Wrocław Dwarfs

Wrocław is home to about 1,040 bronze dwarfs: by cash machines, on window sills, under street lamps and at office doors. The thousandth figure was unveiled in September 2025 – and this whole little population has a surprisingly serious origin in anti-communist graffiti and street happenings of the 1980s.

History: from graffiti to city symbol

The first two dwarfs were painted on the night of 30–31 August 1982 over patches of paint the authorities had used to cover opposition slogans – one on a transformer in Sępolno, the other on a block of flats in Biskupin. In 1982–1983 more than a thousand such drawings appeared in six cities. In the late 1980s the dwarf became the emblem of the Orange Alternative, the movement led by Waldemar "Major" Fydrych that mocked the regime with peaceful happenings. Its high point was the "Dwarf Revolution" march on 1 June 1988, when, according to various sources, between 10,000 and 20,000 people in dwarf hats paraded through Wrocław.

In 2001 the Orange Alternative Monument, known as Papa Krasnal ("Papa Dwarf") and created by Olaf Brzeski, was unveiled on ul. Świdnicka. In August 2005 sculptor Tomasz Moczek placed the first five small dwarfs, and their number has kept growing ever since. They are funded by the city, companies, institutions and private individuals.

What to see

• Papa Krasnal – a 40-centimetre bronze dwarf on a pedestal shaped like a fingertip, by the underpass below ul. Kazimierza Wielkiego. Most demonstrations and happenings used to start from this spot.
• Dwarfs honouring famous people – including Barduś (singer-songwriter Jacek Kaczmarski), Papa Het (James Hetfield) and Alpinki (climbers including Wanda Rutkiewicz).
• Copies of Życzliwek – a dwarf with replicas in Dresden, Reykjavík, Vilnius and Lviv, among others, while Washington has a Kościuszko dwarf.

Good to know

Dwarfs are sometimes stolen or damaged, but they usually return to their spots after a while. Sociologists have pointed out that city marketing often left out the figures' opposition roots, presenting them simply as mascots. Every September the city hosts the Wrocław Dwarf Festival for children.

Tripto tip

Dwarf-hunting is free and takes as long as you like – 1–2 hours is enough for the area around the Market Square and ul. Świdnicka. The "Dwarfs in the Centre of Wrocław" map with 60 stickers is sold at the Tourist Information Centre at Rynek 14; collect them all and you get a special prize. The figures are small, so watch your step and mind other pedestrians in busy spots.