Dietl Park

Dietl Park (Park Dietla) is a historic city park in Sosnowiec's Pogoń district, established in 1901 by the industrialist Henryk Dietl beside his palace. It covers 6.13 ha on Stefana Żeromskiego Street and is also commonly called Żeromski Park.

An industrialist's park

The park was laid out in the Neo-Romantic style on a field adjoining the palace buildings. For this purpose Dietl brought in a German gardener, Ernst Robert Pietsche, and an architect, Fritz Hanishem.

The pond in the middle was deepened, and a statue of Neptune with a trident was placed on boulders in its centre. Artificial hollows, grottoes and ravines with walking paths were also built here, along with a viewing terrace with a balustrade and, on a hill, an artificial castle ruin with weapons and paintings on chivalric themes.

In 1903 the park was extended with a vegetable garden and a riding area. It belonged to the Dietl family until 1945, when most of the family left Sosnowiec, and after the war it became a public city park.

What remains

Of the former structures, a gloriette in the Neoclassical style has survived in an almost unchanged form. In 2022 it was thoroughly renovated and its pre-war appearance was restored. The Temple of the Sibyl, which housed a café in the 1950s, was demolished around 1970.

After the war the walls were pulled down, and part of the park changed with the building of sports facilities: an events and sports hall was opened in 1972 and an indoor swimming pool in 1977. The park, together with the buildings of the former palace, was entered in the heritage register on 31 December 1998, and the official name Dietl Park was given by a resolution of 2009.

Trees

About 60 species of trees and shrubs grow in the park, and the oldest are about 110 years old. Among them are the rarer copper beech, paper birch and silver lime, as well as six London plane trees. On the bank of the pond stands a Macedonian pine, regarded as one of the more unusual trees in the park.

Practical information

• Address: Stefana Żeromskiego Street, Pogoń district, Sosnowiec.
• Nearby: Sielec Castle, about 700 m away, and the cathedral basilica, about 1.3 km away.
• The gloriette and the remains of the Dietl family's estate are best seen on a walk around the whole park, because there are few structures.