Ostashkov Prisoners Square in Katowice

Ostashkov Prisoners Square (Skwer Jeńców Ostaszkowa) is a small square in Katowice on the Osiedle Tysiąclecia estate, in the area of Chorzowska, Ułańska and Bolesława Chrobrego streets, not far from the main entrance to the Silesian Park. The name commemorates the prisoners of the Ostashkov camp.

Whom the name commemorates

The name refers to more than 6,300 Poles held in the camp at Ostashkov and murdered by the NKVD in the spring of 1940. The square was named by a resolution of the Katowice City Council of 30 November 2011, and the resolution came into force in February 2012.

The information board

In October 2022 an educational and information board was unveiled in the square, which presents the history of the Ostashkov camp and commemorates its victims. There are no graves beneath the board; it is a place of remembrance in the space of the estate.

Practical information

• Location: Katowice, Osiedle Tysiąclecia, by Chorzowska, Ułańska and Bolesława Chrobrego streets.
• The square is open to all; it is worth checking the condition of the board and the surroundings on site.
• Nearby, about 1.5 km away: Silesian Park.