Maślarz

Story

Maślarz stands in Maślice, in the north-west of Wrocław, at Suwalska 5, about 8.7 km from the Market Square as the crow flies. What you will see: a smiling bearded dwarf with a pointed cap and a big round nose, holding a short wooden stick in his hands, on a lawn with colourful buildings in the distance. He was unveiled for the 90th anniversary of the district, and residents helped to earn him by walking and cycling. Take a moment to look at the small details, and if you are visiting with children, ask them what the dwarf might be thinking about.

History & Significance

Wrocław's bronze dwarfs trace their origins to the Orange Alternative (Pomarańczowa Alternatywa), a peaceful protest movement founded in the city in 1986 by Waldemar Fydrych, whose activists painted dwarfs on walls as a form of absurdist, non-violent resistance. Since 2005 the city has filled its streets with bronze dwarfs, and there are now hundreds of them, far beyond the old centre. According to wromap, Maślarz was made by Marlena Zakrzewska and appeared on 21 April 2018. The wroclaw.pl article names the commissioners: the Maślice Neighbourhood Council and the developer PCG, through the #razemdlakrasnala campaign. It does not name the sculptor, so the author comes from wromap alone.

Inspiration

Maślarz is the dwarf of Maślice. His name echoes the district's name and "masło", Polish for butter, and a maślarz is a butter-maker. He was unveiled for the 90th anniversary of Maślice joining Wrocław (1928-2018) as part of #razemdlakrasnala, an initiative of the Maślice Neighbourhood Council and the developer PCG: residents had to collectively cover 1,928 km on foot and 2,018 km by bike, numbers taken from those two years.

Fun Facts

• Residents "earned" him: they covered 1,928 km on foot and 2,018 km by bike, numbers taken from the years 1928 and 2018.
• The idea came from the Maślice Neighbourhood Council and the developer PCG.
• A commemorative beer label with his picture was made by Browar Profesja for the anniversary.
• Wromap dates his appearance to 21 April 2018, the same day as the celebration.
• Najprzedszkolak is the nearest dwarf, 505 m away.

How to Find This Dwarf

Put Suwalska 5 into your map app: Maślarz is about 8.7 km from the Market Square, so plan this as its own trip rather than a stop on the Rynek walk. Once you are there, Najprzedszkolak is 505 m to the north-east and Drimuś is 1661 m to the south-east, so you can collect several dwarfs in one outing.

Nearby Dwarfs

Frequently Asked Questions

Accessibility

Ground LevelOutdoor

Maślarz stands outdoors. We have not checked the approach on site, so we cannot confirm step-free access.