Former Crossing of Railway Lines 159 and 169

The track crossing in Orzesze is a surviving fragment of the place where two railway lines crossed at a right angle: line 169 from Orzesze Jaśkowice to Tychy and line 159 from Wodzisław Śląski to Orzesze. Today it stands as a monument of technology in a square by the town hall, not in its original location.

Where the crossing came from

The first of the lines was built in 1865 by the Wilhelm Railway Company. The crossing appeared in 1884, when the Upper Silesian Railway company opened the route from Orzesze to Żory. The tracks had a gauge of 1435 mm and crossed at an angle of 90 degrees. In the same year a protective signal box was opened, which secured the passage of trains.

Dismantling and the monument

Traffic on line 159 ended in 2001, and the signal box was closed a year later. In March 2010 the crossing was dismantled, and in 2019 part of it was placed as a monument in the square next to the town hall. Orzesze lies nearby, and in the town centre stand, among others, the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit, both about a kilometre away.

Practical information

• Place: the square by the town hall in Orzesze, free entry; looking at it takes a few minutes.
• The track crossing is no longer at its original location. Check the current placement of the monument before your visit.
• A good stop during a walk around the centre of Orzesze.