Piotr Skarga Square in Siemianowice Śląskie

Piotr Skarga Square lies in the very centre of Siemianowice Śląskie, by the former entrance to the “Laura” steelworks. It began as a marketplace, and today it holds a tram terminus and the Siemion roundabout.

Origin of the name and what was here

Before 1939 the square was called Hilgerplatz, after Edward Hilger, director of the steelworks in 1905-1920. During the occupation it was named Hermann Göring Platz, and after 1945 it received its present name. It was the centre of the Huta Laura municipality, where the offices were located. Until the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the smallest of the steelworks ponds stood here, created around 1846. The last fairs were held in 1945-1957.

Monuments and buildings

On the square stand the reconstructed Monument to the Independence Deed (reconstructed in 2007) and the Monument to the Memory of the Steelworkers' Brotherhood and the Jedność Steelworks, unveiled in 2018. A fountain monument from the late 19th century, dated 1898, now stands by the Laura square. The townhouses at numbers 1 and 3 are in the municipal register of historic monuments.

Practical information

• Access by tram, lines 13 and 16 (night), and by bus.
• Closer to Katowice lies the Silesian Park, about 2.7 km away.