Section:GDN TL PaGe:7 Edition Date:150328 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 26/3/2015 18:01 cYanmaGentaYellowblack The Guardian | Saturday 28 March 2015 Indian visa red tape City break Under new rules, anyone travelling to India – including children – now has to apply for their visa in person. For details and to book appointments visit hcilondon.in 7 The spirit of resistance is alive and well in the post-punk underground of Wrocław, Poland’s fourth-largest city, set to be European Capital of Culture in 2016. James Hopkin goes underground An alternative Poland H ubert the anarchist is showing me around Centrum Reanimacji Kultury (CRK), a non-profit postpunk commune epitomising the spirit of resistance in Wrocław (pronounced “Vrots-wav”), Poland’s fourth largest city. CRK’s courtyard is covered in street art, including early work by Mariusz Waras (aka M-City), and from rehearsal rooms I can hear violinists playing music that reminds me of Warsaw Village Band. Inspired by London’s Reclaim the Streets collective, Hubert set about developing this “DIY social/cultural centre” in Nadodrze, a downbeat former industrial area. Nowadays, he focuses on his band, Kurws, and, as a cultural activist, on protecting the right to drink alcohol outdoors on this city-centre island between two arms of the Oder river – home to summer gigs and screenings. Until recently, it was the only place in Poland where it was legal to drink in the open. Next year, Wrocław becomes European Capital of Culture and World Book Capital City, and Hubert wants to see some of the funding these events will attract going to Nadodrze: “Wrocław 2016 must leave a legacy for areas such as this, too – and not blow all the money on fireworks.’’ Under communist rule, Wrocław was the “fortress of Solidarity”, the centre of resistance when Poland’s epoch-making trade union was made illegal under martial law in the early 1980s, and that spirit remains in these post-punk venues, and in former breweries in big German hofs (courtyards), an architectural legacy of Wrocław’s time as German Breslau. It’s also there in the city’s alternative theatres, from the radical Song of the Goat Theatre to the acclaimed Teatr Polski and the Capitol musical theatre. Here are a few other places that keep that spirit alive. while inside Apteka (pharmacy) and Kino (cinema) signs carry photographs showing their original locations. At weekends, DJs play ambient tunes. • facebook.com/neonside, Sun-Thurs 3pm-midnight, Fri-Sat 3pm-about 4am Browar Mieszczanski This former brewery in a post-industrial zone 15 minutes from the centre has a village-like vibe. There are concerts, exhibitions, and artists’ and film studios within atmospheric halls of abandoned vats, peeling paint and rust. On Sundays, add a food market, bands, handicrafts, and Polish nibbles and beers. • rowar.wroc.pl, facebook.com/pages/ browar-mieszcza Konspira: Restaurant and Historical Education Centre Just off Solny Square, this restaurant recreates the Wrocław of the Solidarity era, its candlelit brickwork lined with riot shields, political cartoons and newspaper cuttings bearing witness to the martial law of the early 1980s. Menus present information about Solidarity, as well as dishes such as “anti-communist pierogi’’ and ‘‘Workman’s Dinner’’ – chicken or pork with roast potatoes and salad (from £3.85), and a fine selection of bottled Mirosław beers (£1.40). Profits go to local social projects. • konspira.org, Sun-Weds midday10pm, Thurs-Sat midday-11pm Polish Posters Art Café Kalambur With its stained-glass, art-deco mirrors, dark panelling, booths and half a spiral staircase, the Kalumbur is a vision of bohemian late-night society. Weekend DJs play everything from 1930s swing to bossa nova to indie, so expect dancing until the small hours for a student and arty crowd. Be aware that it’s one of two places in the centre where smoking is allowed; the other is Kawiarnia Literatka cafe in the main square. • facebook.com/kalamburem, Sun-Thurs midday-2am, Fri-Sat midday-4am Neon Side Gallery and Club BWA Gallery Through a courtyard a short walk from the main square, this bar offers beer, buzz and a great collection of discarded neon. External walls glow with huge signs, such as Wrocław Głowny (from the railway station), and book, Abstract Graffiti, has a chapter on Wrocław, and you can pick up a map of the best examples. Wrocław is also famous for glass and ceramics, and both feature at BWA. Other galleries to check out include the longestablished Survival Street Art project, and the small independent Entropia, just off the main square, And don’t miss a 10-minute tram ride to contemporary art museum MWW, in a former air-raid tower – the building alone is fascinating. • bwa.wroc.pl, open Tues-Sun 11am-6pm In a neo-classical building designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans (who built Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate), BWA is Poland’s first institute of street art. Cedar Lewisohn’s 2010 Tate exhibition Konspira recreates the era of Solidarity, with riot shields, political cartoons and ‘anticommunist pierogi’ Poland has long led the way in poster design, thanks to artists who do not so much promote a film or play as interpret them with strong, handcrafted images. This independent gallery has a huge selection of classic film and theatre posters from the 1940s onwards, from as little as £5.25 to over £500, or postcard versions at a snip. • polishposter.com, Tues-Fri midday6pm, Sat midday-4pm Złe Mieso (Bad Meat) If the belly-busting Polish meat or pierogi dishes are not your thing, try this new veggie haunt in a central courtyard. Cream of carrot soup with a hint of peanut butter costs £1.25, pizzas and oscypek (salted sheep’s cheese) salads from £3.85, or falafels and other mains from £4.20. Plastic crates for light-shades, wall doodles, huge portions, friendly service (some of the staff are commune-dwellers), and plenty of flyers about local indie goings-on make this the perfect place for a counter-cultural veggie curry. • facebook.com/klubojadalniazlemieso, Mon-Sat midday-9pm Kino Nowe Horizonty Poland’s largest art-house cinema is a stylish affair with nine screens, a cafe-bar and shop, and a summer film festival. Behind the cinema, Shopiq sells vinyl and prints from local photographers. Up the road, KRVN is an elegant cafe with murals and locally sourced food. • kinonh.pl, Sun-Thurs food until 10pm, Fri-Sat until 11pm, bar carries on until “last guest” Polish it off … (from top) diners tuck in at veggie restaurant Złe Mieso, old signs at Neon Side Gallery, and a ‘Workman’s Dinner’ at historical restaurant Konspira Where to stay Leoapart (en.leoapart.com, doubles from £64) has well-equipped, comfortable flats, most within walking distance of the main square, from £33 a night for two. The recently opened Puro Hotel (purohotel.pl/wroclaw) in the Jewish district backs on to the city moat. Its smart modern rooms have lots of glass and Wi-Fi enabled TVs and the buffet-breakfast is enormous. How to get there Ryanair flies to Wrocław from East Midlands, Glasgow, Liverpool and Stansted from £18 one-way. 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