City Baths Building in Katowice

The City Baths Building at ul. Adama Mickiewicza 5 in Katowice is a brick edifice in the eclectic style, erected in 1894-1895 as a municipal bathhouse and rebuilt in 1911. It is entered in the heritage register and today serves as offices, so it is seen mainly from the outside.

The ensemble on ul. Mickiewicza

In the second half of the 19th century a prestigious ensemble of buildings developed along what is now ul. Mickiewicza. The earliest, closest to the market square, was the municipal bathhouse in the brick historicist style, opened in 1895. Further on came the building of the municipal grammar school, today the 3rd General Secondary School, and the Great Synagogue, the most imposing structure of the whole ensemble.

The pool's benefactor and later fate

The cost of the pool was covered by Richard Holtze, who devoted to this purpose a prize given to him by the town's inhabitants on the 25th anniversary of his doctorate. In July 1928 the baths were used by 12,530 people. In the days of the Polish People's Republic the building was slated for demolition, and in the 1980s an amusement arcade occupied its lower part. The building was adapted in 1996-1997 to a design by Jan Pallado and Aleksander Skupin, for which the architects received ministerial awards and a distinction in the Silesian Voivodeship's “Architecture of the Year 2000” competition. In 2005 a plaque was unveiled on the façade in honour of Richard Holtze, co-founder of the town of Katowice.

Practical information

• Address: Adama Mickiewicza 5, Katowice-Śródmieście.
• The building houses offices, the interiors are not open to visitors, and the building is best viewed from the street.
• Right next door stands the Stanisław Wyspiański Silesian Theatre, and about a kilometre further on the Cathedral of Christ the King.