Plac Alfreda in Katowice

Plac Alfreda (Alfred Square) lies on the border of the Katowice district of Wełnowiec-Józefowiec and the Juliana Tuwima estate in Siemianowice Śląskie, at the junction of ul. Telewizyjna and al. Wojciecha Korfantego, next to the Alfred Wood (Lasek Alfreda). Its significance comes from what stands by the square: the complex of the former "Alfred" shaft.

Where the name comes from

The square took its name from the "Alfred" shaft and from the colony of workers' cottages that was built in the mid-19th century for the employees of the mine of the same name, founded in 1834. After 1923 the "Hohenlohe" mine adapted some of the buildings for housing. In the period of the People's Republic the square was called Plac Zwycięstwa (Victory Square).

The historic shaft buildings

At Plac Alfreda 1-13 the former shaft buildings of the old "Wełnowiec" mine (formerly "Hohenlohe") have survived: the shaft head, the winding engine house, the lamp room and pay hall, the smithy, the boiler house, the bathhouse, the administration building and the weighbridge. West of the complex you can see the remains of industrial spoil heaps. The whole was entered in the heritage register in 1978, and the boundaries of protection cover the buildings together with their surroundings. The complex forms an enclave in the layout of the district, separated from the rest by a natural screen of greenery.

The buildings are still residential: about a hundred people live in them, and they are managed by the Municipal Housing Management Company in Katowice (Komunalny Zakład Gospodarki Mieszkaniowej w Katowicach). It is a monument of former technology that is viewed from the outside, from the square and the surrounding streets.

Practical information

• Location: Plac Alfreda, Katowice (Wełnowiec-Józefowiec), at the border with Siemianowice Śląskie.
• Getting there: there is a tram terminus and ZTM bus stops by the square.
• What to expect: post-mining buildings with spoil heaps in the background and the neighbouring Alfred Wood; the buildings are inhabited, so view them from the outside and with respect for the residents.