Katowice

Katowice
Skyline of Katowice
Flag of Katowice
Flag		 Coat of arms of Katowice
Coat of arms
Katowice (Poland)
Katowice
Katowice
Coordinates:
Country Flag of Poland.svg Poland
Voivodeship Slaskie flag.svg Silesian
County city county
Established 16th century
City rights 1865
Government
 - Mayor Piotr Uszok
Area
 - City 164.67 km² (63.6 sq mi)
Highest elevation 352 m (1,155 ft)
Lowest elevation 266 m (873 ft)
Population (2007)
 - City 317,220
 - Density 1,926.4/km² (4,989.3/sq mi)
 - Metro 3,500,000
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 40-001 to 40-999
Area code(s) +48 32
Car plates SK
Website: http://www.um.katowice.pl/

Katowice [katɔˈvʲit​͡sɛ] (Ltspkr.png listen) (Czech: Katovice, German: Kattowitz) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers (tributaries of the Oder and the Vistula). Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about 50 km from the Silesian Beskids (part of the Carpathian Mountains) and about 100 km from Sudetes Mountains.

Katowice has been the capital of Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999. Previously, it was the capital of the Katowice Voivodeship, and before then, of the Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship. Katowice is the main city of the Upper Silesian Industry Area and the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union. Its population is 317,220 (2006), within a greater urban area populated by about 3.5 million people.

Contents

History

For more details on this topic, see History of Katowice.
The Silesian Parliament in Katowice.

The area around Katowice in Upper Silesia has been inhabited by ethnic Silesians from its earliest documented history. It was first ruled by the Polish Silesian Piast dynasty (until its extinction). From 1335 it was a part of the Crown of Bohemia. In 1526 the territory passed to the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy after the death of King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia. In 1742 most of Silesia was annexed from Austria by the Kingdom of Prussia during the First Silesian War.

Katowice was founded in the 19th century and gained city status in 1865 as Kattowitz in the Prussian Province of Silesia. The city flourished due to large mineral (especially coal) deposits in the nearby mountains. Extensive city growth and prosperity depended on the coal mining and steel industries, which took off during the Industrial Revolution. Kattowitz was inhabited mainly by Germans, Silesians, Jews and Poles. Previously part of the Beuthen district, in 1873 it became the capital of the new Kattowitz district. On 1 April 1899, the city of Kattowitz was separated from the district, becoming an independent city.

Following the Silesian Uprisings (1918-21) Katowice became part of the Second Polish Republic with a certain level of autonomy (Silesian Parliament as a constituency and Silesian Voivodeship Council as the executive body).

Cathedral in Katowice

In 1953 the city was renamed Stalinogród ("Stalin City") by the Polish communist government. However, the new name was never accepted by the city's population and in 1956 the former name of 'Katowice' was restored.

Severe ecological damage to the environment occurred during the post-Second World War time of communist governance in the People's Republic of Poland, but recent changes in regulations, procedures and policies of Polish government since the fall of Communism have reversed much of the harm that was done.

Due to economic reforms, there has been a shift away from heavy industry, and towards small businesses.

Geography

Location

In administrative terms, Katowice is an urban community in the eastern part of Upper Silesia, now in Silesian Voivodeship in south-west Poland, within the central portion of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. It borders the towns of Chorzów, Siemianowice Śląskie, Sosnowiec, Mysłowice, Lędziny, Tychy, Mikołów, Ruda Śląska and Czeladź. In geographical terms, it lies between the Vistula and Oder rivers, on the Silesian Highlands. Several rivers flow through the city, the major two being the Kłodnica and Rawa Rivers. Within 600 kilometres of Katowice are the capital cities of six countries: Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Bratislava, Budapest and Warsaw.

Climate

The climate of the area is continental humid. The average temperature is 8 degrees Celsius (average -1.7°C in January and up to average 17.7°C in July). Yearly rainfall averages at 750 mm, the most rainy month being July. The area's characterisitc weak winds blow at about 2 m/s from from the west (Moravian Gate).

Districts

Districts of Katowice

I. City

  • 1. Śródmieście
  • 2. Koszutka
  • 3. Bogucice
  • 4. Osiedle Paderewskiego - Muchowiec

II. North-Town

  • 5. Załęże
  • 6. Osiedle Witosa
  • 7. Osiedle Tysiąclecia
  • 8. Dąb
  • 9. Wełnowiec - Józefowiec

III. West-Town

  • 10. Ligota - Panewniki
  • 11. Brynów - Osiedle Zgrzebnioka
  • 12. Brynów - Załęska Hałda

IV. East-Town

  • 13. Zawodzie
  • 14. Dąbrówka Mała
  • 15. Szopienice - Burowiec
  • 16. Janów - Nikiszowiec
  • 17. Giszowiec

V. South-Town

  • 18. Murcki
  • 19. Piotrowice - Ochojec
  • 20. Zarzecze
  • 21. Kostuchna
  • 22. Podlesie

Agglomeration

Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - central part of agglomeration

Katowice lies in the center of the largest agglomeration in Poland and is one of the largest in the European Union, numbering at about 3.5 million. This urban expansion bloomed in the 19th century thanks to the rapid development of the mining and metallurgical industries. The greater Katowice area (including the Upper Silesian Industrial Region consists of about 25 neighbouring cities. However, the whole metropolitan area (encompassing the Upper Silesian Coal Basin) consists of over 30 cities. Katowice is also part of a megalopolis of over 7 million inhabitants covering Cracow, Katowice and Ostrava regions.

In the year 2006 Katowice and 14 neighboring cities united under one municipal organism - the union of cities - Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union. Its population is 2 million and its area is 1,304 km². In 2006 and 2007, the union planned to unite these cities in one city under the name "Silesia"; however, this proved unsuccessful[1].

Culture

Katowice, Silesian Theatre

Theater

Cinema

Music

Museum

Katowice, Silesian Museum

Media

TV stations:
radio stations:
newspapers:
Katowice, Spodek

Festivals and Events

Art Galleries

Parks & Squares

Parachute Tower in Tadeusz Kościuszko Park
Main parks:
Square:

Nature reserves and ecological area

Architecture

Market square in Katowice
Architectural map of Katowice

Examples of Modernism (International Style and Bauhaus inspired architecture) may be found in the city downtown. Central Katowice also contain a significant number of Art Nouveau (Secesja) buildings along with the Communist Era giants such as Spodek or Superjednostka.

Katowice's Rynek is the old centre and marketplace of the city. Unfortunately many old buildings were demolished in the 1950s to make space for monumental communist modern buildings.

Several streets around the Rynek and the Rynek itself are now closed to traffic and have been made into a shopping promenades.

Regeneration of the Rynek area should start at 2007-2008 and there was an international architectural competition in 2006 to find the best design.

Best buildings and places to see in Katowice:

Nikiszowiec - antique settlement, candidate to UNESCO

Economy

Industry

Silesia City Center - big shopping mall in Katowice, in the past coal mine "Gottwald"

Katowice is a large coal and steel centre. It has several coal mines (Wujek Coal Mine, Mysłowice-Wesoła Coal Mine, Wieczorek Coal Mine, Murcki Coal Mine, Staszic Coal Mine) organized into unions - Katowice Coal Holding company (pl: Katowicki Holding Węglowy), two steelworks (Huta Baildon, Huta Ferum), and one foundry of non-ferrous metals (Huta Metali Nieżelaznych Szopienice).

South part of Katowice Business Centre (Katowickie Centrum Biznesowe)

Business and commerce

Katowice is also a large business and trade fair centre. Every year in Katowice International Fair and Spodek, tens of international trade fairs are organized. Katowice has the second largest business centre in Poland (after Warsaw Business Centre). Skyscrapers stand along Chorzowska, Korfantego and Roździeńskiego street in the centre of the city. The newest office buildings (A-class) in Katowice are the Chorzowska 50, Altus Skyscraper and Silesia Towers (under construction).

General

Katowice is the seat of Katowice Special Economic Zone (Katowicka Specjalna Strefa Ekonomiczna).

The unemployment rate in Katowice is one of the lowest in Poland, at 2% (in 2008), according to the official figures[2]. The city is still characterized by its working class strength and thus attracts many people seeking jobs from neighbouring cities (other districts USMU).

The average monthly salary in Katowice is the highest in Poland - about 3950 zlotych($~1,900), in Warsaw it's about 3500 zlotychs($~1,700).

Education

Silesian Library in Katowice

Katowice is the third largest scientific centre in Poland (after Warsaw and Cracow). It has over 20 schools of higher education, at which over 100,000 persons study.

  1. University of Silesia
  2. University of Economics in Katowice
  3. University of Music in Katowice
  4. University of Sports in Katowice
  5. University of Arts in Katowice
  6. University of Arts in Cracow (department in Katowice)
  7. Medical University of Silesia
  8. Silesian University of Technology - Faculty of Materials Science and Metallurgy and Transport
  9. Polish Academy of Sciences
  10. International Higher School of Political Sciences in Katowice
  11. International Higher School of Banking and Finances in Katowice
  12. Silesian International Business Higher School in Katowice
  13. Silesian Higher School of Computer science in Katowice
  14. Silesian Higher School of Management in Katowice
  15. Uppersilesian Higher School of Trade in Katowice
  16. Higher School of Banking and Finances in Katowice
  17. Higher School of Humanistic Science in Katowice
  18. Higher School of Technical Science in Katowice
  19. Higher School of Computer Technologies in Katowice
  20. Higher School the Pedagogical TWP in Warsaw, the Institute of Pedagogy in Katowice
  21. Higher School of Social Skills in Poznań (department in Katowice)
  22. Higher School of Humanistic - Economic in Łódź (department in Katowice)
  23. Higher School of Marketing Management and Foreign Languages in Katowice
  24. Higher School of Management the Protection of Work in Katowice
  25. Silesian Higher Clerical Seminar in Katowice
  26. Theological Seminar of Smaller Brothers in Katowice
  27. Private Teacher's College of Foreign Languages in Katowice
  28. Private Teacher's Board of Foreign Languages in Bielsko (department in Katowice)

There are also:

Transport

Public Transport

Tram in Katowice
Express road S79 in Katowice

The public transportation system of the Katowice and Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union consists of four branches - buses, trams, trolleybuses and the regional rail united in the KZK GOP. Additional services are operated by private companies and the state-owned railways.

Trams

Silesian Interurbans - one of the largest tram systems in the World, in existence since 1894. The system spreads for more than 50 kilometres (east-west) and covers fourteen districts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union.

Roads

Several important roads in neighbourhoods of Katowice (USMU):

Airports

The city and the area is served by the Katowice International Airport, located about 30 km from the center of Katowice. With over 20 international and domestic flights daily, it is by far the biggest airport in Silesia (~2 million passengers served in 2007; 2 terminals: A and B).

Waiting room in terminal A in Katowice International Airport

Because of the long commute to the airport, there is a proposal to convert the much nearer sport aviation-serving Katowice-Muchowiec Airport into a so-called city airport, a second international airport for smaller, business-oriented traffic.

Railway

Standard gauge railway

The first railroad reached this area in 1846 (the Upper Silesia Railway, in Polish: Kolej Górnośląska; in German: Oberschlesische Eisenbahn). Nowadays Katowice is one of the main railway nodes and exchange points in Silesia and in Poland. Cheap and fairly efficient, the Polskie Koleje Państwowe (Polish State-Owned Railways) in the area of the proposed union constitute one of the main transport hubs in Poland (the most important one being Warsaw). The main railroad station is Katowice Central Station. Both the domestic and the international connections run from there to almost every major city in Poland and Europe.

Katowice Central Station at night
Broad gauge railway

Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa (known by its acronym LHS, English: Broad gauge metallurgy line) is the longest broad gauge railway line in Poland. Except for this one line, and a few very short stretches near border crossings, Poland uses the standard gauge for its railways, unlike Russia and the other former countries of the Soviet Union. The line runs on a single track for almost 400 km from the Polish-Ukrainian border, crossing it just east of Hrubieszów, to Sławków (one of the suburbs of the proposed union). It is used only for freight transport, mainly iron ore and coal. It is the westernmost broad gauge railway line in Europe that is connected to the broad gauge rail system of the countries which before 1991 constituted the Soviet Union. The line is managed by PKP Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa Spólka z o.o. company. Previous name of this line was Linia Hutniczo Siarkowa (English: Metallurgy - Sulfur Line), but after sulfur ceased to be transported on the line its name was changed.

Water Transport

Katowice also has several canals, including the Gliwice Canal (pl:Kanal Gliwicki) which links Gliwice Harbour to the Oder River and thus to the waterway network across much of Germany and to the Baltic Sea.

Kłodnica Canal (pl: Kanal Klodnicki) is no longer used to transport goods, but it is popular with leisure cruisers.

Sports

Silesian Stadium (between Chorzów and Katowice), in background Osiedle Tysiąclecia

Discontinued sports clubs:

Notable residents

Main article: :Category:People from Katowice
University of Silesia - Faculty of Law and Administration

Twinned towns

Katowice is twinned with:

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ (Polish) dziennik.pl - "17 śląskich miast chce się połączyć w Silesię", 11 December 2006)
  2. ↑ [http://www.stat.gov.pl/gus/45_1487_PLK_HTML.htm Bezrobotni oraz stopa bezrobocia wg województw, podregionów i powiatów (stan w końcu lipca 2008 r.)
Flag of Poland Principal cities of Poland
Administrative divisions of Poland since 1999
Counties of Silesian Voivodeship
City counties
Katowice (capital) • Bielsko-Biała • Bytom • Chorzów • Częstochowa • Dąbrowa Górnicza • Gliwice • Jastrzębie-Zdrój • Jaworzno • Mysłowice • Piekary Śląskie • Ruda Śląska • Rybnik • Siemianowice Śląskie • Sosnowiec • Świętochłowice • Tychy • Zabrze • Żory
 Coat of arms of Silesian Voivodeship
Land counties
Będzin • Bielsko • Bieruń-Lędziny • Cieszyn • Częstochowa • Gliwice • Kłobuck • Lubliniec • Mikołów • Myszków • Pszczyna • Racibórz • Rybnik • Tarnowskie Góry • Wodzisław • Zawiercie • Żywiec