Upper Silesian Coal Basin

The Silesian Voivodeship (Polish: województwo śląskie; German: Woiwodschaft Schlesien) was an autonomous province (voivodeship) of the Second Polish Republic. The bulk of its territory had formerly belonged to the German/Prussian Province of Silesia and became part of the newly reborn Poland as a result of the 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite, the Geneva Conventions, three Upper Silesian Uprisings, and the eventual partition of Upper Silesia between Poland, Germany and Czechoslovakia. The remainder had been the easternmost portion of Austrian Silesia (see Cieszyn Silesia) which was partitioned between Poland and Czechoslovakia following the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the Polish–Czechoslovak War and the Spa Conference of 1920. The capital of the voivodeship was Katowice.The voivodeship was dissolved on 8 October 1939 following the German invasion of Poland, and its territory was incorporated into the German Province of Silesia. After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, its territory was incorporated into a new, larger Silesian Voivodeship which existed until 1950.

The Upper Silesian Industrial Region (Polish: Górnośląski Okręg Przemysłowy, pronounced [gurnɔˈɕlɔ̃skʲi ˌɔkrɛŋk pʂɛmɨˈswɔvɨ], Polish abbreviation: GOP [gɔp]; German: Oberschlesisches Industriegebiet) is a large industrial region in Poland. It lies mainly in the Silesian Voivodeship, centered on Katowice. It is situated in the northern part of Upper Silesian Coal Basin a home of altogether 5 million people (Silesian metropolitan area), the southwest border of the Rybnik Coal Area (Polish: Rybnicki Okręg Węglowy, ROW) and west borders with the Ostrava urban area. Covers 3,200 km² and about 3 million people.The Upper Silesian Industrial Region is located in the province of Upper Silesia and Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in southern Poland in a basin between the Vistula and Oder rivers. Upper Silesian Industrial Region is an area with enormous concentration of industry. Dominates here: Mining industry (more than a dozen active coal mines, mainly as Katowicki Holding Węglowy, Kompania Węglowa, JSW,Węglokoks Iron and steel industry (more than a dozen active iron and nonferrous metals) Transport industry (example General Motors Manufacturing Poland and Fiat Auto Poland, Konstal, Bumar Łabędy) The energy industry (more than a dozen plants) Mechanical engineering Chemical industry

The Upper Silesian metropolitan area is a metropolitan area in southern Poland and northeastern Czech Republic, centered on the cities of Katowice and Ostrava in Silesia and has around 5 million inhabitants. Located in the three administrative units (NUTS-2 class): mainly Silesian Voivodeship, a small western part of Lesser Poland Voivodeship and a small east part of Moravian-Silesian Region. The Polycentric metropolitan area lies within the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. Silesian metropolitan area (5.3 million people) with nearby Kraków metropolitan area (1.3 million people) and Częstochowa metropolitan area (0.4 million people) create a great metropolitan area covering 7 million people.

The Kosciuszko Park, which has existed since 1925, is one of the most famous and frequented parks in Katowice, Poland. It is situated at the street of the same name. Its foundation dates back to 1888 when a municipal park was founded on the 6 ha area of suburban grove. The present area of the park is 72 ha. Its arrangement is influenced by English gardens-parks, which is emphasized by an alley of roses turned to wild. There are flower arrangements on the flower-beds and pergolas and classicistic gardens. After dusk the park is lit by stylish street lamps. In the park there are several structures, such as a commemorative plaque funded for the patron, Tadeusz Kościuszko, by the people of Katowice in 1925. The parachute tower also dates back to that time. It is currently being rebuilt to its height of 40 m; it was erected as a training structure. Not far from it there is a monument commemorating the heroic participation of scouts in the defence of the town against the Nazi invaders in 1939. Two wooden structures, Upper Silesia, a manorial granary from 1688 (burnt in 1970) and the Church of St. Michael Archangel, a wooden church under the invocation of St. Michael from 1510 moved from Syrynia, were placed in the park. The park also houses a permanent gallery of plein-air sculpture, collecting works of famous artists of the region: Zygmunt Brachmanski, Augustyn Dyrda, Joachim Krakowczyk, Piotr Latoska, Jacek Sarapata, Andrzej Szczepaniec. In winter children can use a toboggan track and a ski route. The Soviet soldiers who died in 1945 are also buried there. The Park Hall, erected in the 1950s, is situated opposite the park and holds 3.500 people. At present it is a grocery/supermarket. Nearby there is a military cemetery from the interbellum, and toward the centre there is a sports stadium of the Physical Training Academy.

Parachute Tower in Katowice (Polish: Wieża spadochronowa w Katowicach) is a 35-metre tall lattice parachute tower built in 1937 for training parachute jumps. It was used in the first days of World War II by the 73rd infantry regiment as an observation tower. The parachute Tower in Katowice is the only existing parachute tower in Poland.

Brynów is a district in Katowice, Poland. It is located in the central part of Katowice, south-west of the immediate center, and is divided into two subdistricts: Brynów - Osiedle Zgrzebnioka is the eastern subdistrict with 7,200 inhabitants (in 2002) Brynów - Załęska Hałda is the western subdistrict with 16,800 inhabitants (in 2002)Brynów (German: Brynow) borders the following districts of Katowice: Załęże, Osiedle Paderewskiego - Muchowiec, Śródmieście, Ligota - Panewniki, Piotrowice - Ochojec. Among the landmarks of Brynów are: Kopalnia Wujek, a coal mine known as the place the government of People's Republic of Poland brutally suppressed workers demonstration in December, 1981. Kościuszko Park, the largest park in the city Church of St. Michael Archangel, located in Kościuszko park, is the oldest building in Katowice (from 1510) Parachute tower, the only one in Poland, place of a battle during the Invasion of PolandHistory of Brynów, as a village, goes back to the 15th century. Brynów has its own train station. There are several major roads and a tram line. There are several schools, five churches and three supermarkets in Brynów. A small civilian airport is nearby.

Church of St. Michael Archangel (Polish: Kościół św. Michała Archanioła w Katowicach) is one of the oldest buildings in Katowice. It's located in Kościuszko Park, where it was moved in 1938 from the village Syrynia, where it was originally constructed in 1510. It is under the invocation of St. Michael. It has end-fitted log framework construction and shingled roof. Free-standing belltower was completed before 1679; it has historic lych-gate and wooden fence around the churchyard.

Wujek Coal Mine (Polish: Kopalnia Wujek, full name in Polish: Kopalnia Węgla Kamiennego Wujek; German: Oheim) is a coal mine in Katowice, Poland. It is widely known in Poland as the place of the massacre of striking miners in 1981 (most often referred to by the euphemism 'Pacification'). Mining operations began in the vicinity as early as the 16th century. The present mine, Oheim, was established in 1899 by a merger of six mining operations existing in Silesia (then a part of Germany). The peak Polish production was in 1979 (3.88 million tons that year). Currently, the Wujek mine produces sub-bituminous coal with a typical energy content of 30000-35000 kJ/kg, volatile content of 30-31%, ash content of less than 5%, and sulfur content of less than 0.6%. The name "Wujek" means "Uncle" in Polish.

The Pacification of Wujek was a strike-breaking action by the Polish police and army at the Wujek Coal Mine in Katowice, Poland, culminating in the massacre of nine striking miners on December 16, 1981. It was part of a large-scale action aimed to break the Solidarity free trade union after the introduction of martial law in Poland in 1981. Although the strike was suppressed, in a longer term, it turned out to be a milestone towards the collapse of the authoritarian system in Poland and, ultimately, to the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. It was a site of numerous protests, including by Solidarity activist Anna Walentynowicz who commemorated a plaque to the murdered miners shortly after she left prison at Gołdap.

Drapacz Chmur (English: Skyscraper) is a historical building in Katowice, Silesia, Poland. It was the second skyscraper built in post-World War I Poland. Finished in 1934 after five years of construction, it made pioneering Polish use of steel frame construction. Today, Drapacz Chmur is considered the most spectacular and beautiful example of functionalism in Poland.The building has seventeen stories, fourteen above the ground, and contained one of the first garbage chutes in Poland. It is 60 m tall and until 1955, it was the second highest building in the country (after Prudential, Warsaw). It was designed by architect Tadeusz Kozłowski and structural engineer Stefan Bryła to house Polish Revenue Office employees. The flats are spacious and luxurious. Gustaw Holoubek and Kazimierz Kutz were among the building's notable residents after World War II. Drapacz Chmur is located at 15 Żwirki i Wigury Street.

The Pałac Goldsteinów or Goldstein Palace is neo-renaissance palace, which was built by two brothers, Abraham and Joseph Goldstein. It is located in Katowice, Silesia, Poland, at the west end of the city centre, at 50°15′33″N 19°0′47″E. The palace is representative for the building style of second part of the 1870s. Front elevations and interior staircases are decorated in typical neo-renaissance ornamentation. The opulent use of marble and sandstone testifies of the owner's wealth. It has two floors. On every floor there are lords’ room, kitchen, bathroom, pantry and two rooms for staff. The Goldstein brothers owned sawmills in multiple cities in Poland, also in Katowice, on the background of palace. After a fire burned down the Katowice sawmill in 1892, the Goldstein brothers, because of heavy losses, switched their main business to Wrocław. The Estate was sold to the firm "Kohlen Produzenten Georg Von Giesches Erben". Before the Second World War, the local Chamber of Commerce was located in the building. From 1952 until 1990, the building housed the Towarzystwo Przyjaźni Polsko-Radzieckiej (Fellowship of Polish-Soviet friendship) and the Przyjaźń (friendship) cinema. From 1960 to 1970 in the basements was a vanguard theater named "12a". There also was a restaurant "Kolumb" in the building, but currently it is undergoing reconstruction to become a Urząd Stanu Cywilnego (Registry Office) in 2007. The owner of the Goldstein Palace is City of Katowice. The architect of the building is unknown, but historians suspect him to be from Berlin.

Katowice Załęże is a railway station in Katowice, located in the Załęże district in southern Poland. The stop, situated on the international E 30 railway line, was built in 1957, with scheduled train services beginning in 1966. Regional trains operated by Koleje Śląskie, traveling towards Częstochowa, Katowice, Lubliniec, and Gliwice, stop at this station.