42/365: Prisoner Dwarf, or a day in Wrocław

42/365: Prisoner Dwarf, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

February 11th

A while back I wrote about the Orange Alternative. The Wrocław Dwarves are a whimsical monument to that movement's struggle against Communism. They are scattered all over the town, and you have to keep your eyes well peeled if you want to find them all. More information on their official website: www.krasnale.pl/artykuly/4373/Where-did-Wroclaw---s-dwarv...

A lot to see in Wrocław, even on a single rainy day. I spent the night there before hopping on a train to Germany. So, what did I see?

The Tumski Bridge, for instance, built in 1889, which has apparently always been the place for lovers and those seeking love to go- old stories speak about chance meetings, special prayers (there are two churches close by) to find the one and only, and mistletoe hung from the beam. But in recent years a new tradition has grown. If you have found your true love, you must walk across the bridge, snap a padlock shut on the railing and throw the key into the river. This will guarantee you 'til death do us part'.

Wrocław also has a gas lamp district, on an island in the middle of the Odra river. The above-mentioned bridge is one of those leading onto it.

I was lucky enough to catch the lamplighter at his task.

And on that same island, my favourite part of the walk:

In the Blind and Deaf chapel at the Blessed Virgin Mary church, there is a mechanical nativity which is lit up from Christmas until Lent. Although we have a similar one in Warsaw (which I even got to turn on and off as a kid, since my parents knew the priest in charge), it's not nearly as insane as this one. The lights flash in time to the music, and there are countless figurines, toys and souvenirs all rigged up to the mechanism. They move, dance, twirl, sway, ride around and pop out of peep-holes.

This Nativity was built in 1967, and features toys and trinkets from all the years since. I found quite a few Disney characters hiding between the Christmas trees, next to wooden folk toys and soviet-era tchotchkes.

And of course, Evil Android Papa Smurf:

A big thank you to my former flatmates Marta and  Maciek for showing me around

53/365: The Orange Alternative

53/365: The Orange Alternative, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

February 22nd

On December 13th 1981 Poland was put under Martial Law. In protest, citizens began to paint slogans of freedom on buildings, but these were promptly painted over by the military. It was not long before the cities were covered in dark blotches hiding the slogans- and it was on these blotches that members of the Orange Alternative painted, in turn, little dwarves. We call them 'krasnoludki', and they are something like a gnome or pixie, coming from old folklore with pointy shoes and hats and an unquenchable spirit of freedom and mischief. Over a thousand such gnomes were painted across the country.

The krasnoludek preserved under this sign was painted on a blotch of paint meant to cover up the anchor-like symbol of Fighting Solidarity, an anti-communist organisation. As the sign itself says:

"It is the only remaining mark of the originality and courage of the Orange Alternative, and proof that regardless of the times we live in, humour and laughter can prevail over the saddest reality."

Indeed. If you read up on the movement you will find such fantastic stories as that of the Revolution of Dwarves, when more than ten thousand people wearing orange gnome hats marched through the city of Wrocław. That was in 1988, a time when you did not have to do much more than that to get arrested- certainly carrying a leaflet that said 'Citizen, help the militia, beat your own self up' would not help your cause.

The Orange Alternative still exists today and still organises surrealist happenings meant to mock the absurdities which can stem from any system, and encourage independent thinking.