Museums
transmitting complex with a 111-metre wooden antenna tower, the site of the Gleiwitz incident of 1939
For children
an interactive model of over 700 sq m with miniatures of Silesian buildings, trains and a storm with rain
Museums
a neo-Renaissance industrialist's residence with preserved interiors, home of the Gliwice Museum
Museums
one of the oldest museums in Upper Silesia, with five branches in different parts of Gliwice
For children
an indoor trampoline park of more than 3,000 m² with a separate zone for the youngest
Theatre and opera
a permanent ruin of a theatre from 1890, used as an open-air stage since the 1945 fire
Museums
a museum of cast-iron and bronze castings in the former engine house of the Gliwice mine
former funeral preparation house from 1903 with a permanent exhibition on the history of the Jews in Upper Silesia
play centre with slides, an obstacle course and a room for children up to 5
Museums
historic pumps and sluice gates in a pumping station over a hundred years old on the treatment plant grounds
LEGO brick workshops using the STEAM method, birthday parties and day camps for children
Theatre and opera
the former Silesian Operetta, now a drama theatre with several stages in Gliwice
gallery with computer graphics by Beksiński and works by Polish painters
Museums
university museum with more than 25,000 specimens of mineral resources, minerals and fossils
Rainy day in Gliwice: Villa Caro, Kolejkowo and the theatre offer indoor options for a whole day, for families, couples and solo visitors.
Gliwice has a good number of places where the weather does not spoil the plan: museums and their branches, play centres, a model railway and a theatre stage. This guide helps you choose when it rains in Gliwice, and you can compare it with the wider list of rainy-day places across Silesia.
The easiest way to choose is by company. With children, Kolejkowo, Funzeum and House of Air share one shopping centre; on your own or as a couple, the museums and the theatre work well; for history lovers there are the radio station and the funeral house. Every one of these places is under a roof.
Gliwice copes with rain also because much of the offer is the Museum in Gliwice, spread over five branches. You can plan two or three short visits instead of one long one and travel a few stops in between. More background is in the article on Villa Caro, the Gliwice Canal and the Silesian University of Technology.
Start with Villa Caro at Dolnych Wałów 8a, a residence in the neo-Renaissance style that the industrialist Oscar Caro had built in 1882-1885, and today the main building of the museum. Much of the original decor survives inside, and the permanent display presents how Upper Silesian industrialists lived in the nineteenth century.
The villa belongs to the Museum in Gliwice, which opened its doors in 1905 under the name Upper Silesian Museum. It now has five branches: besides the villa itself there are the Piast Castle, the Radio Station, the Artistic Casting department and the memorial house for Jews of Upper Silesia. If you like technology, go to the Department of Artistic Casting at Bojkowska 37 in Nowe Gliwice. The branch stands in the machine hall of the former Gliwice colliery and tells of the foundry that began work in 1796 and cast the first Iron Cross.
For a shorter visit there are three smaller options. Esta Contemporary Art Gallery at Raciborska 8 is a privately run gallery opened in 1998, known for the computer graphics of Zdzisław Beksiński, which it shows exclusively. The Museum of Deposit Geology of the Silesian University of Technology has worked since 1961 at Akademicka 2, holds more than 25,000 specimens of minerals, rocks and fossils, and admission is free.
The Sanitary Technology Museum sits in a century-old sewage pumping station at Edisona 16 and belongs to the Industrial Monuments Trail. According to the museum, visits are sometimes suspended, so check before you go.
Most venues for families gather at Pszczyńska 315, inside the Europa Centralna mall. Kolejkowo is an interactive miniature world spread over 700-plus square metres. It has more than 500 buildings, 12 rail vehicles running on the tracks and upwards of 5,000 figurines, set among bridges, tunnels and water.
Next door are Funzeum and House of Air. Funzeum covers 4,000 m² in four zones: Build, Create, Discover and Move. Each has two workshops, and the idea is that a child takes part rather than looks at exhibits. House of Air puts trampolines under one roof on over 3,000 m², and children up to 4 have a Kids Zone of their own. Non-slip socks are required on the trampolines.
Bricks 4 Kidz at Zawiszy Czarnego 22 runs LEGO workshops based on the STEAM method, and also offers birthdays and holiday day camps. Dżungla at Świętojańska 57 is a soft-play venue with slides and an obstacle course; under-fives get a room of their own. There is a café for parents, and socks are required in the play area.
For an evening, especially for two, Gliwice City Theatre at Nowy Świat 55-57 makes a fine evening out. It opened in 1952 as the Silesian Operetta and kept the name Gliwice Musical Theatre until 2016; today it stages drama on several city stages.
The ruins of the Victoria Municipal Theatre at Przyjaźni 18 are different. The 1890 building was gutted by fire in 1945 and left unrestored. The ruin now works as a stage for artistic events. Because it is partly open to the sky, check how a particular event works before going in the rain.
Two museum branches deal with important and difficult parts of the city's history and call for a different mindset than the rest of the list. The Gliwice Radio Tower at Tarnogórska 127 dates from 1935: three buildings plus a timber transmitter mast rising 111 metres, recognised as a Monument of History. The Gleiwitz incident took place here on 31 August 1939. The full story is in the article about the radio station and the 1939 provocation.
The House of Memory of Upper Silesian Jews at Poniatowskiego 14 is housed in a pre-burial house opened in 1903 next to the new Jewish cemetery. Its permanent exhibition covers the history of Jews in Upper Silesia. For more on the building and on both Jewish cemeteries in Gliwice, see the article on the funeral house.
The simplest approach is to combine places that lie close together. The three family venues at Pszczyńska 315 suit a single trip, since they share one shopping centre. In the centre you can pair Villa Caro on Dolnych Wałów, the Victoria ruins on Przyjaźni and the play centre on Świętojańska.
The radio station on Tarnogórska and the casting branch in Nowe Gliwice lie in other parts of the city, so treat them as separate trips. When the weather improves, the article on reserves in cities of the agglomeration and the overview of botanical gardens suggest places for a walk.
The museums offer the most choice: Villa Caro, Artistic Casting, the Esta gallery and the Museum of Deposit Geology. In the evening there is the City Theatre on Nowy Świat.
The Europa Centralna shopping centre holds Kolejkowo, Funzeum and House of Air, and the centre of town has Dżungla and Bricks 4 Kidz.
According to the museum, visits are sometimes suspended. Check with the organiser before going, as plans can change.
The Museum of Deposit Geology of the Silesian University of Technology has free admission. For other places, the rules are on their own pages.
Five. Besides the villa, they are the Piast Castle, the Radio Station, the casting department and the memorial house for Jews of Upper Silesia.
