“What’s that gnome doing there?”

“I think he’s trying to withdraw money from that ATM machine”

“Ah”

Wroclaw’s been taken over by a growing community of cheeky bronze gnomes. There’s hundreds of these little guys hiding all over the city. Some drinking, some chilling but most are just getting on with everyday tasks…

Like this watch guard...

Or these firemen...

But why though?

Back in the 80s Poland was still under an oppressive communist regime. A group of uni students had the creative idea to draw gnomes over the publicly displayed communist propaganda.

They wanted to show how silly the regime was and give people something to laugh at. The movement became known as the ‘Orange Alternative’ and helped make the soviet police look ridiculous - arresting people for ‘pro-gnome gatherings’ will do that.

There’s only one of these original drawings left (see above) - find it at St. Smoluchowskiego 22.

In 2001 the city wanted to commemorate the movement so the first statue ‘Papa Dwarf’ was placed in the spot where the rebels used to meet on Świdnicka street ✊

A few years later the Mayor commissioned a bunch more bronze gnomes from famous Polish sculptor Tomasz Moczek. They were so popular the public kept asking for more.

There’s now a butcher, a doctor, a gardener… with more popping up all the time. Check out their official website for the latest news and dwarf gossip.

Now Wroclaw’s biggest attraction, grab a map in literally any shop or use this web map to track them all down.