Industria i technika: Bytom

Industry and technology in Bytom: the Krystyna winding tower, Szombierki power plant, the Zgorzelec Colony workers' houses and a modernist railway signal box.

Eight sites show Bytom's industry, from ore and coal mining to railways and waterworks. Some stand on grounds that are not museums, so these are places to see from the outside.

Which technical monuments in Bytom should you see first?

In Szombierki, on Zabrzańska Street, stands the brick winding tower of the Krystyna Shaft, about fifty-seven metres tall, shaped like a miner's hammer. Its beginnings date to the 1870s, and in time the shaft went down more than eight hundred metres. Nearby rises the Szombierki Combined Heat and Power Plant, the former Bobrek power station of 1920, with a clock water tower and three chimneys. The complex is listed but not open for regular visits, so you admire it from outside. Its architecture is described in the article on the plant designed by the Zillmanns.

What remains of the Rozbark, Preussen and Marchlewski mines?

From the Rozbark mine, active from 1877 to 2004, the listed group of buildings stands at Chorzowska 12: a neo-Gothic engine house, a neo-Baroque lamp room and a boiler house. The shaft towers are gone.

In Miechowice, in a forest by Szyb Zachodni Street, the buildings of the ventilation shaft of the former Preussen mine survive: a winding engine house, a pithead building and an auxiliary building from the early twentieth century. The Juliusz Marchlewski Mining Works have a different story: an underground zinc and lead mine built after the plebiscite, when a new border was drawn (1925-1928). Only buildings on Siemianowicka Street remain, and there is no permanent visitor route.

What other technical sites and workers' estates are there?

Beyond the mines you will see the Zgorzelec Colony in Łagiewniki: thirty-four red-brick workers' houses from 1897-1901, built for the employees of the Hubertus steelworks. On Oświęcimska Street rises the reinforced-concrete Municipal Water Tower of 1934-1936, a modernist structure over forty metres high. On the railway, note the Bt Gate Signal Box of 1935, whose control room hangs above the tracks on a steel pillar.

What else is there to see in Bytom?

After an industrial day, step into the churches and monasteries of Bytom or the historic sites of Bytom. Things to do in Bytom covers the rest of the city, while industry and technology in Silesia points to comparable sites elsewhere.

Frequently asked questions

Can you visit the Szombierki power plant?

Not inside: the listed complex is seen from outside, and no regular tour runs.

Where is the Krystyna Shaft in Bytom?

On Zabrzańska Street in Szombierki, on the grounds of a former mine.

How many houses does the Zgorzelec Colony have?

Thirty-four, all of red brick. They lie in the Łagiewniki district.

Is the Marchlewski mine a museum?

No. Only buildings on Siemianowicka Street remain, with no permanent visitor route.