The residential district of Nadodrze has been separated from Wroclaw's historical Przedmieście Odrzańskie. We present a brief historical sketch of the development of this part of town, from the time of separation to the beginning of the twentieth century.

1. History of Przedmieście Odrzańskie
The western part of today's downtown of Wroclaw (Śródmieście) included the old Przedmieście
Odrzańskie (Oder Vorstadt) which covered a large territory lying between the Oder and the Old
Oder, which is limited from the east today by Jedności Narodowej street (Matthiasstrasse).
THE MIDDLE AGES
In the Middle Ages, the suburb was
completely different from the current
housing in Nadodrze. Even in the
sixteenth-century maps of Wroclaw
(for example the Barthel Weihner of
1562 year) the upper part of Wroclaw
situated on the Oder River was a vast
field of green smoothly running along
the paths, which later paved main
arteries of the suburbs. As in other
such settlements, building was loose
and chaotic. The XVI century maps of Wroclaw
- Barthel Weihner, 1562
Abbey St. Vincent on Ołbin
An important buildings complex on the west side
of Wroclaw in the Middle Ages was St. Vincent's
Abbey on Ołbin. The monastery was founded in
the 30s of XII c., and demolished in 1529. To
this day, there are fragments of architectural
details from the defunct buildings.
Graphics of St. Vincent Abbey on Ołbin
- F.B.Werner, 1755r
So we know that in the abbey were three churches:
St. Vincent, St. Archangel Michael and All Saints,
and numerous monastic buildings grouped around
several courtyards. With this entire complex
survived only a few architectural details, but they
are among the most precious monuments of
Romanesque sculpture in Poland. Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Szewska st.
- Portal Ołbiński, moved in 1546

2. CON CONSTRUCTION OF FORTIFICATIONS
in the middle of XVIII c.
A breakthrough in the spatial layout of the suburbs
occurred only in the eighteenth century. Then the
Prussian King Frederick the Great changed the
layout of land, thrusting a little wedge of
fortifications at the beginning what is today called
Sienkiewicza Street, exposing the gate and bastion
of the “Star returned to the north”.
At the end of this century the first non-durable
workshops started to work too. Soon around the
today’s Dubois street and Cybulskiego street,
appeared bonded of carbon and salt, but actually
Plan of Wroclaw with visible fortifications – 1800
the industrial side of suburb developed in the next
century.
DEMOLITION OF FORTIFICATIONS -
DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUBURBS
- the beginning of the XIX. c.
In the early nineteenth century, almost all the
buildings of Przedmieście Odrzańskie had been
burned. In 1806 the town was severely damaged.
At the turn of 1806 and 1807 years the Prussian
garrison burned buildings of suburbs, in order to
destroy the refuge for besieging the city
Napoleon's troops.
Fire in the suburbs in front of The Odrzańska Gate
A turning point for the town planning of the city
was ordered in 1807 by Prince Jerome Bonaparte,
commander of French troops occupying the city.
This called for the demolition of the town’s
fortifications. The decision of the Emperor
Napoleon I's brother helped to expand the
boundaries of Wroclaw and include five suburbs:
Przedmieście Mikołajskie, Świdnickie, Oławskie,
Piaskowe and Odrzańskie. After connecting the
suburbs area of Wroclaw , the area increased
almost sixteenfold (from 133 to 2046 ha).
Plan of Wroclaw after the destruction of the city walls -
Formally, suburbs in Wroclaw were merged with
around 1807 the city on November 19th 1808, but, in fact, that
process was longer.

3. A slow expansion of the suburbs began after the
destruction of the fortifications, while still
retaining their half-rustic character, a small
number of buildings were non-paved and
surrounded by wooden fences streets.
On the map of Wroclaw in 1843, we can see the
outline of today's main downtowns streets. It was
a time of development for new factories (chicory,
brewing alum, labels, buttons, mirrors, glass,
soda water) and commercial centers located on
the street. Houses on Jedności Narowowej st.
CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAYS
The development of Wrocławs's suburbs accelerated the introduction of railways to the city in 1842.
Nadodrze Railway Station - Main Railway Station to covering the needs of the local and national
population.
Nadodrze Railway Station Narrow-gauge railway station at Staszica square
Unfortunately, the expansion of Wroclaw suburbs proceeded rapidly and sometimes haphazardly.
Especially in Przedmieście Odrzańskie and Oławskie with its chaotically distributed architecture of
tenement houses, which led to intense, faulty building, and decidedly poor housing conditions.
There was overpopulation, crowding, lack of sunlight and sanitation. In addition to new buildings,
on these sites mainly semi-rural houses covered with straw were built. August Semrau called the
district the ghetto of porters, carpenters and laundressses.
In the second half of the century began the
construction of big houses on the Trzebnicki
square, Łokietka street, Pomorska street,
Obrońców Pokoju street, featuring a giant
human crowds.
Closer to the city center, the area was maintained
in much better condition. Further, however, even
in 1850 the area of present Nadodrze looked
more like bottomless puddle rather than a
residential city street. View on Dubois st.

4. Even worse are the present side streets, where the majority of Naododrze’s poorest live. In 1850 it
was written that in times of rainfall, there is a suburb the is best avoided. Sais suburb was also
impaired in terms of public utility, and there were no developments plans for whole
neighbourhoods. The municipality tried to keep most of the streets an appropriate width and to
leave open spaces for squares. They operated in the maintenance of adequate roads, provision of
water supply, etc. But with regard to the roads, there was still much to be desired.
DEVELOPMENT IN THE 70s. of XIX c.
After 1871, an unprecedented construction
boom took place in Wroclaw. It was caused
by political events (Frankfurt Peace
concluded between Prussia and France in
1871 and ended the war between the two
countries), numerous legislative changes
and new economic measures in Germany,
and the rapid repayment of contributions
imposed on France - 5 billion francs in
gold.
Further development of housing on
Przedmieście Odrzańskie was possible in
1873 - Guido von Drabitziusa and Otto
Bauers created the conception of land
management on the field of St. Matthias. St. Matthias square
After 1877 there was a clear decrease in the number of construction projects undertaken, which
caused the stock market crash of 1873.
Hostilities of the 20th century had a mild affect around the Nadodrze train station. Today, the
majority of buildings date from the years 1860-1880, which have a characteristic form, usually
known tenement houses.
According to original text:
Marta Swoboda, Dzieje wrocławskiego Przedmieścia Odrzańskiego
www.skarbykultury.pl
Translated and supplemented:
Infopunkt Nadodrze - Łokietka5
Anna Siemieniec