The Industrial Monuments Route of the Silesian Voivodeship is a car tourist route linking sites connected with the industrial heritage of the region: mining, metallurgy, energy, railways, communications, textiles, water production and the food industry. It begins in Częstochowa, leads through Katowice and Bielsko-Biała, and ends in Żywiec. Its route is about 470 km long. It is not one mine and not one museum, but a network of several dozen places scattered across the whole voivodeship, which can be visited in any order.

Where the idea of the route came from

The originator and first implementer of the project was the Industrial Heritage Promotion Section of the Marshal's Office of the Silesian Voivodeship, with the support of the Silesian Tourist Organisation and the Silesian Centre of Cultural Heritage in Katowice. The aim was simple: to make one recognisable tourist product out of the region's most interesting post-industrial sites.

Work on the route lasted from July 2004. During the first year 53 sites connected with the history of industry were checked in the field. Their tourist merits and historical and architectural value were assessed, and the selection was consulted with local authorities, the tourism industry and owners. A list of 29 sites was established by a resolution of the Board of the Silesian Voivodeship of 21 June 2005. The official opening of the route took place on 19 October 2006. It was held in Tychy, in the Museum of the Tychy Princely Breweries.

How the list changed

The route is not closed. After 2006 further sites were added: two in 2007, one in 2009, six in 2010. At the same time the list lost entries after audits. In 2010 the Silesian Porcelain factory in Bogucice and the railway station in Ruda Śląska-Chebzie dropped out. By a resolution of 6 December 2016 the route was extended by six sites, and three received the status of a site at risk. After an audit three sites were then removed from the list: the Szombierki combined heat and power plant in Bytom, the Royal Ironworks in Chorzów and the Kryształy glassworks in Zawiercie, and on 20 June 2017 the porcelain factory in Bogucice returned. In December 2022 the station in Chebzie returned to the route, now as Stacja Biblioteka, and the Museum of Metallurgy in Chorzów joined.

The number of sites therefore depends on the date. Some sources speak of forty sites, and as of 2023 the route included 42 sites in nearly 30 towns. Before a visit it is worth checking the current list on the route's website.

Since February 2020 the operator of the route has been the Coal Mining Museum in Zabrze. The agreement was signed in the Chain Bathhouse of the Queen Louise Adit.

Stars of Technology and the European network

On the route's list some sites are marked as Stars of Technology: they stand out for their historical and heritage value and the level of visitor service. They are:

The entry for the Silver Mine speaks of four stars of the route, so this number depends on the moment at which the list is viewed.

On 13 January 2010 the route joined the European Route of Industrial Heritage, that is the ERIH network. It is one of the few routes from Central and Eastern Europe on this list, and one of thirteen European regional routes. The first main points of the network, the so-called anchor points, were Guido, the Tyskie Browarium and the brewery in Żywiec. Later the Queen Louise Adit joined, which makes Zabrze the first Polish city with two such points.

Awards and Industriada

The route quickly collected distinctions. In 2007 the Polish Tourist Organisation recognised it as the Best Tourist Product, in 2008 it received its Gold Certificate, and in 2010 a gold medal of the Poznań International Fair in the category of best tourist product.

Since 2010 Industriada, the Festival of the Industrial Monuments Route, has been held in June. At the sites on the route, and since 2013 also at so-called friendly sites, performances, concerts, shows, workshops and tours of the sites are organised. Since 2012 the editions have usually had a shared theme, for example light, energy or work. According to the organisers the programme covers several dozen sites in about 30 towns, but this is declarative data from the event's official website.

Sites on the route with entries in the portal

Below are the sites on the route, arranged by towns and surroundings. The Zabrze sites and the other Stars of Technology are described above. Each of those named below has its own entry in the portal.

Dąbrowa Basin, Częstochowa and the north

Katowice and surroundings

Gliwice and Tarnowskie Góry

Rybnik, Pszczyna and the south

The list also includes sites that have no entry in the portal, among others the Upper Silesian Narrow-Gauge Railways in Bytom, the Castle Brewery in Cieszyn, the Citizens' Brewery in Tychy, the Water Station in Zawada and the familoki (workers' family houses) in Czerwionka-Leszczyny.