Churches

Nine churches and a synagogue, and which towers you can climb. Four have a page of their own.

Towers you can go up

Cathedral The Gothic Archcathedral of St John the Baptist on Cathedral Island, badly damaged in 1945 and rebuilt in the years after. Tower: a lift to the viewing terrace.
Church of St Elizabeth The Gothic church by the Market Square, burned in 1975 and 1976, and rebuilt over more than twenty years. Tower: stairs only, to a terrace 75 metres up.
St Mary Magdalene Kościół św. Marii Magdaleny on Szewska Street: a fourteenth-century Gothic church, now the cathedral of the Polish Catholic Church. Its two towers are joined by the Penitents' Bridge. Tower: 247 steps to the bridge, 45 metres up.

Checked 9 October 2026 Tower hours change with the season and close in bad weather, and the cathedral closes to visitors during services. Check before you go: the cathedral, St Elizabeth's, the Penitents' Bridge.

Photographs. Cathedral: Shev.vl.vas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; St Elizabeth: Pko, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; St Mary Magdalene: Barbara Maliszewska, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl.

Other churches, and the synagogue

University Church The Jesuit church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, built in 1689–1698 beside what is now the University's main building.
Holy Cross and St Bartholomew Kolegiata św. Krzyża i św. Bartłomieja on Cathedral Island: a Gothic church on two storeys, the church of the Holy Cross above and St Bartholomew's below, founded by Duke Henry IV Probus.
St Mary on the Sand Kościół Najświętszej Marii Panny na Piasku: the fourteenth-century church on Sand Island (Wyspa Piasek).
St Adalbert Kościół św. Wojciecha on plac Dominikański: the Dominicans' church, first consecrated in 1112 and the oldest church on the Odra's left bank. Blessed Czesław, one of Wrocław's patrons, is buried in its chapel.
Orthodox Cathedral Sobór Narodzenia Przenajświętszej Bogurodzicy on ul. św. Mikołaja: the Gothic church of St Barbara, built as a daughter church of St Elizabeth's, given to the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church in 1963 and now the cathedral of its Wrocław–Szczecin diocese.
Saints Cyril and Methodius Cerkiew Świętych Cyryla i Metodego on Sand Island (Wyspa Piasek): a Baroque church, now the Orthodox parish church of Saints Cyril and Methodius.
White Stork Synagogue Built in 1829, vandalised but not burned in 1938, restored as a place of worship and a cultural centre.

Checked 9 October 2026 None of these is on the city's list of viewing terraces. Opening times and services change.

Photographs. University Church: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; Orthodox Cathedral: Andrzej Otrębski, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; Saints Cyril and Methodius: Dawid Galus, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl; White Stork Synagogue: Zala, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.