Our headquarters combines the functions of a cultural activity space and a café. In the building located at Świdnicka 8B, we create a year-round programme of events consisting of open meetings, discussions, lectures and workshops for adults and children. These often deal with the city – urban lifestyles, architecture, and urban planning, as well as non-human inhabitants – plants and animals. We strive to be up-to-date on things.
The name of the place is a direct reference to the legendary bar, located here from the 1960s to the 1990s. Bar Barbara attracted not only the hungry and the thirsty but also the rebellious. The first Wrocław hippies found refuge here in the 1970s, and a decade later most anti-communist demonstrations, including Orange Alternative happenings, started in Barbara. Some of the items on the menu at the time were also famous, such as the exceptional sultan’s cream and delicious dumplings, for which, even today, we are sometimes asked by guests who remember Bar Barbara.
The complex of buildings at the former Plac Młodzieżowy, including Barbara, was designed by a young team of architects – Anna and Jerzy Tarnawski, Ryszard Jędrak, Ryszard Natusiewicz and Włodzimierz Czerechowski. The modernist spirit of Barbara’s interior was rediscovered during its revitalisation when it was to take on its new function as the hallmark of the European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016.
Renovations in the building were carried out in accordance with Major Architekci’s design, and the work included the restoration of the light-filled display window designed by Jerzy Tarnawski and the columns decorated with a characteristic black and white mosaic. As a result, in the modern interiors, furnished with the works of contemporary Polish designers, one can still feel the atmosphere of the times when people used to go on dates in Barbara and enjoy sultan’s cream.
At Świdnicka 8b, you can participate in a cultural event, relax with a book in our reading room, enjoy coffees, snacks and desserts served by the team of Wrocław’s artisanal coffee roaster Etno Café, or get some work done. Barbara’s youngest visitors must also pop into Hideout, a small architecture designed in collaboration with children.
Opening Hours:
Monday-Saturday | 8:00am-8:00pm
Sunday | 9:00-20:00
Contact:
barbara@instytutkultury.pl
Address:
8B Świdnicka St., 50-067 Wrocław
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