Cemeteries and monuments
a cemetery from 1886 with the Fitzner crucifix and the graves of mine directors
Churches and monasteries
a Neo-Romanesque brick church from the early 20th century on a Latin cross plan
Cemeteries and monuments
a bust emerging from a stone block, unveiled in 1986 with funds from public collections
Industrial heritage
former buildings of the Huta Laury mine with the directors' building, now used by a company
Siemianowice Śląskie attractions: the Donnersmarck palace, the Rheinbaben Castle, Fitzner Villa and several large parks. What to see in town.
Siemianowice Śląskie lies in the middle of the Upper Silesian conurbation and has more heritage than its size suggests. Former residences of steelworks and mine owners stand beside brick workers' colonies, a steel winding tower and landscape parks. It is a good town for walking, since several sites are within a few streets of the centre and many places can be visited free of charge.
Start in the centre: the brick town hall, Freedom Square, the palace on Chopina Street and the Town Park lie close together and show well how the town grew around the Laura steelworks. From the centre it is also easy to reach the municipal museum.
The Town Hall in Siemianowice Śląskie is a four-storey brick building from 1904, designed by Johannes Seiffert, with a corner clock tower and stained-glass windows in its meeting room. It is still the seat of the town authorities. The central Freedom Square has hosted markets since 1839, and next to it lies Piotr Skarga Square by the former entrance to the Laura steelworks, now with a tram loop and the Siemion roundabout.
The Municipal Museum occupies an eighteenth-century granary in the palace and park complex and tells the story of Upper Silesia and of the town itself. It is a good place to shelter from rain.
Three residences stand out: the palace on Chopina Street, the Rheinbaben Castle in Michałkowice and Fitzner Villa. All lie in parks or beside green squares, and two of them now serve cultural functions.
The Palace in Siemianowice Śląskie was a residence of the Henckel von Donnersmarck family and has Baroque and Neoclassical parts. It is surrounded by the Town Park, an English-style landscape park of almost eighteen hectares with natural monuments and rare trees. The Rheinbaben Palace, known as the Little Castle, stands in Michałkowice on Oświęcimska Street, has an orangery and a mirror hall, and is today a branch of the Siemianowice Cultural Centre. Fitzner Villa, dating from 1859, is an eclectic industrialist's residence, restored and also used as a cultural centre.
Michałkowice also preserves the forester's and gardener's house, a brick Gothic Revival building resembling a small castle with a round tower, designed in 1906. Further buildings of this type are collected on the page for historic monuments in Siemianowice Śląskie.
Six places suit a walk: the Town Park, Pszczelnik, Górnik Park, Hutnik Park, the People's Park and the pond called Staw pod Chorzowem. Each has a different character, and entry to them is free.
For the whole set see parks and nature in Siemianowice Śląskie.
The most visible are the steel winding tower of the Siemianowice III shaft, the remains of the Ficinus mine, brick workers' colonies and the former steelworks bathhouse. Some are used differently today, so they are viewed from outside.
The Siemianowice III Shaft Winding Tower on Olimpijska Street is a steel structure from 1897 entered in the register of monuments. The Former Ficinus Mine Complex comprises the remains of a mining works, now a repair plant, and three supervision and management buildings on Składowa Street are today residential houses. A brick colony from around 1908, known as Bergmonka, is described on the page about the workers' housing estate on Górnicza Street.
The Municipal Baths of 1907-1908, nicknamed Badyhala, once served steelworkers. Today they work as a swimming pool and are among the oldest indoor pools still in use in Poland. A wider view is given by the page on architecture in Siemianowice Śląskie.
Two unusual examples stand out: St Anthony's church, created inside a former market hall, and the Gothic Revival Protestant church. The other churches show the styles of successive decades.
The town has three cemeteries of historical importance and several monuments. They are places for sober observation, not for entertainment.
The Evangelical Cemetery, founded in 1886, is still in use and has a five-metre crucifix funded by the Fitzner brothers and the graves of local industrialists. The German Soldiers' Cemetery in Bańgów, opened in 1998 and run by the Volksbund, is the largest German war cemetery in Poland. Other war cemeteries of the region are covered in the article on war cemeteries and mass graves in the Silesian Voivodeship. In the centre you will also find the Monument to Wojciech Korfanty, a bust by Mirosław Kiciński from 1986. The list is under cemeteries and monuments in Siemianowice Śląskie.
The town hall, Freedom Square, the palace on Chopina Street and the Town Park. They lie in the centre and show well the former residential and industrial role of the town.
The parks, cemeteries and monuments can be visited at no charge, since they are outdoor places. Nine sites in town carry this label on the page of free attractions in Siemianowice Śląskie.
Try the Municipal Museum, housed in the former granary. On a cold day you can also visit the swimming pool in the historic bathhouse, known as Badyhala.
Not as a visitor: the old buildings are now a repair plant, and the supervision and management buildings on Składowa Street are residential houses. They are viewed from outside.
Yes. Concerts and other events appear in the calendar of events in Siemianowice Śląskie, which you can filter by day and category. Places for a quiet solo walk are on the list of solo attractions in Siemianowice Śląskie.
