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Katowice[ a ] is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. [ 7 ]
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Śląskie, województwo (province), southern Poland. It is bordered by the provinces of Łódzkie to the north, Świętokrzyskie to the northeast, Małopolskie to the east, and Opolskie to the west; Slovakia and the Czech Republic are to the south. Created in 1999 as part of Poland’s provincial reorganization, it comprises the former provinces (1975–98) of...
The relief structure of Śląskie is varied. Uplands, depressions, and basins are found in the north. Within the Beskid range, the Beskid Żywiecki, Beskid Niski, and Beskid Makowski mountains lie to the south. Forests, consisting mainly of pine and spruce, cover one-third of the province. The climate is mild in the north but cooler in the mountainous south, with overall average annual precipitation of 26–39 inches (650–1,000 mm). Śląskie is the most densely populated province in Poland, and four-fifths of the population lives in cities. The largest urban centres (all with populations exceeding 150,000) are Katowice, Częstochowa, Sosnowiec, Gliwice, Bytom, Zabrze, and Bielsko-Biała. The Upper Silesian Industrial District, centred on Katowice, is the largest conurbation in Poland, with a population of more than 3,000,000 at the beginning of the 21st century.
Śląskie is one of the most industrialized and economically developed of Poland’s provinces. Major industries include power production, ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy, machine building, automobile manufacturing, and textiles and chemicals production. The region is rich in minerals, and coal, zinc, and lead mining are vital to the economy. The high level of industrialization has seriously damaged the environment, and the area surrounding the industrial district ranks as one of the most polluted parts of Poland (see pollution map). One-half of the land is set aside for agriculture, and the chief crops are cereals, potatoes, and vegetables; livestock is also raised. The road and railway network is well-integrated, and a river port on the Gliwice Canal links the Upper Silesian Industrial District with the Oder River (Odra). There is an international airport at Katowice-Pyrzowice.
Silesia (Śląsk) was long inhabited by the Slavic tribes of Opolanie, Gołęszyce, and Wiślanie. During the late 10th century the region was incorporated into the Polish state. In 1173 Silesia was divided into the duchy of Wrocław (Lower Silesia) and the duchy of Opole-Racibórz (Upper Silesia). In the 13th and 14th centuries a number of Germans settled in the duchy of Opole-Racibórz, and the region enjoyed a period of economic prosperity with the development of lead, silver, and iron mining. During the 14th century Silesia split into about a dozen weak duchies, which were later seized by the Czech Luxembourgs.
During the 16th century, along with other Czech lands, Silesia came under the rule of the Austrian Habsburgs. In the 17th century the western portion of the province became part of the Polish state. After the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48), Silesia was subdued by Prussia. Following the Partitions of Poland (1772, 1793, and 1795), the southeastern portion of the area (Żywiec, Bielsko-Biała) fell under Austrian rule, whereas the northwestern part (Częstochowa, Będzin) was annexed by Prussia. During the 1800s many mines were built to exploit the region’s coal reserves, and steelmaking enterprises were established. These newly industrialized districts, however, belonged to three different states. The Upper Silesian Basin (Katowice, Gliwice, and Bytom) was part of German Silesia, the Dąbrowa Górnicza Basin (Dąbrowa Górnicza, Sosnowiec, and Będzin) and the Częstochowa Industrial District part of the Kingdom of Poland, and the Kraków Basin (Jaworzno) and the Bielsko-Biała Industrial District part of Austrian Galicia. New roads and railway lines were built, and an industrial conurbation (second in size in Europe only to the Ruhr Basin in Germany) began to emerge.
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- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Visit the Silesian Museum. The Silesian Museum was founded in 1929 to catalogue the region’s history, particularly as it relates to the coal mines and the Silesian Uprisings (more on that later).
- Sunset drinks by the Spodek. A 10-minute walk from the Silesian Museum, the Spodek Arena is part of the Katowice Cultural Zone, which also includes the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
- Stroll around Market Square & Mariacka Street. Plotted in the mid 19th century and rebuilt several times since, Katowice’s main square is a sprawling pedestrian plaza criss-crossed by tram tracks.
- Stop by the mighty Superjednostka. Of all the things to do in Katowice, the Superjednostka (‘Super Unit’) was one of the landmarks I was most excited about seeing in person.
Katowice, city and capital, Śląskie województwo (province), south-central Poland. It lies in the heart of the Upper Silesia coalfields. The settlement was first recorded in 1598, and it remained a small village until 1865, when it was granted municipal rights as Kattowitz.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The capital of Śląskie province, and an important hub of the giant Silesian region, Katowice offers many attractions for tourists to discover, from the classic and charming to the industrial and innovative… Basic information. Area: 164,64 km². Population: 282 755 (2022) www. Mines, Museums and Music Approved by UNESCO.
Jan 26, 2020 · The political history of Katowice and the Upper Silesia region is incredibly complex, and entails uprisings, a plebiscite and an autonomous state within Poland. Luckily there are museums and monuments to fill in the gaps, while Katowice is blessed with a raft of architectural wonders, from a hulking Neoclassical cathedral to Spodek, a UFO-like ...
Katowice is a large city in the Silesian Voivodeship (województwo śląskie) in the south of Poland. In 2021 it had a population of 315,000; it's the central city of Metropolis GZM (population 2.3 million) which in turn is part of Upper Silesian-Moravian metropolitan area sprawling across the Czech border.
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