Come on! Really!?

Oh, Hi! Do you have a minute? I wanted to talk about interesting facts about Katowice. Here they are: 

 

Katowice is the capital of the first metropolis in Poland with over two and a half million inhabitants. It border with eight other cities: Chorzów, Siemianowice Śląskie, Czeladź, Sosnowiec, Mysłowice, Tychy, Mikołów and Ruda Śląska.

In 1953 the name of the city was changed to Stalinogród, in honour of Józef Stalin, who died at that time, but after three years it was renamed to Katowice again.

Katowice is a UNESCO City of Music.

On December 16, 1981, when martial law in Poland was introduced, nine miners were killed by the Militia in strikes at the Wujek Mine. Eeach year on that day, their memory is honoured.

Although the city was founded only at the end of the 19th century, the oldest building is the wooden church of St. Michael the Archangel, located in Kościuszko Park. It was built in 1510.

One of the symbols of the city is the statue of three wings in the very centre. Each of them symbolizes the Silesian Uprisings that took place in 1919, 1920 and 1921.

In the Silesian Museum, whose exhibitions are located underground, you can see the paintings of the most outstanding Polish painters such as Matejko, Wyspiański or Malczewski. As well, you can get to know the history of Upper Silesia in a very interesting way (how? Be sure to visit and see for yourself 😉).

 

 

With a dome of 64 meters, a monumental cathedral in Katowice was to be even larger and reach almost one hundred meters, but the communist authorities in the 1950s did not agree to such a large religious building in the city.

The first cinema in Katowice has been operating for 109 years.

Apart from Art Nouveau tenement houses and brutalist buildings, the Main Square connects the two most important tram lines in the city. Uważej na bana!

Katowice is the second city in Poland, after Warsaw, with the most skyscrapers over 80 meters.