Let’s start with one of the main landmarks in Wroclaw which is the Centennial Hall (“Hala Stulecia”). We fully understand why this building is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. We love it so much that we decided use it for our logo – you may have noticed 😉

The Centennial Hall is a pearl of modernism designed by Max Berg. When it was built it was the most impressive reinforced concrete structure in the whole world. The dome is 42 meters high and 65 meters in diameter.

The innovative methods which were applied supported to build the construction in only 15 months. On 20th May 1913 the building was ready.

The construction workers were afraid

According to a documentary on German television we saw, the workers actually did not want to remove the casing which was used to support the construction. They were afraid that the building would collapse immediately. That is why the architect Max Berg had to convince a random person on the street with some gold to remove the casing. Although the documentary is in German language, the pictures are very impressive to see – you can find it here.

If you ask the people living in Wroclaw if they could imagine the city without the Centennial Hall, the answer would be “no” today. But back in time, when the building was in progress many people believed that such a bad example of architecture should never be erected. Many of them thought the experimental construction will not last even 5 minutes. Thankfully for us they were wrong.

After over hundred years, the Centennial Hall is still one of the most important places in Wroclaw hosting many cultural and sports events. Up to 10.000 people can be entertained inside the hall. Check their website to find out more about ongoing exhibitions, concerts, events, etc.

Back to the roots

While after the war the Centennial Hall was renamed into People’s Hall („Hala Ludowa“), today the original German name is used again. And by the way, of course the only reason this beautiful building survived the war is that it served as excellent orientation point for airstrikes…