One of the only surviving fragments of the medieval defensive walls that once circled Wrocław's Old Town, this obscure tower hidden right in the centre was first built in the 13th century to protect the city from Mongol mayhem, acquiring the basic appearance it retains today a century later. As Wrocław expanded, Niedźwiadek Tower quickly lost its military importance and became hemmed in by residential buildings - the close proximity of which spared it from being razed along with the rest of the city's fortifications under Napoleon's orders in 1807. 75% destroyed during Festung Breslau, the historic tower and its surviving stretch of wall were rebuilt during restoration works in the 1950s and it was then that the weathered stone sculpture of a 'bear' (though historians tend to believe it's a lion) discovered near ul. Łaciarska was placed in the tower's south-east corner, thus giving the tower its name. To find it look in the courtyard just south of Hala Targowa between ul. Piaskowa and ul. Kraińskiego.
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Comments
Frederick Abrams
Los Angeles, California
19. 10. 2025
As former owner of both La luz and Abrams' Tower, which were housed inside of Baszta from 2006 until 2011, I wish to add that the difficulty of the location was a major impediment, however, there were means and plans to make the building far more visible and accessible, none of this inevitably possible, due to enormous obstacles caused by neighbors, the city which owns most of the land surrounding the tower and by its owner. This was despite the fact that these urgently needed changes were demanded of the tower's owner in the spring of 2008 by the director of the Wroclaw Department for Historical Buildings. This demand was also due to the ever worsening condition of a badly deteriorating roof which has never been properly repaired, however, the tower's owner did finally obtain public funding for this last summer. Bottom line, the reasons for all of this dates back to how property ownership was transferred following the end of the communist system, something no one in the local media dares talk about.