City profile: Wrocław

The present profile describes Wrocław, one of the largest Polish cities. Wrocław currently has 636,000 inhabitants and covers an area of 293 km2 - forming the most important urban center in the southwest part of Poland. It is also the capital of Lower Silesia and the hub of Wrocław's agglomeration with around 1 million inhabitants. Several socio - economic processes can be perceived in contemporary Wrocław, that are also taking place in other major Polish cities. On the other hand, historical past and several changes in national affiliation affected development of Wrocław's certain distinctive qualities. The authors focused primarily on identifying the major alterations taking place in the city in recent decades, such as: new phenomena in the economy of the city, the transformation of the functional-spatial structure or evolving demographic situation.