The Glory Days of Katowice

Garrett Van Reed - 14th January 2010

If you’ve poked around Katowice a bit, the notion of the city having had some kind of Golden Age may sound a bit like the farfetched fever dream of a desperate writer up late at night. Be that as it may, a visit to Katowice should include the imposing Parliament buildings on Plac Sejmu Śląskiego (Silesian Parliament Square) during your grouse about town.

Yes, that’s right, Katowice – that same city we’ve all poked fun at like the fat kid in the class photo – once held its very own self-governing sessions. And it did it as a baby, no less.

Indeed, it was a mercurial rise for Katowice once the ball got rolling, the mills and drills got churning. A relatively remote outpost of 10 ...