The river
Islands & bridges
The quickest way to read Wrocław is along the water. The Odra does not pass the centre in one line; it splits, rejoins and splits again, and the city grew on the ground in between.
A river in several pieces
Within the city the Odra divides into branches, and the branches are joined by canals and old channels. Where they pull apart you get land with water on every side: about a dozen islands, crossed by more than a hundred bridges and footbridges. That is why Wrocław is so often called a city of bridges.
The islands beside the Old Town
The city's own guide counts six islands in the cluster just by the Old Town: Bielarska, Słodowa, Młyńska, Piasek, Daliowa and Tamka. Four are worth knowing by name.
Wyspa Piasek, Sand Island, is named for the Gothic church of Our Lady on the Sand, which stands on it beside the buildings of the former Augustinian monastery. It is also the island the Tumski Bridge leaves from.
Wyspa Młyńska, Mill Island, is named for the water mills built here from the thirteenth century. It sits between Piasek and Słodowa.
Wyspa Słodowa lies between the river channels in the middle of the city. One of the two medieval St Clare's mills stood here. It is a place to sit by the water, and a venue for cultural events.
Wyspa Bielarska takes its name from the bleachers who once whitened linen cloth there. It lies next to Słodowa and Młyńska; its buildings were destroyed in the siege of 1945.
Ostrów Tumski
An island in name only.
Ostrów Tumski is the site of Wrocław's cathedral. The diocese was founded in the year 1000. The ground was once a true island between branches of the river. In the nineteenth century the old riverbed was filled in, and the island became part of the mainland. The name stayed.
How the two meet
On foot, the way across is Most Tumski, the steel bridge of 1889 between Piasek and Ostrów Tumski. On the far side the towers of the Cathedral are the first thing ahead of you. Between the two ends of that short crossing you can see most of what this page describes: a branch of the river, an island behind you, and Ostrów Tumski in front.
In July 1997 the Odra flooded large parts of Wrocław, and people fought to keep the embankments at Ostrów Tumski and round the Old Town from breaking.