Kopalniana Housing Estate

The Kopalniana housing estate consists of four fourteen-storey tower blocks on Uniwersytecka Street in central Katowice, right next to the campus of the University of Silesia. Residents call them the Dolarowce or Dewizowce (the “Dollar” or “Foreign Currency” blocks).

The first housing estate in central Katowice

The design was drawn up in 1962 on the site of former tennis courts and a municipal market garden, on an area of 26 hectares. Stanisław Kwaśniewicz is given as the designer; other sources also mention Jędrzej Badner, Zygmunt Majerski and Tadeusz Krzysztofiak. The loose layout of the buildings was dictated by the shape of the Rawa valley and mining conditions. The tower blocks were built in 1964-1966, according to some sources until 1972.

Where the name Dolarowce comes from

The block at Uniwersytecka 12 was built on commission from PKO. It had a higher standard, and owner-occupied flats in it were sold for foreign currency, hence the popular name of the whole estate. Next to this block, in 1969-1970, a two-storey pavilion was built, later a Pewex shop.

Architecture

The buildings have a frame structure with prefabricated floors and rise to more than 40 metres. The entrances were built as glazed pavilions with projecting reinforced-concrete canopies. On the roofs of two tower blocks stood glazed pavilions from which officers of the Citizens' Militia originally watched the roads. The zigzag patterns of staggered windows disappeared after modernisation work.

Practical information

• Address: Uniwersytecka Street, numbers 12, 21, 25 and 29, Katowice-Śródmieście.
• These are residential buildings, so you view them from the outside. Closest are the Silesian Museum and the seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR).