Wrocław beyond the itinerary: a reservoir, a garden, a cemetery and a viewpoint
A reservoir turned into a water museum, a garden over a century old, a cemetery with twelve thousand headstones and a viewpoint that got its old name back in 2024.
- Hydropolis
- €10.27–10.73
- Japanese Garden
- €6.85, open 1 Apr–31 Oct, daily 9–19
- Old Jewish Cemetery
- €3.42–4.56
None of these four places sit on the route of the main walk through Wrocław, but each carries its own story. A reservoir that once supplied the city with water, a garden laid out in 1913 by the same family that built Książ Castle, a cemetery with twelve thousand headstones, and a viewpoint that got its pre-war name back in 2024 after two years of restoration.
A reservoir turned water museum
The first covered reservoir on this spot went up in 1892, and from the 1920s the city drew its water from underground springs and stored it right here. The reservoir ran without interruption until 1945, when a Soviet bomb damaged the roof, but it was rebuilt after the war and kept serving the city until 2011, when it was taken out of use. Since December 2015 it has held Hydropolis, an interactive water centre — €10.27–10.73, Mon–Fri 9–18, weekends 10–20, booking recommended.
2. The Japanese Garden: built for one exhibition in 1913
The garden was laid out for the 1913 Garden Art Exhibition by Count Friedrich von Hochberg, born at Książ Castle, together with the Japanese gardener Mankichi Arai; it was the only exotic garden at the whole exhibition. Restored in 1995, it now holds close to 270 species of trees and shrubs, more than seventy of them of Asian origin. Entry is €6.85, the garden is open 1 Apr–31 Oct, daily 9–19; out of season, from November to March, it's closed.
3. The Old Jewish Cemetery: twelve thousand headstones
The cemetery was founded in 1856 and now holds around twelve thousand headstones, from columns and obelisks to family tombs, in a range of styles unusual even for a cemetery this size. Buried here are Ferdinand Lassalle, one of the founders of the German socialist movement, and the historian Heinrich Graetz; damage from the 1945 fighting is still visible on some of the stones. The Museum of Cemetery Art on the site opened in 1991. Entry is €3.42–4.56, Apr–Oct daily 9–18, Nov–Mar daily 9–16.
4. The viewpoint that got its old name back
The hill was part of the city walls until 1807; once they came down, the resulting mound was turned into a park with terraces and a belvedere in 1867 by Adolf Liebich, designed by the architect Carl Schmidt. The belvedere was destroyed in 1945, during the siege at the end of the war, and has never been rebuilt. After a 2022–2024 restoration the hill officially took back its pre-war name, Bastion Sakwowy, though Wzgórze Partyzantów is still what most people call it day to day. Entry is free, and the view over the Rynek and the Old Town's rooftops is reason enough to come.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
What is Hydropolis?
An interactive water centre inside a reservoir from 1892 that supplied the city until 2011; the museum opened in 2015.
Is entry to the Japanese Garden free?
No. Entry is €6.85, and the garden is only open from April to October.
Who is buried at the Old Jewish Cemetery?
Among others, Ferdinand Lassalle and the historian Heinrich Graetz; the cemetery holds around twelve thousand headstones.
Ready for Wrocław?
Where to next
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How well does Wrocław suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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