The tower that held water above the city.
See a working machine inside a striking piece of architecture. Explore the photo, try the gravity experiment, then look for three clues in the brickwork.
No interior ticket is needed for this experience. The former water tower in Borek tells its story from the pavement. Look closely and you will find three roles in one building: water storage, a city landmark and a former viewing point.
Read the tower in four moves
No architectural vocabulary required. Choose a point to see which details were decorative and which helped the city work.
The tank that is no longer there
The heavy upper section once housed a water tank. Pumps raised the water; gravity helped send it back down. What you see today is the architectural shell: the tank itself has been removed.
Would water reach the tap?
Move the water level and the tap. Their height difference is what creates pressure in this simplified model.
The water level is 26 m above the tap.
Each metre of height difference adds roughly 0.098 bar. A real network loses pressure as water flows through pipes and fittings.
The model uses p = ρgh for still water (ρ ≈ 1000 kg/m³, g ≈ 9.81 m/s²). A tap level with the water surface has no static pressure; above it, gravity alone cannot supply water. The Wiśniowa tower no longer performs this original role.
Earn your observer’s passport
Find three details from a safe public spot. There is no need to enter the building or cross the road for a better photo.
The city rewards a closer look.
Tick off what you find. Your progress stays in this browser only.
A landmark that frames the city
A Wrocław city study describes the tower as the landmark at the end of the Zaporoska–Sudecka sightline. Step back and look at how it shapes the view, not just at the building itself. This is a way of seeing the city, not another walking route.
How to use this place
Address: Sudecka 125a, beside Wiśniowa Avenue. Stay on the pavement and use marked crossings.
Inside: the former viewing gallery is not a permanent public attraction. Access to the building depends on its current use; check separately before making plans.
Try this: start at the roof, follow the supports down, then find the water motif. Now move the sliders: the architecture makes the physics easier to grasp.
Sources and method
- City of Wrocław / Borek urban study — sightline and Karl Klimm’s design.
- Wrocław.pl, “Water towers in Wrocław” — height, former gallery and removal of the tank.
- Wrocław.pl, profile of Karl Klimm — architectural context.
- USGS, hydrostatic pressure — basis for p = ρgh. Slider values are illustrative, not taken from the tower’s plans.
- Tower photograph: WroTU! archive (taken by the site owner). Cropping is applied only in the page layout.
