Former Airfield Building Complex in Katowice

The building complex of the former Katowice-Muchowiec airfield is a classicising complex from the end of the 1920s, in which the airfield has operated since 1929. It is entered in the heritage register of the Silesian Voivodeship and is counted among the most valuable examples of aviation architecture of the interwar period in Poland.

How the airfield came about

The initiative was taken by local government officials of the Silesian Voivodeship, entrepreneurs and railwaymen. The founding meeting of the Silesian Voivodeship Committee of the National Air Defence League took place on 24 January 1924. In 1926 the committee signed a 30-year land lease, because owing to coal deposits the land could not be sold. Earthworks lasted from 1926 to 1928: forest was cleared, and the ground was drained and levelled, with materials carried by a narrow-gauge railway. The airfield began operating on 2 January 1929, and in 1930 the Silesian Aero Club was established. Regular flights to Warsaw continued until 1958, when they were suspended because of mining damage, which had worsened the condition of the runway.

Architecture

In the competition decided in 1927 the design by Lucjan Sikorski won, but the design by Tadeusz Michejda was sent for realisation, and he invited Sikorski to cooperate. Because of mining exploitation the buildings had to be low. The layout refers to a palace complex: a one-storey main building with an air traffic control tower and two single-storey pavilions at the sides, linked by colonnades with Tuscan columns. The buildings are of plastered brick, with rustication and a columned portico, and the interiors have preserved to a large extent the original layout and terrazzo floors.

What is inside

The eastern side pavilion houses the administration of the Silesian Aero Club, and the western one the former restaurant with a terrace on the side of the airfield apron. The main building has not been in use since 1958. The manager of the historic buildings is the Polish Aero Club, and the duties of manager are performed on its behalf by the Silesian Aero Club.

Nearby

The airfield lies by the Katowice Forest Park, and it is a few kilometres to the city centre with the Silesian Museum.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Lotnisko 40, Katowice, Osiedle Paderewskiego-Muchowiec district.
• Nearby is the public transport stop Osiedle Paderewskiego Trzy Stawy.
• You view the buildings from the outside from the street and car park. Arrange the rules of entry to individual parts with the Silesian Aero Club.