Former employees of the legendary Wroclaw company sought to commemorate it. A six-foot granite obelisk and the development works in the area were sponsored by over a hundred people who used to work in Wroclaw Electronic Company ELWRO. The project proponents also tried to secure support of sponsors and Wroclaw councilors. The latter agreed to name the square in Grabiszynek after ELWRO at a July meeting. Wroclaw Electronic Company ELWRO was established in 1959. Initially, it employed a number of mathematicians from the Wroclaw University of Technology and the University of Wroclaw. It was there that the first Polish digital machines were made (also called mathematical machines, the name 'computer' was not even used yet). The most well-known devices created in ELWRO were a series of digital machines ODRA, the first of which were created in the early 60s. After over a decade of experiments, ODRA 1305 was created, which went to serial production. The device is considered the most technologically advanced digital machine east of River Elbe. The Wroclaw plant also produced the RIAD computers and electronic devices of other types, including those used by the military. 'The historical significance for Wroclaw, as well as a compelling, significant contribution to the development of science in Poland, as well as Eastern and Central Europe unquestionably deserves commemoration,' wrote the leaders of the initiative in an appeal to workers.
In 1993, ELWRO was privatized and quickly taken over by the company Siemens. However, the German firm has sought to extinguish the Wroclaw plant. Last computers ODRA were shut down in 2010. The unveiling ceremony of the obelisk, designed by former employees ELWRO - Mieczyslaw Pirog and Edward Pelech, and naming the square is scheduled for 17 September, 12 am.
