Silesian Voivodeship

The Silesian Voivodeship (Polish: Województwo śląskie) is one of the 16 provinces or voivodeships of Poland, in the south of the country bordering the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Much of it is industrial and densely populated, with a total of around 5 million, but there are also scenic rural uplands and mountains. Even the industrial areas are worth visiting, for the mining heritage and the mansions and churches funded by rich industrialists.

Metropolis GZM

 * GZM - Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia - is the conurbation of 41 towns around Katowice.


 * is capital of the Silesian Voivodeship. It's a large coal, steel and business centre.
 * has a large Culture Park along its boundary with Katowice.
 * was a large steel town, now in decline.
 * is a string of towns with no centre, that Lech Wałęsa famously never visited.
 * has a coal-mining museum in the underground workings.
 * is mostly industrial but with a medieval castle.
 * has a historic silver mine listed as a.
 * has several old churches, castles and palaces.
 * is a large post-industrial city with a museum and old churches.
 * is best known for its brewery, founded in 1629.
 * has a palace in 17th century Renaissance style.

Kraków-Częstochowa Upland

 * A Jurassic limestone ("karstic") landscape, with forests and scenic outcrops with castles perched on top.


 * has the shrine of Jasna Góra, a pilgrimage destination.
 * has the ruin of a 14th century castle.
 * has two hilltop castles, one a stone ruin, the other a replica of a 12th century wooden fort.
 * 's own castle is a derelict mansion, but Smoleń has a more impressive ruin.

South

 * Southwest the River Odra cuts through the hills to create a low-level route to the Czech Republic.
 * South rise the Beskids mountains defining the border with Slovakia.


 * is a medieval town right on the Czech border.
 * has an attractive market square and Lutheran churches.
 * is a resort town.
 * is a large year-round resort.
 * is where one of Poland's most popular beers is brewed.

Other destinations

 * The Beskids are the mountain range along the southern border of Poland, from the Czech Republic in the west to Ukraine in the east. The terrain is seldom much over 1000 m and is protected as a series of parks.
 * is just across the boundary into Małopolskie Voivodeship, near the town of Oświęcim, but is easily visited from the Katowice area.

Understand


In the early Middle Ages Silesia was part of Poland since the 10th century. When in 1138 the Seniorat of Poland was formed, Silesia was one of the Polish duchies and several Silesian duchies were Seniors of Poland until the late 13th century. In the 12th and 13th centuries Silesia fall apart into several duchies of which Racibórz, Oświęcim, Siewierz and Cieszyn as well as Częstochowa are in Silesia. In the 14th century Siewierz and Oświęcim again became a part of Poland, Częstochowa was also Polish, while Cieszyn and Racibórz came under Czech rule. Bohemia was ruled at this time by the German Luxembourg, later the Polish Jagiellonians and finally by the Austrian Habsburg. In 1741 Prussia annexed most of Silesia, besides Cieszyn and Częstochowa. After the Third Partition of Poland in 1793 Częstochowa was also annexed by Prussia, but became independent as part of the Duchy of Warsaw between 1807-1815. After the Congress of Vienna, Częstochowa became part of the Kingdom of Poland, ruled by the Russian Tsar. In the 19th century coal mining developed in this region, while the Beskids in the south remained rural and unpolluted. After World War I and the Silesian Uprisings, Silesia became largely part of the Second Polish Republic but was occupied by Nazi-Germany between 1939 and 1944. After World War II it again became part of Poland. Nowadays it is situated in the south of the country, bordering Germany and the Czech Republic.

Talk
Polish is spoken by all. Depending on who you believe, the dialect or language of Silesian is spoken here too. There is also a notable German minority presence in the region with some bi-lingual signage in both languages. As in a large part of western and northern Poland, place names exist in both Polish and German due to the area's history. Many young people study English and German.

By plane
Katowice is the principal airport, with budget flights by Wizzair and others.

You could also fly into Kraków, Wrocław or Ostrava.

By train
Katowice is the hub, with trains from Gdańsk, Warsaw, Kraków, Berlin, Wrocław, and from Prague, Vienna and Budapest via Ostrava.

A leash of local lines connects the towns of the Katowice metropolis and snake up the mountain valleys.

By road
Principal highways are E75 from Gdańsk via Łódź (joined by E67 from Warsaw), E40 from Berlin via Wrocław and continuing east to Kraków and Lviv, and A1 from Brno via Ostrava.

Buses ply these highways though the service is less frequent than the trains. Flixbus is the main inter-city bus line.

See

 * Castles began as wooden hilltop stockades, replaced from the 12th century by stone bastions, then abandoned from the 14th century once better artillery rendered them defenceless. Some were repaired for other use such as barracks or prisons, others were pillaged for their stone, and some were replaced by grand mansions called "castles" but with no defensive function. Most towns have one or more: Ogrodzieniec has a ruined stone castle, and a replica of the earlier wooden fort.
 * Mining for coal and metals has scarred this region but left a rich industrial heritage. Especially immersive are the former mines you explore underground - Zabrze has the best.
 * Churches and shrines were mostly styled in Baroque in the 17th / 18th century (often by re-modelling an older church) when the population expanded rapidly - best known is the pilgrimage site of Jasna Góra in Częstochowa. They're predominantly Roman Catholic with only a few Orthodox, except in the south which was long under Austrian rule and is Lutheran.
 * Churches and shrines were mostly styled in Baroque in the 17th / 18th century (often by re-modelling an older church) when the population expanded rapidly - best known is the pilgrimage site of Jasna Góra in Częstochowa. They're predominantly Roman Catholic with only a few Orthodox, except in the south which was long under Austrian rule and is Lutheran.

Do

 * Football: clubs playing soccer in Ekstraklasa, Poland's top tier, are in Częstochowa, Gliwice, Katowice and Zabrze.
 * Ice hockey: clubs in Polska Hokej Liga the top tier are in Katowice, Sosnowiec and Tychy.
 * Climbing: the limestone crags of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland are a popular area.
 * Winter sports: the mountains to the south don't go much over 1000 m so ski runs are short. But they get a good dump of snow most winters so they're family-friendly places for novices and intermediates, and Wisła has a ski jump.
 * Winter sports: the mountains to the south don't go much over 1000 m so ski runs are short. But they get a good dump of snow most winters so they're family-friendly places for novices and intermediates, and Wisła has a ski jump.

Eat
Silesian cuisine is distinctive from other parts of Poland. specific meals include:
 * Wodzionka or brołtzupa (ger. brot - bread, pol. zupa - soup) - soup with garlic and squares of dried rye bread.
 * Żur - soup made of soured rye flour and meat.
 * Kluski śląskie (Silesian dumplings) - round shaped dumplings served with gravy, made of mashed boiled potatoes, finely grated raw potatoes, an egg, grated onion, wheat flour and potato flour.
 * Szałot (Silesian potato salad) - a salad made of squares of boiled potatoes, carrots, peas, ham, various sausages, pickled fish, boiled eggs, bonded with olive oil or mayonnaise.
 * Krupniok - kind of blood sausage made of groats and animal blood.
 * Żymlok - like krupniok but instead of groats there is bread roll (żymła).
 * Knysza - pita bread with meat and lots of cabbage.
 * Bejgli - many elaborate recipes possible; based on finely ground poppy seeds, with raisins, almonds, candied citrus peels, honey, sugar, pudding, and flavoured with rum. Decorated with fingers of crumbling.
 * Makówki or moczka - traditional Christmas Eve dessert, its main ingredients are: poppy seeds, gingerbread extract, nuts and dried fruit, strawberry compote and almonds.
 * Kopalnioki - hard candies made of sugar, anise oil, and the essences of St John's wort, honey and peppermint. Its black colour comes from charcoal food dye.

Drink

 * Beer: Tychy and Żywiec have famous breweries, tours may be available.
 * There isn't a vodka-distilling tradition in this region, but the supermarket shelves are groaning under the weight of the stuff.

Go next

 * East is Małopolskie Province, with glorious Kraków, weird Wieliczka and sombre Auschwitz.
 * Northeast is Świętokrzyskie or Holy Cross Province, with medieval Sandomierz.
 * North is Łódźkie Province, its main city of Łódź being a re-invented textile town like Manchester.
 * Northwest is Opolskie Province, with several medieval and Renaissance small towns.
 * West is North Moravia and Silesia in the Czech Republic, with Ostrava and Olomouc its main towns.
 * South is Central Slovakia, with the Tatras mountains along the frontier.