Monument to the Defenders of Katowice

The Monument to the Defenders of Katowice stands in the cemetery at Panewnicka 45 in Ligota. It commemorates Silesian insurgents, and girl and boy scouts murdered by the Germans in 1939, as well as the defenders of the city buried here.

Whom it commemorates

The inscription on the monument speaks of the ashes of Silesian insurgents and girl and boy scouts murdered in September 1939 in the Panewniki forests, in prisons and in the streets of Katowice. In the common grave rest 105 people who defended the city. The bodies were at first buried in secret, and after the war they were exhumed and placed in a common grave.

The form of the monument

The design is by Bogumił Burzyński. The first monument was unveiled in 1961, and after rebuilding it was consecrated again in 2000. It consists of polished blocks of rock with commemorative inscriptions.

Practical information

• Address: Panewnicka 45, Katowice-Ligota, within the cemetery.
• This is a place of remembrance and an active cemetery, so quiet and seriousness are expected. Check the cemetery's opening hours before your visit.
• Nearby, about 300 m away, stands the basilica in Panewniki.