Henry I of Silesia, also known as Henry the Bearded or Henryk I Brodaty (1168–1238), came from the important dynasty of the Silesian Piasts. From 1201 to 1238 he ruled as Duke of Silesia and, from 1232, also over Poland. His seat of government was in Wroclaw, but his influence extended far beyond the region: he took control of Greater Poland and Krakow and pursued the ambitious goal of reunifying Poland. Henry encouraged German settlement in his territories, which increasingly separated Silesia's development from Poland. Under his rule, extensive forests were cleared, new towns were founded and some existing Slavic settlements were reorganised under German law.
Saint Hedwig of Silesia, św. Jadwiga Śląska (1170–1243), the wife of Henry I, is regarded as the patron saint of Silesia and Poland. She embodied Christian charity in its highest form: Hedwig supported the Church, devoted herself to caring for the poor and is said to have walked barefoot even during the cold winter months. She was canonised in 1267 and remains venerated today, including in Berlin, where Frederick the Great had St Hedwig's Church, later St Hedwig's Cathedral, built for Silesian Catholics.
Jakob Böhme (1575–1624) was an outstanding German mystic, philosopher and Christian theosophist closely associated with the city of Görlitz. Hegel called him the "first German philosopher". Böhme's thought focused on the profound philosophical questions of good and evil as fundamental elements of human existence.
Angelus Silesius (1624–1677) was an important German poet and theologian whose deeply religious and mystical epigrams rank among the outstanding works of Baroque literature. He maintained a close friendship with Jakob Böhme and converted to Catholicism in 1652. After his conversion, he devoted himself passionately to the Counter-Reformation in Silesia and wrote 55 polemical works against the Protestant Church. In the final years of his life he worked as a physician at the Matthiasstift in Wroclaw, treated poor and sick people free of charge, supported orphans and gave his fortune to those in need.
Martin Opitz (1597–1639) is regarded as the founder of the First Silesian School of Poets and one of the most important German Baroque poets. In 1624 he published his principal work, "Buch von der Deutschen Poeterey", in which he formulated rules and principles for a new form of poetry adapted to the German language, departing from classical metres and developing an independent system of versification.
Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau (1616–1679), a Silesian poet and epigrammatist, Mayor of Wroclaw and governor of the Principality of Wroclaw, was the leading representative of the Second Silesian School of Poets. He is considered the founder of the "gallant style" in German-language poetry. Alongside his literary activity, Hoffmann was a successful merchant, amassed considerable wealth and owned estates in Lower Silesia.
Joseph Karl Benedikt Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788–1857) ranks among the outstanding poets and writers of German Romanticism. With around 5,000 musical settings, he is one of the most frequently set German-language poets. His prose, including "Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts", remains popular today. Many of his poems, such as "O Täler weit, o Höhen", form a lasting part of the German song tradition.
Carl Gotthard Langhans (1732–1808), a Prussian master builder and architect, was one of the early representatives of Neoclassicism in Germany. His most famous work is Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. He also built the theatre in Wroclaw in the Italian Baroque style. He lived with his family in Wroclaw for many years before moving to Berlin in 1788.
Ferdinand Lassalle (1825–1864) was a writer and socialist politician with a cooperative outlook in the German Confederation. After completing school, he studied philology, history and philosophy at the universities of Wroclaw and Berlin. Influenced by Hegel's works, Lassalle developed his own theory of state and society.
Adolph von Menzel (1815–1905), born in Wroclaw as the son of a school headmaster, moved with his family to Berlin in 1830. He is regarded as the most important German realist painter of the nineteenth century. His extensive body of work became particularly famous for historical scenes from the life of Frederick the Great. Many of his works can now be seen in Berlin's museums.
Johann von Mikulicz-Radecki (1850–1905) was an influential surgeon and is regarded as a founder of gastroscopy. He taught as a university professor in Krakow, Königsberg and, from 1890, Wroclaw. In 1899 he became president of the Silesian Society for Patriotic Culture. Mikulicz developed several surgical instruments that still bear his name. Of German and Polish heritage, he spoke five languages fluently and published in German, Polish, Russian and English. When asked about his nationality, he always replied: "I am a surgeon."
Adolf Anderssen (1818–1879) was one of the strongest German chess masters of the nineteenth century. Professionally, he was a professor of mathematics and German at the Friedrich Gymnasium in Wroclaw and devoted himself to chess mainly during school holidays. Between 1861 and 1870 he repeatedly held first place in the world rankings. Learn more...
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (1892–1918) was a legendary German fighter pilot during the First World War. He achieved the highest number of aerial victories by an individual pilot in the war and became posthumously known as the "Red Baron", a name inspired by his red-painted aircraft. On the French side he was feared as "Le Diable Rouge" ("The Red Devil"). His autobiography is entitled "Der rote Kampfflieger".
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) was a Lutheran theologian, prominent representative of the Confessing Church and courageous opponent of National Socialism. Born in Wroclaw and raised in Berlin, from April 1933 he spoke out publicly against the persecution of Jews and became actively involved in the church struggle against the German Christians and the Aryan Paragraph. From 1938 he joined the resistance circle around Wilhelm Canaris. He was prohibited from speaking in 1940 and from publishing in 1941. Arrested on 5 April 1943, he was executed two years later on Hitler's orders.
Edith Stein (1891–1942), a Catholic nun of Jewish origin, was also a philosopher and committed advocate of women's rights. She studied philosophy, psychology and history at the universities of Wroclaw, Göttingen and Freiburg im Breisgau. She entered the Roman Catholic Church through baptism in 1922. Edith Stein died at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp and was beatified in 1987. Learn more...
Helmuth James Graf von Moltke (1907–1945) was a German lawyer and leading opponent of National Socialism. He founded the resistance group known as the "Kreisau Circle". From 1927 to 1929 Moltke studied law and political science in Wroclaw, Vienna and Berlin. Important meetings took place in Kreisau, Lower Silesia, in 1942 and 1943, where political, social and economic plans for Germany and Europe after a possible end to the war were discussed. Sentenced to death on 11 January 1945, he was executed in Plötzensee twelve days later.
Peter Hacks (1928–2003) was a distinguished German dramatist, poet, storyteller and essayist. In the 1960s he established "socialist classicism" and is regarded as one of the most important dramatists of the GDR. His play "Ein Gespräch im Hause Stein über den abwesenden Herrn von Goethe" is among the most frequently performed German-language plays of the twentieth century. For many years Hacks was the only contemporary poet whose work had a strong presence in both East and West Germany.
Peter Fritz Willi Lustig (born 1937 in Wroclaw) is a well-known German television presenter and children's author. He became famous as the principal presenter of the children's programmes "Löwenzahn" (1979–1980: "Pusteblume") and "mittendrin". He was also responsible for sound recording during John F. Kennedy's famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech outside Schöneberg Town Hall and for the film adaptation of Günter Grass's "Katz und Maus".
Norbert Elias (1897–1990) was an influential German-Jewish sociologist and philosopher. In 1918 he began studying philosophy and medicine at the University of Wroclaw. In 1933 Elias first emigrated to Paris and in 1935 to Britain, where he later became a citizen. His work "The Civilizing Process" brought him worldwide recognition in the 1970s.
Käthe Kruse (1888–1968) became world-famous as a doll maker, and her dolls are now highly prized collectors' items. Born in Wroclaw, she began working in Berlin at the age of 17 after training as an actress. In 1905 she made her first dolls for her own children. Five years later she presented her creations in a Berlin department store. After receiving two large orders from the United States, she founded her own doll workshop in Bad Kösen.
Ludwik Hirszfeld (1884–1954) was a respected physician and immunologist who lived in Wroclaw. Together with Emil von Dungern, in 1910 he introduced the A, B, AB and O blood-group system used worldwide today, which received international recognition in 1928.
Wanda Rutkiewicz (1943–1992), a Polish mountaineer, was one of the outstanding women in twentieth-century alpinism. She climbed eight eight-thousand-metre peaks and lived and trained in close association with Wroclaw and Silesia. She disappeared in 1992 while attempting to climb Kangchenjunga.
Tadeusz Różewicz (born 1921) was a versatile poet, dramatist and prose writer whose works were translated into numerous languages and received many awards. He was closely associated with Silesia from the late 1940s and lived in Wroclaw for more than 30 years. His plays are frequently performed in Polish theatres.
Mirosław Hermaszewski (born 1941) was a pilot and former cosmonaut who became the first Pole in space. He lived in Wroclaw from 1945 after his family was resettled from Volhynia, now in Ukraine.
Jan Miodek (born 1946) is a renowned linguist from Wroclaw devoted to promoting correct Polish. He is also known for the regular television programme "Professor Miodek Answers".
Wroclaw can point to an impressive list of Nobel Prize winners who made pioneering achievements in various disciplines:
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