Gnomes, Locks and Other Distractions – Wroclaw Part 1 ( first posted on thebarefootfoodie.org on 18 Oct 2016 )

Gnomes, Locks and Other Distractions – Wroclaw Part 1

OCTOBER 18, 2016BAREFOOT TRAVELS, EUROPE

Wroclaw ( pronounced rots wahv ) is a picturesque city in Poland known for its beautiful market square and many delightful pockets of quaint features. It is spanned by more than 100 bridges, and floats ethereally perched as a city on water. That aside, the real draw for us was the legion of little people with larger than life personalities that add to the lure of this magical place – the gnomes ( or krasnale , in local parlance )

It started with a protest against the authoritarian regime by dissidents who cleverly used these whimsical figurines to register their discontent. How could the police make an arrest with something so nonsensical? And so it grew, until it acquired a cult status of its own in 2001 when the country became a democratic state, and an official statue of a gnome was erected on the city’s main street. It did not stop there….Soon gnomes were appearing all over the city, and they grew, and grew, and are still growing in numbers…

We spent a day going after these elusive characters and wished we could have stayed longer to meet more of them.

Papa Krasnal - the Pioneer Gnome who stands bigger and taller than the rest, resting on a giant toe — Papa Krasnal – the Pioneer Gnome who stands bigger and taller than the rest, resting on a giant toe

Gnome at work ( Can't figure out what's he doing though! ) — Gnome at work ( Can’t figure out what’s he doing though! )

With that we ended our hunt and proceeded to another enchanting section of Wroclaw… ( to be continued )

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