KATOWICE |
I went to Katowice in September 1999 to work as Assistant Director of Studies at International House Katowice. Katowice really is a strange place. When you first arrive it's a bit of a shock as driving through the city you get the feeling you have been exiled to an industrial wasteland. It really is dirty, smelly and dominated by hundreds of huge tower blocks. However, after a while I realised that Katowice had a certain charm, and there were actually some nice parts - it has parks, open spaces, and some quite striking architecture (if you can see it under the grime!) Favourite place for walks in Katowice is Tadeusz Kosciuszko Park. People often visit Katowice Forest Park, which is a part of protective strip of upper-silesian industrial region. In Katowice Forest Park you can find cultivated recreation areas such as Valley of Three Ponds and in the protective strip - two nature reserves. | <
Katowice is in the Polish region of Upper Silesia, traditionally the industrial heartland of Poland. The main industries were coalmining and steelmaking, coupled with no environmental controls this meant the city was spectacularly polluted. Indeed, there is an urban myth in Katowice that says a group of foreign scientists once tested the locals and discovered they had 'mutated' to adapt to the pollution, and would actually get sick if the went to live somewhere cleaner! In recent years, due to the opening up of the free market, traditional industry in Katowice has collapsed. This has brought many hardships, but the silver lining is a general improvement in the air quality. |
The Spodek One ofPoland's premiere concert venues - and a strange, alienesque building it is, too! |
Mickiewicza Street One of the main streets through the centre. Doesn't look too bad here, does it? |
Statistics 1994 1998 2000 Population thous. pers. 359,3 344,1 336,8 Birthrate number -378 -922 -852 Average population density pers./km2 2184 2092 2047 Number of women per 100 men 107,8 110,7 111,3 total employment (assessment) 212000 211000 210000 incl. private enterprises 69000 83000 99000 employment in industry 86300 61000 53000 in civil engineering 35000 40000 42000 number of unemployed people 10002 5310 11037 inc. women 5999 3349 6265 unemployment rate % 4,5 2,5 5 |
I would recommend going there, if only for the people who are warm and friendly.
Katowice is also ideally placed to visit other places in Eastern Europe such as
Krakow, Wroclaw, Budapest and Prague as it is a major train station hub. More information about Katowice Back to Main Page Top |