Introduction

Welcome to the Upper Silesia region of Poland!

Upper Silesia a common name of the industrial area in south-central Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, with the cities of Katowice, Gliwice, Chorzów, Bytom, Zabrze, Ruda Śląska, Rybnik and Tarnowskie Góry). It is a special place, full of monuments. But nobody comes here for rest. The most dominating features are coal mines, steelworks and heavy industry, which made the air here always heavy of metals and impurities, and houses covered with black dirt.

Typical features for the Upper Silesian landscape are heaps (slag and coal), mine hoisting towers, chimneys, industrial buildings and “familoki” – red brick houses for workers, built in the 19^th century, whose window frames were painted in red (the colour of the paint used in the coal mines). In the 70s, the epoch of intensive industrialization of the country (which ultimately led Poland to the crisis), many flimsy blocks were built as Upper Silesia needed a lot of hands for work. Today, many industrial facilities fell into disrepair, a lot of coal mines changed its function, modern shopping malls and business centers were built, the air is cleaner, but the level of degradation of the natural environment remains high.

(by https://www.polenvoornederlanders.com/)