Wrocław (Latin: Vratislavia; German: Breslau, Lower Silesian: Brassel) is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, roughly 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the Sudeten Mountains to the south. As of 2022, the official population of Wrocław is 673,923 making it the third largest city in Poland.
Wrocław is the historical capital of Silesia and Lower Silesia. Today, it is the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. The history of the city dates back over 1,000 years; at various times, it has been part of the Kingdom of Poland, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Habsburg monarchy of Austria, the Kingdom of Prussia and Germany. Wrocław became part of Poland again in 1945 as part of the so-called Recovered Territories, the result of extensive territorial changes of Poland immediately after World War II.