Villa of the Director of the Giesche Mine

The villa of the director of the Giesche mine stands at ul. Pszczyńska 10 in Katowice's Giszowiec. It was built in 1910 together with the company housing estate as the residence of the mine's director, and today is a monument entered in the register.

The director's residence

The villa was built in 1907-1910 for the company Georg von Giesches Erben, to a design by Georg and Emil Zillmann of Charlottenburg. It was intended for the director of the Giesche mine, later the Wieczorek mine. The first occupant was Carl Besser, who left for Berlin in 1926. Construction was supervised by the concern's director Anton Uthemann, although he never lived in the villa.

Architecture and interiors

The building is of brick, and its style is described as a combination of Neo-Baroque, Classicism and Art Nouveau, modelled on villas near Berlin. It was equipped with central heating and one of the first electric lifts in Upper Silesia. In 1939 an inventory recorded 438 m² of floor area. On the ground floor were a drawing room, two rooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a hall and a terrace. In the garden were a tennis court, a flower and vegetable garden and an orchard, and alongside a garage, a stable and a greenhouse.

The war years and the post-war period

From 1941 the villa was home to Fritz Bracht, Gauleiter and Oberpräsident of the province of Upper Silesia. The building was then reinforced with SS protection and criminal police patrols. Among the visits listed is that of Heinrich Himmler in July 1942. After the war, in the 1950s, a kindergarten was housed here, in 1966 a works club, and in the following decades among other things a scout district and a wedding hall. In 1989 the building was abandoned, and in 1996 it was bought by Węglokoks and modernised. In 2004 an office building was added.

Nearby

The villa is part of the landscape of Giszowiec and Nikiszowiec. Further on lies Nikiszowiec, and in Katowice you can see the Walcownia, Zinc Metallurgy Museum.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Pszczyńska 10, Katowice-Giszowiec.
• Heritage register entry: A/660/2020 of 2 June 2020.
• The building is used for purposes other than a museum. It is worth checking before your visit whether you can go inside and what the viewing rules are; from the street you can see the building's mass.