Cybermachina

Katowice developed from a small village to a major urban industrial center over several decades, from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. The oldest and most important urban axis is the line connecting the three squares: Wolności, Rynek (Market Square) and Szramka. Of these three sites, the Market Square was laid out as the firSt It was a place which for several centuries was an important transportation hub. The oldest urban axis is lined with a number of stately edifices, including the synagogue, the church of Saint Mary’s, etc.

The building of the old train station in Katowice was erected at the beginning of the twentieth century, and for many years it was one of the flagships of Upper Silesia. In the course of time, the railroad station was becoming less and less sufficient for the needs of the growing passenger traffic. This situation resulted in the several extensions of the building by adding upper floors, and after the Second World War, it was decided to build a new facility, which was opened in 1972. Currently, the old train station building belongs to a private company.

In 1984, the reactivated Silesian Museum in Katowice was moved into the impressive building of the former Grand Hotel at today’s 3 Korfanty Street. The construction of the building was financed by Max Wiener, an entrepreneur from Katowice in 1899. It was designed by Ignatz Gruenfeld or Gerd Zimmermann. The building is made of brick, giving it an elegant, neo-Renaissance form with decorative gables and projections.

The Evangelical Church of the Resurrection is the oldest stone church in Katowice. It was built in the years 1856-1858 – and it is the oldest building in the city. Later, it was expanded and restored many times. It is a neo-Romanesque shrine, also referring to the early Christian architecture. Inside the church it is worth noting the original pulpit, stained glass windows in the chancel and valuable organ.

Katowice is the second city (after Warsaw) in Poland which boasts the largest number of high-rise buildings. The tradition of such constructions in the capital of Upper Silesia dates back to the interwar period, when the first “skyscraper” in the country was erected in Katowice. Currently, the record high building is the skyscraper "Altus", which is 125 meters tall and has a total area of about 69 000 square meters.

The Mickiewicz Street in Katowice is one of the showpiece streets of the capital of Upper Silesia. Its "career" began in the second half of the nineteenth century, as the Nadbrzeżna Street, and later was called the Augusta Schneider Street. We can find a lot of interesting historical buildings from the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, such as the neo-Gothic edifice of the Adam Mickiewicz III secondary school, Art Nouveau and Modernist buildings, and modern skyscrapers.

Hotel Diament Plaza Katowice**** is located in the city center close to the market square and the main railway station, hotel has in offer45 rooms (9 singles, 32 doubles, 4 suites, 1 apartment).

An exclusive hotel in the 1930’s style, once one of the most luxurious hotels in pre-war Poland

Hostel offers single and double rooms, guest rooms and apartments.

Sztuka piwa, sztuka kuchni.

Bezowo-Czekoladowo to wyjątkowa cukiernia gdzie główne produkty to Beza oraz Czekolada

Cafe Kattowitz was founded in 1897, in a tenement house at St. John's Street in Katowice. The decor and atmosphere of this place are reminiscent of Katowice in the years 1890-1920, when the city was called Kattowitz. Most of the interior consists in original furniture and objects of utility from that period. The walls are decorated with postcards, photographs and portraits of people associated with Śląsk and Katowice. The owners pattern the Cafe upon old Viennese coffee houses, which once inspired the trend for cafes in Katowice. Cafe Kattowitz is renowned for homemade cakes and desserts.