Wait, what? A Lamplighter in Wroclaw? Yes, that is correct – in case you have not heard about our local superhero (even with cape!) before, let us introduce you to him.

Let’s go back all the way to the year of 1846, in which the first gas lantern of Wroclaw has been lit. Back then there was no electricity, and gas lanterns were one of the latest inventions to keep the streets enlightened in the evenings. And yes, lamplighter used to be a regular occupation in many cities across the world.

But how come, that almost 200 years later, with electricity, solar power, and all the other great technology invented, we still have a lamplighter in Wroclaw? Well, in the 1960s, most of the gas lanterns have been modernized in Wroclaw and therefore disappeared, only with the exception of Cathedral Island. This part of Wroclaw is mostly owned by the church and somehow this ancient but beautiful tradition has survived.

The unique spectacle is magical and yet simple at the same time, we definitely suggest you to watch it for yourselves. Of course, especially among kids, our lamplighter is very popular and the whole experience is definitely something you should not miss in Wroclaw!

What you need to know about the Lamplighter in Wroclaw

Let us start with where you will be able to see our Wroclaw Lamplighter:

On Cathedral Island we have 102 gas lanterns – this is exactly his workplace. Don’t get confused when you look at the map, Cathedral Island is no longer an Island, but used to be one…

Does he really need to enlighten 102 gas lanterns manually, every evening?

Yes, that is right – and it takes quite a while, if you consider the walking time between the lanterns, and the time to enlighten each one. We estimate that each evening he needs around one hour to complete his roundtrip.

What time comes the lamplighter in Wroclaw?

The lamplighter comes out every single day of the year, also no matter what the weather is. We suggest you check the times for sunset in your phone or on google and then arrive around 10 minutes earlier in front of the Cathedral, you will be easily able to observe him.

There is an official schedule available, which we have translated into English and used as a base to create our own little Wroclaw lamplighter timetable here on the side. However, in our experience it always is better to arrive slightly earlier than that.

As you can see, unfortunately during the summer season he does not get much sleep due to our short nights. He also has to get up very every in the morning to extinguish them 🙂 We have to admit that we never tried that during the summer months, so if you made some nice pictures of him extinguishing the lanterns in the early hours during summer, let us know!

Be aware that actually he is quite fast, and following him together with other people to take pictures can feel like being sort of a paparazzi chasing a celebrity. Better have some good shoes ready on the cobblestone roads to catch him in action 🙂

Which tool is he using?

He carries a large butane pole, which you can imagine as a super long torch lighter. This is connected to a butane cartridge inside of his superhero cape. And no, we never asked him if he also does Crème brûlée with it 🙂

What is the route of the lamplighter in Wroclaw?

It starts directly in front of the Cathedral, during sunset time you will already see a lot of other anxious people waiting and looking around – once you see them, you know you are in the right spot.

Even if you come later, just walk a bit around the Cathedral and surely you will find him.

Can I make some selfies with the lamplighter?

Imagine, somebody wants to do selfies with you while you are at your workplace all the time and interrupt you. He is not shy of pictures being taken of him, but if ask for a selfie, he only would agree very reluctantly and probably not smile with you 😉

What about other cities with Lamplighters?

The only other place in the European Union where this happens is Zagreb, and we are proud enough to say that this is a very unique and special tradition to observe in Wroclaw! Actually their tourist board advertised that Zagreb is the only city in Europe which has this tradition – we can expose this as a lie!

We also heard about Brest in Belarus and some part in London where this tradition still happens, but both are outside of the European Union.

Watch the Lamplighter in Wroclaw

On our Instagram-Channel we published a little video of the lamplighter, in case you don’t follow us yet, you can change that now 😉 Click here to check out the video!

We hope that you liked our post about the Lamplighter in Wroclaw and enjoyed observing him! Let us know in the comment section below if you have any additional remarks or questions and we will be happy to help!