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The Benedictine abbey, Piotr Włostowic’s tomb, the Ołbin Treasure, secrets, manhunts, vaults, and history closed within the walls of the city – this was what tens of thousands of cinema-goers saw in the biggest Polish cities. In addition, a few hundred billboards invited tourists to Wroclaw.
The Wroclaw – City of Adventure campaign was initiated in May 2023 by a special spot featuring Daniel Olbrychski – one of the most biggest names in Polish cinema and theatre – and popular young Polish actors: Marianna Zydek and Piotr Nerlewski. The promotional video shows, among others, the most popular places in Wroclaw: the Centennial Hall, the National Music Forum, Xawery Dunikowski Boulevards, or the Main Square.
‘Almost 6 million tourists visited Wroclaw in 2023. It is an attractive destination for tourists from Poland and abroad. We do not stop at that. By presenting Wroclaw as a “City of Adventure” in a way that proved very appealing, we wanted to attract further visitors to Wroclaw. We hoped that they would feel the unique climate of our city, its atmosphere, wonderful corners and the life it teems with from morning till night. And this did happen,’ says the Mayor of Wroclaw Jacek Sutryk.
The city promoted its offer under the nationwide campaign by means of a spot displayed on 170 cinema screens in Warsaw, Poznań, Kraków, Katowice, Łódź, Gdańsk and Szczecin, an outdoor campaign on more than 260 carriers (in the same cities) and online. The campaign is continued this year, trying to reach also foreign audiences – the city’s spots are distributed with dubbing in English, German, Czech and Spanish. Another attraction are specially designed tourist routes for various recipients.
‘The analyses of our campaign so far confirm that the idea of using the story of Piotr Włostowic’s treasure in promotional material hit the spot. We are happy with the award and we hope that Wroclaw has become a “city of adventure” for many people. We warmly invite further tourists to visit Wroclaw. And to find an adventure here!’ said Alfred Wagner, the deputy director of the Department of City Promotion and Tourism of the Wroclaw City Office, after receiving the award.
6 million reasons to visit Wroclaw
Wroclaw is one of the most popular Polish tourist destinations. Statistical data speak for themselves: the zoo with the famous Africarium was visited by over 7 million tourists in 2019–2023, and the ticket revenue totalled over 82 million PLN only last year. The Wroclaw Aquapark saw a record increase in popularity, attracting over 2 million visitors in 2023.
Figures of the Wroclaw Airport also confirm that Wroclaw is a highly attractive tourist destination. Last year a couple of new routes, e.g., to Seoul and Valencia, were launched. The Wroclaw Airport closed the year 2023 with a record number of served passengers (3.9 million).
Ołbin Treasure: facts or legend?
What was the idea for the city’s promotional campaign? Today one of Wroclaw’s housing estates, Ołbin was a village in the 1330s. It became the site of an extraordinary Benedictine abbey. After a few centuries, the abbey was dismantled for fear of an Ottoman invasion, and fragments of architecture, columns and sculptures were embedded into the Wroclaw buildings that still exist. The former Ołbin Abbey was unique in Eastern Europe. What has been left of it, deserves to be called a treasure. There is also a legend about a treasure hidden in Piotr Włostowic’s tomb in the abbey. Even if this is not true, Wroclaw itself is a treasure worth discovering.
‘Wroclaw: a city of meetings, the European Capital of Culture, a city of architecture, the Venice of the North and... the European Best Destination in 2018. Here the adventure lurks around the corner in every place and every form, whether we take a walk, ride a bike or sail on the Oder. There is a whole bunch of interesting offers to be experienced and seen in the capital of Lower Silesia,’ explained Radosław Michalski, the director of the Department of City Promotion and Tourism of the Wroclaw City Office, during the premiere of the campaign.
Cinema, music and literature stars are Wroclaw’s ambassadors
‘Wroclaw? These are beautiful memories that last almost 60 years! Friendships, memories of work, but also admiration for the city that has changed so much for the better over the years – and this enchantment grows every year, especially recently!’ says Daniel Olbrychski, who played an ominous searcher of the Ołbin Treasure in the promotional video of the city.
The promotional campaign was also joined by other celebrities connected with Wroclaw, who explained why the city is worth seeing and visiting:
Mrozu – a musician, the laureate of five Fryderyk music awards: ‘Thank you for every good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night that I spent in Wroclaw!’
One of the most beautiful memories in the life of Robert Makłowicz – a popular culinary critic and the Ambassador of the Year of Good Relations with Wroclaw – also refer to Wroclaw: ‘For all those moments, I would like to thank Wroclaw and all of its inhabitants.’
Marek Krajewski, the author of best-selling detective novels with plots set in Wroclaw, also stresses the uniqueness of the city: ‘As the author of detective novels based in Wroclaw, I know this city has much to offer both in terms of history and adventure. This campaign shows the fullness of experience that awaits everyone visiting Wroclaw. It is worth getting carried away by this adventure and experiencing the city from a completely new perspective.’
The partners of the Wroclaw – City of Adventure campaign are the Wroclaw Tourist Organisation, the Wroclaw Zoo, Aquapark Wroclaw and the National Museum in Wroclaw.
