Silesian Museum in Katowice

The Silesian Museum in Katowice is housed in a complex (the new building opened in 2015) on the site of the former "Katowice" Hard Coal Mine, in the Bogucice district. Most of the building was constructed underground, and on the surface the central hall, skylights and a viewing tower were left. The permanent exhibitions cover Polish painting, non-professional art, sacred art and the history of Upper Silesia. The museum is part of the Industrial Monuments Route of the Silesian Voivodeship.

A new home on the site of a mine

The complex stands on the site of the former "Katowice" mine, earlier named "Ferdinand", and together with other institutions forms the Culture Zone. Next to it stand the seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and the International Congress Centre. The structure was designed by the Austrian studio Riegler Riewe Architekten of Graz, so as to use the space below the surface and interfere little with the post-industrial landscape.

The building has seven storeys, three of which are underground. The usable floor area is over 25,000 m², and the exhibition area is 6,000 m². In 2014 the building received the Grand Prix in the "Architecture of the Year of the Silesian Voivodeship" competition, and in 2015 it was nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award. Since 1 January 2017 the museum has belonged to the Industrial Monuments Route.

From 1929 to today

The Silesian Museum was founded on 23 January 1929 by a resolution of the Silesian Sejm, and its first head was Tadeusz Dobrowolski. Before the war collections were assembled in it, including a gallery of Polish painting with 280 paintings. During the occupation the institution ceased to exist, and the building was demolished down to its foundations in 1941-1944.

The museum was re-established in December 1984 in the former Grand Hotel on Korfantego Avenue. It moved in full to the new seat on Dobrowolskiego Street on 2 April 2018, having previously operated at two locations. The collections number over 118,000 items.

Permanent exhibitions

The gallery of Polish art 1800-1945 covers all the important trends, and the artists include Matejko, Chełmoński, Malczewski, Wyspiański, Mehoffer and Boznańska. The gallery of art after 1945 shows, among others, works by Kantor, Nowosielski, Hasior and Beksiński. The gallery of non-professional art is devoted mainly to the amateur movement in Upper Silesia, and its construction uses the metaphor of a mine.

The exhibition "The Light of History. Upper Silesia through the Ages" shows the history of the region from the earliest times to the turning point of 1989, with particular attention to industrialisation. The gallery of Silesian sacred art shows over 120 objects from the end of the 14th to the end of the 18th century. The oldest exhibit is a wooden sculpture of the Enthroned Madonna and Child from 1380, and among the most valuable is the Virgin and Child from Knurów from 1420.

In the former mechanical workshop and forge, machines and machine tools from Upper Silesian works are displayed, among them a steam engine from the "Baildon" steelworks. The "On Tomek's Trail" space in the former carpentry workshop of the mine is intended for families with children.

Buildings left from the mine

The engine house contains a café and a restaurant, and the former clothing store houses the Centre of Polish Scenography. The main bathhouse is an exhibition space, and a viewing terrace has been set up at the top of the winding tower of the "Warszawa II" shaft. The tower was recently renovated, so check the availability of the terrace before your visit.

Practical information

• Address: T. Dobrowolskiego 1, 40-205 Katowice.
• The permanent exhibitions are on levels P-2 and P-4, and temporary exhibitions are shown on various levels, including -2 and -4, in the Bathhouse and in the central hall. The current programme is given on the museum's website.
• In the building there are a bistro on level 0 and a museum shop on level -2. There is also an underground car park.
• Since 2012 the museum has run a permanent visiting route for blind and partially sighted people.
• About 500 m from the museum stands the seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.
• About 700 m from the museum stands the Spodek.
• About 900 m from the museum is the Stanisław Wyspiański Silesian Theatre.
• About 1 km from the museum is the Katowice History Museum.