Triangle of the Three Emperors

The Triangle of the Three Emperors (Trójkąt Trzech Cesarzy) is the place where the Biała Przemsza flows into the Czarna Przemsza, and from this confluence the river is called simply the Przemsza. Between 1846 and 1915 the borders of three empires met here: the German (earlier Prussian), the Austrian and the Russian. Today this former tripoint lies within the area of Mysłowice and Sosnowiec.

Where the borders met

The borders ran along the rivers: the Biała Przemsza, the Czarna Przemsza and the Przemsza. On the Prussian, later German side, the border villages were Brzęczkowice and Słupna, on the Russian side Modrzejów and Niwka, and on the Austrian side Jęzor. Today these are districts of Mysłowice (Brzęczkowice, Słupna) and Sosnowiec (Modrzejów, Niwka, Jęzor).

The name Dreikaisereck, that is the Corner of the Three Emperors, appeared after 1871, when Germany was unified, and caught on after 1873, after the Three Emperors' League was concluded. Earlier the place was called Drei Länder Ecke, the Corner of Three Countries. The Polish name “Trójkąt” (Triangle) is a calque of the German abbreviation Dreieck. The border disappeared in 1915, when Germany and Austria-Hungary occupied the Kingdom of Poland, and in 1922-1939 the boundaries of the Silesian, Kraków and Kielce voivodeships met here.

Where the place's fame came from

Before the First World War almost the whole of Europe knew the place. Newspapers wrote that between 3 and 8 thousand tourists visited it every week. Two small excursion steamers sailed on the river, the surroundings could be viewed from the Bismarck Tower on Słupecka Górka in Mysłowice, and in the border stalls one could go shopping. A particular attraction was trips across the border bridges, because just after crossing the border the cultural and economic differences were visible. The Bismarck Tower, built in 1907, was demolished in 1933.

After the Second World War the place fell into oblivion. When visiting nearby Mysłowice you can look in at the Central Fire Service Museum in Mysłowice, about 900 m away.

What stands on the site today

On the day after Poland joined the European Union, 2 May 2004, the mayors of Jaworzno, Sosnowiec and Mysłowice met here, and on the Mysłowice side a plaque commemorating the event was installed. The original inscription spoke of the borders of the “three partitions”, and in 2013 the plate was replaced with information about the borders of three states, because Silesia then belonged to the German state.

In 2007, before Independence Day, a low obelisk was unveiled on the Sosnowiec side, with the inscription “Obelisk of Remembrance of the Former Division of Europe and Its Unification”. It was made from one of the granite slabs of the dismantled Monument of Gratitude to the Red Army from Sosnowiec. In 2017 a small amount of infrastructure was created on the Sosnowiec side: a gazebo, bicycle racks, benches, bins and a fire pit. The symbol of the confluence of the rivers appears in the flag and coat of arms of Sosnowiec.

How to get there

From the Mysłowice side there is no access to the spit with the obelisk, and the former tripoint is reached from the Mysłowice side by the red hiking trail named after Jan Kantor Mirski, which begins in Giszowiec in Katowice. The green PTTK 25th Anniversary trail also runs nearby. Trails and cycle routes lead from the direction of Sosnowiec and Jaworzno, and in Sosnowiec the Former Borderland Cycle Route (Szlak Rowerowy Dawnego Pogranicza) begins here and runs past Stawiki.

The nearest approach to the obelisk on the Sosnowiec side is from the Niwka Kościół bus stop (about 1.1 km), or by train to Sosnowiec Jęzor Południowy station, about 600 m from the former tripoint. In Brzęczkowice in Mysłowice, about 600 m from the former tripoint, stands the Missionary Museum in Mysłowice.

Practical information

• Location: the mouth of the Biała Przemsza into the Czarna Przemsza, on the border of Mysłowice and Sosnowiec; the official tourist guide to the voivodeship gives the address as ul. Stefana Żeromskiego in Mysłowice and year-round access.
• From the Sosnowiec side there is access to the spit with the obelisk, from the Mysłowice side there is none, so when planning a visit choose the approach from the Sosnowiec side.
• The site is an open space by the river, and the official tourist guide to the voivodeship gives year-round access.