Museums
complex in a former mine, with galleries of painting and sacred art and an exhibition on the history of the region
Theatre and opera
brick concert hall building from 2014 with acoustics by Yasuhisa Toyota, in the Culture Zone
Places with character
congress building with a green roof on the site of a former mine, with a hall for 8,000 people
Parks and nature
district park in Bogucice with an amphitheatre, playgrounds and a section of the Upper Silesian Mining History Trail
Industrial heritage
mine from 1823 whose brick buildings and winding towers became part of the Silesian Museum
Churches and monasteries
neo-Gothic minor basilica with the 15th-century image of Our Lady of Bogucice
Industrial heritage
historic shaft head with a winding tower from 1900 and an engine house with a steam winding engine from 1892
Parks and nature
the former village square of Bogucice with a monument to the fallen of the Silesian Uprisings and the Second World War
Cemeteries and monuments
the oldest necropolis in Katowice, with a chapel from 1910 and graves of Silesian insurgents
Churches and monasteries
a neo-Romanesque chapel from 1910 in the oldest cemetery in Katowice
Things to do in Bogucice: a cultural zone built on a former coal mine, a Neo-Gothic basilica, a park and old shafts, all in one Katowice district.
Bogucice is a district of Katowice where a closed coal mine left behind brick buildings, and cultural institutions were built beside them. It is easy to plan a walk here that runs from modern concert and museum buildings to an old cemetery, because several sites stand together in a single complex.
Start with the Culture Zone, where you will find the International Congress Centre (MCK), the seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) and the Silesian Museum. These are the three largest sites in the district, all built on the grounds of a mine closed in 1999, so one visit combines easily with another.
Most of the Silesian Museum lies underground, and what remains at the surface is the central hall, the skylights and a viewing tower. The exhibitions cover Polish painting, sacred art and the history of Upper Silesia. The NOSPR building opened in 2014: its brick facade echoes Nikiszowiec, and the concert hall seats about 1,800 people. The congress centre, with its green roof and a hall for 8,000, is best admired from outside, since it is mainly a venue for large events.
Most traces survive on the site of the former Katowice coal mine, which produced coal from 1823 to 1999, and at the Bartosz shaft complex on Kopalniana Street. Brick buildings, shafts and winding towers are now part of the Culture Zone, and both places fit into a single walk.
The Bartosz shaft, formerly called Beniamin, has kept its headframe building with a tower, an engine house with equipment, a power house and a compressor hall dating from 1881-1928. For anyone interested in industrial architecture it is a compact group of listed buildings that completes the picture of the old mine.
Add Bogucki Park beside the Silesian Museum, with an amphitheatre and playgrounds, and Wincenty Wajda Square to your route. The square was the market place of the village of Bogucice, and today it holds a monument to those who died in the Silesian Uprisings and in the Second World War.
The Neo-Gothic Basilica of St Stephen and Our Lady of Bogucice at Markiefki 89 was built in 1892-1894, became a minor basilica in 2015 and is also a Marian shrine. In the cemetery on Wróblewskiego Street, regarded as the oldest necropolis in Katowice, stands the Neo-Romanesque Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from 1910. The cemetery is still in use and listed as a monument, so treat it as a burial place, not a sightseeing stop.
In one day you can visit the Culture Zone with the Silesian Museum, the NOSPR building and the congress centre, the Bartosz shaft complex and Bogucki Park. The basilica and the cemetery on Wróblewskiego Street can be added at the end.
Yes. The Silesian Museum has its exhibitions in a building that is mostly underground, and concerts take place at the NOSPR seat. The park, the square and the cemetery need dry weather.
Yes, Bogucice is a district of Katowice. All the places described here have addresses in Katowice, on Sławika i Antalla Square and on Dobrowolskiego, Markiefki and Kopalniana streets.
The brick facade of the NOSPR, the green roof of the congress centre, the Neo-Gothic basilica, the Neo-Romanesque chapel in the cemetery and the buildings of the Bartosz shaft. A full overview is also on the page for attractions in Bogucice.
