1. A metropolis
2. Location
3. Wrocławs businesses in rankings
4. Wrocław's academic and research potential
5. Business traditions and climate in Wrocław
6. Public private partnership

A metropolis
A city with a thousand-year history, Wrocław reflects Europe's complex past.
It has changed hands many times, developing first under the rule of the Piasts, then the kings of Bohemia, and then the Habsburgs. As Breslau, it was a great city of the German East, and since 1945 it has been developing into an important Polish urban centre.
Famous visitors to Wrocław include Chopin, Goethe, Brahms, Picasso, Steinbeck, and Pope John Paul II.

As the capital of Lower Silesia, Wrocław exerts its influence on the entire region.
The proximity of national borders favours economic exchange with the countries of the European Union.

For many years Wrocław has maintained close relations with its partner municipalities: Breda (Netherlands), Charlotte (USA), Department of la Vienne (France), Dresden and Wiesbaden (Germany), Guadalajara (Mexico), Ramat Ghan (Israel), and since 2002, Lviv (Ukraine).

The city possesses complete technical infrastructure with significant spare capacity (gas, electricity, water, sewerage, international telecommunications, all mobile phone networks, generally available Internet access). Those coming to Wrocław can take advantage of a well developed network of banks with long traditions, offering a full range of services. The more than 30 banks operating in the city in addition to all leading Polish banks also include banks of European renown, such as Allied Irish Bank PLC, Crédit Agricole, Citibank, Societé Générale, Raiffeisen Centrobank, Hypo Bank, Deutsche Bank.

There are eleven consulates in Wrocław (German, Austrian, French, Dutch, Mexican, Romanian, Swedish, British, Bulgarian, Czech, and Danish) and many business support institutions (chambers of commerce and industry, associations).

The largest and most active of these institutions is the Lower Silesian Chamber of Commerce (LSCC), which continues the traditions of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry established in the city in the mid-nineteenth century. The Lower Silesian Chamber of Commerce is a body corporate, whose main goal is to represent the interests of its members. It now has more than 300 members.

Wrocław is home to:

• Lower Silesian Chamber of Tourism (tourism branch of the LSCC),
• Business Centre Club - Lower Silesian Regional Chapter,
• Western Chamber of Industry and Commerce,
• Lower Silesian Chamber of Handicrafts and Small Business (pl. Solny 13, tel: +48 71 344 86 91),
• Polish Chamber of Home Appliance Manufacturers (ul. Kotlarska 41, tel: +48 71 372 35 61).

Organizations providing advice, training, and consultancy for businesses include:

• Wrocław Regional Development Agency (pl. Solny 16, tel: +48 71 344 58 41, e-mail: warr@warr.wro.pl),
• Wrocław Technology Transfer Centre,
• Business Support Centre of the Enterprise Development Association,
• Wroclaw Agglomeration Development Agency (36 Ofiar Oswiecimskich St., +48 71 78 35 310, araw@araw.pl, www.araw.pl)
  

The British Chamber of Commerce in Poland is one of the leading foreign business associations represented in Wrocław. It is an independent non-profit organization established to provide all types of business promotion and assist member companies in establishing business contacts. Over 300 companies, most of them international but some Polish, are members of the BCCP. Wrocław is the second Polish city after Warsaw where, on account of the large scale of British and other foreign investment, the BCCP chose to set up its branch.

Location
Wrocław, the main city of the region and administrative province of Lower Silesia, is situated in south-western Poland, in the middle of the Silesian Lowland, on the River Odra.

Major east-west and north-south routes intersect in Wrocław.
The A-4 motorway, running east from Dresden, through Berlin, Wrocław, Opole, and Katowice, is the main artery of the region. The city is an important railway hub with direct connections to all European capitals and all other major cities in Europe. Efficient transport of goods has been ensured by expanding the rail cargo terminal.

A modern International Airport is located just six kilometres from the city centre, offering regular flights to Warsaw, Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, and Copenhagen, as well as cargo services.

Wrocław is also connected to the European system of waterways. The Odra links the city with the Baltic seaports of Szczecin and ?winouj?cie, while a network of canals and the Elbe provide access to Berlin and further to Western Europe.
The River Odra can be used to create a connection to Amsterdam.

Thanks to its street network, virtually any point in Wrocław can be reached by car. The road system is constantly upgraded not only by widening carriageways and resurfacing streets using modern materials but also through the construction of bypasses that will keep lorry transit out of the city.