Silesian Park

The Silesian Park in Chorzów covers about 535 ha and is among the largest urban parks in Europe. It was created on land left by mining, where forests and gardens now grow and cultural and sports facilities stand. Within the park are, among others, the Silesian Zoological Garden and the Silesian Planetarium.

How the park on the spoil heaps came about

The decision to build it was taken in 1950 by the Voivodeship National Council in Katowice, and one of the main initiators was Gen. Jerzy Ziętek.

About 75 per cent of the planned area was devastated post-industrial land: spoil heaps, dumps of mining waste, old illegal pits, subsidence hollows and marshes. The whole covered about 640 ha in Chorzów and Katowice. Because the local soils were acidic and poor, 3.5 million m³ of soil and half a million m³ of humus soils and peat were brought to the site. Construction began in July 1951, largely as voluntary community work.

A team of architects led by Prof. Władysław Niemirski divided the park into two zones. The central part was designed as woodland, with a network of paths favouring walks and relaxation. The remaining part was set aside for cultural and recreational areas. Today the park lies entirely within the boundaries of Chorzów, but does not belong to any of its districts.

What you can see here

There are a dozen or so attractions in the park, each of which can be visited separately, so when planning it is worth choosing two or three.

• The Silesian Zoological Garden opened to visitors in 1958 (construction began in 1954) and today presents over 2,200 animals of 280 species. In 1975 construction was completed of the Dinosaur Valley with reinforced concrete reconstructions of sixteen dinosaurs.
• Legendia Silesian Amusement Park is the oldest amusement park in Poland, opened in 1959.
• The Silesian Planetarium is described as the largest and oldest planetarium in Poland.
• The Rosarium is the largest rose garden in Poland, with over 35,000 roses in nearly 300 varieties.
• The Perennial Garden was designed at the turn of 1961 and 1962 and today covers 1.6 ha. Next to it is a Japanese garden.
• The Gallery of Silesian Sculpture is an open-air sculpture exhibition that has been built up since 1963.
• The Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park, established in 1975, is described in a separate entry: Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park.

In 1957 a narrow-gauge railway line of more than five kilometres was opened, and in 1967 the "Elka" cable car. The park also has stadiums, the "Przystań" water and recreation centre with a 7 ha pond, the "Fala" bathing area and a rope park.

Nature in the park

About 3.5 million saplings of trees and shrubs in 70 species and varieties were planted in the park, mainly as voluntary community work.

At first pioneer species were planted, fast-growing and resistant to pollution, and later nobler species were added. The tree stands and scrubland now cover about 260 ha and more than 350 taxa. About 70 species of birds have been recorded in the park, as well as wild boar, roe deer, foxes and hares.

The park near other places

From the park it is close to the Silesian Planetarium and to the Katowice Culture Zone with the Spodek. The name "Silesian Park" was adopted in April 2012; earlier a longer one was in force: the Gen. Jerzy Ziętek Voivodeship Park of Culture and Recreation.

Practical information

• Address of the park's headquarters: Aleja Różana 2, 41-501 Chorzów.
• Getting there by public transport: trams from Katowice, Chorzów and Bytom stop at the "Park Śląski Wejście Główne" stop. Buses run, among others, to the stops by the zoo and the Osiedle Tysiąclecia estate. The park's website also describes getting there by car from several cities, and the car parks.
• The park has an app with a map and guide, and an interactive map on its website.
• The opening hours of individual facilities and the rules of admission are given on the park's website. Check them before your visit, because each facility has its own.