Today was a very cultural day with 2 art galleries. Entry to these was free with the Panorama ticket that we had bought 2 days ago.

The first was the National Museum of Wroclaw which had art from the 1200s. 

When we arrived there after our bike ride we saw there was a nice cafe with a good coffee machine so we had to stop there. There were also yummy strawberry cakes so we had to indulge.

Feeling fortified we felt able to start checking out the pieces.

First was the contents of the Olbin abbey that were removed as it was at risk of being occupied and used as a stronghold by an invading army. There were many ancient tombs for dukes and ladies.

One showed the Duke and his wife standing on the enemy. 

There were many paintings through the ages including what looks like an ancestor of Robert De Niro.

We moved on to more recent impressionistic art from the late 1800s.

There was a section on metalworkers and guilds and masons from the 1500s. Some of the metalwork was lovely.

We then went onto locks and keys.

There was then an odd collection of paintings.

Then we were back to more impressionistic paintings.

Heels in the 1600s were so you didn’t get stuck in the mud.

Recycling during and after WWII was necessary. The blouse is made from knitted parachute threads.

Upstairs were household items with different versions at different points in time. The old computers and telephones that we used to use in the 80s and 90s were there. There was even a rubix cube.

There was then a contemporary glass art section – some very weird and wacky.

Once we were finished we jumped on our bikes and headed off to the next art gallery the Four Domes Pavilion.

The food truck we were hoping to get some lunch from was closed. We couldn’t find any other small snack we wanted so had an icecream.

We then went into the Pavilion to see the contemporary art. It was very interesting being influenced by what was happening in Poland at the time. From between the wars the first is a Formist picture made with shapes and the second more negative with memories of WWI.

When the communists took over Stalin decreed that all art work should be about industry and positivity to Soviet rule. There were strict rules. 

An example was this famous ‘Pass a brick’ painting above. The following was perhaps a bit subversive.

However many artists just stopped producing anything for a while. 

There was a period of memory of war and the holocaust which were quite sobering. 

In the war nazis had taken away Arian looking polish children and put them in an institution to turn them into Germans. This piece was a comment on that.

There were some artists who did very textural pieces or Matter Painting. These were very crocodilian. 

There was a variety of contemporary pieces.

This huge one was done by textiles artist Magdalena Abakanowicz.

In December 1981 martial law was imposed to suppress Solidarity. Artists boycotted art institutions and staged exhibitions in private homes and churches. Their pieces protested against the oppression and enslavement. 

Jerzy Kosałka‘s piece above mocks the nation as a one-person nation.

Later in the 80s there was a lot of protest art against communism by the Luxus group of artists. 

After communism left art was now freer but there were reminders of the dark past.

The last pieces after communism were more bright and positive.

After all that interesting art it was nearly time for the fountain display where the fountains ‘dance’ in time to the music. We got over there and enjoyed it very much.

Now it was time to head home via the huge E Leclerc supermarket . It took us quite a while to find what we needed as we translated the Polish names. It took an age to find cornflour – and the packet turned out to be in French.

The last destination on the list was the cemetery across the road from the campsite. All the graves were very neat and tidy with a little chair next to them so people could visit – a nice touch.

It was a huge cemetery so after cycling for about 1km we  left and got back to the vans. We put on the bbqs to cook  marinated chicken and cauliflower. 

We wondered why there were hundreds of people on the bridge and figured out it a the partial eclipse in the next hour. Glenn got some good photos. 

We enjoyed our dinner and were soon in bed.