In May last year I went on a short weekend break with friends to Wrocław, Poland to coincide with the Wrocławski Festiwal Dobrego Piwa, which translates as the Wrocław Good Beer Festival. Held over three days in late May or June each year. Last year was the 13th Festival held on 26-28 May.
The event took place on the concourse of the Tarczyński Arena, a football stadium in Wrocław built for the 2012 European Football Championship. It is indicative of the Polish love of cured meats that it is sponsored by a sausage company! Over 70 breweries from across Poland operated stands selling beers, ciders and meads direct to customers. Numerous stalls selling a variety of Polish savoury and sweet food options and a stage with live bands/DJs complemented the drink offerings.
Our plan was to attend the festival in the late afternoon and evenings and spend the rest of our time visiting some of the many nearby tourist attractions.
The historic city of Wrocław itself is located on the river Oder in the southwest of Poland. The German border is around 150 km West and the border with Czechia less than 75 km to the southwest. One of the popular landmarks in Wrocław is the market square in the old town. Here beneath the Old Town Hall is Piwnica Świdnicka one of the oldest restaurants in the world, open continuously since 1273. In front of the town hall we sampled some of their own beers from an outside portable bar. We then had a dark beer, Ciemne Piwo, at the nearby Spiz restaurant.
Friday morning day we drove out to the Stołowe Mountains National Park on the Czech border. Here we explored the unusual rock formations on this section of the “Table Mountains”. We then walked a few miles across into Czechia to small hostel to have refreshing glass of Krakonoš Czech Pilsner.
That evening we headed to the beer festival sampling various beers including Attack of Fruitiness (Fruited Gose) from TankBusters, Sangriale (Fruit beer) from Pinta, and much needed plate of golanka, a Polish pork knuckle dish.
Saturday morning we headed over to Książ Castle. A very impressive 400 room castle, once home to the Hochbergs, one of the wealthiest European noble families. It is built in the Renaissance style with surrounding terraces and landscaped gardens. Despite is fairy tale looks however it has a dark past. In 1944 the castle was seized by the Nazis. Under SS supervision, a vast network of underground tunnels was dug below the castle using forced labour from a nearby concentration camp. Parts of these tunnels are now accessible to the public on guided tours.
After following the interesting audio guided tour around the castle, while waiting for our tunnel tour, we relaxed in the terraced gardens with a cheesecake washed down with a Książęce Cherry Ale.
In the evening we then made our way back to the beer festival. Beers sampled included a Podróż na wschód (Polish Session IPA) from Markowy brewery and a Berliner Weisse from Lobster brewery.
On Sunday we headed north to the town of Żagań. During World War II however, this was the German town of Sagan and home to the Stalag Luft III prison-of-war camp, made famous by the 1963 Hollywood film The Great Escape and also featuring in this year’s Hanks/Spielberg mini-series Masters of the Air. There is a visitor centre and museum, featuring a full-size reconstruction of Hut 104 from which the tunnel “Harry” was started. To the west of the site you can drive into the forest to the location of the North Compound used for British and Commonwealth POWs. Here are stone slabs marking the route of the “Harry” tunnel, memorials inscribed with the names and nations of the inmates and a reconstructed guard tower giving views across the site, where the foundations of the various buildings can be seen.
In the evening, we headed back into Wroclaw to see the multimedia fountains (one of the largest displays in Europe) at Szczytnicki Park near the UNESCO World Heritage Centenary Hall.
On the final day we visited various outdoor drinking locations in town, including a bar on a riverside floating pontoon. In the evening, we went to the Solidarity themed restaurant Konspira. Here we enjoyed some regional Polish dishes, washed down with some Polish cider, seated in the back of a jeep located in the venue’s courtyard.
This was my second visit to Wrocław, and I would certainly recommend it as European weekend break location. This year’s festival is from Fri 21 – Sun 23 June 2024.