St Anne's Church in Katowice

St Anne's Church stands in the centre of Nikiszowiec, a workers' housing estate in the Katowice district of Janów-Nikiszowiec. It is a neo-Baroque church with a brick façade and two towers, consecrated in 1927. It was designed by the Berlin architects Emil and Georg Zillmann, the same ones who designed the estate.

Where the church came from

The residents of Janów belonged to a distant parish in Mysłowice, and so from June 1901 they collected money for their own church. The mining company Georg von Giesches Erben agreed to help only if the church was built in Nikiszowiec and designed by the Zillmanns. This was agreed on 2 February 1909. The parish was established on 1 August 1912, construction began on 6 May 1914, and the foundation stone was laid on 5 July 1914. The work was interrupted by the First World War. It resumed in 1918, the walls and towers stood in 1921, and the vaults were made in 1925 by Franciszek Rozkoszny. The iron dome and roof were made by the United Królewska and Laura Steelworks. Bishop Arkadiusz Lisiecki consecrated the church in 1927.

Architecture

The church is a basilica with low, narrow side aisles, a transept and an apse. The middle part of the façade curves outwards. The building is 69.5 m long, the transept is 40 m wide, the height is 17 m (25 m in the dome), and the towers are 55 m. The area is about 2,500 square metres.

Furnishings

The high altar was made by Georg Schreiner, the bronze chandelier was designed by the Zillmanns, and the stained-glass windows were made in the workshop of Georg Schneider of Regensburg. The Stations of the Cross were painted on metal sheets by Otto Kowalewski of Katowice. The organ of 1927 was built by the Rieger brothers of Krnov; it has 5,350 pipes and was renovated in 1981 by Zdzisław Zasada. Five bells were consecrated in 1928, and four were requisitioned by the Germans during the Second World War. In 1977 two new ones were hung, weighing 1,400 and 2,080 kg, cast at the works of Eugeniusz Felczyński.

Nearby

The church is a natural point for a walk around the historic Nikiszowiec. In the area is the Walcownia - Zinc Metallurgy Museum, and in the centre of Katowice the Silesian Museum.

Practical information

• Address: plac Wyzwolenia, Katowice-Nikiszowiec.
• The church is active as a parish church; the interiors are visited outside services.
• Current information is provided by the parish.