I’ve mentioned them in my previous articles about Wroclaw but felt they were such a charming idea that they deserved an article all of their own. They are, of course, the Wroclaw Dwarves.
Back before the Soviet Union fell, when Poland was under Soviet domination, various anti-communist groups began in Poland. Among them was the Orange Alternative, in Wroclaw. Because their meetings had to be kept secret, the members had to find a way of communicating directions to meetings by code. The image of a dwarf was selected as part of the communication system – information about meeting locations could be hidden in the way the dwarf was depicted.
Soviet rule over Poland lasted until 1989. In 2005 Polish city officials in Wroclaw decided to build a memorial acknowledging the role played by Organisations like Orange Alternative, and a cast-iron statue of the iconic dwarf was placed in the main city square. Since then the Wroclaw dwarves have become part of the culture of Wroclaw. By 2015 there were more than 350 dwarves to be found across the city – all involved in different tasks. Most of the figurines are cast-iron and range between 20 and 30 centimeters in height.
The Wroclaw dwarves have become something of a tourist attraction, and visitors may choose to combine sightseeing with a hunt to locate all the dwarves while they’re in the city. The tourist shops can provide you with a map showing the location of the dwarves, and there is even an app that you can use to help locate them. But many people simply decide to walk around and see which dwarves they meet while they’re out and about. You never know when you’ll encounter one – they’re not shy exactly, but love to sneak up on you and suddenly appear. As we discovered to our joy as we walked around the city.
To tell you about a few of the Wroclaw dwarves we bumped into on our travels, we met a dwarf washing clothing in the river Oder, one studying a political treatise, a dwarf pushing a huge rock whilst, unbeknown to him, another dwarf was pushing the same rock from the other side, a lady dwarf examining herself in a mirror and (my personal favourites) a group of three Wroclaw dwarves with disabilities – one blind, one hearing impaired and one who is in a wheelchair. This group of dwarves are believed to scour Wroclaw after the humans have gone to sleep, ensuring the city is totally accessible to those of us with special needs. And, as far as I could tell, they’re doing a pretty good job!
As you can imagine, the creation of new cast-iron dwarf figurines is managed by an official process – they are so much part of the culture that I’m sure many people and organisations would love to create their own. In fact, they’re so integrally linked to the culture of the city that Wroclaw has an annual festival for the dwarves in September each year.
I’ve included photos of the accessibility team of dwarves, and the dwarf washing his clothes in the Oder river, just to give people an idea of how charming they are.
If I ever have the opportunity of returning to Wroclaw I’d definitely want to spend more time meeting these charming characters and discovering what they’re up to. I was totally captivated by the creativity and charm of the concept.
