page_title: History of Wrocław
section_title: German Empire
hierarchical_section_title: History of Wrocław / German Empire
caption_attribution_description: English: Centennial Hall after renovation in 2009 and gate to Zoo in Wrocław. Polski: Hala Stulecia we Wrocławiu po renowacji z 2009 r. i brama główna do Zoo.
context_page_description: Wrocław has long been the largest and culturally dominant city in Silesia, and is today the capital of Poland's Lower Silesian Voivodeship.
  The history of Wrocław starts at a crossroads in Lower Silesia. It was one of the centres of the Duchy and then Kingdom of Poland, and briefly, in the first half of the 13th century, the centre of half of the divided Kingdom of Poland. German settlers arrived in increasing numbers after the first Mongol invasion of Poland in 1241, and Wrocław eventually became part of the Kingdom of Bohemia after the extinction of local Polish dukes in 1335. After the War of Austrian Succession, the city and region were annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, and later became part of the German Empire. After World War II, Wrocław and most of Silesia were transferred to Poland and its population, almost totally German-speaking, was expelled.
context_section_description: Breslau became part of the German Empire in 1871, which was established at Versailles in defeated France. The early years were characterized by rapid economic growth, the so-called Gründerzeit, although Breslau was hampered by protectionist policies of its natural markets in Austria-Hungary and Russia and had to turn to the German domestic market. Breslau's population grew from 208,000 in 1871 to 512,000 in 1910, yet the city was pushed down from being the third- to the seventh- biggest city of Germany. Among the population were the Polish and Jewish minorities.
  The city spread out and incorporated outlying villages, like Kleinburg (Dworek) and Pöpelwitz (Popowice) in 1896, Herdain (Gaj) and Morgentau (Rakowiec) in 1904 and Gräbschen (Grabiszyn) in 1911. With the regulation of the Oder (Odra) modern garden suburbs like Leerbeutel (Zalesie) and Karlowitz (Karlowice) were built.
  The official German census of 1905 listed 470,904 residents, thereof 20,536 Jews, 6,020 Poles and 3,752 others. Polish historians point to distortion of that number by German officials, and speak of several thousand more, or even 20,000 Poles living in it. Estimates however are difficult, since foreign residents were registered by citizenship rather than by nationality. Most of suburbs on right bank of Oder were Polish-speaking communities according to a source from 1874, and many photographs from this period indicate widespread use of Polish names;.
  As a frontier city on the edge of the Slavonic world Breslau was more assertively German than other cities of the empire, and Breslau was less friendly to Poles, Czechs or unassimilated Jews than, for example, Berlin was. During his one-year tenure as rector of the university Felix Dahn for instance banned all Polish student associations.
  Woodworking, brewing, textiles and agriculture, Breslau's traditional industries, flourished, and service and manufacturing sectors were established, which benefited from the nearby heavy industry of Upper Silesia. Linke-Hofmann, specialized in locomotives, became one of the city's largest employers and one of Europe biggest manufacturers of railway carriages. By the end of the 19th century Breslau threatened to eclipse Berlin, capital of Prussia and the German Empire, as the financial centre of the country. The retail sector flourished too, represented by modern stores of Barasch, Molinari, Wertheim or Petersdorff. At the end of the German Empire Breslau had become the economic, cultural and administrative centre of Eastern Germany.
  While Breslau itself was mostly Protestant the city also housed the Roman Catholic Diocese of Breslau, the second-largest diocese in the world, and thus became entangled in Bismarcks Kulturkampf. According to Norman Davies the city had a population divided among 63% Protestants, 32% Catholics and 5% Jews. At the time of German Empire Although open conflict between Breslau's Protestant majority and Catholics was avoided, public resentment was notable, most notably in the affairs of the numerous student corporations. Meanwhile, Breslau became the focus of the Old Lutheran Church. In 1883 the Old Lutheran Theological Seminar was opened, which attracted numerous scholars, among them Rudolf Rocholl. By 1905 the community already had 75 pastors and 52,000 members.
  The German Jewry of Breslau formed the Einheitsgemeinde (united community) of Orthodox and Reform Jews und thus narrowed the gap between both schools. In 1872 Reformed Rabbi Joel and his Orthodox counterpart Gedaliah Tiktin jointly consecrated Breslau's New Synagogue. From 14,000 in 1871 the Jewish community grew to 20,000 in 1910, thus becoming the third-largest in Germany. Breslau's confident, vibrant and assimilated community, with countless social, charitable, cultural and educational organisations, became a model for others. The first Jewish students' fraternity in the German Empire, the Viadrina, was created in 1886 in Breslau. Polish student organisations included Concordia, Polonia, and a branch of the Sokol association.
  While most of Silesia's greats of the 19th century, such
caption: The Hall.
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