Monuments: Katowice

Monuments in Katowice: the Kościuszko obelisk, the coloured hand of miner Wieczorek, the figure of St Hedwig and insurgent memorials in several districts.

There are six monuments spread across different districts, from a park in Brynów to a cemetery in Ligota. They differ in character, so it helps to know what each one shows and what it commemorates. A wider overview sits under monuments in Silesia, and other corners of the city under things to do in Katowice.

Which monuments in Katowice commemorate insurgents and defenders of the city?

Two places do: an obelisk in Kostuchna and a memorial in the cemetery at ulica Panewnicka 45 in Ligota. Both belong to the story of the struggles for Upper Silesia and to the year 1939.

The Silesian Insurgents Monument in Kostuchna is an obelisk carrying the names of eighty-five insurgents from that district. It stands on the square named after Blessed Stanisław Kubista, near the church of the Holy Trinity. The first monument went up here in 1922, the year part of Upper Silesia was incorporated into Poland, and the Germans destroyed it in 1939. The present obelisk was unveiled in 2002 as a faithful replica of the original design. The Monument to the Defenders of Katowice is in the Ligota cemetery. The memory it keeps belongs to Silesian insurgents, to scouts of both sexes whom the Germans killed in September 1939, and to defenders of the city buried there. A hundred and five people lie in the common grave. The bodies were first buried in secret, then exhumed after the war and laid to rest again. It is a place for reflection and is visited with due seriousness.

Which monument recalls a particular person?

Three monuments are devoted to individuals: Tadeusz Kościuszko, Józef Wieczorek and Leszek Giec. Each stands in a different part of the city and takes a different form.

In the Brynów park that carries his name stands the Kościuszko memorial, an obelisk bearing a medallion. The park was laid out in 1922, and in 1925 residents funded a commemorative plaque and a medallion by Wincenty Chorembalski, mounted on the former Bismarck tower of 1903. The monument was unveiled in its present spot on 21 July 1962. The Józef Wieczorek Monument in Janów-Nikiszowiec, on ulica Zofii Nałkowskiej opposite plac Braci Zillmannów, honours a miner from the Giesche colliery, later called Wieczorek, who became a politician. The first monument of 1947, with a bronze bust, was stolen early in the twenty-first century. After the renewal of 17 November 2010 its form is a colourful hand. The Leszek Giec Monument is a bust set on a plinth, the work of Zygmunt Brachmański. It stands in front of the Upper Silesian Medical Centre on ulica Ziołowa in Piotrowice-Ochojec and recalls the cardiologist who founded the Silesian Centre for Heart Diseases.

Where can I see the figure of St Hedwig?

The figure stands on plac Klasztorny in Ligota-Panewniki, beside the Franciscan basilica. It is a sandstone sculpture from 1912.

The Monument to St Hedwig of Silesia was unveiled on 21 July 1912. The sculptor was Bruno Tschötschel, while the Franciscan Meinard Wieczorek designed the plinth. The saint holds a model of the Panewniki basilica in her right hand and a small figure of the Madonna and Child in her left, and Silesian eagles are pressed into her cloak.

Frequently asked questions

How many monuments are described for Katowice?

Six: three devoted to individuals, two linked with the uprisings and with 1939, and the figure of St Hedwig.

Which monument is the oldest?

Of these six, the oldest is the figure of St Hedwig from 1912. The Kościuszko monument carries a plaque from 1925 but has stood in its present place since 1962.

Does the Wieczorek monument have its original form?

No. The first one, with a bronze bust, was unveiled in 1947, and after the bust was stolen the monument was renewed in 2010 and is now a colourful hand.

Which monuments stand next to other places?

The figure of St Hedwig is beside the Franciscan basilica, the Leszek Giec bust in front of a hospital, and the Monument to the Defenders of Katowice in the Ligota cemetery.