Water Tower in Katowice-Giszowiec (ul. Pszczyńska)

The water tower in Giszowiec is a brick structure about 33 metres tall, built at the highest point of the Giszowiec company estate to supply water to the miners' homes. It stands at the junction of Górniczego Stanu and Pszczyńska streets in Katowice and is one of the monuments of this estate, which was designed by Emil and Georg Zillmann.

Why it was built

Giszowiec was built in 1907-1910 for the families of miners of the Giesche mine. The tower was built in 1908 according to the heritage register, and in 1909 according to other sources, as part of the estate's water supply system. The water came to it at first from an electric pump in Zawodzie, and from the tower pipes ran along the streets of the estate. Water mains were not initially laid to the workers' houses, so residents drew water from hydrants and crane pumps standing every hundred metres.

What it looks like

The tower is built of red brick on a circular base, and the masonry structure of the drum was reinforced with a steel frame. The building consists of a cylindrical shaft tapering upwards and an octagonal drum with a riveted Barkhausen-type water tank with a capacity of 152 m³. The whole is crowned by an octagonal tented roof of plain tiles, and at the top there is a terrace with a lantern. The style is described as historicism with elements of neo-Mannerism.

What happened to the tower

When the pumping station system was put into operation, the tower stopped serving its purpose and for many years stood unused, falling into ruin. In the 1990s a telecommunications company placed a mobile phone antenna on it and renovated the building. The tower was entered in the heritage register in 1990, together with its surroundings. Next to it stand historic villas of the so-called American colony, built in the 1930s for officials of the Silesian-American Corporation.

Nearby

The same architects, the Zillmanns, also designed Nikiszowiec, which lies less than four kilometres from the tower. The tower is one of the stops on a walk around Giszowiec described in a leaflet of the Katowice City Hall.

Practical information

• Location: junction of Górniczego Stanu and Pszczyńska streets, Katowice-Giszowiec.
• The tower is viewed from the outside; whether the interior can be visited or the terrace entered is worth checking before a visit.