Walk through Wroclaw and you’ll soon learn to look down. On kerbs, windowsills and lamp posts sit hundreds of little bronze dwarfs, each only a few hand spans tall. One is typing on a laptop, one is fast asleep, and a whole team of firefighters is busy putting out a blaze. No two are the same, and once you’ve spotted a few, you’ll see them everywhere.
The dwarfs have become the symbol of Wroclaw, and dwarf hunting is one of the most fun things to do in the city, with or without kids. In this blog you’ll find out where the Wroclaw dwarfs come from, how many there are and where to find the best ones. At the bottom there’s a map with their locations.
The history of the Wroclaw dwarfs
The dwarfs of Wroclaw started out as a protest against communism. In the 1980s, a group of students took on the regime with humour, under the name Orange Alternative. Whenever the authorities painted over anti-government slogans, they left grey patches on the walls. The students drew little dwarfs on those patches. What were the police supposed to do about that? Arresting someone for drawing a dwarf only made the regime look ridiculous.
The Orange Alternative soon started organising playful marches, with thousands of people walking through the streets in red pointy hats. The dwarf became a symbol of peaceful resistance.
After the fall of communism, that history got its own monument. In 2001 the first bronze dwarf, Papa Krasnal, appeared on Świdnicka street as a tribute to the Orange Alternative. A few years later the city added a series of smaller dwarfs, and from then on there was no stopping it. Shops, restaurants, companies and even the university had their own dwarf made, often showing something of what goes on behind the door.
How many dwarfs are there in Wroclaw?
Nobody knows exactly how many dwarfs there are in Wroclaw. New ones keep appearing, and every now and then one disappears, during building work for example. Estimates range from six hundred to well over eight hundred.
Most of them are in the Old Town and on the islands in the Oder river, but you’ll also find them in the surrounding neighbourhoods, near the station and around the Centennial Hall. Some are tucked away so well you’d easily walk past them. Hardly anyone manages to find them all, and that’s fine.
Where to find the dwarfs in Wroclaw
Start on the Rynek, the big market square with the Gothic town hall. There are dozens of dwarfs on and around the square, so you’ll have your first ten within fifteen minutes. Check shop windows, restaurant doorways and under the benches.
Then head down Świdnicka, the shopping street running south from the Rynek. This is where you’ll find Papa Krasnal, the very first and largest dwarf in the city. A bit further on there’s a special little group: a deaf dwarf, a blind dwarf and a dwarf in a wheelchair, drawing attention to people with disabilities. Keep your eyes open and you’ll also spot two dwarfs trying in vain to push a huge stone ball.
Cathedral Island, Ostrów Tumski, has several dwarfs too, including one at Tumski Bridge reminding lovers that they’re not allowed to hang their padlocks on the bridge. And of course Jatki, the old butchers’ lane, has one as well.
The best finds are often the ones you stumble upon. A dwarf reading a book, a dwarf with an ice cream or a dwarf daydreaming on a windowsill: you’d hurry past them, but stop for a moment and you’ll see how much detail went into each one.
Tips for dwarf hunting in Wroclaw
Dwarf hunting is the best game in town for kids. Give them a mission, like who finds the first five or who spots a dwarf with an animal, and a city walk flies by. Adults get hooked pretty quickly too, by the way.
Want to hunt them down properly? Download the city’s free Wroclaw Dwarves Go app, which shows the dwarfs on a map with a short story for each one. You can also buy a paper dwarf map at the tourist office on the Rynek.
Prefer some background? There are guided tours dedicated entirely to the dwarfs, and on a regular Old Town walking tour the guide will point out the best ones along the way.
→ Discover the 14 best things to do in Wroclaw
Map of the Wroclaw dwarfs
This map shows where to find the dwarfs in the Old Town. Handy for planning your own dwarf route.
