German craft trades, presented in a pavilion designed by Gustav Wolf and built specially near the Centennial Hall, constituted a large part of the exposition in Wrocław. They were craftspeople goods (time pieces, lighting, radiators, and ironmongery) and typical workshops representing the following craftspeople: weaver, glass engraver, upholsterer, paperhanger, locksmith, leatherworker, tailor,
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potter, hairdresser, photographer, painter, carpenter, bookbinder, shoemaker, engraver, goldsmith, woodcarver, glassblower, enameller, and varnisher. Outside, there was a model shopping street (with various shops selling items of equipment), communication methods (in a special pavilion), construction machinery, special gardens, greenhouses and gardening equipment. In addition to that, there was a model farm with live and dead stock, land development for children, including a school garden and playgrounds, a day sanatorium for children with pulmonary diseases, a puppet theatre, weekend cabins and even a cemetery art exhibition. Between July 24th and 27th 1929 Werkbund days were seen for the first time in the eastern part of Germany55. The exhibition was to show the attainments of the Silesian Section of the organisation. During the exhibition, the Association of the German Architects held a sitting56. Despite making the events and attractions as convenient and easily accessible as possible for the inhabitants of Wrocław and Silesia57, the number of visitors was lower than expected. The exhibition brought losses as the requested public funds were never granted58.
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4. The 1929 WuWA Exhibition
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”Ostdeutsche Bau-Zeitung-Breslau”, vol. 27, 1929, p. 483. Lubomir ŠLAPETA, Vladimir ŠLAPETA, op.cit., p. 1436 (Bund der Deutschen Architekten – BDA). Sonderzug der Rechsbahn zur Breslauer WuWA, ”Schlesiens Handwerk und Gewerbe”, vol. 10, 1929, p. 371. There were advertisements for trains to Wrocław featuring lower ticket prices. ”Schlesische Monatshefte”, pp. 399–401. There was also an amateur photographic contest for the best photograph of the exhibition. ”Schlesiens Handwerk und Gewerebe”, vol. 10, 1929, pp. 330. In order to promote the novel items presented at the exhibition, the Bureau for Crafts Support run by the Wrocław Chamber for Craftsmanship (Gewerbeförderungsstelle der Handwerkskammer), organised guided tours of the Crafts Hall (July 14th–21st 1929). ”Schlesiens Handwerk und Gewerbe”, vol. 10, 1929, p. 302. The fair corporation (Messegesellschaft) offered free admission to guild members and their families. Wohnung und Werkraum Werkbundausstellung in Breslau 1929..., Visitors could go to a refectory, open-air cinema (Tageslicht-Kino) and use a narrow-gauge train, the ”Liliputbahn” that gave tours around the exhibition. Lubomir ŠLAPETA, Vladimir ŠLAPETA, op.cit., pp. 1442–1444. cf. Christine NIELSEN, Die Versuchsiedlung der Werkbundausstellung ”Wohnung und Werkraum”, Breslau 1929. Master's thesis, typescript, Philosophischen Fakultät der Rheinischen Friedrich-WilhelmsUniversität, Bonn 1994. The organisers' financial fiasco was most probably caused by insufficient state funding and a certain prodigality by the architects. However at the same time, the press wrote about huge interest from the visitors.