Zabrze


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Introducing Zabrze

While it might sound like little more than a drunken scrabble entry, the town of Zabrze is actually a worthwhile detour from Katowice, particularly for those with an active interest in Upper Silesia's industrial heritage and architecture. As the train from Katowice chugs you past dilapidated maintenance yards, landfills and power plants with open flames torching the sky during the short trip west to Zabrze, it is indeed impossible to escape the industrial heritage of the region. Fortunately for you, however, the toxic clouds and heavy pollution which once saw the area christened ‘the Black Triangle’ (the other points being Chorzów and Bytom) disappeared along with communism. Though the stains have largely been scrubbed, the legacy remains and there's not a whole heck of a lot to do in Zabrze today that doesn't include putting on a hard hat. The city's three primary attractions are two mineshafts (Luiza and Guido) and the above-ground museum dedicated to the industry of crawling around in them. It's genuinely fascinating stuff and if you don't think so, you better hope those ruby slippers get you back home to Kansas before they turn black.

To properly trace the history of Zabrze you need to track back to the 13th century when the ruling Piast dynasty actively encouraged German settlement in the region and little towns like Zabrze were the result. It wasn't until the end of the 18th century, however, that Zabrze really made a name for itself. Apparently Zabrzians were especially naughty in the year 1790 and when Santa came round doling out the coal, he dumped it all on Zabrze, turning this quiet backwater into a hotbed of industry and manufacturing. The Queen Luiza mine was opened the very next year, marking the beginning of 200 years of non-stop coal extraction, the history of which you can learn by visiting the site today.

Aside from coal mines, Zabrze was the site of many other types of industry including steel production. Only a short walk from the train station you'll find the Donnersmarck Housing Estate (S-2) - a picturesque housing district built between 1905 and 1920 for workers of the nearby Donnersmarck steel mill. Consisting of over 40 buildings incorporating timber framing and Prussian villa details, this neighbourhood between Stalmacha, Bytomska and Cmentarna streets (S-2) is one of the most green parts of Zabrze and ideal for a stroll; keep an eye peeled for the unique Steel House on ul. Cmentarna as well. Naturally, it's also on Cemetery street (ul. Cmentarna, S-2) that you'll also find the evocative, yet neglected, Jewish Cemetery, directly next to the well-maintained community Catholic cemetery. If you get really excited about industrial housing developments, you may consider completing the city's triumvirate of unique worker colonies including the well-preserved Borsigwerk Housing Development in the Biskupice district further east from Donnersmarck in the area of ul. Bytomska and ul. Lelewela, and the more modern Ballestrom Patronal Colony in the Rokitnica district north of the city centre in the area of ul. Jordana and ul. Szafarczyka; however a vehicle would be necessary to check all three off your list.

Although Poles still made up a significant proportion of the population at the beginning of the 20th century, this was a German town first and foremost, a fact demonstrated in 1915 when it was renamed 'Hindenburg' in honour of the German Field Marshall and future president. Along with Bytom and Gliwice, it was one of only three towns in Upper Silesia that remained German after World War I and the subsequent Silesian Uprisings and continued to be known as Hindenburg up until 1945 when it came under Polish jurisdiction as part of the mucky fallout of WWII. Those Germans who hadn’t already fled the marauding Red Army were expelled and the town was re-christened Zabrze. In spite of the aggressive ‘Polonization’ that followed, traces of the town's German past are still evident all around the city centre: particularly the antiquated, but still functioning clinical hospital complex between ul. 3 Maja and ul. Buchenwaldczyków (R-3), which features over a dozen buildings dating from 1858 to 1905, crowned with a gorgeous timber and brick water tower. The facade and interiors of the nearby Museum of Mining (S-3) are also a beauty in themselves, but even if you aren't interested in drills and lanterns, make sure not to miss the square across from it with its immense Silesian miner monument, fountain and general bustle of activity - the closest thing to a main square Zabrze possesses. Indeed much of the fun of visiting Zabrze simply entails walking around and appreciating its grandiose and often incomprehensible turn-of-the-century architecture.

Today Zabrze is part of the urban tangle known as the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, within which Katowice plays the role of capital. [When observing satellite imagery of Poland, that's the part that looks like a big piece of steel wool.] Though possessing a population of about 200,000, Zabrze sadly offers very little in the way of eating or drinking options. In fact, ask any local to make a recommendation and they'll just tell you 'Zabrze doesn't have anything' and consider the topic finished. Be that as it may, we've managed to include a few options here for those of you who may actually get hungry while in town. As for nightlife, the paltry lack of pubs can be explained by the fact that upon graduating from high school, anyone who's from Zabrze leaves immediately. If you're not interested in consorting with a bunch of 16 year olds, you may want to do the same as soon as night falls. Enjoy Zabrze.