave the whole institution its name, dazzles with décor worthy of a royal residence: frescoes by Johann Christoph Handke, stuccowork and portraits of the founders. Nobel laureates are part of this academic tradition — Fritz Haber and Otto Stern were both born in Wrocław — and today more than 20,000 students study here. At the top of the former astronomical tower, the Mathematical Tower offers a terrace with one of the best panoramas of Ostrów Tumski and the Old Town.

Allow about an hour for the interiors and the tower. Tickets are sold by the museum, combined tickets are available, and the last admission is 30 minutes before closing. The halls are occasionally closed for academic ceremonies, so check the current schedule before your visit. The complex is a few minutes' walk from the cathedral on Ostrów Tumski and combines easily into a full day of exploring the oldest parts of Wrocław — and the museum interiors are a great pick for a rainy day, too.