We could take advantage of our spring holiday in
the smallest German low mountain range, the Zittau mountains located in
the most southeastern tip of Germany, to go for a day trip to the city
of Anderssen, Zukertort and Tarrasch. My Polish friend Tomasz Lissowski
from Warsaw had kindly offered to take upon himself the long journey (about
400 km) to the west in order to show us the rich in tradition metropolis
on the Oder, together with his acquaintance Ryszard Wieckowski resident
in Wrocław and being honorary chairman of the Wrocław Chess Association.
It’s true the journey via Görlitz and Bunzlaw (Polish: Boleslawiec)
and the – unfortunately only single-lane – autobahn A4 was
quite arduous and also the weather was rather lousy but nevertheless the
trip to the Silesian metropolis with nearly 700,000 inhabitants was really
worthwhile.
Michael
Negele and Tomasz
Lissowski
at
Anderssen's grave
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A
trip to Adolf Anderssen’s grave in the cemetery "Osobowicki"
which is exemplarily tended by the Polish chess friends was as well
part of it as a tour of the "Dominsel" (Isle of cathedrals)
– the oldest part of the city, no more an island for a long
time – and of the fantastically restored marketplace (Rynek)
and the adjacent salt market – a magnificent backdrop for the
historic city hall.
Some further photos of the grave in our slideshow. |
Wrocław was destroyed at 70 per cent in World
War II, we were impressed by the reconstruction of the historic old town
centre. Some pictures of our tour may substantiate this unique backdrop
in spite of the bad weather.
(>> picture
gallery)
Marion
Oeben-Negele accompanied by our guides,
Tomasz Lissowski and Ryszard Wieckowski
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My thanks go to Tomasz Lissowski and Ryszard
Wieckowski for their excellent guided tour and for the impressive papers
handed over to us, the Wrocław chess friends cared about the latter in
memory of the great chess master who spent his whole life in Wrocław.
I would like to add to this article a coloured leaflet
in Polish and a four-page elaboration
in German.
Anderssen’s grave (i.e. the well preserved obelisk and the gravestone
of granite) was transferred from the original burial place to the "Allee
der Verdienten", a plaque in several languages originally of bronze
was recently stolen (nonferrous metals are very sought-after) and immediately
replaced from private means by a plaque of granite. You may excuse the
very committed Polish chess friends for the grammatically minor inaccuracies.
(M.N.)
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