Description of the attraction
Piasek Island, or Sandy, is located next to the most famous and popular island of the city - Tumskiy. On a small island on the Odra River, there are several buildings, a spacious square in front of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Piasek, green gardens and a boulevard named after the once richest Polish lord Peter Wlostowitz, who owned all of Wroclaw and planned its development himself.
Hiding his sins, Vlostovitz founded a small Romanesque church on this island, which was later rebuilt into an imposing church of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Pyasek. This church in Latin was called the Church of the Virgin in the Arena. The temple was built in the image and likeness of a Roman church, erected on the site of a former circus, sprinkled with sand. Since the island was also sandy, like the Roman arena, this name stuck to it - Pyasek.
When Napoleon Bonaparte entered Wroclaw, he ordered the removal of all the city's fortifications. Until that moment, Sandy Island was located just in front of the northern gate of Wroclaw - Piaskova Bram. Since the Middle Ages, the main road ran through the island, connecting the cities of the north with the settlements of the south. Based on this, we can conclude about the important strategic importance of this urban area. If you look at photographs of the Sand Island taken before World War II, you will be surprised at its dense development. After the explosion of ammunition in 1945, when both the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the building of the Augustinian monastery, which served as a library from the beginning of the 19th century, were damaged, the city authorities decided not to restore residential buildings, but to arrange a park zone in their place.
Now the Sand Island is a place for leisurely walks and enjoying life.
