Katowice In Your Pocket

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Katowice No. 27, March - June 2016

No. 27 - 5zł

inyourpocket.com

Your Guide to Greater Silesia

Contents

Leisure

69

Katowice: City of Music

5

Shopping

73

Arrival & Transport

8

Directory

77

Hotels

78

Feature

City Basics

12

Culture & Events 14 Restaurants

18

Cafés

38

Nightlife

40

Sightseeing Essential Katowice

Maps & Index Katowice City Map Katowice Centre Map Region Map Street Index Listings & Features Index

49

Further Afield Chorzów Nikiszowiec & Giszowiec Tychy Auschwitz

57 60 63 65

History

68

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The view from the bottom of the Silesian Museum viewing tower is almost as good as the top.

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80 82 83 84 86

Photo by Witalis Szołtys

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Foreword Welcome to Katowice and the #27th edition of Katowice In Your Pocket - Your Guide to Greater Silesia! Spring is already in the air as this year’s mild winter quickly slinks away having gone mostly unnoticed. Spring in Silesia usually means the beginning of a jam packed music festival season. Katowice has a growing reputation for hosting some of the best music festivals in Poland (Rawa Blues, Off, Tauron etc.) and this April will mark the return of the Katowice Jazz Art Festival. As the name suggests, the worlds of Jazz and art collide for an ambitious week of concerts and events headlined by Sweden’s The Thing, Jack DeJohnette and Yasmin Levy among others. Read more about the festival on page 16.

Publisher IYP City Guides Sp. z o.o. Sp.k. ul. Sławkowska 12, 31-014 Kraków [email protected] www.inyourpocket.com Company Office & Accounts General Manager: Małgorzata Drząszcz, 606 749 676 Accountant: Joanna Szlosowska, 882 079 716 Circulation 10,000 copies published 3 times per year Editorial Editor: Thymn Chase; Research Manager: Anna Hojan; Researchers: Oliwia Hojan, Anna Żbikowska; Events: Maria Rulaff, Janina Krzysiak; Photography: All photographs In Your Pocket unless otherwise stated; Cover Michał Tymczasowy

If jazz isn’t quite your thing, Katowice has plenty more up its sleeve as the city is also becoming an increasingly popular venue for world class sporting events. In the span of less than a month the ever idiosyncratic Spodek (page 53) will host the Division 1 Group A World Hockey Championships as well the biggest women’s tennis tournament in Poland. Read more about both on page 17. Let us know if you were able to get courtside tickets on our Facebook page (FB/katowiceinyourpocket.com) or just shoot us a regular email: [email protected].

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FEATURE It might come as a surprise that this unassuming Silesian City is in fact one of the most exciting Music destinations in Europe. Read about why Katowice has been made one of UNESCO’s newest Cities of Music in our feature on the next page.

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The Orchestra tunes up at the new NOSPR Music Hall.

Katowice: City of Music While much of Poland is still catching up to the fact that Katowice is fast emerging as Poland’s preeminent music destination, locals and international music festival attendees have known it for years. On December 11, 2015, Katowice’s musical prowess and cultural status was officially certified by none other than UNESCO itself as it was officially made a UNESCO City of Music as part of the UNESCO Creative Cities initiative. In honour of this prestigious distinction IYP explores Katowice’s multi-genre musical pedigree. facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

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Katowice: City of Music JOINING THE CLUB The UNESCO Creative Cities initiative was launched in 2004 and its goal is, “to foster international cooperation with and between cities committed to investing in creativity as a driver for sustainable urban development, social inclusion and cultural vibrancy.” Cities are recognized in 7 different categories: Crafts & Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, Music. Katowice joins Bogota (Columbia), Seville (Spain), Bologna (Italy), Glasgow (Scotland), Gandawa (Belgium), Brazzaville (Congo), Hamamatsu (Japan) as well as Mannheim and Hannover (Germany) to be the newest UNESCO City of Music in the world and the only in Central and Eastern Europe. All things considered, it is quite astounding how in little over 50 years Katowice has gone from being considered a cultural backwater to one of the most dynamic and interesting musical cities in the world. “The UNESCO Creative Cities Network represents an immense potential to assert the role of culture as enabler of sustainable development.” declared the Director-General. This statement especially rings true for Katowice which has been going through a massive transformation from an industrial hub of heavy industrial, to a post-industrial haven for innovative festivals, concerts, and projects across numerous genres.

Outside of the Spodek after Rawa Blues Festival

festival in the world. This Festival, above all others (there are now over 30 music festivals held in Katowice every year), embodies the spirit and energy of the region as Silesia has long been a hotbed for Blues as well as classic R&B derived Rock & Roll. While these three festivals certainly have played a huge role in the growth of the city’s musical identity and popularity, it is perhaps the city’s homegrown classical music scene that finally got UNESCO’s attention and solidified Katowice’s position in this exclusive club.

THE BEST FESTIVALS These days, the first thing that comes to most peoples’ minds when they hear the name Katowice is the hugely popular music festivals the city annually plays host to. The Off Festival and Tauron New Music festivals have both been going for over a decade and are now two of the biggest alternative and electronic music festivals in Europe, respectively. Each attracts hundreds of thousands of international festival goers every August to Katowice and both are consistently voted as top European music festivals by music magazines and blogs.

The Off Festival at The Valley of Three Ponds

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS

If you are a fan of the Blues you may have also heard of the Rawa Blues Festival which has been held in the Spodek (p. 53) for the past 35 years and is the largest indoor Blues

Way before indoor or outdoor music festivals were all the rage, Katowice was renowned for producing some of the most talented contemporary classical composers in all of Poland. Specifically there are two names that rise high above the rest: Henryk Górecki (see box) and Wojciech Kilar. While neither were officially born in Katowice, both ended up studying and later teaching and even running the esteemed Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music (p. 53).

Tauron New Music Festival

Górecki took the classical world by storm in the 1960’s and 70’s and then really put Katowice on the map in 1992 when his third symphony became a surprise global hit selling over a million copies. The same year Kilar also earned global recognition for his score to Francis Ford Copola’s critically acclaimed Dracula. Over his whole career he composed scores for over 100 films, mostly working with acclaimed Polish Directors Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieślowski and Roman Polański (including The Ninth Gate and The Pianist). Both composers fought most of their professional lives to raise the profile and quality of music in Katowice. Shortly after Kilar’s death in 2013 the square where the new NOSPR (p. 53) building stands was named after him.

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Courtesy of Katowice City Council

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Katowice: City of Music NOSPR SURPRISES

NOSPR is full of surprises, inside and out.

HENRYK MIKOŁAJ GÓRECKI

Photo by Bartek Barczyk

And this brings us back to the future and perhaps to the real reason Katowice recieved the UNESCO recognition it truly deserves: NOSPR. As the pictures will attest, this is truly one of the most magnificent music venues in all of Poland. Its opening in 2014 immediately raised the profile of Katowice and provided a venue fit for some of the most talented virtuosos and orchestras in the world. But that is only the beginning of NOSPR’s mission. They have created an ambitious program that smoothly integrates many of the genres and artists that represent Katowice and greater Silesia’s diverse and rich music scene including Blues, Jazz, Rock and Hip Hop. It is no surprise then that this will be the main venue that official UNESCO City of Music concerts will take place in, the first of which will feature Flamenco from partner city Seville in June. To check out all of the exciting upcoming concerts in Katowice turn to our Events section on page 14.

NOSPR is full of surprises, inside and out.

When one thinks of contemporary classical music, Katowice is hardly the first city that comes to mind. Regardless, this was indeed the lifelong residence and in some ways the muse of one of the most successful classical composers of the 20th century. Henryk Mikołaj Górecki was born on December 6th, 1933 in the small village of Czernica, 45km southwest of Katowice. His mother was a piano player but she died when he was only two. He followed in his mother’s footsteps and immediately took up music, albeit against his father’s wishes. At the age of 10 he officially began his musical education studying violin with a local amateur musician. His formative musical education and folk music forms had a profound effect on his later works. Górecki arrived in Katowice in 1955 and he studied at the State Higher Academy of Music from 1955-1960. It was here that Górecki’s strengths as a composer really started to show. Almost immediately after the premiere of one of his first compositions in 1958 he was heralded by the Polish music press as a leader of the new wave of avant garde composers. By 1959 he had written his first symphony which well received in the west as well as Poland. Throughout most of the 1960’s he continued to compose in the modernist style following in the footsteps of such composers as Anton Webern and Pierre Boulez. He made the inevitable move to Paris to further his studies and broaden his compositional palette. Górecki was as much known for his stubborn sensibilities, blunt sense of humour and anachronistic personality as he was for his incredible talent. In 1968, at the height of his popularity, he decided to take a professorship at the Academy of Music back in Katowice. He would eventually become provost of the Academy. He was notoriously tough on his students saying, ”If you can live without music for two or three days, then don’t write - it might be better to spend time with a girl or with a beer.” Well said, Henryk. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s Górecki continued to compose and steadily gained notoriety. When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, Górecki’s music immediately gained a larger audience and his works were performed by the London Sinfonietta and in 1990 he began a close partnership with the Kronos Quartet that would continue until the end of his life. Górecki’s greatest commercial and critical success came in 1992 when a recording of his Third Symphony - Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (dedicated to the memory of those lost during the Holocaust) sold over a million copies! Almost overnight it made Górecki one of the most successful classical composers of all time. He would continue to compose until his death in 2010. He left a towering legacy and remained a staunch Polish and Silesian patriot until the end of his days.

Photo by Bartek Barczyk

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Arrival & Transport BY TRAIN For decades Katowice had a serious PR problem in the menacing shape of its own central train station - a truly ghastly architectural abomination that sheltered all manner of strange smells and a host of dubious characters. Having ourselves survived many a close encounter with tunnel dwelling riffraff and several existential dilemmas while commiserating in the communist era cafeteria, we are overjoyed to announce that those days are gone and no longer will travellers have to live in fear of drawing near to this huge communication hub. The loooong awaited, fully renovated and totally reconceptualised Katowice train station officially opened in October 2012 and was fully operational from April 2013. The finished product is indeed a thing of beauty (wait, are we still in Katowice?), and while it will undoubtedly take time for some people to fully scrub the industrial stain of the old train station from their memory, those arriving in the city for the first time will find themselves greeted by a fully modern metropolis that exceeds expectations. Congrats Katowice, it’s nice to meet you. KATOWICE TRAIN STATION With a total investment estimated at 240 million Euros, the new station welcomes 12 million passengers per year with 520 trains running through it every 24 hours. The station also incorporates an enormous and modern shopping mall (Galeria Katowicka) and an underground parking lot, with additional shopping and entertainment venues on Szewczyk Square. The regional bus station under the station is already operational so if you are travelling somewhere in Silesia beyond Katowice, or on your way to the airport, head down one of the escalators in the main train terminal to grab a bus. Besides the bevvy of modern conveniences and prestige the new station brings, perhaps the greatest advantage is its location and full integration as a local, national and international transport hub. Direct trains to Kraków run 1-2 times per hour taking anywhere from an hour and fifteen to two and a half hours depending on which train you take. It is also possible to travel between the cities of the Silesian Metropolis by local train from around 5am-midnight; the trip to Zabrze is about 29 minutes, to Gliwice 41 minutes. Station departure boards (odjazdy) are indicated by their yellow timetables while arrivals (przyjazdy) are white. The ticket offices for Intercity Trains are open 24hrs and for Koleje Śląskie 05:00 - 21:30. For connections to other destinations in Poland or abroad, check the website or call the infoline.QB‑4, Pl. Szewczyka, tel. (+48) 22 39 19 757 (from foreign mobile phones), www.pkp.pl. Open 24hrs. Note that due to system maintenance seat reservations cannot be made from 24:00 to 01:00.

BY BUS BUS STATION To call Katowice Bus Station (C-2, ul. Skargi 1) a bus station is a bit of a misnomer. In reality travellers will find themselves faced with a small tin shed.. It’s in here you’ll find a small 8 Katowice In Your Pocket

waiting room with a bathroom (open 06:00 - 20:00), a Eurolines counter and all departures (odjazdy) and arrival times (przyjazdy) noted up on the board (most tickets have to be purchased directly from bus drivers). Outside the few departure lanes offer very little shelter from the elements but there is a coffee, tea and hot snacks shack. The Station is located in the heart of town next to the new Supersam shopping mall. Take a swift left turn at ul. Mickiewicza (C2) and within three minutes you’ll find yourself staring at the principal main street, ul. Stawowa (C-2). You’ll have to go further onto the Rynek (C-3) to find the nearest tourist information point, however. While it doesn’t offer tickets or phone cards, it does offer maps and advice and there is also internet there. If you want to buy a phone card or to connect to the Polish mobile network you’ll need to go to one of the many kiosks dotted around. For info on local city buses see Public Transport.QB‑2, ul. Skargi 1, tel. (+48) 703 40 33 15, www.katowicedworzec.pl.

BY PLANE KATOWICE AIRPORT Katowice Airport is located 34km north east of Katowice in Pyrzowice, with frequent shuttle bus connections to and from Katowice. Two Departure Terminals, A and B, are situated side by side with a brand new Terminal C serving as the main Arrivals hub. Terminal C raises the airport’s projected passenger capacity from 3.6-4 million annual passengers to 5.5-6 million. All three terminals feature spotless toilets, money exchange counters, ATMs, information points, refreshment stops, pharmacy and car rental counters. Until the end of May Terminal A will be closed for renovations and all departures will go through Terminal B. The Airport has also recently updated its Business Traveller services for more comfortable arrivals and departures. Services included an expanded Business Lounge, Fast Track check in (available only in terminal B) and a new Meet & Assist program that provides all encompassing concierge and valet services. For more info check out their new website. Taxis wait directly outside and can deliver you to Katowice for 95-160zł. (always confirm price first). ‘Airport Bus Service’/’Matuszek’ shuttle service makes the same journey for only 25zł (to Kraków for 50zł), and departure times from in front of both terminals are coordinated with flight arrivals (shuttles are even cheaper if you book online). Dropping off at Pl. Andrzeja (D-2), you can pay cash to the driver on the spot or book ahead on their website: www. matuszek.com.pl. Airport Buses arrive (and depart) in the new local bus terminal located under the central train station in the city center and you can find their schedule here: www. pkm.katowice.pl/pyrzowice.php. Full schedules for flights, as well as other essential travel information can be found at the user-friendly www.katowice-airport.com. Qul. Wolności 90, Pyrzowice, tel. (+48) 32 392 72 02, www. katowice-airport.com. katowice.inyourpocket.com

Arrival & Transport CAR RENTAL Avis is Poland’s biggest car rental company and offers a complete range of vehicles for rent throughout Poland. They are located in the city center in Altus and at ul. Wolności 90, Pyrzowice (Airport), tel. (+48) 601 35 48 12. Open 08:00 - 00:30 (on weekends call to make a reservation at both locations). QB‑6, ul. Uniwersytecka 13, tel. (+48) 32 257 20 70, www.avis.pl. Open 09:00 - 17:00. Closed Sat, Sun. EUROPCAR Europcar offers a full range of vehicles from small hatchbacks, through Mercedes and up to mini-bus and vans. Check the website for additional offers. Also at ul. Wolności 90, Pyrzowice (Airport), tel. (+48) 32 285 50 41, Open 09:00 - 23:30.QA‑1, ul. Chorzowska 50, tel. (+48) 32 209 57 45, www.europcar.pl. Open 09:00 - 17:00. Closed Sat, Sun, The offices can be staffed outside of these hours for extra payment. A wide range of cars including BMWs, Skodas, Kias and Nissans. All cars are equipped with power steering. Satellite navigation systems are also available. Special rates offered to those who order through the Joka website.QC‑3, Al. Kor‑ fantego 9 (Katowice Hotel), tel. (+48) 32 350 14 50/ (+48) 601 54 53 67, www.joka.com.pl. Open 09:00 17:00, Sat 09:00 - 12:00. Sun open on request.

BY CAR Poland is one of Europe’s leading nations in road fatalities, a statistic that will surprise few who have had the pleasure of using the roads here. A lethal combination of poor road surfaces, networks unsuited to the volume of different traffic and, most of all, frustrated and aggressive driver behaviour result in the common sight of mangled wrecks around the country. Be cautious and keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle in front. The speed limit in Poland is generally 50km/hr in cities (60km/hr between 23:00 and 05:00), 90km/hr outside urban areas, 120km/ hr on dual carriageways and 140km/hr on motorways. All cars must have their headlights switched on at all times and carry a red warning triangle, first aid kit, replacement bulbs, a national identity sticker and proper registration and insurance documents. Poland also has strict drunkdriving laws: 0.2‰ is the maximum blood/alcohol limit, so forget about having even a single beer. You can use your home driving license or an international driving permit for six months from the entry date on your passport. Carry your license and passport at all times when driving. Katowice is a straight 75km drive west from Kraków along the A4 highway, one of the better stretches of road in the country, but it’s smooth asphalt doesn’t come free. Toll facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

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Arrival & Transport nice. Parking prices are 2 zł for the first hour, 2,40zł for the second hour, 2,80zł for the third and 2zł per hour after that. GUARDED PARKING QL‑4, ul. Sikorskiego, tel. (+48) 660 78 85 51. SUPERVISED PARKINGQC‑5, ul. Wojewódzka 12.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

gates can be found at either end at which you will need to pay 20zł if driving a car. This brings you in on Al. Górnośląska (F-5). The other major route in will bring you along route 79 onto ul. Chorzowska (B-1). Driving around Katowice can be a bit hellish for those uninitiated to the complexity of the city’s oneway streets and the constant presence of roadwork, so we recommend you ditch your vehicle at the earliest opportunity. Car crime is not unheard of and you’ll be safest leaving your ride in one of the guarded parking lots listed below. Street parking is also available and generally operates under the control of a local parking warden. He will be wandering along his patch wearing a bib of some colour checking to see who’s naughty and ENGLISH SERVICE TAXI This is a totally new standard of taxi service in Katowice. All of their experienced drivers are fluent in English and all of the taxis in their fleet are Audis and Mercedes. Of course each car also comes equipped with airconditioning, wi-fi and on board credit card terminals (Visa, Mastercard, American Express). Whether you are going to and from the airport or travelling to a meeting across town, your comfort and ease of travel is always paramount. So forget about being overcharged by a shady driver barking demands in languages you can’t understand. This is a taxi you can truly trust.QC‑2, tel. (+48) 607 61 51 21, www.etaxi.katowice.pl.

-taxi

your english service taxi

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An extremely well developed system of trams and buses operated by the wonderfully named KZK GOP provide a simple and fast way of getting around Katowice and its surrounding towns. The tickets for the network are valid for both buses and trams. A three-zone system is used, of which Katowice is in zone-one and Chorzów in zone-two. Accordingly, a one-zone ticket is required for the former and a two-zone ticket for travelling between the two. A onezone ticket costs 3.20zł and now also serves as a 15min ticket allowing you to swap forms of transport (bus to tram and onto a different tram for instance) within that time period. A two-zone ticket costs 3.80zł and also serves as a 30min ticket. There is also a three-zone/one-hour ticket available for 4.80zł. A 18zł 24hr ticket allows travel within all three zones, though it’s hard to imagine getting your money’s worth out of this without spending the whole day on the tram. Okay, we admit, there’s not much reason to get off. Almost all travel within Katowice and Chorzów can be accomplished using trams, most of which run through the stop at the Rynek. Tram numbers 6, 11 and 19 run between the Rynek and Chorzów via the Silesia Park and is the most useful tram for getting there and back. Tickets can be bought from any kiosk, or from bright yellow machines found at many tram stops around the city. Make sure you validate your ticket when entering the tram or bus. The penalty for riding without a validated ticket is 90zł (plus the price of the ticket) on the spot. (The normal price of the fine if you don’t pay on the spot is 160zł + price of ticket.) KATOWICE PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMPANY Qtel. (+48) 32 743 84 46, www.kzkgop.com.pl.

TAXIS AIRPORT TAXI SERVICE Qtel. (+48) 784 84 68 66, www.taxipyrzowice.pl. CITY TAXI QC‑2, tel. (+48) 32 203 77 77, www.citytaxi.katowice.pl. ECHO TAXI QC‑2, tel. (+48) 32 201 42 00, www.echotaxi.com.pl. TAXI RONDO QC‑2, tel. (+48) 32 205 26 26, www.taxirondo.com.pl. TAXI TRANSFER KATOWICE Qtel. (+48) 888 42 68 88, www.taxi-transfer.pl. TELE-TAXI QC‑2, tel. (+48) 32 196 21, www.teletaxikatowice.pl. katowice.inyourpocket.com

City Basics FACTS & FIGURES

MARKET VALUES

TERRITORY Poland covers an area of 312,685 square kilometers and is the ninth biggest country in Europe. It borders the Baltic Sea (528km) and seven countries, namely Belarus (416km), Czech Republic (790km), Germany (467km), the mysterious Russian exclave of Kaliningrad (210km), Lithuania (103km), Slovakia (539km) and Ukraine (529km).

Prices in Poland are still fairly competitive despite increases over the last couple of years particularly in the prices of cigarettes. Here are some typical everyday products and prices. Market values as of February 23, 2015 based on €1 = 4.33zł

LONGEST RIVER The river Vistula (Wisła) is Poland’s longest river at 1,047km and flows through Krakow and Warsaw before reaching the Bay of Gdańsk (Zatoka Gdańska). HIGHEST POINT The highest peak is Rysy (2,499m) in the Tatra Mountains along the southern border with Slovakia. In comparison, Katowice’s landscape rolls a bit more gently with the city’s elevation between 266-352m above sea level. POPULATION (2015) Poland - 38,478,602 Warsaw - 1,735,442 Kraków - 761,873 ​Łódź - 706,004 ​Wrocław - 634,487 ​Poznań - 545,680 ​Gdańsk - 461,489 ​Katowice - 301,834 LOCAL TIME Poland is in the Central European (CET) time zone (GMT+1hr). When it’s 12:00 in Katowice it’s 05:00 in Chicago, 06:00 in New York City, 11:00 in London, 12:00 in Paris and Berlin and 19:00 in Tokyo. Polish summer time (GMT+2hrs) starts and ends on the last Sundays of March and October.

CUSTOMS If you are travelling within the EU those over 18 can now take 10 litres of spirits, 90 litres of wine and 110 litres of beer. Most countries will not allow more than 800 cigarettes from Poland. If purchasing art or books, you need to consider their age and value. In order to leave the country, art must be less than 50 years old and under a certain value (varies depending by type; photos under 6,000zł, other art under 16,000zł, for example); if one of these conditions is met, the gallery curator can then provide you with a 'zaświadczenie' (permission document) describing the artwork's price and when and where it was created. If the work exceeds the permitted age and value, you must get permission from the 'Wojewódzki Konserwator Zabytków' (Regional Curator's Office) to take it out of Poland; bear in mind that this process will likely take 2-3 months. Books must be less than 100 years old and under 6,000zł in value in order to leave the country; if neither applies, permission must be obtained from the National Library. Obviously, problems arise when purchases are made at bazaars or flea markets 12 Katowice In Your Pocket

McDonald's Big Mac Snickers 0.5ltr vodka (shop) 0.5ltr beer (shop) 0.5ltr beer (bar) Loaf of white bread 20 Marlboros 1 ltr of unleaded petrol (98) Local transport ticket (1 journey)

9.20 zł 1.69 zł 23.99 zł 2.99 zł 7.00 zł 2.99 zł 15.20 zł 4.19 zł 3.20 zł

€ 2.12 € 0.39 € 5.54 € 0.69 € 1.62 € 0.69 € 3.51 € 0.97 € 0.74

where vendors cannot provide the necessary documents; if there is any doubt about the value or age of your purchase, we suggest you visit an 'Antykwariat' (antiques dealer - see shopping) for advice.

ELECTRICITY Electricity in Poland is 230V, 50Hz AC. Plug sockets are round with two round-pin sockets. Therefore if you are coming from the US, UK or Ireland you are definitely going to need a plug convertor. The best place to pick these up is at home, though if you arrive without one try your hotel concierge or reception; they should be able to point you to the nearest electrical store if they fail to provide a convertor themselves.

HEALTH & EMERGENCY In case of an emergency those dialling from a land line or public payphone should use the following numbers: 999 for an ambulance, 998 for the fire brigade and 997 for the police. Mobile phone users should call 112 to be forwarded to the relevant department. English speaking assistance is not necessarily guaranteed, and rests on the linguistic capabilities of the call operator. English, German and Russian speakers have the option of using separate lines specifically designed for foreigners in distress: dial +48 608 599 999 or + 48 22 278 77 77. Both numbers can be reached from a mobile phone or a land line and are hotlines in case you run into any troubles during your stay. The lines are active year round with later hours during the high-tourist season. Further help can be provided by embassies and consulates, of which a comprehensive list can be found in the directory section. If you've run out of money, however, then silly you. No embassy will bail you out, and and your hopes will katowice.inyourpocket.com

City Basics rest on a Western Union money transfer. Most banks and many exchange bureaus (kantors) can now carry out such transactions, just keep an eye out for anywhere displaying the Western Union logo.

INTERNET Internet access is typically free and widely available in Poland, with practically every café and restaurant offering wi-fi to customers with laptops and smartphones. Getting on the network often requires nothing more than a password, which you can request of your favorite bartender or barista with a simple, “Poproszę o hasło do internetu.” If you don’t have your own gadgets we offer a few Internet cafe options below.

LAW & ORDER In general Katowice is safer than most Western cities, and visitors are unlikely to face any problems. Petty crime does exist however, and travellers should be aware of where their wallet is, guarding against pickpockets and opportunists. Those travelling by car are advised to use a guarded car park. Robberies on overnight trains are not unheard of, especially on the routes connecting Warsaw and Kraków with Prague and Berlin; book a couchette or a sleeper cabin if possible. Also avoid being ripped off by opportunistic taxi jockeys by using clearly marked cabs, something to bear in mind around the train station and airport. Staying on the right side of the law is significantly easier for tourists who accept that Polish beer and vodka are rocket fuel and drink accordingly. If you're determined to make an idiot of yourself then make sure it's not in front of the law. In recent years visitors - ranging from geniuses in Chewbacca costumes to complete fools who've thought it's perfectly acceptable to drop their trousers and urinate in a city centre fountain - have tested the patience of the local law enforcement, which is decidedly low so don't push your luck. Those who do may well be treated to a trip to Katowice's premier drunk tank (ul. Macieja 10), a chastening experience which will set you back 250zł for a 6-24 hour stay. In return for your cash expect a strip search, a set of blue pyjamas and the company of a dozen mumbling vagrants. Not to mention a hefty fine (credit cards not accepted, of course). The other well-known ways tourists can cross cops is by jaywalking. If you are from a country which has no (or doesn't respect) jaywalking laws, you'll be surprised to see a crowd of people standing obediently at a crossing waiting for the lights to change. This peculiarity has extra effect if you are aware of how little Poles respect the rules of the road in a vehicle, where it often feels like a survival of the fittest. The reason for the obedience of this particular rule is the fact that the local city police (Straż Miejska) will quite freely give you a 100zł fine for crossing a road at a place where no crossing is marked or a 100zł fine when the ‘walk' light is red. And don't think you are exempt by being a foreign visitor. You are subject to the law too and your nonresidency means you will need to pay the fine on the spot. facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

LANGUAGE SMARTS Many Poles, particularly young people, have a healthy command of the English language. Many are also adept at other European languages with German being the most commonly spoken. Older Poles will fiercely contest that they have ‘forgotten' the Russian taught to them at school but most will still have a reasonable understanding. Mastering the Polish tongue can be a terrifying ordeal, often resulting in personal degradation as shop assistants laugh at your flustered attempts. That aside, learning a few key phrases will smooth your time in Katowice and may even win you friends and admirers. On the downside, Polish is one of the most difficult languages for native English speakers to learn. On the upside, unlike in English, words in Polish are spelled the way they are pronounced. This is a great help once you know how to pronounce each letter/combination of letters. While many letters represent the same sounds as they do in English, below we have listed those particular to Polish, followed by some basic words and phrases. Powodzenia (Good luck)!

Basic Pronunciation

‘ą’ sounds like ‘on’ in the French ‘bon’ ‘ę’ sounds like ‘en’ as in the French ‘bien’ ‘ó’ is an open ‘o’ sound like ‘oo’ in ‘boot’ ‘c’ like the ‘ts’ in ‘bits’‘ ‘j’ like the ‘y’ in ‘yeah’ ‘w’ is pronounced like the English ‘v’ ‘ł’ like the ‘w’ in ‘win’ ‘ń’ like the ‘ny’ in ‘canyon’ ‘cz’ and ‘ć’ like the ‘ch’ in ‘beach’ ‘dz’ like the ‘ds’ in ‘beds’ ‘rz’ and ‘ż’ like the ‘su’ in ‘treasure’ ‘sz’ and ‘ś’ like the ‘sh’ in ‘ship’ ‘drz’ like the ‘g’ in ‘George’ ‘r’ is always rolled

Polish Words & Phrases Yes No Hi/Bye (informal) Hello/Good day (formal) Good evening (formal) Good-bye Good Night Please Thank you Excuse me/Sorry

Tak Nie Cześć Dzień dobry Dobry wieczór Do widzenia Dobranoc Proszę Dziękuję Przepraszam

(Tahk) (Nyeh) (Cheshch) (Jen doh-bri) (Doh-bri vyeh-choor) (Doh veet-zen-ya) (Doh-brah-noats) (Prosheh) (Jen-koo-yeh) (Psheh-prasham)

My name is... I’m from England. Do you speak English? I don’t speak Polish. I don’t understand. Two beers, please. Cheers! Where are the toilets? You are beautiful. I love you. Please take me home. Call me!

Mam na imię... Jestem z Anglii Czy mówisz po angielsku? Nie mówię po polsku. Nie rozumiem. Dwa piwa proszę. Na zdrowie! Gdzie są toalety? Jesteś piękna. Kocham cię. Proszę zabierz mnie do domu. Zadzwoń do mnie!

(Mam nah ee-myeh…) (Yehstem zanglee) (Che moo-veesh po an-gyel-skoo?) (Nyeh moo-vyeh po pol-skoo.) (Nyeh row-zoo-me-ehm.) (Dvah peevah prosheh.) (Nah zdrovyeh!) (Gdjeh sawn toe-letih) (Yes-tesh pee-enk-nah.) (Ko-hahm chuh.) (Prosheh za-byesh mnyeh doh doh-moo.) (Zads-dvoan doh mnyeh!)

Airport Train station Bus station One ticket to…

Lotnisko Dworzec PKP Dworzec PKS Jeden bilet do…

(Lot-nees-ko) (Dvoar-jets Peh Kah Peh) (Dvoar-jets Peh Kah Ess) (Yeh-den bee-let doh…)

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Culture & Events

Spodek - Katowice’s mother ship hosts both sporting and cultural events. | Photo: Katowice City Council

CINEMAS

CONCERTS

AMOK QM‑2, ul. Dolnych Wałów 3, Gliwice, tel. (+48) 32 231 56 99, www.amok.gliwice.pl. Box office open from 08:30; Sat, Sun from 15:00 to 15 minutes after last show. Closed Mon. Tickets 10-20zł. The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD tickets 45/50zł.

25.04 MONDAY JAZZART: THE THING This Swedish/Norwegian “power trio” comprises saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, double-bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love. Their most recent album, Shake, came out in 2015.QE‑3, Hipnoza Jazz Club, Pl. Sejmu Śląskiego 2. Concert starts at 20:00. Tickets 30zł. Available at www. ticketpro.pl and Empik (Silesia City Center, ul. Chorzowska 107, A-1; open 10:00 - 21:00, Fri 10:00 - 22:00).

CINEMA CITY SILESIA QI‑2, Silesia City Center, ul. Chorzowska 107, tel. (+48) 32 605 05 55, www.cinema-city.pl. Box office open from 09:30 to 15 minutes after last show. Tickets 18-32zł. RIALTO QC‑4, ul. Św. Jana 24, tel. (+48) 32 251 04 31, www. rialto.katowice.pl. Box office open 13:00 - 20:00; Sat, Sun open one hour before first showtime to 15 minutes after last showtime. Tickets 6-16zł. ŚWIATOWID QB‑3, ul. 3 Maja 7, tel. (+48) 32 258 74 32, www. swiatowid.katowice.pl. Box office open 10:00 - 21:00, Sat, Sun 13:00 - 21:00. Tickets 10-16zł.

What’s going on? facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket 14 Katowice In Your Pocket

30.04 SATURDAY BRITISH ROCK SYMPHONY Naturally, British rock requires no specific endorsement; just mention names like The Beatles, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, U2, Led Zeppelin, Bee Gees, The Police, Depeche Mode, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, George Michael, Adele, or Amy Winehouse, and you’ve got any music fan drooling. The British Rock Symphony show will feature hits by ALL these legends performed by talented vocalists.QGliwice Music Theatre, ul. Nowy Świat 55/57. Concert starts at 19:30. Tickets 50-119zł. Available at www.ticketpro.pl and Empik (Silesia City Center, ul. Chorzowska 107, A-1; open 10:00 - 21:00, Fri 10:00 - 22:00). katowice.inyourpocket.com

Culture & Events 27.06 MONDAY AUGUST BURNS RED + SILVERSTEIN + BEARTOOTH Triple metalcore: Pennsylvania band August Burns Red, Canadian group Silverstein, and Ohioan formation Beartooth are coming together at Mega Club this June to put on one powerful show.QB‑1, Mega Club, ul. Żelazna 15. Concert starts at 19:30. Tickets 79-89zł. Available at www.ticketpro.pl and Empik (Silesia City Center, ul. Chorzowska 107, A-1; open 10:00 - 21:00, Fri 10:00 22:00).

EXHIBITIONS 06.02 SATURDAY - 31.07 SUNDAY CAROLE BENZAKEN: MI’MA’AMAKIM… French artist Carole Benzaken, recipient of the Marcel Duchamp Prize, is coming back to Katowice with a monumental installation made of ropes. Inspired by the complex history of Silesia, the artwork is meant to evoke trees growing towards the sky and birds attempting to escape their branches.QL‑3, Silesian Museum, ul. Dobrowolskiego 1, tel. (+48) 32 213 08 11, www. muzeumslaskie.pl. Open 10:00 - 20:00. Closed Mon. Admission 24/16zł, Tue free.

Full contents online: katowice.inyourpocket.com 04.03 FRIDAY - 31.03 THURSDAY FIGURAMA 2016 This large annual exhibition is dedicated to figure drawings created by art students from participating international universities. This year’s edition will welcome students from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland.QB‑3, Rondo Sztuki, Rondo gen. Ziętka 1, tel. (+48) 32 720 11 32, www.rondosztuki.pl. Open 11:00 - 19:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 - 18:00. Closed Mon. Admission free. 05.03 SATURDAY - 10.04 SUNDAY POST-APOCALYPSIS This trippy exhibition features talking trees, which spew Polish poetry at you upon being touched. The idea is to present a contemporary, globalised, interconnected world; go see it and judge for yourself.QB/C‑4/5, Silesian Museum, ul. Dobrowolskiego 1, tel. (+48) 32 213 08 11, www.muzeumslaskie.pl. Admission 24/16zł, Tue free. 08.04 FRIDAY - 29.04 FRIDAY MICHAŁ BARTŁOMOWICZ - I COME IN PEACE Michał Bartłomowicz, Fine Arts Academy in Katowice graduate, specializes in unique collages utilising cut-outs of Nat Geo photos and other images. The exhibition is part of the Gallery+. Space for Young Artists project.QB‑3, Rondo Sztuki, Rondo gen. Ziętka 1, tel. (+48) 32 720 11 32, www.rondosztuki.pl. Open 11:00 - 19:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 - 18:00. Closed Mon. Admission free. facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

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Culture & Events FESTIVALS 25.04 MONDAY - 30.04 SATURDAY KATOWICE JAZZ ART FESTIVAL The date for this special festival in a city that loves jazz has been chosen to coincide with International Jazz Day - April 30th. This year’s edition will welcome The Thing, RGG Trio, Raphael Rogiński, Yasmin Levy, Brussels Jazz Orchestra, Jack DeJohnette, Marcin & Bartłomiej Oleś Duo, Aukso in Motion, and Selvhenter.Qwww.jazzartfestival. eu. Tickets 20-50zł, festival pass 200zł. Available at www.ticketpro.pl and Empik (Silesia City Center, ul. Chorzowska 107, A-1; open 10:00 - 21:00, Fri 10:00 22:00).

LIVE MUSIC TUESDAY JAZZ CLUB Every Tuesday, the Chamber Stage of the NOSPR institution will come alive with the sounds of jazz. The international guests will include Bennie Maupin, Joakim Milder, String Connection, Walk Away, Karen Edwards, Markus Stockhausen, and more.QB‑3/4, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Pl. Wojciecha Kilara 1, tel. (+48) 32 732 53 12, www.nospr.org.pl. Concerts start at 19:30. Ticket price depends on the event.

MISC. EVENTS 22.04 FRIDAY - 24.04 SUNDAY FLEA MARKET Browse all sorts of unusual items that have been rotting away in someone’s attic, but are likely to carry a part of the region’s history - from Soviet-era mementos to old post cards showing the German city of Kattowitz to rare, dusty books.QC‑3, Rynek. 17.05 TUESDAY - 22.05 SUNDAY FRENCH FAIR This might not be what you came to Poland for, but if you get the sudden urge to peruse and/or purchase French cheese, wine, herbs and spices, fashionable scarves, and presumable berets, this is your chance. The location hasn’t been specified as this goes to print, but the most likely candidate is the Main Square (C-3). QC‑3, Rynek.

SPECIAL EVENTS 09.03 WEDNESDAY - 25.03 FRIDAY EASTER FAIR After December’s Christmas Fair, it’s time for the Easter Fair - this time around the wooden stalls will be filled with decorated eggs, woven baskets, sheep made out of sugar lumps, Easter palms, seasonal baked goods, and various pastel-colored craft items. Might be a good place to pick up a souvenir or two and sample some rye soup and dumplings.QC‑3, Rynek. Open 10:00 - 18:00. 16 Katowice In Your Pocket

katowice.inyourpocket.com

Culture & Events SPORT 04.04 MONDAY - 10.04 SUNDAY KATOWICE OPEN The Women’s Tennis Association Katowice Open is the biggest tennis tournament in Poland, and this April it’ll taking place at the legendary Spodek for the fourth year in a row. Poland’s beloved athlete Agnieszka Radwańska, currently ranked World No. 3 by the WTA, has already confirmed that she will participate. The schedule is as follows: April 2nd-3rd - elimination round; April 4th-7th - regular match days; April 8th - quarter-finals; April 9th - semi-finals; April 10th - final. Let’s see some tennis action!QB‑3, Spodek, Al. Korfantego 35, www.katowiceopen.com. Tickets 35-140zł, pass 70340zł. Available at www.kupbilet.pl and Empik (Silesia City Center, ul. Chorzowska 107, A-1; open 10:00 - 21:00, Fri 10:00 - 22:00).

@KatowiceIYP 23.04 SATURDAY - 29.04 FRIDAY 2016 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POLAND DIVISION I GROUP A If you’re Canadian and visiting Katowice in April, fear not - there is ice hockey to be had. This year’s top division championship will be hosted in Russia, but Division I Group A games will take place right here at Spodek. The competing teams are Japan, Slovenia, Italy, Poland, South Korea, and Austria.QD‑1, Spodek, Al. Korfantego 35, www.iihf.com. Tickets 25-240zł, pass 250-1200zł. Available at www. ebilet.pl and Empik (Silesia City Center, ul. Chorzowska 107, A-1; open 10:00 - 21:00, Fri 10:00 - 22:00).

THEATRE 28.03 MONDAY NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE - HAMLET The National Theatre brings the stage to the big screen again with the showing of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, starring Academy Award Winner Benedict Cumberbatch. As we all know, the classic story of revenge, tragedy, and war takes centerstage in this ageless production.QC‑2, Multikino, ul. 3 Maja 30, www.multikino.pl. Spectacle starts at 19:00. Tickets 35/30zł. Box office open from 09:00 to 15 minutes after last show. 09.05 MONDAY NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE - THE AUDIENCE Screenwriter Peter Morgan and actress Helen Mirren are back, expanding on their acclaimed 2006 film The Queen to turn it into an equally successful stage production. The play is directed by Oscar nominee Stephen Daldry (known from Billy Elliot and The Hours), and will be shown in the original English version with Polish subtitles.QC‑2, Multikino, ul. 3 Maja 30, www.multikino.pl. Spectacle starts at 19:00. Tickets 35/30zł. Box office open from 09:00 to 15 minutes after last show. facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

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Restaurants

Try Petit’s dejeuner and you won’t be hungry all day.

Silesia is known to many as a sprawling post-industrial metropolis that is more akin to a culinary wasteland than a growing centre of world-class cuisine for cunning connoisseurs. The last few years have brought drastic changes to the once dreary dining scene and the service industry can now join the esteemed ranks of the coal and steel industries in the area. Many culinary trends have taken hold and ethnic cuisine of all shapes and sizes are vying for your attention and appealing to your appetite. Don’t overlook the local fare either as there is a veritable renaissance happening in Silesian cuisine as well as a plethora of Polish places. The prices we list here in each handpicked recommendation reflect the cheapest and most precious main dishes on the menu. Tipping at least 10% for table service is customary, though it may not always be deserved. Smacznego!

AMERICAN BUTCHERY&GRILL Burgers usurped deep fried pork cutlets as the unofficial Polish national dish a year or so ago. The main problem with such ubiquitous food trends is usually quality. Butchery & Grill are the increasingly rare (pun intended) exception. This self-styled American steakhouse serves the highest quality meats in stylish and comfy seats. They source their meats from all over the world and every cut is massaged, marinated, minced and grilled right before your very eyes to exactly the temperature you desire. Add some sultry sides and a tall beverage and you’re set for a day or two. My Texas friends may not believe me but the best burger I’ve had this side of San Antonio was in a shopping mall in 18 Katowice In Your Pocket

Silesia!QB‑3, ul. 3 Maja 30 (Galeria Katowicka), tel. (+48) 32 414 17 31, www.butcheryandgrill.pl. Open 12:00 24:00. (46-78zł). G­S­W CITY ROCK If you crossed Hard Rock Cafe with a classic American diner in a Polish laboratory, you might end with something like City Rock, where motorbikes, guitars, 50s pinups, Elvis and even a full-sized Formula 1 car are attached to the walls. The pre-pubescent boy in you will love it and that’s before the team of local beauties appears to present you with the easy English menu of Tex-Mex, fried food, ice cream sundaes, milkshakes, pasta, wood-oven pizza and obligatory Polish dishes - choose from lame-named items like ‘Easy Chick’ and ‘Grinch Spaghetti,’ or why not try to push your luck and ask the Miss Polska serving you for a ‘Texas Mama’. Incredibly popular and kind of great for all the wrong reasons.QB‑1, ul. Chorzowska 9b, tel. (+48) 32 201 05 05, www.cityrock. pl. Open 13:00 - 23:00, Fri 13:00 - 24:00, Sat 14:00 - 24:00, Sun 14:00 - 23:00. (17-60zł). T­U­G­S­W

ASIAN HURRY CURRY Bringing some heat to the street and some spice to Katovice, this hot spot is turning heads and filling stomachs. Started by a couple of travellers with the simple idea of offering a selection of curries from all over the world served up quick and sold for cheap. The results are utterly delicious and borderline revolutionary for the city’s budding ethnic restaurant scene. With a limited but diverse menu, you’ll find something new just for you. The design is cosy yet katowice.inyourpocket.com

Restaurants SYMBOL KEY G No smoking

T Child-friendly

6 Animal friendly

N Credit cards not accepted

S Take away

U Facilities for the disabled

V Home delivery

X Smoking room available

I Fireplace

W Wi-fi connection

E Live music

B Outside seating

cool and the service is quick so even if you’re in a hurry you can make time for their curry. Top marks all around.QD‑4, ul. Św. Stanisława 1, tel. (+48) 511 43 36 63, www. hurrycurry.pl. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 24:00, Sun 12:00 - 20:00. (12-33zł). 6­G­S­W

AUSTRIAN BISTRO & CAFE KRYSTYNKA WRACA Z WIEDNIA This bright little bistro is quite a refreshing take on the cuisine and style of Vienna. If you’re thinking starched napkins and gilded portraits of moustachioed Hapsburgs, think again. There’s nothing haughty or hifalutin about this delectable diner cum cosy cafe. They offer straight ahead delicious food of the hearty soup and scrumptious schnitzel variety with a subtle tip of the hat to Austrian tradition. They also do great service to Viennese cake and coffee culture so make sure to stop by in the earlier hours for a java jolt and to break the fast. In the colder months saddle up to a big creamy bowl of soup and a luscious latte. With food and drink like this we are by no means surprised by Miss Kristine’s illustrious return... we just hope she never leaves us again.QA‑6, ul. Kościuszki 45, tel. (+48) 32 733 38 20. Open 08:30 - 20:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 - 20:00. T­6­G­S­W

The Very Best Cuts of Meat

Grilled Right Before Your Eyes

And Served Straight to Your Seat!

BREAKFAST NEW PETIT We can’t remember the last time we got so excited about a breakfast place. Upon entry the warm and welcoming interiors and delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen immediately get the juices flowing. The menu delights and intrigues with baguettes, cakes, quiches, croissants and omelettes all vying for your attention. But once our eyes landed on the English muffin with egg, bacon and hollandaise sauce, the search was over. Creamy-crunchyblissful-breakfast-ecstasy is all we can say. If the food wasn’t enough, their gourmet coffee drinks and exclusive teas are equally enticing. Breakfast is served 09:00 - 15:00 and after 15:00 they serve lunch - a cream soup of the day plus all of their pastries and baked goods are available for take away. Petit is quite simply a small slice of perfect.QD‑3, ul. Wojewódzka 21, tel. (+48) 514 12 61 54. Open 09:00 20:00, Sun 09:00 - 17:00. (5-16zł). T­G­S­W facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

ul. 3 Maja 30* Katowice phone: +48 32 4141731 [email protected] butcheryandgrill.pl *At the entrance to Galeria Katowicka

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Restaurants CZECH HOSPODA History and geography have preordained close ties between Silesia and the Czech Republic. While ‘close’ doesn’t always mean friendly, this hopping Hospoda could downright double as the Czech Embassy for all the love it shows to their southern neighbours. Of course the first test of a true Czech pub is its beer selection. Hospoda passes with flying colours with delicious Bohemian brews like Cerna Hora, Kozel Dark, Vit and Pilsner on tap plus at least 30 other bottles on deck (Gambrinus, Radegast, Budvar and a boatload more). If you’re wondering about the grub, czech out their classic fried cheese, garlic soup and goulash with dumplings. If you’ve never been to Prague, just throw on a Walkman with some Jaromir Nohavica, curl up in a corner with a dark Kozel or two and prepare to be telePortered.QJ‑3, ul. Gliwicka 6/1 (entrance from ul. Sobieskiego), tel. (+48) 32 701 46 36, www.hospoda. pl. Open 14:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 14:00 - 02:00. (1315zł). X­W

FRENCH

TIPPING TRIBULATIONS Polish tipping etiquette can be a bit confusing for foreigners. While in other civilized countries it’s normal to say ‘thanks’ when a waiter collects the money, you’ll be horrified to learn that in Poland uttering the word ‘dziękuje,’ or even ‘thank you’ in English, is an indication that you won’t be wanting any change back. This cultural slip-up can get very embarrassing and expensive as the waiter/waitress then typically does their best to play the fool and make you feel ashamed for asking for your money back, or conveniently disappears having pocketed all of your change. Be careful only to say ‘thank you’ if you are happy for the waitstaff to keep all the change. Otherwise we advise you to only use the word ‘proszę’ (please) when handing back the bill and the payment. Despite the fact that most waitstaff in PL are only paid in pennies and leftovers, it is not customary to tip more than 10% of the meal’s total (though being a foreigner may make the staff expectant of a bit more generosity). As such, we encourage you to reward good service when you feel it’s deserved. Finally, it is virtually unheard of to leave the tip on your card, because waitstaff are then forced to pay tax on the gratuity; you won’t get the chance. Therefore it’s essential to have some change or small bills handy in order to leave your server a tip. If you don’t have any, ask for change. 20 Katowice In Your Pocket

C’EST SI BON Certainly one of Katowice’s finer restaurants, the service may not be as cheerful as the interior full of lavender plants, lilac table clothes, dried flowers, candleholders and sun icons, but the food is top-notch, as testified by the long list of companies C’est Si Bon does regular catering for. The menu is in Polish, French and English, and still full of rich, delicious dishes like the hearty ‘Provencal seafood soup’. Bon Apetite!QB‑5, ul. Ligonia 4, tel. (+48) 32 781 68 48, www.cestsibon. pl. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Sun 12:00 - 20:00. (24-66zł). G­B­S­W

FUSION RESTAURACJA SUNLIGHT Located on the ground floor of the Angelo Hotel, it’s worth getting a room upstairs just for convenient access to this exquisite restaurant. A perfect cure for seasonal Silesian depression, Sunlight justifies its slightly hokey name with a modern, spirit-lifting interior of warm colours and wall to floor length windows. No effort is spared with the food, including regularly reinvented seasonal menus in addition to the regular card full of locally-inspired fusion dishes. The menu even includes accompanying wine recommendations. Two or three course business lunches are served in the adjacent Jazz Bar (Mon-Fri 12:00-16:00) for 38 or 45zł respectively. They also recently opened Steak Corner by Jazz Bar where you can order mouth watering steaks and burgers.QB‑2, ul. Sokolska 24 (angelo by Vienna House Katowice), tel. (+48) 32 783 81 56, www. viennahouse.com. Open 17:00 - 22:00. (25-79zł). T­U­G­W katowice.inyourpocket.com

Restaurants SZTOLNIA. CHLEB. MIĘSO. WINO Someone forgot to tell Poland that restaurants near Malls are supposed to be bland, corporate run, flair-wearing affairs only. Sztolnia not only blows that notions out of the water, but in less than six months it’s already short listed as one of the best restaurants in town. One look at their open concept industrial-yet-rustic dining room and you’ll begin to see why. Then when you get a look at the laid back and eclectic menu filled with fusion treats and grilled aged meats, they’ll have won you over. And once you’re served your meal, they’ll have fully sealed the deal. Hand to heart, our perfect medium rare NY Ribeye w/ grilled vegetables and onion cumin puree was one of the tastiest meals we’ve had in Poland, ever. Silesia City Center just got a whole lot closer.QI‑2, ul. Chorzowska 109 (Silesia City Center), tel. (+48) 506 78 87 75. Open 09:00 - 22:00, Sat, Sun 11:00 - 22:00. (24-69zł). U­G­ S­W

GERMAN WUNDERBAR A pleasing bar-restaurant kitted out with pots, pans, chiming clocks and all manner of assorted country trumpery. The menu here is pretty much as you expect from a Bavarian themed eatery with a bit of a Polish twist. Try the Krupnik soup with goose stomachs or the half duck baked with apples. If you really mean business then try the Baked Pork Knuckle on for size. Wash it all down with some tried and true German brew - Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier or Weihenstephan Pils.QC‑5, ul. Plebiscytowa 2, tel. (+48) 32 781 76 90, www.wunderbar.pl. Open 13:00 - 22:30. (26-69zł). T­G­S­W

HEALTHY EATS OKIEM I BRZUCHEM This is perhaps one of the simplest restaurant concepts in the world, but near to impossible to pull off perfectly: Soup. This rustic resto gets about as close as you can to perfection by serving up healthy and hearty bowls of delicious liquid gold. The daily menu hangs above the self-serve counter: turkey-gizzard-veggie-bullion, wild mushroom-red bean-mini-shell stew and red pepperroasted pumpkin-chili tomato-garlic, plus three other equally intriguing options awaited us. Always 3 veggie and 3 meat options. We were overjoyed that they offer a three-mini bowl tasting option so we could try more. Without exaggeration, each soup was better than the next and we savoured every spoonful. Soup for the soul. QB‑5, ul. Kościuszki 18, tel. (+48) 695 73 87 22. Open 11:00 - 19:00, Sat 11:00 - 17:00. Closed Sun. (10-20zł). G­S

SILESIAN GRUB A blue-collar region of migrants, miners and miners’ daughters, few places are as well suited to the nation’s traditional peasant fare of potatoes, cutlets and cabbage as Silesia. So what have the locals contributed to national cuisine? Well, you can put Silesian noodles, knownly locally as ‘kluski śląskie’ at the top of your culinary itinerary. Essentially a pierogi with no filling, these pillowy potato flour doughballs are served as a side dish almost everywhere, often with mushroom gravy or fried fat and bacon bits on top. With a chewy texture and typically bland flavour, kluśki literally stick to your ribs and set like cement in your stomach. As for main courses, your pervasive regional entrée for the brave has to be Silesian beef rolades, or ‘rolada śląska’ – a rather turd-like rolled beef patty filled with onions, bacon and pickles. This surprisingly tasty dish with some kluśki and red cabbage or fried sauerkraut on the side is as Silesian as it gets and exactly how they serve at Chata z Zalipia (who have even won awards for their rockin’ rolada!) Wash it all down with a Żywiec or Tyskie – Poland’s most popular national beers, both from Silesia.

Stanisława 1, 40-014 Katowice tel. 511 433 663 www.hurrycurry.pl Curries from all over the world

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Restaurants BURGERS NEW FABRYKA BURGERA This central burger factory manufactures a lot more than just tasty burgers. They have a full menu of salads, savory sandwiches and even steaks. Give the light and tangy blue cheese chicken baguette a try or grab a quick zapiekanka if you’re on the go. But who are we kidding, come here for the large juicy Classic and specialty burgers. The locally sourced beef and homemade buns seal the deal and the various toppings and tangy sauces tip the scales. Try the Chorizo burger or the Bacon & BBQ. They even have a vegan option plus loads of shakes & smoothies to wash it all down with.QC‑2, ul. 3 Maja 38, tel. (+48) 604 86 61 73. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Mon, Sun 13:00 - 21:00, Fri 12:00 - 23:00, Sat 13:00 - 23:00. (14-30zł). 6­G­B­S­W MAD MICK The requisite ‘Hipster Burger Bar and Bistro’ has firmly planted its flag in Silesian soil. The trend has spread like wildfire across the Polish plains and now Katowice has its own jumping joint to boast about. Mad Mick recently redesigned their digs and now they serve up even more thick slabs of juicy steaks and mouth watering burgers day and night (they also deliver!). With a vast array of Czech microbrews to chase down your chow of choice, settle into a comfy seat before you meet your meat. Besides the full menu of carnivorous treats, Mick also offers up salads, snacks, and sandwiches. Their kitchen takes orders up until an hour before closing.QD‑4, ul. Warszawska 13, tel. (+48) 535 46 68 66/(+48) 535 00 57 39, www. madmick.pl. Open 11:00 - 24:00, Fri 11:00 - 02:00, Sat 12:00 - 02:00, Sun 12:00 - 22:00. V­G­S­W NEW ZDROWA KROWA Literally translated as “healthy cow” this Gliwice burger bistro has opened up a new Katowice location and is causing quite a stir. Their mission seems to be to rebrand burgers as a legitimately healthy option touting the quality of their locally sourced ingredients and abundance of veggies tossed between their freshly baked buns. With a truly expansive menu of over a dozen different specialty beef burgers and a handful of chicken, shrimp, and veggie options, choosing the right sandwich is a daunting task. We tried the seasonal carrot chutney burger on for size and while we can’t say we felt particularly healthy after devouring every last morsel, it was one of the more inspired burgers we’ve had in recent memory. If you’re really looking to eat light, order one of their colourful and flavourful salads. With local beers, alternative lemonades and colas, this happy cow is truly in the here and now.QD‑4, ul. Mariacka 33, tel. (+48) 730 10 15 20, www.zdrowakrowa.com. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 03:00. (20-44zł). T­U­V­G­S­W 22 Katowice In Your Pocket

HUNGARIAN ZAKLĘTY CZARDASZ Certainly one of Katowice’s finest and most unheralded restaurants, this aromatic Hungarian effort serves excellent ethnic cuisine in elegant surroundings with wicker lampshades, latticework and vines. The enticing menu offers a dozen ways to enjoy their delicious goulash (trust us, you’ll be licking the cutlery), plus stuffed peppers, potato pancakes, pork loin, fish and more - all complemented ideally by Hungarian wines and tokajs from their adjoining shop. Portions are positively huge, with food practically spilling over the edges of the plate, and it’s worth noting that you can ask for many of them in a smaller amount. A year-round patio and cellar wine bar only make us more enthusiastic to recommend this place than ever before.QA‑5, ul. Kopernika 9, tel. (+48) 32 257 01 32, www.czardasz.com. Open 10:00 - 22:00, Fri, Sat 10:00 - 23:00, Sun 12:00 - 22:00. (28-49zł). U­G ­S ­W

INDIAN BUDDHA The Indian owned and operated Buddha has brought authentic ethnic food to Katowice. Marked by great service and richly furnished with elegant antiques, tapestries, tiles and gold silk place-settings, Buddha has a head start before the food even arrives and fails to disappoint in that department as well. If it says it’s spicy (gasp!) it actually is, the curries are rich and portions are more than healthy. If you’re looking for a midweek fix don’t miss their new lunch buffet for just 15 PLN! Overall a fine effort and more than worth the total on the check, which arrives in a hand-crafted box. They also offer catering and delivery services.QA‑5, ul. Drzymały 9, tel. (+48) 32 608 00 50, www.buddharestaurant.pl. Open 12:00 - 22:30. (22-50zł). T­V­ G­S ­W MASALA HOUSE Masala House is thoroughly authentic curry house and they don’t pull any punches or spare any spices. Start off with a crunchy samosa or spicy onion bhaji then move on to a main dish of fish, chicken, beef, lamb or veggie and curries. Play it safe with a tikka masala or take the gloves off with some lamb rogan josh. Grab a mango lassi to put out that fire or any other beverage you may desire. Don’t be shy if you’re not a member of the red hot chilli pepper’s fan club because there are plenty of milder curries to choose from and the colourful menu (English available) is chilli coded so you and your tongue know what you’re jumping into. Don’t miss their cheap lunch specials Mon - Fri 12:00 - 15:00.QA‑2, ul. Mickiewicza 32, tel. (+48) 32 253 00 43, www.masalahouse.eu. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Sun 12:00 - 21:00. (20-50zł). V­G ­ B­S ­W katowice.inyourpocket.com

Restaurants INTERNATIONAL AKOLADA Set inside a glass-roofed red brick atrium in the atmospheric Music Academy, this is a splendid venue in which to enjoy the finer side of life. As far as restaurants go, there is hardly anything typical about this place and its abundant space. As you settle into your table the trickling sounds of distant choirs and quivering quartets slowly wash over you. The sonorous environs work to heighten the senses and tempt the taste buds. The food picks up on that note and the modern international fair proves fit for the philharmonic. With ever evolving seasonal menus you’ll be singing their praises by the end of your melodious meal.QE‑5, ul. Zacisze 3, tel. (+48) 32 201 03 46, www.akolada.pl. Open 09:00 - 20:00. (10-35zł). U­G­S­W

All you need to know about where to sleep, eat, drink, visit and enjoy

youtube.com/inyourpocket BIERHALLE Dining in a shopping mall usually consists of being queue barged by tracksuited teens ordering burgers and putting the finishing touches to their acne, so Bierhalle is quite a bonus for all who find themselves exploring the guts of the Silesia City shopping mall. The best beer in Katowice should be the primary reason for your visit, but the food is by no means a poor relation; especially in a city where eating out is usually followed by a prompt and painful trip to the toilet. The menu here is pretty much as you’d expect: big piles of dead animals, perfect for lining the innards before putting their range of microbrews to the test. Order the likes of sausages, herring, and even tortillas, delivered without incident by staff dressed like they’ve just finished milking cows. QI‑2, ul. Chorzowska 107 (Silesia City Center), tel. (+48) 32 605 01 61, www.bierhalle.pl. Open 12:00 22:00, Fri 12:00 - 23:00, Sat 11:00 - 23:00, Sun 11:00 - 21:00. (15-40zł). G­S­W BOHEMA Entirely elegant, there’s little bohemian about Bohema with its wine glasses and white tablecloth approach to fine dining - except maybe the surprisingly moderate prices. Appear in-the-know by taking your date to this obscure restaurant on the south side and choose from a wide range of Polish and European meat and fish dishes; curiosities include the Salmon Carpaccio, tenderloin in forest mushroom sauce and an entire page of veggie side dishes entitled ‘Vitamins’ at the top. They even have a respectable kids menu to boot. Classy with a creme interior of black and white photos of 50s starlets, the separate downstairs bar offers something a bit more relaxed.QB‑7, ul. Bratków 4, tel. (+48) 32 202 51 80, www.restauracjabohema.com. Open 12:00 - 20:00, Sun 12:00 - 18:00. (16-52zł). T­G­ S­W facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

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Restaurants MILK BARS While many of the old ways of the old days of communist Poland have disappeared or become slightly disneyfied, one relic remains steadfastly unWestern: the Polish milk bar. These steamy cafeterias serving traditional cuisine to an endless queue of tramps, pensioners and students provide a grim glimpse into Eastern Bloc Poland and have all the atmosphere (and sanitary standards) of a gas station restroom. We love them. For the cost of a few coins you can eat like an orphaned street urchin, albeit an extremely well-fed one. Put the museums on hold, a visit to the milk bar (‘bar mleczny’ in Polish) is a required cultural experience for anyone who has just set foot in the country. Poland’s first milk bar - ‘Pod Bańką’ (Under the Milk Churn) - was opened on Kraków’s market square on May 30th, 1948. Originally no hot dishes were served; bar mleczny were places where you went simply to enjoy milk (hence the name), humbly served in .25 litre glass with a straw (so classy). Run by the government, this was the new party’s ‘clever’ attempt at popularising milk-drinking (as opposed to moonshine), inspired by Poland’s large surplus of dairy products. As restaurants were nationalised and then shut down by PL’s communist authorities, more and more milk bars appeared across the country and began offering cheap, dairy-based meals to the masses and especially workers; quite often meals at the local milk bar were included in a worker’s salary. By the mid-60s milk bars were widely prevalent across Poland as the party concept was to provide cheap, fast food to everyone (as cheerlessly as possible apparently). In addition to milk, yoghurt, cottage cheese and other dairy concoctions, milk bars offered omelettes and egg cutlets, as well as flour-based foods like pierogi. Orders are still taken by blue-haired, blueveined, all-business babcias -and the food is as inspired as ever, the only difference being meat isn’t rationed any more in modern PL. Indeed, today’s milk bars evoke a timelessness to be savoured just as the milk soup with noodles served to schoolchildren in PL in the 1980s was. With the collapse of communism most bar mleczny went bankrupt, however, fortunately for us all, some of these feed museums were saved and continue to be kept open and dirt cheap through state subsidies. The range of available dishes begins to fall off as closing time approaches, so go early, go often. DWORCOWYQO‑2, ul. Okopowa 8, Gliwice, tel. (+48) 32 231 26 81. Open 08:00 - 17:00, Sat 08:00 15:00. Closed Sun. (9-12zł). N­G­S EUROPAQC‑3, ul. Mickiewicza 8, tel. (+48) 32 259 66 96. Open 07:00 - 19:00, Sat 08:00 - 15:00. Closed Sun. (5-12zł). N­G­S 24 Katowice In Your Pocket

DRZWI ZWANE KONIEM One of the city’s newest “restobars” just also happens to have one of the city’s best beer gardens or, rather, a sprawling green terrace. With plenty of tables and chairs, pallet furniture and beach loungers to choose from they have the perfect seating option whether you’re just stopping in for a quick bite or making a night of it. Inside the hip environs are deftly designed and intimately inviting. Order up a cafe beverage or smoothy at the bar by day or grab a local beer or glass of wine by night. Their carefully curated menu features an eclectic mix of Polish and European inspired light appetizers, healthy salads and savoury mains that you can order all day. The menu will be seasonal and democratic so do let your waiter know if you enjoy your meal. Fresh and refreshing!QE‑4, ul. Warszawska 37, tel. (+48) 32 204 12 53, www. drzwizwanekoniem.pl. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 24:00, Sun 12:00 - 20:00. (9-25zł). T­6­G­ S­W FANTASMAGORIA A bit geographically perplexing for those of us who haven’t gotten the history lesson, Fantasmagoria specialises in “eastern-european” cuisine with some paneuropean classics. The recently renovated restaurant itself has the homely feel of a grandmother’s kitchen and the wood-burning oven where various meat dishes are grilled to perfection adds to the atmosphere. Expect generous portions cooked simply and well with a range of Georgian wines available to wash it all down. QJ‑3, ul. Gliwicka 51, tel. (+48) 32 253 00 59, www. fantasmagoria.katowice.pl. Open 13:00 - 22:00. (1446zł). T­6­U­G­S­W GRILL BAR A part of the Szafranowy Dwór complex offering a canteen style grill for those on the move. Located between downtown Katowice and the airport, it makes a perfect stop if you are on your way to or from the airport in your own transport. All manner of meat is grilled up including steaks, pork and chicken fillets and fish. A range of salads, pastas, vegetarian dishes, soups and a kids menu make this one of the better family options in the conurbation as well.Qul. Będzińska 82, Czeladź (Hotel Szafran), tel. (+48) 32 784 31 00, www.hotelszafran.pl. Open 06:00 - 24:00, Sat, Sun 07:00 - 24:00. (15-59zł). T­U­G­S­W IMPRESJA First impressions go a long way and we were thrilled when we stumbled into this Epicurean sanctuary on a sweltering day in June. Soon after our arrival we were sipping a delicious local beer on their terrace and savouring a plate of bacon-wrapped plums with chives. This gorgeous space is an elegant and artistic standout with its handsome post-industrial interiors highlighted by stark modern art. A grand piano takes a prominent place in the main dining room and you can almost hear music echoing off the walls. It has the prices and vibe katowice.inyourpocket.com

Restaurants of a culture cafe yet the menu and class of a gourmet bistro. They graciously organise all sorts of cultural events and concerts as well as business meetings and fairy tale wedding receptions. In one word, impressive.QR‑1, ul. Park Hutniczy 10, Zabrze, tel. (+48) 32 271 78 12, www. impresja-zabrze.com.pl. Open 12:00 - 21:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 22:00. (19-30zł). U­G­W KLUBOGALERIA SARP This marvellous multifunctional restaurant, club, bar and architectural cultural centre recently arrived on the scene to much fanfare. Their various Mediterranean inspired menus are reason enough to pay them a visit. We highly recommend their daily 09:00 - 12:00 breakfast with a choice of 7 delicious options (cured ham scramble!). If lunch is more your thing, stop in from 12:00 - 16:00 MonSat for their daily special or if none of that floats your boat just order off of the regular dinner menu with inspired soups, sides and mains until 22:00. If you’re feeling a bit peckish Fri and Sat nights you can order off of their tempting tapas menu (olive tapenade, shrimp cocktail etc.) after 23:00.QC‑4, ul. Dyrekcyjna 9, tel. (+48) 32 205 12 86. Open 09:00 - 23:00, Fri 09:00 - 24:00. (1858zł). G­W KOFEINA BISTRO The new train station and shiny new shopping mall are attracting all sorts of new businesses to a street that was downright downtrodden not too long ago. Kofeina Bistro is exactly the type of place that’s changing the face of this central thoroughfare. This modern, bright bistro and cool cafe serves up all kinds of affordable and delicious dishes, many of which would pass for gourmet meals in more pretentious environs. Their chalkboard menu proclaims the daily specials and organizes them either by food type, “Pierogies, Soups, Pastas, Smoothies etc.” or by main ingredient, “Cod, Veal, Chicken, Salmon etc.” Everything is worth trying and don’t forget to grab one of their delicious coffee - sit and sip or grab and go.QB‑3, ul. 3 maja 13, tel. (+48) 509 34 12 65. Open 08:00 - 20:00, Sun 10:00 - 20:00. (7-37zł). 6­G­S­W PAŁAC KAWALERA This truly exceptional restaurant located on the ground floor of the Kawalera Palace (10 minutes from Katowice Airport), is highlighted by highly skilled waiters and an impeccable slow food menu. Master Chef Dariusz Gawlik has over 20 years of experience which he readily calls upon when composing his seasonal fusion menus. While some of the dishes are clearly inspired by more exotic cuisine (prawns served over sea salt) others are more rooted in Polish and Silesian tradition (goose liver flambéed in apple vodka with apples). There is also a wide range of top shelf liquors and spirits, including wines from around the world to complete your world-class dining experience.Qul. Parkowa 30, Świerklaniec, tel. (+48) 32 228 02 03, www. palackawalera.com. Open 13:00 - 21:00. Closed Mon. (31-72zł). G­S facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

Pałac Kawalera is a Slow Food Restaurant located in a beautiful park. Our ambition is to satisfy the gourmet desires of our guests.

Open Tuesday – Sunday 13.00 – 21.00 /palackawalera.hugobistrowine www.palackawalera.com ul. Parkowa 30, 42-622 Świerklaniec tel. 667 082 448, 32 228 02 03 RESERVATIONS: [email protected] Transfer from the hotel available.

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Restaurants

ul. Stawowa 3, 40-095 Katowice tel. 32 781 55 55, 32 259 98 65 www.restauracjapatio.pl Open 10:00 - 23:00, Sun 12:00 - 23:00

Our Family Tradition for over 70 years in gastronomy

PAN DE ROSSA Located in the Valley of Three Ponds (just east of F-5 on the map) - one of the city’s most popular recreation areas, Pan de Rossa makes more than just an appetising diversion for those creaking around on their bicycles. Unfortunately it’s given up its fantastic terrace overlooking the pond and moved across the road and into the trees. However it has substituted the views for a fresh, modern décor with lots of light through its large windows. The menu remains a dissertation on local grilled fish and game dishes but has upped the Polish selections, likely to cater to a more local audience.QL‑5, ul. Trzech Stawów 23 (os. Paderewskiego), tel. (+48) 32 256 05 52, www. panderossa.com.pl. Open 10:00 - 23:00. (20-50zł). U­G­B­S­W PATIO One of Katowice’s most popular restaurants just had an extensive renovation and they are all spiffed up and ready to serve. They got rid of some of the kitschy clutter, added some comfier chairs and brightened things up a bit so you can now see your delicious dish a bit better. Their extensive menu of regional dishes (beef roulade) and European cuisine (pizzas, pastas, grilled meats and fish etc.) has plenty to offer. Their multi-lingual menus (English, German, French and Italian) make it easy for you to successfully order what some claim to be the best steak in town. For a bargain, visit between 11:00 and 16:00 Mon-Fri, when lunch is only 24zł.QB‑3, ul. Stawowa 3, tel. (+48) 32 781 55 55, www.restauracjapatio. pl. Open 10:00 - 23:00, Sun 12:00 - 23:00. (18-62zł). V­G­S­W

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Possibility of accommodation in cosy charming rooms! Open: hotel 24h, restaurant 8:00 - 22:00

ul. Kościuszki 352, 40-690 Katowice tel. 32 202 95 56, tel. kom. 666-388-108 www.patiozajazd.pl 26 Katowice In Your Pocket

PATIO PARK An exquisitely decorated and refreshingly spacious restaurant at the edge of Kościuszki Park. Reflected light above the faux trellises give the impression of daylight and cut branches hang from the trellises so as to give the impression of dining in a forest on a starry night. Country-style furniture, a rustic-themed mural, antique objects and elegantly simple table settings sustain the impression. Wait staff are pleasant and speedy to respond. The chef takes a creative turn with entrees, adding garnish to some to resemble trees. The menu is long, but you may not have to venture past the chef ’s recommendations on the first page to find something tempting. They’ve recently introduced tasting menus on Mon and Tues (55-69zł). Don’t hesitate to bring the kids as they’ve just installed a new playground area so you can dine in peace. QJ‑5, ul. Kościuszki 101, tel. (+48) 32 205 30 77, www.patio-park.pl. Open 10:00 - 23:00. (20-100zł). T­U ­X ­S ­W katowice.inyourpocket.com

Restaurants POLISH FOOD

Barszcz

Those wanting to take a quick foxtrot through the world of the Polish kitchen should consider putting the following to the test: Soup: Keep your eyes peeled for Poland’s two signature soups; żurek (sour rye soup with sausages and potatoes floating in it) and barszcz (beetroot, occasionally with dumplings thrown in). Table manners go out of the window when eating these two, so feel free to dunk bread rolls in them. Bigos: You’ll either love it or vomit. Bigos, a.k.a hunters stew, is made using meat, cabbage, onion and sauerkraut before being left to simmer for a few days. If you have second helpings then consider yourself a Pole by default. Gołąbki: Boiled cabbage leaves stuffed with beef, onion and rice before being baked in a tomato sauce. Urban myth claims Poland’s King Kazimierz fed his army gołąbki before his victory outside Malbork in a battle against the Teutonic Order. The unlikely victory was attributed to the hearty meal his troops had enjoyed before hand. Kiełbasa: Sausages, and in Poland you’ll find several varieties made primarily with pork, but sometimes using turkey, horse, lamb and even bison. Few varieties to watch for including Krakowska, a Kraków specialty which uses pepper and garlic, kabanosy which is a thin, dry sausage flavoured with carraway seed and wiejska; a monster-looking u-shaped sausage. Kiełbasa was also the nickname of one of Poland’s most notorious gangland figures of the 90s. Pierogi: Pockets of dough traditionally filled with meat, cabbage or cheese, though you will also occasionally find maverick fillings such as chocolate or strawberries.

La cocina de México

Placki: Nothing more than potato pancakes, often paired with lashings of sour cream. Again, all your traditional folksy Polish restaurants will have these on the menu, if not you have every right to raise a few questions in the direction of the kitchen.

Mariacka 18a, Katowice tel. 32 209 01 40 www.elmexicano.pl

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Restaurants PATIO ZAJAZD The patriarch of the Patio family is also their biggest and most exclusive. The Polish ‘zajazd’ is something between a Diner, a Motel and a rip roaring wedding and function hall. Patio Zajazd fits the bill but ups the classiness and quality by a factor of ten. As with all Patio restaurants the food is the centrepiece and is a hearty mix of Polish staples and pan European fair. Steeped in tradition and experience, their chefs, waiters and hotel staff all provide top notch service and they even have a play area for your little ones (inside and out). Whether you’re simply stopping in for a bite to eat or staying for the weekend to celebrate a distant nephew’s nuptials. They have 22 comfortable Hotel quality rooms available on the premises.Qul. Kościuszki 352 (Piotrowice), tel. (+48) 32 202 95 56, www.patiozajazd. pl. Open 08:00 - 22:00. (12-89zł). T­U­G­S­W RESTAURACJA MAX This is an absolute Katowice institution and if you happen to have a taste for the wilder meats, then Max is the place for you to get your fix. Their cuisine hovers somewhere between trans-European and traditional Polish with an expansive menus of delicate starters, hearty soups and decadent mains. But the star of the show is undoubtedly the many exotic game dishes and regular specials they have on offer. Choose from roast wild boar, Venison steaks or how about grilled Bison medallions in a rosemary sauce! If you can’t decide on just one go for the chef’s wild game platter for two.QK‑1, Al. Korfantego 105, tel. (+48) 32 259 68 86, www.restauracja-max.pl. Open 09:00 - 22:00, Sat 10:00 - 22:00, Sun 12:00 - 22:00. (16-34zł). T­G­S­ W RESTAURACJA POD DREWNIANYM BOCIANEM A new franchise of a tried and true Chorzów and Ruda Śląska legends, the Katowice version of the stalky stork is a bit more modern and elegant than the rest of its flock. Here they have gone the downtown route offering fine dining mixed with occasional live music. Although the atmosphere is much more sophisticated the menu is in fact similar which is very much to their credit. Thin crust pizzas cooked in a wood fire oven are the centrepiece of their expansive menu which also delves deeply into other Mediterranean staples like pastas, salads and seafood with a smattering Polish staples for good measure. The portions are large and the food is outstanding. Judging from the positivity of the staff and the meticulousness of the new design this bird has come to roost for a long while. QJ‑3, ul. Gliwicka 49, tel. (+48) 532 53 22 22, www. drewnianybocian.pl. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 23:00. (17-65zł). T­V­G­S­W RESTAURACJA TAMARYND Located in the ground floor of the M Hotel Sosnowiec, the Tamarynd takes the hotel dining experience to a new level. Serving up a mix of Mediterranean classics highlighted by separate tapas and pizza menus plus a huge selection of starters, soups, salads, pastas and mains. With supremely elegant interiors accentuated by chandeliers, mirrors covering 28 Katowice In Your Pocket

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Restaurants the walls and a bright and colourful decor, the only question you’ll be left asking is ‘Are these prices for real?’ Tamarynd gives you yet another reason to visit the up and coming North Eastern ‘borough’ of Sosnowiec.Qul. Wojska Polskiego 199 (M Hotel Sosnowiec), Sosnowiec, tel. (+48) 507 55 50 03, www. tamarynd.pl. Open 06:30 - 22:00. (19-39zł). T­U­X­S­W RESTAURACJA VACANZA It’s rare that a hotel restaurant would warrant the trip for those not staying upstairs, but Silesian dining is precisely the kind of perfect storm that makes Vacanza an oasis of taste. Warm Mediterranean interiors include a fireplace and sunny four season timber-beamed terrace, and it merely follows suit that the excellent menu be an exploration of southern European tastes and ingredients. With several banquet rooms on hand, it’s also worth considering if you’re planning more than a casual dinner.Qul. Olimpijska 4, Siemianowice Śląskie (Diament Vacanza Siemianowice Śląskie), tel. (+48) 32 606 83 83, www.hotelediament. pl. Open 11:00 - 23:00. (25-90zł). T­6­U­I­G­S­W STEKHOUSE DA DA If there were such a thing as the beaten path in Katowice, Stek House would certainly be off it, but it’s worth seeking out if you’re feeling particularly rapacious. With a variety of choice cuts of primo authentico Argentine beef steaks and other choice cuts from around the globe (Chile, Japan and even Poland!). If you’re a meat lover you can’t go wrong. There’s an English menu on hand and the pleasant staff are more than happy to help out.QA‑6, ul. Gen. Zajączka 17 (entrance from ul. Poniatowskiego), tel. (+48) 32 205 61 03. Open 13:00 - 22:00. (33-115zł). 6­G­S­W SUPERNOVA Walk through their doors and immediately be teleported to another space and thyme where food and wine intertwine to approach the celestially divine. Their experienced gastronauts have crafted a unique menu that is intriguing without being intimidating. We studied the menu’s many microcosms before settling on our culinary constellation of choice. The service was superbly swift and suitably subtle making for a stellar experience overall. This is one of the brightest stars in the Silesian gastronomic galaxy and we can’t wait to further explore their culinary universe.QM‑3, ul. Górnych Wałów 42, Gliwice, tel. (+48) 32 400 42 30, www.supernova. gliwice.pl. Open 11:00 - 22:00. (21-56zł). T­U­G­S­W SZAFRANOWY DWÓR Found 11km from downtown Katowice, the Saffron Manor (to give it its English name) forms part of an attractive, modern complex including a hotel. Inside you’ll find a series of rooms of which this is the more formal dining area. Find a rather impressive menu consisting of meats, pastas, salads and fish dishes with the steaks and the desserts both receiving top marks, in a modern, rustic setting with a fireplace and fountain setting off the whole look.Qul. Będzińska 82, Czeladź, tel. (+48) 32 784 31 00, www. hotelszafran.pl. Open 13:00 - 22:00. (18-65zł). T­U­I­ G­S­W facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

QUICK EATS EUROPA Those who like to complain about the Poles’ frequent inability to form an orderly queue will be amused by this classic milk bar (see our Milk Bars box), which features a series of gates and fences to curb queue barging. Once you do get to the counter, take your pick from a range of local, ludicrously cheap flour-based dishes, a surprisingly decent bean soup, goulash and instant mashed potatoes. School dinners for grown ups, collect your food, pick up a knife and fork, pay the lady and away you go/go away. QC‑3, ul. Mickiewicza 8, tel. (+48) 32 259 66 96. Open 07:00 - 19:00, Sat 08:00 - 15:00. Closed Sun. (5-12zł). N­G ­S NEW FABRYKA KURTOSZA A great addition to Katowice’s growing street food offer, this colorful and central spot specialises in serving up sweet and savoury Kurtosz aka chimney cakes. These curious spiral shaped cakes hail all the way from Transylvania and have become increasingly popular in Poland. They are baked in a special oven so that they are extra crispy on the outside but soft on the inside.They serve up several classic sweet varieties like Cinnamon, coconut, chocolate and caramel. The unique savoury options include parmesan with pumpkin seed, spicy salami and our favourite, olive & feta with arugula. Grab a beer, pull up a chair and tear into a chimney - hot out of the oven.QD‑3, ul. Staromiejska 14, tel. (+48) 519 33 11 10, www.fabrykakurtosza.pl. Open 10:00 21:00, Fri, Sat 10:00 - 23:00, Sun 12:00 - 20:00. (710zł). T­6­G­S­W PIZZA HUT Also at ul. Chorzowska 107 (A-1, Silesia City Center). QC‑2, ul. Korfantego 9a, tel. (+48) 32 258 37 63, www.pizzahut.pl. Open 10:00 - 22:00, Fri, Sat 10:00 - 23:00. (12-44zł). T­U­G­S­W ZŁOTY RÓG (THE GOLDEN HORN) A combined delicatessen and place to stand at a table and eat in the style of a train station buffet, this humble-looking establishment churns out a large array of outstanding dishes ready to eat in an instant from pierogi to roast beef, all served with a superb choice of side dishes and salads. If you don’t mind the peculiar dining arrangements you won’t find it easy to get a better and tastier bargain than in here.QD‑4, ul. Mariacka 2, tel. (+48) 32 253 78 48, www.zlotyrogkatowice.pl. Open 07:00 18:00, Sat 08:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun. (10-30zł). V­G­S March - June 2016

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Restaurants TATIANA A long, thin restaurant with elegant, cleverly designed wooden floors and ceilings. The organic design is enhanced with decorative bamboo and suspended reeds and a new lighting system which make for a bright and warm atmosphere. One of Katowice’s finer and suitably popular establishments, the menu features an extensive range of Slavic and European dishes including steaks (the best in the city?) plus a seasonal menu that changes every three months.QC‑4, ul. Staromiejska 5, tel. (+48) 32 203 74 13, www.restauracjatatiana.pl. Open 13:00 - 23:00, Sun 13:00 - 22:00. (22-73zł). U­G­S­W

ITALIAN CRISTALLO Climb a grand marble staircase to reach Cristallo, the stunning show-piece restaurant of the Monopol Hotel. A glass roof allows guests to watch the evening unravel above them, while the discreet interiors of bare brick walls and steel tubing lend a minimalist aesthetic to the experience. Select from the imaginative Italian-inspired menu with succulent dishes such as Basil tagliatelle and Deer ossobuco. You pay for the quality here, and it comes as no surprise that diners trek across Silesia to do so.QC‑4, ul. Dworcowa 5 (Monopol Hotel), tel. (+48) 32 782 82 09, www.lhr.com.pl. Open 16:00 - 23:00, Fri 16:00 - 22:00, Sat, Sun 12:00 - 22:00. (25-90zł). U­E­G­S­W RISTORANTE TERRA MARE Although slightly off the beaten track, this superb and elegant Italian seafood restaurant has a fleet of culinary delights. The stunning interiors set the tone with the seafaring Mediterranean theme done impressively well. Most restaurants that attempt such a theme end up looking like a Pirates of the Caribbean set. It’s a testament to the owners that they can somehow suspend a dingy from the ceiling and make it look elegant. Design aside, the food is the main attraction and the rare site of a lobster tank with live lobsters should be an indication of what kind of quality (and price) you should expect. Authentic antipastas, perfect handmade pastas and main dishes that are fit for a king (prawn). While every dish looks enticing we suggest ordering a fish or seafood dish as it might be the best you’ve had this side of the Alps. Magnifico!QN‑1, Al. Roździeńskiego 191 B, tel. (+48) 515 05 56 00, www.terramare.pl. Open 12:00 - 21:45, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 23:00. (35-90zł). T­U­G­S­W SICILIA Moody waitresses, three sizes of pizza plus soup and pasta inside a Mediterranean-feel restaurant with colourful tiles on the walls and a fairly decent wine list. The service is far from fast and efficient and the food isn’t going to win any awards, but if you don’t mind waiting as well as being made to feel like you’re giving the staff work they’d rather not be doing, this isn’t such a bad place for a spot of lunch when exploring the area. Also at ul. Chorzowska 107 (Silesia City Center, A-1).QC‑5, ul. Kochanowskiego 2, tel. (+48) 32 251 79 90, www.sycylia. com. Open 12:00 - 22:30. (20-60zł). U­V­G­S­W 30 Katowice In Your Pocket

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Restaurants JAPANESE HANA SUSHI A former swimming pool attached to one of Katowice’s closed coal mines, this lovely brick building has been refitted to house the city’s best sushi house and Japanese restaurant. With the added advantage of being at the Silesia City Centre, yet sovereign over its own independent space and atmosphere (they even have their own separate parking next door), Hana Sushi boasts a rich menu rife with Japanese delicacies and hot dishes for those still suspicious of the sushi fad. If you don’t feel like making your way to Silesia’s biggest shopping mall.QI‑2, ul. Chorzowska 109, tel. (+48) 32 605 09 77, www.hanasushi.pl. Open 11:00 22:00, Sun 12:00 - 21:00. (28-69zł). T­U­V­G­S­W HOBU A trendy venue with warm interiors and tasteful lighting that both welcome and impress. It looks hi-tech and minimal, and the sushi sets play their part in winning return customers. Those squeamish of raw-fish (particularly hundreds of miles from the sea) haven’t been overlooked, and the menu includes numerous cooked dishes including teriyaki duck and teppanyaki.QC‑5, ul. Plebiscytowa 10, tel. (+48) 600 20 12 65, www.hobusushi.pl. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Thu, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 23:00, Sun 13:00 - 22:00. (3598zł). U­V­G­S­W KYOTO SUSHI Located up the first set of escalators inside the swanky Altus Centre, this large, excellent Japanese restaurant comes with lots of wood trimmings, a tinkling tranquility pond in the centre and a sushi canal built into the fine wooden bar, behind which the masters are at their work. Choose from Nigiri, Maki, Sashimi and classic Japanese dishes, washing it down with a Japanese wine, beer, whisky or a carafe of sake.QD‑3, ul. Uniwersytecka 13, tel. (+48) 32 603 01 66, www.kyotosushi. com.pl. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Fri 12:00 - 23:00, Sat 13:00 23:00, Sun 13:00 - 21:00. (45-89zł). U­G­S­W NEW OKONOMIYAKI YO! Japanese food has been a little played out as of late as the vast majority of restaurants serve up carbon copy cookie cutter sushi. Yo! on the other hand, serves up piping hot Japanese soul food you’ve probably never heard of. Their signature dish (Okonomiyaki) is something between a crepe and a large overstuffed omelette filled with noodles, cabbage, bacon seasoned with dashi, katsubishi and topped with special thick tangy sauce and chives all prepared on a flattop teppan grill in front of your very eyes. Also try grilling Yakitori (chicken) skewers and Maguro (tuna) on tiny charcoal grills right at your table. The colourful and tempting menu is filled out by healthy smoothies, original savoury ice creams and Japanese beers, Sake and spirits. Check it out YO!QD‑4, ul. Francuska 1A (entrance from ul. Starowiejskiej), tel. (+48) 505 76 20 56, www.okonomiyaki.pl. Open 13:00 - 21:30, Mon 16:00 - 21:30. (15-38zł). T­U­G­W facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

TRULY DELICIOUS POLISH & SILESIAN CUISINE ul.Warszawska 5 40-009 Katowice phone: +48 32 200 98 70 mobile: +48 690 012 015 [email protected] www.krysztalowakatowice.pl

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Restaurants SAKANA SUSHI BAR I’ve you happen to be a well travelled sushi fan then you’re probably already familiar with the Sakana brand. With outlets in Poznań, Wrocław, Krakow and Warsaw, the Katowice branch offers the same high quality service, bright and bamboo accented interior and of course exquisite sushi. They have been in Katowice for almost five years and have a few innovations such as the never ending conveyer boat of sushi (pay by the plate), offsite catering, and you can even order your meal online. Enjoy a cleansing miso soup, or opt for expertly prepared sets of Californian maki made by staff clearly schooled in the delicate art of Japanese culinary mastery. If it’s sushi you seek, head to Sakana - sumptuous and sleek.QD‑4, ul. Mielęckiego 6, tel. (+48) 32 204 27 70, www.sakana.pl. Open 12:00 23:00, Sun 13:00 - 22:00. (18-38zł). T­V­G­S­W SUSHI DO Sushi Do has done and gone what no other Sushi joint in Poland has dared to do… grill up some damn meat! Using a traditional Robata grill with white hot stones that reach temperatures of up to 600 degrees Celsius, they grill up all kinds of succulent skewers of marinated seafood, exotic fish and delicious beef. As the name suggests, they Do also offer an expansive menu of standard nigiri and maki rolls plus the standard spring rolls, soups and beverages.QB‑3, ul. 3 Maja 30 (Galeria Katowicka), tel. (+48) 722 00 90 10, www.sushi-do.pl. Open 11:00 - 21:00, Fri, Sat 11:00 22:00. (20-50zł). T­U­G­S­W

MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURACJA VILLA GARDENA The newly rebranded Silesia Park seems to be all the rage at the moment as great restaurants and bars continue to open welcoming casual strollers and high rollers alike. Villa Gardena is the latest jewel in the parks crown. Their seasonal menu offers up light mediterranean inspired dishes as well as fiery fish fillets and assorted steaks hot off the grill. The expansive menu doesn’t make your life easy as each page unfurls mouth watering dishes and sounds. Although many dishes are worth, we recommend trying one of their superb aged steaks. They also have an extensive wine menu and their experienced waiters will help you pair with whatever main you choose. Desserts are equally distinguished and if you can find the space do indulge. Judging from the Saturday lunch crowd alone, the secret of this garden villa is already out.QAl. Planetarium 1, tel. (+48) 32 725 05 05, www.restauracjavillagardena.pl. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Sun 12:00 - 21:00. (35-80zł). T­U­G VIA TOSCANA A sensory delight awaits you on the second floor of Altus Tower with intriguing interiors touting archways, lampposts, vines and even mock balconies. It’s every much as delightful on the palette as it is on the eye, with a menu featuring Argentinean beef, a great pickled salmon carpaccio and seafood. The house specialty is octopus in a white wine sauce with cherry tomatoes and arugala served 32 Katowice In Your Pocket

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Restaurants over pappardelle pasta. Equally suited to romantic trysts or hushed business dinners, Via Toscania is further proof of Katowice’s growing stature.QD‑3, ul. Uniwersytecka 13 (Altus Tower), tel. (+48) 512 02 08 08, www.viatoscana. pl. Open 12:00 - 23:00. (24-115zł). T­U­X­S­W

MEXICAN EL MEXICANO If you’re anything like us and you’ve tried one too many cabbage filled tacos in mexican kitsch-fiestaurants across Poland, then you’ll understand our initial hesitation. But as soon as we saw the tastefully colourful exterior of El Mexicano, we knew this was something special. The small and brightly coloured interior balances perfectly with the straight ahead authentic Tex-Mex they serve. Mouthwatering spices meld with fresh ingredients, almost all of which actually belong in Mexican dishes (no kapusta rancheros here!). They even offer imported chipotle and habanero sauces if you want to fire up those fajitas. Besides great food and drink the atmosphere is relaxed and there’s absolutely no risk of being serenaded by a pimply faced Politechnika student in a sombrero. Muchos Bravos Mexicanos!QD‑4, ul. Mariacka 18a, tel. (+48) 32 209 01 40, www.elmexicano.pl. Open 12:00 - 23:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 24:00. (19-56zł). G­B­S­W

POLISH NEW CADENZA Occupying a prominent position on the second floor of the country’s foremost concert hall, Cadenza has a lot of rolls to fill; it is the pre-concert venue for dinner, drinks or snacks; it is the intermission wine and cake stop; it is the catering kitchen for all NOSPR special events that happen both inside and out; it is, most importantly, the most cutting edge and innovative Polish restaurant in Katowice. Every seasonal dish is carefully composed and explodes in a symphony of pianissimo and fortissimo flavors. The rabbit pappardelle and sturgeon filet were clear standouts and we will gladly return for an encore performance of more of their inspiring culinary delights.QB‑3/4, Pl. Wojciecha Kilara 1, tel. (+48) 32 732 53 47. Open 10:00 - 22:00. Closed Mon. (28-47zł). G­W CHATA Z ZALIPIA Paying homage to the specific folk art tradition of the far-away Małopolska village of Zalipie, the rustic cottage interior of this pleasant peasant offering features elaborate flower murals on the white walls, garlic garlands hanging from timber beams and plenty of other farm fittings. Delicious Polish home-cooking is served on beautifully decorated ceramic dish ware, while waitresses in traditional dress and disco folk music round out what serves as one of the best introductions to Polish cuisine in Silesia. They’ve even won several culinary awards and what’s more, many Polish stars of stage and screen seem to count themselves as regulars. Most recently, the one and only Slash paid them facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

Mediterranean Cuisine THE BEST MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT IN THE REGION Let us take you to a Mediterranean climate where you can feel the rhythm of a sunny day. Our restaurant can be found in the ALTUS BUILDING (QUBUS), FIRST FLOOR. ul. Uniwersytecka 13, Katowice mobile +48 512 020 808 tel +48 (32) 603 01 91 [email protected] www.viatoscana.pl March - June 2016

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Restaurants a visit to polish off some pierogi. Rock and rolada!QC‑5, ul. Wojewódzka 15, tel. (+48) 32 205 33 00, www. chatazzalipia.pl. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Sun 12:00 - 20:00. (8-44zł). T­6­U­G­S­W DOBRA KASZA NASZA Here’s something new for you: an entire restaurant devoted to the humble groat in all its many shapes and forms. Kasza (aka ‘kasha’ or ‘kashi’) has been a staple of the Polish diet for the better part of a millennium, although it often gets a bad rap for being boring. The creative grain brains at DKN designed an elaborate menu of simple sauce and side pairings that show off this wonder-grain’s delicious versatility. Try the buckwheat groats with bacon, dried plum and horseradish sauce or the chicken curry and black olives on pearl kasha with garlic sauce. Choose from a dozen kasha creations or order from the full menu of more traditional Polish soups, salads, sides and mains. The warm and tastefully arranged lounge atmosphere will beckon you back for more and more. Say it with me now, groats are great!QM‑3, Rynek 3, Gliwice, tel. (+48) 533 52 32 46. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 23:00. (11-31zł). T­U­G­S­W RESTAURACJA KUCHNIA OTWARTA Formerly known as the Restauracja Autorska Adama Gessler, this elegant and exciting open kitchen concept restaurant serves up some of the best upscale regional Silesian cuisine around. Located on the edge of the Best Western Premier Hotel Forum right on the edge of Silesia Park. Treat yourself to some of the regions finest fare including beef cheeks, veal shanks and even more traditional fare such as pierogies and soulful soups. The food is top notch but the service is world class as the chefs serve you themselves - personally bringing the food straight from the pan to your warm plate. Elegance, atmosphere and a memorable experience are virtually guaranteed. Now part of the prestigious Silesian Culinary Trail, this is certifiably one of the best places to taste true Silesian and Polish cuisine.Qul. Bytkowska 1a, Katowice (Best Western Premier Hotel Forum Katowice), tel. (+48) 32 721 11 66, www.kuchniaotwarta.eu. Open 13:00 23:00. (35-69zł). 6­U­G­S­W RESTAURANT KRYSZTAŁOWA This ‘crystal’ palace right off the square is a gorgeously gaudy orgy of Polish folkish kitsch and deliciously decadent food. The food is fabulous and we happily worked our way through a sumptuous tenderloin steak served on a hot stone. The rest of the menu is exhaustive and extravagant with a comparably costly yet comprehensive wine list not to mention exclusive cognacs and other fine liquors. The service and atmosphere are equally elegant yet easily accessible. While dinner is the clear winner here, they also serve a full lunch menu (Mon-Fri 12:00 - 16:00 for 19.90 zł).QC‑4, ul. Warszawska 5, tel. (+48) 690 01 20 15, www.krysztalowakatowice.pl. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Sat 12:00 - 21:00, Sun 12:00 - 20:00. (15-86zł). T­E­G­ B­S­W 34 Katowice In Your Pocket

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Restaurants RYCERSKI Located in what appears to be a wooden mountain chalet (but is in fact the Hotel Rycerski), this is a very decent place to take in the Polish food experience. Heavy wooden bench-style furniture, friendly waitresses and large servings of well-prepared Polish grub are actually worth the trip out here, even if you’re not staying in the adjacent hotel. Lots of seating and a well-stocked bar mean that the atmosphere often develops into that of a thriving beer hall.Qul. Będzińska 53 (Hotel Rycerski), Czeladź, tel. (+48) 32 763 58 88, www.hotel-rycerski.pl. Open 08:00 - 21:30. (2069zł). T­U­I­G­S­W ŚLĄSKIE RANCHO Right, so, this Silesian ‘ranch’ is just about as kitschy and confused as you might expect an American style ‘ranch’ to be in the middle of Poland. But once you get beyond that fact there are plenty of attractions, piles of food and buckets of booze to explore. The whole ‘ranch’ complex includes a restaurant and a ‘Cowboys and Indians’ saloon . The restaurant and bar both serve up plenty of plates of Polish and Italian-inspired dishes to meet your group or parties wishes. Nothing too fancy but hearty food to fit the mood. This place screams family friendly and is the perfect place for that Wild West themed wedding you’re planning.Qul. Webera 18, tel. (+48) 609 34 07 96, www. slaskierancho.pl. Open 12:00 - 22:00. Closed Mon. (2043zł). T­G­S­W WERANDA BISTRO&BAR This hearty and happy bistro was recently renovated and offers up delicious meals accompanied by the vanguard of Polish micro-brews (Ale Browar, Pinta, Ciechan etc.). If a veranda sounds a bit snooty then you have the wrong idea. Their sprawling balcony feels more like a neighbour’s porch (cue the chirping parakeet) and is the perfect spot to settle into some of their Slavic soul food or just enjoy a relaxed afternoon mood. From Polish pancakes, crunchy cutlets and pierogi to soups, sandwiches, salads and a host of daily and weekly specials - their kitchen will be sure to put a smile to your plate. Try the homemade cakes and cookies and remember there’s always time for one more beer. Bravo. QR‑1, ul. Jagiellońska 19, Zabrze, tel. (+48) 517 37 29 67. Open 11:00 - 22:00, Fri, Sat 11:00 - 01:00. G­S­W WIEJSKA CHATKA (THE RUSTIC HUT) Katowice’s only truly traditional Polish and Silesian restaurant is a nice change of pace if not slightly out of place. A cavalcade of country-style adornments such as old farming tools and painted flowers contrast nicely with the bright white walls. The background music is as kitschy and folky as it comes which goes perfectly with the large portions of hearty Polish staples and Silesian delicacies piled high upon your plate. They also offer breakfasts and lunch specials and a boat load of beverages to boot. This urban ‘Village’ is one you just must pillage when you’re in town.QK‑2, Pl. Grunwaldzki 4, tel. (+48) 32 350 30 10, www.wiejskachatka.com.pl. Open 10:00 - 22:00, Fri, Sat 10:00 - 23:00. (12-35zł). T­G­S­W facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

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Restaurants

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SILESIAN MOODRO RESTAURANT Not to be confused with the Bistro/Cafe of the same name across the courtyard in the main museum complex, this is the much larger and more elegant restaurant in the old Machinery Building of the Silesian Museum. The refined exposed brick interiors with large picture windows overlook the rest of the Museum’s stunning campus. Their exquisite seasonal cuisine can best be described as Modern Silesian Fusion. Expect futuristic European fare and classic Silesian with flare (think rolada śląska with dumplings and red cabbage etc.). With a great wine list and impeccable service, you may find yourself becoming a repeat customer, Museum visit or not.QK‑3, ul. Tadeusza Dobrowolskiego 1A (Silesian Museum), tel. (+48) 795 55 93 02, www. moodro.pl. Open 12:00 - 21:00. Closed Mon. (25-74zł). U­G­S­W RESTAURACJA RATUSZOWA Just a short drive South of Katowice you’ll find a bucolic little suburb known as Mikołów. Perched in the middle of its idyllic market square is a restaurant that celebrates traditional Silesian cuisine. Try the traditional wodzionka aka bread soup or dig into a quintesntial rolada wołowa - beef roulade with young cabbage and Silesian dumplings. There are many more soups, appetizers and mains worth trying and it’s all the real deal as they are part of the prestigious Silesian Culinary Trail. Drop by in the middle of the day for their daily Silesian lunch specials and get breakfast for just a Polish penny when you order a coffee. Worth the trip!Qul. Jana Pawła II 1, Mikołów, tel. (+48) 608 38 54 54, www.ratuszowa.eu. Open 09:00 - 21:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 - 21:00. (18-35zł). T­U­G­S­W

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Great guides written by locally-based travel writers to help you get the most out of your visit.

36 Katowice In Your Pocket

BO TAK WEGE PRZESTRZEŃ The vegetarian and vegan landscape in Katowice has been slowly improving over recent years, but things have now kicked into high gear with the arrival of Bo Tak. Not merely content with being a full-on gourmet vege/vegan lunch bar and restaurant, they go the extra mile and put their ethos and activism into action by organising all sorts of community events, workshops and concerts as well. Spread out on two bright and colourful floors, there are plenty of nooks and spaces to slide into if you just want to grab a quick healthy bite during the day. In the evening spread out for a full feast or snuggle up to the bar for a beer or a shot. It seems that this is the type of place that just about anything can happen at any time of day or night, so keep on your guard and order another plate of great veggie grub!QB‑5, ul. Batorego 2, tel. (+48) 734 14 05 72, www.bo-tak. com.pl. Open 12:00 - 21:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 23:00. (7-29zł). T­6 ­G ­S ­W katowice.inyourpocket.com

Restaurants DOBRA KARMA Combining healthy food with hospitality, Good Karma’s vegetarian kitchen follows the principles of the Five Transformations - an age-old Chinese eating philosophy that endows their food with good energy. Set over two levels, the brick interior full of folk touches and worn timber feels more like a home than a restaurant and makes for a great place to work or relax. The menu is mostly veggie reinterpretations of Polski classics (lentilstuffed pierogi, the popular veggie cutlets), pastas and some surprisingly stellar pizzas, while to drink there’s delicious coffee, fresh squeezed juices, organic sodas, and some primo beers from the Czech Primator brewery. Well-hidden but well worth seeking out nonetheless. QE‑5, ul. Św. Jacka 1, tel. (+48) 784 90 36 62, www. dobrakarma.com. Open 09:00 - 22:00. (7-28zł). 6­G­S­W

Full contents online: katowice.inyourpocket.com ZŁOTY OSIOŁ (THE GOLDEN ASS) We often judge a city’s merits on whether or not it has a proper vegetarian restaurant, and in this regard Katowice scores some much-needed points. The cheekily named ‘Golden Ass’ features laid back music, bright psychedlic wall patterns and tablecloths, and fertile murals wherein zodiac characters, Buddha and Grecian urns are able to coexist as peacably as the aging hippies, young activists, punk rockers, and school teachers that make up the clientele. The budget food shows a lot more creative flair than the rest of the local cuisine, and here you can pick up flyers for local events. QD‑4, ul. Mariacka 1, tel. (+48) 32 253 01 13, www. wegebar.com. Open 10:00 - 22:00, Sun 12:00 - 22:00. (5-13zł). 6­G­S­W

VIETNAMESE LITTLE HANOI...AND MORE! Set on a pedestrianised street in the heart of Katowice within walking distance of the train station and Katowice’s ‘Market Square,’ Little Hanoi is a welcome departure from eating dumplings, or even the lowstandard Chinese restaurants found across the country. Granted, the minimal décor containing the obligatory lanterns, decent Vietnamese dishes and friendly staff are not unique in Poland, but as far as eating options in central Katowice go, this is a definite step in the right direction. The spicy soup was a solid beginning, the ribs were delicious and their signature Duck “Little Hanoi” style was to-die-for! Wash it down with a Lime Nuoc Chanh and like us you’ll be fortified for the evening ahead with hardly a dent made in your wallet.QC‑4, ul. Staromiejska 4, tel. (+48) 886 62 33 88, www. littlehanoi.eu. Open 12:30 - 23:00, Mon 13:30 - 23:00, Sun 12:30 - 22:30. (30-80zł). U­G­S­W facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

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Cafés

BELLMER CAFÉ This classic Katowice cafe relocated to pl. Wolności but hasn’t lost any of it’s charm. The new digs are a bit cozier but this still fixes to be a mainstay for the city’s bohemian coffee house set. Paying homage to local gothic/erotic surrealist Hans Bellmer through an abundance of oddball paintings and posters, a prominent book case with a mechanical kitty collection and a large selection of random yet comfortable furnishings. They offer a huge selection of hot beverages by day and cold beers by night plus all sorts of cakes, vegan dishes and savoury snacks (kitchen open Sun-Thu 11:00 - 22:00 and Fri, Sat 11:00 - 23:00). Bellmer Cafe still stands out as a curious cult venue the likes of which Katowice could use a few more of.QA‑3, Pl. Wolności 9, tel. (+48) 530 52 88 38. Open 11:00 - 24:00. 6­G­S­W CAFE BISTRO MONOPOL This regal bistro recently had its menu overhauled had its art-deco decor totally redecorated. Located in the heart of the City on the ground floor of the city’s only 5 star Hotel the very capable head chef has concocted the ideal seasonal sensations for light leisurely breakfast and midday meals. If you’re feeling a bit more peckish try their daily 3-course lunch special for 49zł (daily from 12:00 - 16:00). Their extensive wine list will also help you start your day in style.QC‑4, ul. Dworcowa 5 (Monopol Hotel), tel. (+48) 32 782 82 82, www.lhr.com.pl. Open 10:00 - 16:00. Closed Sat, Sun. U­G­S­W 38 Katowice In Your Pocket

CAFE KATTOWITZ A slice of strudel most divine accompanied our cappuccinos just fine as the porcelain and the silver softly clattered. And so we sat and sipped and occasionally dipped our forks into the flaky pastry pondering - how had we been transported to Vienna so suddenly? The dark woods and high ceilings of this fin-de-siecle cafe were filled with the sputtering sounds of a perfectly polished espresso contraption. We were momentarily pulled from the dream as our waitress implored us to dig deeper into their exquisite menus. All manner of cake and sweets awaited (prepared by their very own Pastry chef ), daily lunch specials (Mon-Fri 12:00 - 18:00) and traditional fixed Sunday Dinner (11:00 - 20:00, 37 zł). But as our steam train did approach we saw our waitress’s reproach as we alighted yet to return, ever after. QC‑4, ul. Św. Jana 7, tel. (+48) 32 321 85 08. Open 10:00 - 22:00, Fri, Sat 10:00 - 23:00, Sun 11:00 - 22:00. T­G­ S­W FANABERIA Swap your shoes for a Turkish water pipe and a backgammon board, lounging on the colourful carpets and cushions of the glass atrium, or drink a Polish microbrew in one of the fantastic hanging wicker basket seats of this groovy tea house. Full of oriental ambience, Fanaberia features bright red and blue walls, elegant chandeliers, curtains and wall-hangings and offers coffee, cakes and a large selection of teas from all over the world. If you’d rather steep yourself in alcohol, you won’t find a better katowice.inyourpocket.com

Cafés selection in the city than here with meads, wines available alongside regional beers. And now there’s a comic book library; honestly, Katowice makes us proud every time we walk in this place. Recommended.QB‑5, ul. Wita Stwosza 6, tel. (+48) 32 200 01 67, www.fanaberia.katowice.pl. Open 10:00 - 24:00, Sat 10:00 - 01:00, Sun 15:00 - 24:00. 6­G­S­W KAFEJ Kafej could be the flagship spot for all that is hip about this up and coming metropolis. Bagel sandwiches, pancakes, alternative coffees, healthy smoothies, craft beers and open till late. Add some super salads, savoury lunch specials, fresh baked cakes to the mix, not to mention red and white wines on tap in the warmer months, and you’ve got a recipe for a truly trendy place that lives up to the hype. Come early and come often.QC‑1, ul. Chorzowska 5, tel. (+48) 662 22 85 55. Open 08:00 - 22:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 22:00. T­6­G­S­W KAWIARNIA NA KOŁACH This vintage truck serves up stellar kava and jumping java drinks right out the back and off to the sides. They usually park on the market square and set up tables and beach chairs so you can sip your steaming latte and enjoy a choice selection of cakes and cookies while you lounge. You’re likely to find them in any number of locations on the weekend (check their FB page to find out where they’ll be today). Sourcing only fair trade Columbian beans, they make a great cup of joe for the on-the-go and in-the-know. QD‑3, Adress Varies Daily, tel. (+48) 662 22 32 10, www. kawiarnianakolach.pl. S KAWIARNIA WAWELSKA On what has developed into Katowice’s coffee and cakes corridor, this quaint cafe stands out as a beacon of warmth and old school charm. Offering a wide range of coffee drinks and tantalising ice cream concoctions you can enjoy your sweet treats in the comfort of their soft red interiors. Recently they also jumped on the cupcake bandwagon and offer freshly baked goods daily. But it’s not just sugar and spice and everything nice... When night falls this cafe bares its inner bar and the drinks start flowing like the Vistula past the Wawel.QB‑3, ul. Wawelska 1, tel. (+48) 662 78 87 68. Open 09:00 - 21:00, Sat 10:00 - 21:00, Sun 11:00 - 21:00. T­G­S­W MISS CUPCAKE For a spell we thought Katowice might actually miss out on the latest confectionery craze to conquer Poland. I speak of the current cupped cake invasion in all its tiny frosted fury. This cozy cafe boasts a total of 30 flavours and counting with seasonal, holiday and themed cakes making timely appearances. Grab a coffee while you munch or take a coupla cakes for lunch. If you’re tooth is sweet then shuffle them feet over to this Lil’ Miss for a quick fix of American confectionery bliss.QC‑4, ul. Staromiejska 10, tel. (+48) 531 98 40 80, www.misscupcake.com.pl. Open 10:00 20:00. T­G­S­W facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

MONOPOL Inside the hotel of the same name the Monopol’s in-house café bar offers decent coffee and plenty of class with an interior that recalls Katowice’s golden age. Here it’s all fresh cut flowers, marble surfaces and sepia images of the city in its industrial heyday. Floor-to-ceiling windows encourage hurrying passersby to gaze in with envy.QC‑4, ul. Dworcowa 5 (Monopol Hotel), tel. (+48) 32 782 82 82, www.lhr.com.pl. Open 09:00 - 23:00, Sat, Sun 09:00 22:00. 6­U­G­W MOODRO BISTRO & CAFE The Silesian Museum has a lot to offer both tourists and locals alike and that includes its gastronomic offers. If you make the entire journey through the subterranean exhibits and ante-chambers of the Museum, you’ll be delighted to resurface right next to this bright bistro and cafe. You’ll no doubt run into locals already sipping lattes and nibbling light lunches. They may or may not have skipped the museum and headed straight here to grab one of the window front tables with a panoramic view of downtown Katowice. Cakes, cookies, quiche, soups, burgers, salads and pierogies with black pudding plus delicious coffee beverages and juices.QK‑3, ul. Tadeusza Dobrowolskiego 1 (Silesian Museum), tel. (+48) 501 02 36 97, www.moodro.pl. Open 10:00 - 20:00. Closed Mon. T­6­U­G­S­W ŚLĄSKA PRAŻALNIA KAWY CAFE AMOR This classy and classic cafe has a lot to offer for both casual drip-sippers and arabica aficionados alike. They roast their own coffee beans on site and serve up over a dozen unique coffee beverages made with 4 of their very own freshly roasted coffee blends. If this isn’t enough they also offer 5 different alternative coffee brewing methods for you to try. If coffee isn’t your thing not to worry as they have an extensive list of pressed juices, loose leaf teas plus a distinguished list of fine liquors and wines. Grab a cake, salad or sandwich to go with your beverage of choice then sit back and enjoy this charming Cafe and maybe even some Amor.QB‑5, Pl. Miarki 1, tel. (+48) 792 41 14 94, www.cafeamor.pl. Open 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 09:00 - 20:00, Sun 11:00 - 20:00. T­G­S­W SYNERGIA. DOBRE MIEJSCE The slow coffee movement rolls its way into Silesia and lands in one of the most stylish cafes this town has ever seen. You know they mean business when the first thing you see when you walk in is an array of high and lowtech new school coffee gadgets in rustic wooden crates. The aroma of fresh coffee will lure you further into the rustically elegant environs. Sink into a couch and choose from Chemex, Drip, Aeropress, Syphon or Espresso press with your choice of “single country of origin” bean. Grab a brownie, pastry, quiche, sandwich or even order one of their tempting lunch specials. The synergy of coffee and style will make you stick around a while.QA‑4, ul. Andrzeja 29/2, tel. (+48) 502 93 02 53. Open 08:00 - 21:00, Sat 09:00 - 21:00, Sun 10:00 - 21:00. From April open 07:00 21:00; Sat, Sun 09:00 - 21:00. T­6­G­S­W March - June 2016

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Nightlife

Nightlife is also the High Life at Sky Bar. (p.45)

Katowice’s nightlife is improving steadily, with more and more bars and clubs opening that hold themselves to a higher creative standard. While there was a time when a Saturday night on the town felt like creeping quietly through a cemetery, that has all changed in a hurry with the emergence of ul. Mariacka (D-3/4) as the city’s nightlife headquarters. A pedestrianised three-block stretch that was once all strip clubs and shady gay saunas (ok, those are still there), the city has put a lot of energy into cleaning it up and turning it into the high street it should be. Despite some dreadful urban design decisions including ugly, uncomfortable benches and strange sculptures, the city is finally seeing results with a plethora of restaurants, cafes, cocktail bars and clubs moving in to give the city centre some buzz. In summer, Mariacka is full of outdoor seating and flooded with people, but there are plenty of other hedonist hideouts to discover elsewhere with the help of this guide. The venues we list below are located throughout the Silesian Metropolis, with the name of the town added to the end of the address after a comma (with a map reference if applicable) if it is not in Katowice proper; districts of Katowice are shown in brackets. The opening hours we list are flexible; basically if people are drinking, the barman is pouring. Below is a list of recommendations depending on what you’re looking for. ELITE Katowice isn’t exactly the place to take your twenty-something arm trophy for a romantic weekend, but you can probably pick one up while you’re here. To that end try the smart Gruz Cocktail Bar, or the more sophisticated Klub Prime. Early evening recs go to the always classy Monopol (see Cafes) and sunset views from the top of Altus Tower in Sky Bar. 40 Katowice In Your Pocket

LADS Foreign funboys can mix with the locals in the context of their own culture in the likes of Longman and Spencer, before drinking enough Guinness to lurk across the lively dancefloors of the newly opened Rajzefiber, or the classic City Pub (more Guinness!). Bierhalle microbrewery is also ideal for team piss-ups. STUDENTS Not the most discerning demographic, students will go anywhere there’s fun music and cheap drinks, namely Klub Pomarańcza or Carpe Diem ; those with more intent to impress will try Spiż, or Kato. COUPLES Couples looking for romance should find it by sneaking up to 27th floor of the Altus Tower for a sunset drink in Sky Bar, or rub your lips in Chorzów’s Manana (see Chorzów), before retreating to the cosy cushions of Fanaberia (see Cafes). ALTERNATIVE Katowice has a fair number of cult venues with the hardliving Śruba i Przyjaciele, avant garde beer haven Absurdalna and artsy-DIY Kato being among the best offbeat boozers in the city. Hipsters and beer loving backpackers gravitate to Namaste and Biała Małpa respectively. Those with more elevated musical tastes will find few finer clubs than Hipnoza, whether there’s a live concert on or not.

katowice.inyourpocket.com

Nightlife BARS & PUBS ABSURDALNA Bringing modern art, street food and craft beer together under one roof: what an absurdly fantastic idea! When you first walk into this exceedingly colourful bar you could mistake it for an art gallery as the large front room hosts a rotating selection of edgy contemporary art. Keep heading deeper and you’ll find several rooms filled with funky furniture and all sorts of nifty nooks for you to snack and sip in. When you finally make it to the bar you’ll be delighted to find a 12 tap bar set up to serve a rotating variety of Poland’s latest and greatest craft brews (with a strong emphasis on Silesian Breweries). The street food menu offers tasty plates of cheap sides and mains. Our new favourite home away from home in Kato!QC‑4, ul. Dworcowa 3, tel. (+48) 537 17 09 21, www.absurdalna.pl. Open 16:00 - 00:30, Fri, Sat 16:00 - 02:30. From April they will open at 14:00. G­S­W BACKSTAGE There isn’t a better combination of art and food on the planet then rock and roll and Polish pierogies. Cheap and delicious doughy dumplings are the perfect power food for whichever ever side of the stage you find yourself on. This spunky new restaurant/venue serves up fresh made pierogies, soups, burgers and ciabatta sandwiches all of which you can enjoy to the sounds of local and national bands performing on their cosy stage. The bright and straight forward design is peppered with rock memorabilia and the welcoming bar provides all the beverages you could ever want to wash down your food and put you in the mood.QD‑5, ul. Wojewódzka 31, tel. (+48) 32 747 28 98. Open 10:00 - 22:00, Fri 10:00 - 23:00, Sat 12:00 - 22:00, Sun 12:00 - 20:00. 6­G­W BIAŁA MAŁPA (THE WHITE MONKEY) This alabaster ape drapes itself in cool and drowns itself in sudsy pools of amber nectar nightly. This premium primate has achieved cult status among Katowice beer lovers. You’ll see why as soon as you squeeze through its monkey bars. Warm woods, exposed brick and inviting design greet you and direct your focus to the star of the show... the wall of beer! Over 200 bottled varieties of Polish, Czech, Belgian, English and Irish artisanal beers and ales on hand plus a rotating cast of 15 brews on tap. And don’t fear the beer, the knowledgeable staff is eager to offer advice and help you navigate their seas of suds. Come for a coffee during the day and fight with all your might to order that first pint of the night.QB‑3, ul. 3 Maja 38, tel. (+48) 604 86 61 73, www.bialamalpa.pl. Open 12:00 - 24:00, Fri 12:00 - 01:00, Sat 14:00 - 01:00, Sun 14:00 - 23:00. G­W

@KatowiceIYP facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

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Nightlife BROWARIAT The brew brothers behind Browariat literally built the bar around mostly Bavarian craft beer brands. Schonram, Jopen, Fourpure, Orbit Beer, The Kernel, Partizan and Camba brews are on tap and in bottles in a colourful variety of hand crafted ales, dunkels, stouts and IPAs. Each style has its very own corresponding glass, stein or flute. They also offer a selection of beers from a visiting brewer on a rotating basis. Choose whichever tasty beverage suits your fancy and settle into one of the many cozy corners or plunk down in front of a plasma screen and support your favourite sport.QD‑5, ul. Francuska 11, tel. (+48) 535 00 97 68, www.browariat.com. Open 15:00 - 23:00, Fri 15:00 - 02:00, Sat 17:00 - 02:00, Sun 18:00 - 23:00. G­W

The FirsT silesian MulTiTap Bar.

a place creaTed wiTh a passion For Beer. we assisT and advise you in choosing

The perFecT Type oF Beer For you.

14 Taps - 1 puMp - 100 varieTies oF BoTTled Beer.

3 Maja 38, Katowice, tel. +48 604 866 173

BOB A bit of a legend round these parts, BOB’s interior is reminiscent of an American rocker bar and you almost expect everyone to be drinking out of pitchers. There’s a good, cheap selection of pub grub on hand - including tacos and nachos - to complement the cheap beer plus a dart board and foosball table for showdowns with the shaved heads that favour this place. Weekend benders end at BOB and you’ll find high-heeled casualties stumbling around the city centre asking strangers where it is.QB‑3, ul. Chopina 8, tel. (+48) 32 726 10 65, www.bob.katowice.pl. Open 10:00 - 24:00, Fri 10:00 - 05:00, Sun 14:00 - 24:00. X­W BOHEMA A popular name in this town. Find this bar next to nothing in particular except the restaurant of the same name upstairs. A small friendly pub atmosphere presides among the wooden tables and trimmings, green booths, loud music and two colourful dragon stained glass windows. Fortifying food from upstairs is available and this might be the only place in town where you can drink original bottled Czech beers.QB‑7, ul. Bratków 4, tel. (+48) 32 202 51 80, www.restauracjabohema. com. Open 16:00 - 22:00. Closed Mon, Sun. G­W

GET THE APP 42 Katowice In Your Pocket

C4 Rail slide into this alt dive that’s filled with bass music, skate culture, foosball and heady micro brews. If none of these things grab your attention then you best walk on by... But if you checked off any of these boxes, follow the pedestrian underpass to the wrong side of the tracks and get ready to get jacked. Lotsa love for artisanal beer here offering dozens of bottled beer from all over the world and 11 microbrews on tap. C4 nights are soundtracked by D’n’B, dubstep and/ or reggae DJs. Even in the colder months the parties spill out onto the impromptu beer garden and expertly placed staircase. Rub elbows with all sorts of sordid characters from the K-vice DIY underground... light years away from your Hotel bar. Come C4 yourself!QC‑5, ul. Wojewódzka 26, tel. (+48) 504 48 48 89. Open 16:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 17:00 - 03:00, Sun 17:00 - 24:00. B­X­W CARPE DIEM With continents painted on the walls and antique motorbikes with sidecars you can drink in, Carpe Diem seems to embrace a sense of travel. Ironically, you’re in Katowice; and while you could probably do better than this bar in Krakow where its sister venues are located, you could certainly do worse here. This candlelit dive possesses a grotty charm and youthful, devil-may-care attitude befitting the name, keeping its sticky tables and floor populated with students early evening to late night. The upside is neverending drink specials (3.99zł beers on Mon and Weds); the downside is it took about 2.5 minutes for someone to spill beer on us (at 19:30!).QA‑3, Pl. Wolności 14, tel. (+48) 534 51 16 45, www.carpediem.katowice.pl. Open 14:00 - 05:00. X CITY PUB One of the places that always comes up when enquiries are made about the best places to drink in town and its cult status is unquestionable. The seemingly small bar is delightfully deceptive as the ground floor houses two bars, numerous private rooms including a billiards and darts lounge, several larger rooms and a decked out dance floor not to mention a swanky VIP lounge in the basement with a couple more bars to boot! The true charm of City Pub is that it manages to walk the line between being a Pub and a Club. Curl up with one of the best poured Guinness in katowice.inyourpocket.com

Nightlife Silesia during the week and on the weekends dive into their den of sweaty delinquency. A classic!QB‑3, ul. 3 Maja 23, tel. (+48) 32 253 97 99, www.citypub.pl. Open 14:00 24:00, Fri, Sat 14:00 - 03:00. U­X­W FABULARNA This new kid on the block looks the business but still and is slowly but surely starting to find its groove. The name and interiors suggest it’s a film-themed bar but the aroma and layout gives off a strong cafe vibe (don’t miss their great coffee!) and the minimal menu with daily lunch specials and, ahem, pastrami sandwiches suggest they are heading in the bistro direction. They also have also started to have DJs and concerts (there’s a piano lurking in the back) on a regular basis so it seems there is a lot of potential. It will undoubtedly take time for them to find their crowd, but the space in this place alone is worth a visit so grab a seat near the vintage film lights and simply look fabulous.QD‑4, ul. Warszawska 15, tel. (+48) 533 36 69 44. Open 11:00 24:00, Fri, Sat 11:00 - 03:00. G­W GRUZ COCKTAIL BAR This quaint and quintessentially modern cocktail bar has added some flavour and flair to the far end of Katowice’s main thoroughfare. The expert bartenders and mixologists concoct a mix of classic cocktails and original drinks which are both sophisticated and visually stunning. Lovers of whisky cocktails will enjoy their original Gruz Sour (with plum infused Jack Daniels) or many other exotic Rum, Vodka and Gin drinks overflowing with fruit and other exotic ingredients. If you like to keep it simple, grab an Islay single malt on the rocks or a Bond inspired Martini.QD‑4, ul. Mariacka 33, tel. (+48) 516 57 65 33, www.bargruz. pl. Open 16:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 16:00 - 03:00. U­G­W KATO Once a discreet DIY bohemian art bar, this hipster hangout is THE place to be seen in Kato’s underground cultural scene. Despite being inside a perfectly sound structure, the bar is made almost entirely of unpainted plywood, from the tables to the wheat-pasted walls covered in graphic nonsense, all in an attempt to convince the shabby-chic clientele that they haven’t gone mainstream on Mariacka, but are merely squatting. Since a recent expansion, tattooed, counter-culture queens and their jacks continue to spill onto the seasonal pallet tables and fritz cola benches. Bolstered by a solid selection of Czech and Polish microbrews, Kato is the best alternative nightlife venue in town, bar none.QD‑4, ul. Mariacka 13. Open 12:00 24:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 02:00. G­W KLUBOGALERIA SARP Not only is SARP a great breakfast and dinner choice but it is quickly becoming a hotspot for cutting edge parties and exhibitions. On weekends, the restaurant turns into a full fledged club. Fridays and Saturdays they host some of the best Silesian DJs and a few times a month they host concerts, which may or may not involve the grand piano that also serves as the DJ booth. The full bar offers a wide selection facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

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Nightlife POLISH SNACKS & SHOTS

Photo by Karol Grzenia

A very Polish phenomenon that has swept the country in recent years is the 24-hour snack and shot bar. Known locally as ‘Zakąski Przekąski’ (literally ‘Appetisers & Snacks’), or ‘Polish Tapas’ as it’s been dubbed by some, these trendy, formulaic budget bars cash in on communist nostalgia and the appeal of low prices by offering a small selection of simple, local appetisers (typically served cold) for about 8zł each, with drinks typically fixed at 4zł. Familiar as the bar food of the lean communist years, the menu reads like a list of correct answers to the Jeopardy question ‘Foods that follow vodka’ and typically includes śledz (pickled herring in oil), galaretka (pig trotters in jelly), kiełbasa (sausage), pierogi, pickles and tartare. Much like a milk bar with a liquor license, Zakąski Przekąski bars offer budget food and drink late night and are a great place to meet the city’s strangest characters. We list the best in Katowice below: AMBASADA ŚLEDZIA Only open for a few months and this embassy of herring has taken Katowice’s main party strip by storm. This Silesian incarnation of a Cracovian establishment of the same name has a similar style, philosophy and thankfully the very same chef as the original. The formula is seemingly well known by now - cheap Polish ‘tapas’ and even cheaper beer and booze. However, what makes them a big fish in the little fish game is their singular style, festive atmosphere (the flowing beer) and the superb quality and originality of their food. They currently offer 10 types of herring, including exotic flavours such as curry, spicy and beet marinated, plus several more traditional varieties to choose from. If you’re not a fan of the slippery fishies try a hot dish such as pork knuckle, potato casseroles or try a slice of apple pie or NYC style cheesecake. They recently broke ground by adding a humus plate to their menu and they could very well be the first in Kato to do so. Well done Ambassador!QD‑4, ul. Mariacka 25, tel. (+48) 781 69 94 26. Open 09:00 04:00. (4-12zł). G­W 44 Katowice In Your Pocket

of drinks and cocktails including a prosecco drink menu and a nice selection of wine and whiskeys (20% off both on Thursdays). SARP is a smart choice if you’re looking for a great night out in style.QC‑4, ul. Dyrekcyjna 9, tel. (+48) 793 86 49 94. Open 09:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 09:00 - 05:00. G­W KREDENS (THE CUPBOARD) Stuffed with broken-spined books, old luggage, dusty sewing machines and springy sofas, Kredens’ dishevelled bohemian spirit wouldn’t be out of place in jazzy Kraków, where antique furnishings, candlelight and newsprint collages have become par for the course. In Katowice it stands out as one of the most interesting places in town, and one of the few that you might actually want to return to. With a recently expanded menu of low budget eats from pierogi to pizza you may not have any reason to leave.QE‑5, ul. Św. Jacka 9, tel. (+48) 32 785 91 63, www.kredenspub.pl. Open 08:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 08:00 - 02:00. X­W LONGMAN CLUB Katowice’s likeable London-theme pub, Longman has all the requisite trappings, from those bloody red telephone boxes to the double-decker bus, plus that well-deserved pint you’ve been working towards since you made that first fateful step into the local train station. Weekends see Longman come to life with scores of students descending to take advantage of the cheap alcohol and quite often each other; keep an eye out for occasional theme parties and the DJs kick things off on the weekends starting at 21:00. Decent pizza, salad, pasta bar food on hand as well.QJ‑3, ul. Gliwicka 10, tel. (+48) 32 253 78 62. Open 15:00 - 24:00, Fri 15:00 - 03:00, Sat 17:00 - 03:00. Closed Sun. X­W MAŁY KREDENS A great little bar in the spirit of its sister venue, full of wobbly furnishings, candlelight, clutter and clippings on the wall. Less space means there are less intriguing nooks to fold yourself into, and the slightly more central location means it can get absolutely packed. No surprise considering Mały Kredens offers one of the best bar atmospheres in Katowice, with two enormous additional incentives: Murphy’s and Paulaner - on tap and at the lowest prices we’ve ever seen. QD‑4, ul. Św. Stanisława 5, tel. (+48) 32 720 62 86, www. kredens-pub.pl. Open 09:00 - 24:00, Fri 09:00 - 03:00, Sat 10:00 - 03:00, Sun 10:00 - 24:00. X­W NAMASTE TRAVELLER’S CLUB Yet another great bar for Katowice’s beer aficionados. They offer a constantly fluctuating cast of different casks pumped out of 7 taps as well as over 150 bottles of tasty brews from around the world. This global philosophy applies to more than just the beer as this true travellers’ club organises weekly meetings where world travellers show slides of far off places and exotic faces.Sun Mon and Tues. evenings they host meetings with travellers who regale the crowds with their thrilling tales or hawk their latest book. The atmosphere is always lively and exceedingly friendly so kick back, raise a brew and make a new friend or two.QJ‑3, ul. Jana III Sobieskiego 27, tel. (+48) 503 45 17 04. Open 16:00 - 23:00, Fri, Sat 16:00 - 01:00. G katowice.inyourpocket.com

Nightlife NEW OLD CUBAN Although it might sound like just a theme bar, Old Cuban is Katowice’s brightest new cocktail star. The experienced mixologists will help you navigate their vast rare rum selection and suggest a perfectly balanced cocktail just for you. Bacardi based cocktails are their bread and butter, but ye ole rum & coke is just the beginning. Order the signature Old Cuban cocktail and be transported to a Caribbean beach with its ideal sweet and sour notes with a silky smooth finish. They also have an arsenal of whisky, bourbon, vodka and gin on hand not to mention a fortress of fruit and mixers for whipping up any cocktail under the sun. The atmosphere is lively and laid back (ask about the bras on the walls) and the beautiful bar was built for extended sipping sessions.QD‑3, ul. Wojewódzka 26 A, tel. (+48) 530 75 47 66. Open 16:00 23:00, Fri, Sat 16:00 - 02:00. Closed Mon. G­B­W PUB KONTYNUACJA It’s official, the beer gods have descended upon Katowice. This super-sleek multi-level multi-tap bar is the first franchise to be spawned after the original took Wrocław by storm. The style and philosophy are similar with 16 taps and a few pumps pouring pints of the finest Polish and European craft micro-brews. The taps rotate on a daily - sometimes hourly - basis but you can always be sure to find the newest brews from Ale Browar, Pinta, Birbant, Perun and Silesian heroes Kraftwerk! Expect the bar to be packed with a healthy mix of hipsters, trend hoppers and beer geeks. So grab a chair and raise your glass in the air, because you ain’t going nowhere.QE‑4, ul. Mariacka 37, tel. (+48) 668 52 58 25. Open 16:00 - 01:00, Fri, Sat 16:00 - 02:00, Sun 14:00 - 01:00. 6­U­G­W SKY BAR A display of model aeroplanes, cocktails galore and impressive views of the city from the 27th floor of the Altus Centre mark this interesting adventure inside the Qubus Prestige hotel out as one worth further investigation. FYI, you can visit here for free form Mon-Fri 10:00 - 18:00 but there’s a 10zł entrance fee after 18:00 for non-hotel guests. QD‑3, ul. Uniwersytecka 13 (Qubus Hotel Prestige), tel. (+48) 32 601 01 00, www.skybar.pl. Open 10:00 - 02:00, Sat, Sun 16:00 - 02:00. G­W SPENCER PUB A stylish English pub with smart wood furnishings, classic black and whites and plenty of green, Spencer is an ideal place to loosen the tie after a grueling week of powerpoint presentations, whiteboard marker fumes and breathmints. Making the decision easier is the amiable English-speaking staff, solid line of pub grub like steaks and fish and chips, one of the best selections of whiskey in town, and the black gold commonly referred to as Guinness on draught. Weekends see live bands entertaining a full house, so get there early to get a seat.QD‑5, ul. Wojewódzka 21, tel. (+48) 32 251 54 73, www.spencerpub.pl. Open 12:00 - 23:00, Fri 12:00 - 01:00, Sat 14:00 - 01:00, Sun 14:00 23:00. E­G­W facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

JAZZ CLUBS HIPNOZA JAZZ CLUB This intimate, laid-back concert venue books some of the city’s best international gigs, the reputation and subsequent turnout for which often exceeds the size of the space. Packed with interesting characters sitting on truly comfortable couches and lazyboys beneath foil-wrapped ducts and rotating psychedelic spirals on the walls, there’s also a decent food menu if you get a snack attack. Recommended. QC‑6, Pl. Sejmu Śląskiego 2, tel. (+48) 660 47 61 56, www.jazzclub.pl. Open 10:00 - 24:00, Fri 10:00 - 02:00, Sat 12:00 - 02:00, Sun 12:00 - 24:00. U­X­W KATOFONIA If you’re looking to catch some live music in Katowice, it’s worth dropping by this solid jazz and blues venue on the high street to see what’s on for the evening. From 10zł entry for top touring blues rock bands to free entry for student jazz jam ensembles, you never know who’ll be rocking the large stage in the corner of this dimly lit bar. As you might expect, the decor consists of guitars, trumpets and photos of BB King on the wall, though there are a few nice touches like the saxophone beer tap and drum light fixtures. However if you’re looking for a bit more of an aged and smokey snifter sipping vibe, check out their new upstairs whisky bar (open Wed - Fri 19:00 - 01:00 and Sat 19:00 - 04:00).QD‑4, ul. Mariacka 18a, tel. (+48) 32 201 01 84, www.katofonia.pl. Open 14:00 - 02:00, Fri, Sat 16:00 - 04:00, Sun 16:00 - 02:00. E­X­W

ADULT ENTERTAINMENT QUEENS This well-regarded club features two bars, one wherein girls go-go dance on a table in the middle and it would be difficult to stand up from some of the seats without picking a stripper up on your shoulders. There’s also a Jacuzzi and a sauna and highly suggestive massage services available year round. Queens also seems to operate an escort service, making their girls, who have been charmingly described as “no pros, simply girls of next door, study or are housewives,” available for business and family functions, movie dates and birthdays (their suggestions). This could be the way to finally become the ‘cool uncle’ at the next family barbecue.Qul. Ceglarska 35, Gliwice (Ligota Zabrska), tel. (+48) 32 305 30 20, www.queensnightclub.pl. Open 18:00 05:00. X March - June 2016

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Nightlife ŚRUBA I PRZYJACIELE (SCREWS AND FRIENDS) Katowice’s official dive bar seems to be one of the last sauce-slingers standing on what was once a street full of sleaze and spirits. Three basic brick rooms with chairs on the ceiling, shot glasses and ashtrays glued upside down above the bar, darts and small garden out back. This rocker bar is filled with locals throwing their hair to Aerosmith, Korn and Polish punk bands and is a great place to catch some sports and meet some serious characters you won’t remember in the morning.QD‑4, ul. Mariacka 16, tel. (+48) 504 06 79 03. Open 10:00 - 01:00, Fri, Sat 10:00 - 03:00. X­W

CLUBS BAVITTO In Katowice’s glittery club scene there are loads of posh places with flashy lasers and white leather sofas for the would be Ibiza crowd to splash their cash. Bavitto is a much welcomed weekend middle ground (open Thurs, Fri and Sat.) which looks and feels more like a bustling bar. But that’s just half of the story. Head into the right side of this two pronged party palace and you’ll find a second fully stocked bar and a packed dance floor where top DJs spin turbo-charged tunes till the early morn. They have the added bonus of being an erasmus and expat magnet so a bit of mingling in English is par for the course.QB‑5, Pl. Miarki 6, tel. (+48) 530 53 01 16, www.bavitto.pl. Open Thu, Fri, Sat only 20:00 - 04:00. X­W CLUB GARAGE Essentially three venues in one, Club Garage is the flagship of the enormous underground entertainment centre that also includes the Kręgielnia Galaktyka bowling club and Black 8 billiards hall (see Leisure for both). Designed with a clever-corny automotive theme, the dozens of actual car seats remounted on platforms, plus a mock convertible you can actually climb inside with a drink are nice touches. Tons of seating, a large stage and a dance-floor with a projector, a VIP room and late night kitchen make Garage a versatile venue for weekend student rave-ups.QJ‑3, ul. Dąbrówki 10, tel. (+48) 32 781 08 60, www.clubgarage.pl. Open 17:00 24:00, Fri, Sat 17:00 - 04:00. X­W INQBATOR Hit them on a Saturday and you’ll struggle to find a better venue in town for electro sounds. As such it’s a highly charged crowd you’ll find staring into space with cartoon smiles while repetitive beats shoot fireworks into what is left of their brain. The walls quite literally drip with sweat, while the murky interiors look like they’ve been thrown together as an afterthought by a stoned student with time on his hands. Completely excellent.QC‑4, ul. Dworcowa 2, tel. (+48) 668 37 24 33, www.inq. pl. Open Fri 16:00 - 06:00 and Sat 20:00 - 06:00 only. X­W 46 Katowice In Your Pocket

KLUB POMARAŃCZA Continuing the Katowice trend of mistaking a club for an airport, this mega-fun factory just upped the ante and went for a total redesign. Once you clear the metal detector, ample cover-charge and grabby security guards hit the massive dance and be prepared for total sensory overload. The floor is beset with all manner of synchronized lighting effects, LED Screens, smoke machines and more lasers than the Death Star. Dancers wiggle away on platforms and perches, lovely ladies watch from the balconies above and couples cuddle in the plush booths all around. But this is just the start! There are a total of 3 dance floors, 6 bars, 2 VIP sections spread over 3 floors. They claim this is one of the most modern Dance Clubs in all of Central Europe and it’s hard to disagree.QA‑4, ul. Matejki 3, tel. (+48) 513 60 03 00, www.klubpomarancza.pl. Open 21:00 - 06:00, Wed, Thu 21:00 - 04:00. Closed Mon, Tue, Sun. X­W KLUB PRIME Kato’s hottest new dance club has a seriously Prime location and is more than worth your time and attention. Opening up just on Friday and Saturdays, this expansive club offers a mix of industrial interiors, chill out spaces, vip lounge areas, two stocked bars and mirrored ceilings everywhere which makes the place feel even bigger. Their deft DJs spin a mix of techno and bass music bangers with just the right amount of Pop to pack the dance floor. They’re trying hard to make this the prime destination for all heat seeking weekend party peoples and judging from the lines at the door, all systems go go go!QD‑4, ul. Mielęckiego 10, tel. (+48) 883 99 53 73, www.klubprime.pl. Open Fri, Sat only : 22:00 - 05:00. X­W OLD TIMERS GARAGE Much in character with the industrially eccentric nature of Katowice, a private collector has built a shrine to classic automobiles from near and far. Old Cadillacs, a model T-Ford, a rare Russian ZiL and even a Delorean - Great Scott! This funky garage is no museum. It was built for bands, with live rock or blues two or three nights a week, plus regular theatre events and even some poetry readings for you overachievers out there. In keeping with their vintage style, the bar is bedecked in Buicks and offers a wide variety of classic cocktails, beers and a hearty helping of whiskeys to get your engine started. Katowice may not be the Motor City but it’s got plenty of rubber soul so jump in your roadster (or a taxi) and hit up this jumping joint. Good ole times guaranteed!Qul. Gen. Jankego 132 (Piotrowice), tel. (+48) 605 41 84 06, www.old-timers.pl. Open 17:00 24:00. E­G­W RAJZEFIBER (TRAVEL FEVER) There’s a new king in town and just months after lowering his drawbridge he already has legions of loyal subjects crashing his castle nightly. Rajzefiber has truly achieved a rare and almost impossible feat by successfully filling a huge gap in Katowice’s nightlife with serious style and enviable ease. No other club in town has thought to offer an ambitious lineup of great live music AND hot DJs plus katowice.inyourpocket.com

Nightlife offer a menu of quick bar food and rocking cocktails. Upon entering the recently expanded second floor club we had the feeling we’d been coming here for years. The place was totally packed and already jumping at 19:00 on a Saturday. When we came back at 23:00 there was a line 30 people deep waiting to get in! There’s a rising fever for Rajzefiber. QB‑3, ul. 3 Maja 23/3, tel. (+48) 32 201 70 59, www. rajzefiber.com. Open 17:00 - 02:00, Fri, Sat 17:00 - 05:00. X­W

KATOWICE FOR BEER LOVERS

MICROBREWERIES BIERHALLE No matter how many hangovers you endure drinkers will find themselves returning to the scene of the crime, Bierhalle, time and time again. The reason for this is the best beer in the city. There’s a number of brews to choose from, ranging from pilsner to amber marcowe with the wheat standing out as our personal fave, but we encourage you to have a go at them all. Primarily a restaurant, the design is all heavy timber, bare brick and industrial flourishes, while efficient staff dressed as peasant wenches work miracles hoisting heavy tankards and keeping track of the deluge of food and drink orders. You won’t want to leave.QI‑2, ul. Chorzowska 107 (Silesia City Center), tel. (+48) 32 605 01 61, www. bierhalle.pl. Open 12:00 - 22:00, Fri 12:00 - 23:00, Sat 11:00 - 23:00, Sun 11:00 - 21:00. G­W SPIŻ (BRONZE) Few places have reinvented themselves so fully and completely in recent memory then Spiż. In 2011 the storied dance brewery shuttered their doors for a ‘renovation’. At some point one of the powers that be ended up on a plane to Ibiza and the decision was made to purchase a sound system and light display that would make David Guetta go deaf and blind. In a year and a half’s time the massive two floor club was given a facelift, tummy tuck and a boob job and what you’ll find inside will literally blow your mind. They claim it’s the most modern night club in Poland and from the looks of it they aren’t just blowing smoke (machines)... If you consider yourself a fan of serious clubbing and great beer - it is your destiny to dance here.. till you can’t hear... for a year.QJ‑3, ul. Opolska 22, tel. (+48) 32 781 11 32, www.spiz.pl. Open 21:00 - 05:00. Closed Mon, Tue, Sun. U­X­W

WINE BARS BURGUNDIA WINE TASTINGS & WINE SHOP Hidden away down the same dark alleyway as City Pub, Winiaria Burgundia features both a shop and bar in which to indulge one’s taste for the grape. By far the best of the city’s wine bars, find a slightly snobby albeit enjoyable and relaxed atmosphere. A really admirable selection of world wines and ciders for all tastes and budgets.QB‑3, ul. 3 Maja 23, tel. (+48) 32 253 75 19, www.burgundia.com. pl. Open 10:00 - 21:00, Sat 11:00 - 21:00. Closed Sun. G­W facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

After a dozen or so hangovers (and extra trips to the shop for bog roll), Polish beer generally leaves one with an understanding of why vodka is so popular in Poland. Silesia has the honour of being home to the two worst offenders - Tyskie and Żywiec - which enjoy ubiquitous national distribution and sadly also bear the mantle of Polish beer abroad. Basically a diet of these two gets boring fast for anyone with a real affinity for beer. What too often goes unrealised is that Poland actually has hundreds of independent micro-breweries that produce delicious beer. More and more bars in Katowice are popping up serving ambitious brews from tap and bottle. Some are even declaring it to be the year of beer! Biała Małpa has perhaps the largest selection of draft and bottled beers in Katowice and will even please the fairer sex with their offerings of enhanced beers (think berry beer, chocolate beer and lemon beer). They offer a constantly changing selection of craft beers from around the globe but with a specific emphasis on the many Polish micro-brews gaining prominence. Beer experts, buckle up! It’s super trendy, but the beer in ul. Mariacki’s Kato is also super tasty. The selection of bottled micro-brews is always in flux but there are plenty to choose from; we recommend Magnus, a sweet dark beer from the Jagiełło Brewery in far eastern Poland. If you’re looking for something more local, head to Absurdalna to try a draught from one of the many local micro-brewers that have popped up in the region in recent years. Ask for something from Kraftwerk these electro pop piow pioneers are concocting some of the best Silesian beer if not best Polish beer around. If you want to stack these national ales against their Czech counterparts make sure to stop into Hospoda and immerse yourself in a sea of Czech suds from Kozel Dark to Rychtar to Radogast. If German Beer is your thing than head to the brand new Browariat for a bucket of Bavaria’s finest brew. The last of the great new breed of beer pubs is Namaste Traveler’s Club which has a solid offering of micro-brews on tap but perhaps the most impressive list of domestic and imported bottles in the city. Na zdrowie (‘to your health’); literally. March - June 2016

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Rondo Sztuki | Courtesy of Katowice City Council

Katowice Sightseeing INDUSTRIALLY DESIGNED & THOROUGHLY MINED, THIS DYNAMIC CITY IS WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED

Essential Katowice

Christ the King Cathedral

Courtesy of Katowice City Council

Katowice cannot be described as a booming tourist destination by any stretch of the imagination. However the city, and indeed the entire Silesian Metropolis continues to steadily add interesting museums and attractions to a growing list of eclectic and just downright odd sites that make this city absolutely unique. Nope you won’t find a castle, or palaces, nor any hip bohemian districts either. Uh, no, no ancient ruins. No Old Town per say. But what you will find is a boatlad of Industrial Tourism that will literally take you underground and through the abandoned factory floors that were once the booming heart of Poland’s Industrial Revolution. As you will undoubtedly notice (careful where you step!) Katowice is also in the throes of a massive renovation and revitalization project that will result in a literal face-lift and a heart transplant of the city centre. Though the end is finally beginning to come into view and a new Katowice is on the horizon, construction is constant and rubble is rampant. So as you explore the city just remind yourself of the old adage ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’.

heirloom in its hand and the Nazis probably snatched it from here as they rumbled east to the capital. And while the Soviets returned with it after the war, destroying many of the buildings on the Rynek in the 1950s to make room for their modern monuments to concrete, for example, it was predestined that Katowice would never be belle of the ball. A blue collar city to this day, Katowice and its neighbours in Upper Silesia were born into the working class, growing up during the industrial revolution and put to work in sooty mine shafts, factories and railway yards. The area’s history is inextricably entwined with the manufacture of coal and steel and the stacks, shafts, slag heaps and massive waves of migrants that followed the discovery of the region’s mineral resources. As such, any mention of tourism in the district is usually preceded by the word, ‘industrial.’ Indeed the derelict factories and foundries, blackened chimneys and abandoned maintenance yards of Silesia’s industrial boom represent the hulking bulk of Silesia’s tourist offerings, and the region is ripe for renegade tourists eager to explore evidence of a bygone era. Those interested in industrial tourism are advised to get their creased hands on a copy of Silesia’s Industrial Monuments Route - which can be picked up free of charge in any Silesian tourist information office - and while we’ve covered many of the entailed sites in this very guide, the region has plenty more to offer than we have space to include here.

The New Headquarters of the NOSPR

Spodek

Courtesy of Katowice City Council.

No, Katowice won’t be winning any European beauty pageants any time soon (our guess is 2018), and unlike other urban casualties (hello to our friends in Warsaw), the city can’t claim to have been beaten by the Ugly Stick during World War II. No, Katowice was born with that facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

Photo by Bartek Barczyk

Katowice, for its part, has become a growing business centre as you’ll glean from the glittering capitalist monoliths built in recent decades. Those seeking more conventional interpretations of the word attraction will find plenty of churches including Christ the King Cathedral the country’s largest, one of the best museums in southern Poland in the Silesian Museum, and anyone paying attention will notice a number of discreetly handsome townhouses, particularly along ulica 3-go Maja between the Rynek (C‑3) and Plac Wolności (C‑1). Conventional charm has obviously never been a strength of Katowice, however, as best evidenced by the bonkers Spodek building (B‑3). Yes, it’s always been the shaft (literally) for Katowice, and while being a tourist in this city may feel a bit like getting dressed for the theatre and ending up at a Board of Education meeting, we hope you enjoy it for its oddities, and remember that some things look most beautiful through beer goggles. March - June 2016

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Katowice Sightseeing CEMETERIES RED ARMY CEMETERY Moved to its current location at the far southern end of Park im. Tadeusza Kościuszki to make way for the citycentre Silesian Insurgents’ Monument in 1967, this small Red Army Cemetery is surprisingly well kept compared to similar cemeteries in Poland. The final resting place of about 300 Soviet soldiers who gave their lives in the ‘liberation’ of Katowice from the Germans in 1945, check out the hammer and sickle fence around the perimeter and the small memorial in the centre regularly garnished with fresh flowers.QI‑5, Park Tadeusza Kościuszki (Brynów).

CHURCHES CHRIST THE KING CATHEDRAL Building work began on Zygmunt Gawlik and Franciszek Mączyński’s impressive neo-Classical Cathedral on June 5, 1927 with the digging of a symbolic spade of dirt, although it wasn’t until October 30, 1955 that it was finally consecrated. A series of minor hiccups including WWII and some typical interference from the post-war

TOURS PTTK KATOWICE Feeling a bit lost or uncertain about Katowice? Take a guided tour with the an English-speaking guide and get an inside perspective on what Katowice has to offer (sometimes you need a second opinion). Demand for the service being what it is, dropping by the office won’t do; ring PTTK to make an arrangement and you’ll probably make their day as well. Services available year round.QC‑4, ul. Rynek 13, tel. (+48) 32 253 03 62, www.pttk.katowice.pl. Open 09:00 - 17:00, Sat 09:15 - 16:00. Closed Sun. SILESIATRIP.PL Silesia Trip is a useful and comprehensive way to comfortably explore much of the region around Katowice. Offering 24 hour pick-up services from both the Katowice and Kraków airports, Silesia Trip has a plethora of tours, locales, and sights included in their itineraries, including everyday trips to the Guido Mine, Auschwitz-Birkenau and Tyskie Brewery. Tours are available in English, French, Italian, Polish, Spanish and Russian and are targeted for those who have a particular interest in the history, culture and people of Eastern Silesia. Starting in May they also offer bike rentals and traditional tours with an audio guide starting from their brand new headquarters and souvenir shop on ul. Mariacka. Pick up some sweet Silesia swag and Katowice related gadgets before or after your trip or tour.QD‑4, ul. Mariacka 11, tel. (+48) 502 11 63 31, www.katowice-tours.com. Open 09:00 - 18:00, Sat 10:00 - 16:00. Closed Sun. From May open 09:00 - 18:00; Sat, Sun 10:00 - 16:00. 50 Katowice In Your Pocket

communist regime meant that there was no shortage of setbacks for arguably what’s the most beautiful building in the city and, somewhat surprisingly, the largest cathedral in Poland. Its first 12 years leading up to the outbreak of the war saw the walls go up and little else, with the end of hostilities heralding a new burst of activity numbering some six years and involving the arrest of the parish priest, the local bishops being thrown out of the diocese and a communist-approved priest brought in to supervise the building’s completion. The latter’s legacy to the Cathedral was his decision to alter the design of the dome, dropping it by some 38m from its original design and turning what promised to be a truly splendid looking church into something a little more compact and comical. In 1957 the displaced bishops returned, and during the period 1962-65 the interior was adapted to the way it more or less appears today. Although somewhat plain, the interior is truly breathtaking. Of particular interest is St. Barbara’s Chapel on the left-hand side of the nave. The patron saint of miners, Gerard Grzywaczyk’s sculpture of Barbara overlooks an altar made from coal and a monument to lost miners. Hidden away above the large dome are five bells, of which the largest weighs in at a mammoth 3.5 tonnes. The monument of Pope John Paul II outside commemorates the late church leader’s visit to the Cathedral in June 1983, and a new chapel inside was recently consecrated in his name. If you call in advance it’s also possible to take a tour with a guide around the Cathedral.QB‑6, ul. Plebiscytowa 49a, tel. (+48) 32 251 21 96, www.parafia.katedralna. katowice.opoka.org.pl. Open 07:00 - 18:00, Sun 08:00 18:00. No visiting during mass please. GARRISON CHURCH OF ST. CASIMIR Poland’s first Functionalist Catholic church, Leon Dietz d’Army and Jan Zarzycki’s breathtakingly simple design is worthy of further investigation. Built between 1930 and 1933, the plain exterior, which can also claim to have the only single corner tower on any church in the city, hides a sumptuous Art Deco interior including some fine sculptures, pews, lamps and stained glass. The church is also notable as being Katowice’s official garrison church. Contact the church beforehand by phone if you’d like to visit as it is usually closed when there aren’t masses. QA‑5, ul. M. Skłodowskiej-Curie 20, tel. (+48) 32 251 35 11, www.garnizonowa.wiara.org.pl. Open by prior arrangement. ST. MARY’S CHURCH Katowice’s oldest existing Catholic parish church was built from Silesian dolomite, not the usual red brick, between 1862 and 1870 to a design by the famous Breslau (Wrocław) architect Alexis Langer. Originally planned on a far grander scale than it was eventually built, the 43m-long, 31m-wide neo-Gothic building features an eye-catching, trademark Langer 71m octagonal tower and a feast of good things inside. The altar in the transept supposedly dates from the 15th century, whilst the wonderful stained glass windows on either side of the nave representing sin and virtue are the work of Adam Bunsch (1896-1969). The Chapel of the katowice.inyourpocket.com

Katowice Sightseeing Holy Sacrament includes a likeness of Father Emil Szramek in traditional Silesian dress. Szramek was the parish priest from 1926 until his arrest by the Gestapo in April 1940. Sent to a number of concentration camps including Dachau, where he quickly became a spiritual leader for other incarcerated Silesian priests, he was murdered on January 13, 1942.QE‑4, Pl. ks. Emila Szramka 1, tel. (+48) 32 258 77 44, www.mariacki.katowice.pl. Open 07:00 - 18:30.

WOODEN CHURCHES CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL Like the other wooden church of note in the area, this one, which also happens to be the oldest ecclesiastic building in Katowice, began life elsewhere, in this case in neighbouring Syrynia way back in 1510. Moved to Katowice in 1938, and worth a trip to Park im. Tadeusza Kościuszki where it can be found for that reason alone, access inside is usually denied by a security guard, meaning that the 17th-century pulpit, late Gothic 16th-century sculpture of the Holy Mother and Child from Dębieńsko and 17th-century belfry must be real treasures indeed. Contact the Katowice Historical Museum to arrange a private group tour (in Polish only) and they encourage you to call at least a week in advance. Avoid mass on Sundays at 12:00.QI‑5, ul. Kościuszki 112, tel. (+48) 32 205 00 21 ext. 117, www.mhk.katowice.pl. 32zł for a group up to 30 people.

MONUMENTS JÓZEF PIŁSUDSKI The work of the Croatian sculptor Antun Augustinčić (19001979), most famously remembered for his Monument of Peace sculpture outside the UN headquarters in New York, the dashing statue of Poland’s greatest modern military hero dates from before WWII but didn’t make it to Poland until the collapse of Polish Communism, a system in which Piłsudski was strictly taboo. Shipped from its creator’s Croatian museum in 1990 and renovated before finally being placed where it is today in 1993, the statue sees our hero astride a stallion when it’s a well known fact he always favoured his mare, Kasztanka (Chestnut). Originally planned to form the centrepiece of a series of statues relating to the Silesian insurgents which never came to being, the monument’s sword vanished in 1994 and was later found in some nearby bushes by a bunch of nosy kids. QD‑5, Pl. Chrobrego. SILESIAN INSURGENTS’ MONUMENT Supposedly the largest and heaviest monument in Poland, this vast bronze edifice is one of Katowice’s most famous landmarks, commemorating the three post-WWI Polish armed uprisings against the German authorities of Upper Silesia in 1919, 1920 and 1921. The monument symbolizes the heroism and sacrifice of the insurgents with an enormous bronze wing for each uprising. Designed by Gustaw Zemła and erected on the site of the city’s Red Army cemetery in 1967, the monument was assembled from 350 parts and weighs a hulking 61 tonnes. The highest facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

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Katowice Sightseeing TOURIST INFORMATION CITY INFORMATION OFFICE With a several-storey, blinking blue and yellow neon sign, Katowice’s City Information Office is hard to miss and isn’t it just downright adorable to see them trying so hard? The super-friendly staff can offer time-killing suggestions in English or German and they stock a range of materials about the many things you’ll probably never see or do across Silesia. Free maps and lots of information on daily cultural events, as well as three new computers.QC‑4, ul. Rynek 13, tel. (+48) 32 259 38 08, www.katowice.eu. Open 09:00 - 19:00, Sat 09:00 - 17:00, Sun 09:00 - 13:00. wing reaches 14 metres tall, making it one of the ‘tallest monuments in PL’ behind the 36m Monument of Christ the King in Świebodzin and the 32-metre high Wujek memorial cross on the other side of town (and probably a dozen other monuments in the country).QC‑2, Al. Korfantego.

MUSEUMS KATOWICE HISTORICAL MUSEUM This outstanding museum showcasing some of the more interesting aspects of the life and times of the city and its people is divided into two main sections. You can wander the well thought-out rooms on three floors including a superb recreation of house interiors of the middle and upper classes of the city from 20, 50 and 100 years ago. The other main exhibit “Z dziejów Katowic 1299 - 1865” covers the breadth of the city’s early history before officialy being founded. Entrance to the exhibit is limited to 15 people every half an hour and all descriptions are in English and films have English subtitles. One of the best museums in southern Poland and soon to be even better.QD‑5, ul. Szafranka 9, tel. (+48) 32 256 18 10, www.mhk.katowice. pl. Open 10:00 - 17:30, Tue, Thu 10:00 - 15:00, Sat 10:00 - 16:00, Sun 11:00 - 15:00. Closed Mon. Last entrance 30 minutes before closing. Admission 8/4zł, family ticket 12zł. Sun free. N SILESIAN MUSEUM - THE GRAND HOTEL Housed inside a glorious neo-Renaissance turn of the century hotel, the former headquarters of the Silesian Museum (1984-2015) dates back to the 1920s. There are only temporary exhibitions now as the permanent collection has been moved to the new Silesian Museum headquarters at ul. T. Dobrowolskiego 1. The original Silesia Museum had actually been completed in 1939 however the beautiful and massive modernist building was destroyed in the war before the exhibitions were even installed. After the war the Silesian Museum and it’s remaining collections fought and sought to find a permanent home but political instability made it almost impossible. Finally in 1984 it Silesian Museum opened in the Grand Hotel however from the very start its tenure in this location was considered 52 Katowice In Your Pocket

temporary. The relocation of the permanent collection to the new site down the road at the former Katowice Coal Mine was planned for fifteen years and took almost ten years to complete.QC‑3, al. W. Korfantego 3, tel. (+48) 32 779 93 00, www.muzeumslaskie.pl. Open 10:00 - 20:00. Closed Mon. Admission 6/4zł, family ticket 16zł. N

PLACES OF INTEREST PLAC WOLNOŚCI Likely due to a lack of competition, this small oval of greenish pleasantry west of the train station stands out from Katowice’s urban tangle as one of the city’s more recognisable landmarks and orientation points. From the first city plan in the 1860s, this square was designed as a main axis point and was already home to Kattowitz’s first Caholic church (later destroyed during the rapid, thoughtless expansion of the turn of the 20th century). Then known as ‘Wilhelmsplatz’, the square first sported a monument of Kaisers Wilhelm I and Frederic III looking rather buddy-buddy atop a large pedastal. After Katowice’s postWWI promotion to capital of the autonomous now-Polish province of Silesia, hero of the Silesian Uprisings, Wojciech Korfanty, and city president Stanisław Wojciechowski unveiled the memorial Tomb of the Unknown Insurgent in 1923. The space’s new identity as ‘Freedom Square’ soon became ironic, however, when that memorial was replaced with a monument of two thuggish tommy-gun wielding Red Army soldiers standing atop a truly hideous concrete pedestal which was finally removed in 2014 after years of protests. Just east of where the monument used to stand you’ll find a small and rather ugly fountain, and the square is also surrounded by several unremarkable buildings, with the exception of the monumental neo-Renaissance Goldstein Palace at number 12a. Built in 1875, this building formerly housed the Chamber of Commerce, becoming the local branch of the dubious Polish-Soviet Friendship Association after WWII. Having most recently seen life as a restaurant, the Goldstein House has been repossessed by the city and currently functions as the City Civil Affairs Office.QA‑3. RYNEK (MARKET SQUARE) Until recently, one could easily be forgiven for standing in the middle of the market square and trying to find the market square. The massive construction works are in their final stages and the new Rynek should be fully operational for the summer festival season. Before work got underway however, Katowice’s Rynek was basically a large traffic roundabout and tram stop surrounded by a faded collection of mismatched buildings in architectural styles that had mostly fallen out of favour, if they ever engendered any enthusiasm to begin with. For years the city has known that turning its market square into, you know, an actual market square would be a crucial step toward becoming a respectable Polish city and a plan to modernise and pedestrianise the Rynek that has apparently been in place since 2008 is now finally being put into action. The first step was modernising of the Soviet-era katowice.inyourpocket.com

Katowice Sightseeing monstrosity at ul. Młyńska that uglied up an entire block of the Rynek and transforming it into the new City Hall. That work has recently been completed as has the re-routing of the tram network through the ‘new’ Rynek (check new tram schedule here rozklady.kzkgop.pl - there is an English version).QC‑4. SILESIAN PARLIAMENT A standing testament to Katowice’s short-lived ‘golden age,’ the Silesian Parliament complex covers an entire city block between Jagiellońska, Reymonta, Ligonia and Lompy streets and was the largest structure in PL before Stalin ‘gifted’ Warsaw with a certain monstrosity. Completed in 1929, the Parliament complex served as the governing seat of Silesia after the province was inexplicably granted autonomy following WWI. Unfortunately Hitler failed to observe the region’s sovereignty when he reclaimed it for the Reich after a short 19 years of self-government. After WWII, the new Polish government stripped Silesia of its prestige, confused by how Katowice could possibly have ever been considered the second capital of PL, however briefly. Today the Parliament buildings still house the offices of the Silesian Voivodeship, though many have changed function and more still are solely occupied by wistful memories of bygone days.QC‑5, Plac Sejmu Śląskiego. SPODEK In 1958 the Association of Polish Architects ran a competition to design a new stadium in Katowice. Won by a Warsaw company and designed by Maciej Gintowt and Maciej Krasiński, the resulting Wojewódzka Hala WidowiskowoSportowa w Katowicach (translating something like ‘Katowice Province Spectator & Sports Arena’) was built in stages between 1964 and 1971, and at 246,624 square metres is the one of the largest, certainly one of the strangest and, to some, the most beautiful piece of reinforced concrete in Poland. Nicknamed ‘Latający Spodek’ (Flying Saucer) the building was originally going to be built in Silesia Park but because of its avant-garde appearance finally landed in the city centre. Holding 11,000 people part of the building was in use in 1969, though the grand opening only took place on May 9, 1971. The reason for this delay was simple - in their wisdom the designers had picked a landsite suffering ‘medium mine damage’. That meant the possibility of caveins and collapse so the building was road-tested by 3,500 stamping (and dare we say it, nervous) soldiers. Given the thumbs-up by equally relieved engineers the building has been inspiring and amusing people ever since. A popular sporting venue (it hosted the final stages of EuroBasket 2009 among other tournaments), Spodek is also Katowice’s number one place for international rock concerts, having hosted a disparate collection of stars including Charles Aznavour, Metallica, Depeche Mode and Robbie Williams over the years. Today it also houses the Diament Spodek Hotel, and according to urban legend, the classic tune from Spielberg’s ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ plays every time the building’s lights go on. Given the circumstances we can hardly say the claim sounds far-fetched.QD‑1, Al. Korfantego 35, tel. (+48) 32 253 87 33, www.spodek.eu. facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket



Photo by Bartek Barczyk

POLISH NATIONAL RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA In 2014 Katowice celebrated the unveiling of it’s newest architectural and cultural jewel - the new headquarters of the NOSPR (The Polish National Radio Orchestra). Not only is this one of the more striking and architecturally astonishing buildings to be built in Poland in recent years, it is also one of the most acoustically pristine performance halls in all of Europe. To perfect the pin drop precision of the main hall’s acoustics, the Katowice based Architecture firm Konior collaborated with Yasushisa Toyota - founder of the Japanese Acoustics solutions company Nagata Acoustics (creators of the Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles among others). Their collaboration has resulted in a sonically rich and truly visually stunning performance hall that can seat over 1,800 people with no obstructed views or muffled music. The main concert hall is also equipped with cutting edge technology to both broadcast concerts live and record multi track albums live. This is truly a building fitting of Poland’s finest orchestra and is set to solidify Katowice’s place in the classical music world. Check NOSPR’s website for concert tickets or plan your next trip to Katowice around a trip to this absolute shrine of a Symphony Hall.QD‑2, Pl. Wojciecha Kilara 1, tel. (+48) 32 732 53 12, www.nospr.org.pl. THE KAROL SZYMANOWSKI ACADEMY OF MUSIC By virtue of being one of the handful of aesthetically pleasing buildings in Katowice, the city’s Music Academy was recently voted by locals as one of their top five favourite things about Kato. This handsome red brick neo-Gothic building was built at the turn of the century, and in addition to its good looks is also home to the most modern concert hall and the largest music library in the region. One of the leading music schools in PL, it can claim well-known contemporary composer Henryk Górecki, who both studied and later taught at the academy, as its most famous alma mater. If you are interested in a tour of the building call ahead to arrange a time. Also, make sure to check their concert schedule to catch what will surely be an unforgettable musical experience. But tickets are usually scarce so make sure you reserve a ticket in advance.QE‑5, ul. Zacisze 3, tel. (+48) 32 779 21 00, www. am.katowice.pl. March - June 2016

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Silesian Museum IMPORTANT INFO SILESIAN MUSEUM QL‑3, ul. Tadeusza Dobrowolskiego 1, tel. (+48) 32 213 08 11, www.muzeumslaskie.pl. Open 10:00 20:00. Closed Mon. Admission 24/16zł, family ticket 62zł (including entrance to the viewing platform), Tue free. Viewing platform tickets without Musuem acces: 5/3zł and family 12zł. and temporary) - all of which has been adapted from the former tunnels, shafts and workshops of the Katowice Coal Mine. The entrance to the museum is on the -2 level.

The grand opening of the brand new home of the Silesian Museum is perhaps the biggest of all of Katowice’s recent investment unveilings. The museum’s scope, the quality of the permanent exhibitions and the architectural prowess of the newly adapted subterranean chambers are all equally impressive. Approaching the Silesian Museum from the city centre, the first visible element of the museum is the prominent mine shaft hoist tower of the former Katowice Coal Mine. There are dozens of such towers spread all over Silesia and many of them remain operational to this day. This particular mine shaft hoisted its last load of black diamonds in 1999 when the entire Katowice Coal Mine complex was closed for good after operating for 176 years and hauling over 120 million tonnes of coal! Today, this impressive steel structure has been adapted into an elevator-accessible viewing tower which offers spectacular views of Katowice and other close-lying Silesian suburbs.

The first three permanent exhibitions are art galleries and are located on the -2 level. All of the exhibitions are subtitled in Polish, German and English and all of the texts and descriptions are well worth your time. Begin your journey in the Gallery of Polish Art (1800 - 1945) which presents an absolutely stunning collection of paintings by Polish and Silesian masters including Jan Matejko, Stanisław Wyspiański and Józef Mehoffer. Wandering through the spacious galleries you quickly realise that there is an abundance of natural light illuminating the space and the function of the giant mysterious glass buildings up top becomes abundantly clear. The historical portraits, landscapes and depictions of daily life gradually begin to take a turn for the impressionistic and surrealistic as you quickly cross over into the Gallery of Polish Art (after 1945). For fans of modern and conceptual art you will find many impressive works demanding your time and attention. Look out for the striking works of Tadeusz Kantor and Władysław Hasior, Zdzisław Beksiński, Jerzy Nowosielski and Grupa Łódź Kaliska.

The next striking feature you will notice are the large transparent glass buildings that cover the entire expanse of terrain. Their presence offers a thoroughly modern counterpoint to the 18th century historical buildings which make up the rest of the museum’s exhibition space. There are six main ‘buildings’ (both old and new) that make up the Silesian Museum campus a few of which have yet to be opened to the public. The main entrance to the permanent exhibitions is in the largest of the glass buildings (marked “G” on the museum brochure). Descending into the subterranean chambers of the Silesian Museum the impressive interiors open up before your eyes. The main museum is spread out over four underground levels and has a floor area of nearly 25,000 m², of which 6,000 m² is devoted to exhibition space (both permanent 54 Katowice In Your Pocket

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Silesian Museum The next exhibition is the Gallery of Non-professional Art and it acts as a gateway to the strictly Silesianthemed exhibitions. Non-professional art (aka ‘naive art,’ ‘outsider art’ or ‘art brut’) has had a strong presence in Silesia since the industrial revolution and is implicitly tied to Silesian history and identity. The colourful works in this collection reflect the Silesian holy trinity ethos of “God, work, family.” Especially important to note are the works of the members of the Gwarek 58 group many of which are implicitly tied to the Katowice Coal Mine itself. Also of note are the fantastical works of the so called “Outsiders.” Follow the elegant white ramps which lead you down deeper into the belly of the beast and deposit you on the -4 level. At the far end there is the Gallery of Silesian Sacred Art (opening in December) and immediately to your left is the entrance to the very heart of the Silesian Museum - the exhibition entitled The Illumination of History: Upper Silesia through the Ages. In lieu of describing the exceptional expositions at length, we’ll instead take this chance to hurl a few superlatives in the general direction of the museum’s curators, researchers, workers, designers, writers, translators and engineers. Considering the scope of Silesia’s complicated and fragmented history, seemingly impossible to quantify identity issues and linguistically puzzling dialects (look out for the term ‘ethnolect’), this is perhaps the most informative and enjoyable historical exhibition IYP has ever visited. We highly recommend, no, strongly encourage you dear reader to stop whatever you are doing right now and go visit this truly groundbreaking exhibition for yourself. Once you make your way out of the Illumination of History exhibition, turn right and immediately find yourself immersed in the fascinating Laboratory of Theatre Spaces exhibition which documents the history of costumes, scenery, lighting, and staging in European Theatre. This exhibit is a striking yet refreshing contrast considering the weight of the previous exhibition. The final exhibition on display documents the absolutely fascinating, tragic and ultimately triumphant history of the Silesian Museum itself. This is a temporary exhibition and in the future this massive space will house other visiting or temporary archaeological, ethnographic, historical and photographic exhibitions. Now make your way back up to the -2 level and, like all good tourists, make sure to exit through the gift shop (pick up some super Silesian swag!), then head past the massive Silesian library and finally resurface by near the stylish Moodro Bistro & Cafe located in Building “A.” There are still more buildings and exhibits that will be opening in the months and years to come so make sure to check their website next time you’re in Silesia. Indeed, we believe this magnificent museum should be required viewing for every Silesian, Pole and indeed tourist that steps foot on Silesian soil. facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

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Nikiszowiec. Courtesy of Katowice City Council.

Silesian Suburbs Prospective foreign travellers putting together their Polish tourist itineraries have a tendency to regard Katowice and the greater Silesian Metropolis surrounding it as an acne-scarred unwanted stepchild. However what few people know is that this is one of the most dynamically developing regions in all of Poland with a lot to offer the open minded tourist, businessman and post-industrial enthusiast. This section takes you on a guided tour of Silesia’s most interesting Suburbs, Towns and Cities starting off right in Katowice’s backyard - Chorzów. 56 Katowice In Your Pocket

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Chorzów As with much of the Upper Silesian industrial metropolis, there’s a bit of a gray area concerning just where Katowice ends and Chorzów [whore-zyoov] begins. Technically speaking Chorzów lies a mere 7 km northwest of Katowice. Luckily the winds of commerce have paved paradise and put up a whole lot of shops in the form of Silesia City Center, which marks the beginning of the end of Katowice. A few tram stops/traffic lights further on ul.Chorzowska brings you to the Silesia Park - one of the largest urban parks in Europe - and Chorzów has the lucky distinction of claiming it within its borders. While just a few years ago we would probably have recommended a trip to Chorzów consist solely of a day trip to the Park to explore its many attractions, we can now honestly recommend digging deeper and exploring Chorzów proper, i.e. the place beyond the pines. Since this is Poland, history is one’s first consideration when endeavouring to discover a new city. Silesia as a whole has a somewhat parallel history to the rest of Poland which can be boiled down to the development of heavy industry in the 19th and early 20th century. The city of Chorzów is no exception and it was only officially formed in 1934 after the Silesian Uprisings and subsequent peace accord awarded Silesia back to Poland. Chorzów effectively consolidated four industrial factories and their surrounding infrastructures into one sprawling industrial town. Before the industrial revolution left its indelible mark, various villages existed in this location since the 12th century. Polish, German and Czech influences in the region led to constant name changes throughout the centuries. Beginning with the 12th century Chorzów was known as Zversov, Coccham, Charev, Charzow, Königshütte and finally Hajduki (which loosely translates to ‘Bandits’). After only just coming into existence, Chorzów fell under Nazi control during the WWII. Through a bit of luck or a flat out fluke, the city’s vast industrial infrastructure mostly escaped WWII intact, which led to its rapid growth and increased importance in postwar communist Poland. Since 1989, Chorzów, like much of Silesia, has been slowly transitioning from heavy industry to a more diverse economy. Back to the present, the most logical place to start your exploration of the centre is the most illogically named location in the whole city: the Rynek. While this word technically translates to ‘market square’ and usually connotates a huge open space with pedestrian markets and bucket-loads of charm (i.e. Krakow), overly ambitious city planners decided to convert their market square into a highway underpass (sigh). You’ll have to give them the benefit of the doubt and soldier on to the absolute highlight of Chorzów, its high street - ulica Wolności (I/J-1). On this long pedestrian promenade (just look out for trams!) you’ll find the town’s primary shopping, dining and nightlife opportunities. Once you’ve tired of cruising the strip turn onto the town’s most promising side street - ulica Jan Sobieskiego III (J-1/2). Here you’ll find some of the newest and coolest bars, restaurants and even a microbrewery to boot! facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

Pelican Fountain and Gondola in the Silesia Park

Unlike neighbouring Zabrze, Chorzów has a significant lack of museums for your perusal. With that said Chorzów has many other recreational, cultural and nightlife offerings to keep even the most demanding visitor busy for days. The Silesia Park (L-7) is indeed an endless bastion of entertainment options for the whole family all year round. The Park is by no means however the end all be all of the town’s impressive cultural offerings. The Chorzów Cultural Centre (Chorzowskie Centrum Kultury) is a veritable hub of activity and hosts countless events and concerts year round while the Teatr Rozrywki (Entertainment Theatre) presents some of the best musical theatre, drama and concerts in the whole country.

GETTING TO CHORZÓW It’s hard to screw this up. Only 7km from Katowice, Chorzów can be easily reached using public transport. First step is to buy a ticket, which can be done at any kiosk. Katowice’s transport system in based on zones, and with Chorzów lying in zone 2, you’ll have to buy a ticket to Zone 2; basically just make sure the ticket you have is a 3.80zł fare. Though there are many ways of getting to Chorzów the fastest are the number 6 tram from Katowice’s ‘Rynek’ trams stop. The trams stop at the Zoo and along the Silesia Park and run regularly and likely will take 20 minutes to get to Chorzów’s ‘Rynek.’ If driving to Chorzów by car you’re taking national route 79, aka ul. Chorzowska from Katowice, which takes you past the Silesia City Centre shopping mall and the enormous Silesia Park. From the west (Germany), you come in on freeway A4 via Wrocław and Gliwice. You’ll find parking around the Rynek with several other small lots nearby - carparks are marked on the map in the back of this guide. A guarded parking can be found a bit further from the centre on ul. Młodzieżowa (E-4). March - June 2016

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Chorzów soups, salads and pastas) before returning to nest in so many pizza crusts. With over 40 pies to peruse this bird makes it hard to choose. Organize a party here for the kiddies or any other special event. Whatever your needs, this friendly restaurant will succeed to feed you and your brood and guarantee you’ll all leave with a smile.QP‑4, ul. Dworcowa 1, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 32 241 41 33, www. drewnianybocian.com.pl. Open 11:00 - 22:00, Fri, Sat 11:00 - 23:00, Sun 12:00 - 22:00. (20-60zł). T­G­S­W

Pond in Silesia Park

Katarzyna Adamek-Chase

Like all of the towns and cities in the vast Silesian metropolis, Chorzów has undergone and is undergoing rapid changes that are transforming the city at a torrid pace. The gastronomic, entertainment and recreation options are already truly world class and you can now find some of the nicest hotel and spas in the region in this somewhat unassuming city. We’ve highlighted numerous places on the following pages, all of which are worth your time and attention. If there’s one thing you should seize from this brief intro though, Chorzów is truly the City of Leisure.

RESTAURANTS & CAFES MAÑANA BISTRO & WINE BAR Another excellent destination in Chorzów, this ace cafe bistro hits all the bases with delicious coffee, fine wines and a great menu that’s presented as a magazine full of savoury sandwiches and creative mains. It’s all stylishly presented and the recently renovated modern Parisian atmosphere of the small casually elegant interior makes this a great spot to stop for a light lunch (Mon-Fri 13:00 - 17:00, 20-30zł) or some after work down-time with a friend. Recommended. QP‑4, ul. Wolności 15, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 508 29 36 40, www.bistromanana.pl. Open 09:00 - 21:00, Fri, Sat 09:00 - 22:00, Sun 12:00 - 20:00. (24-60zł). T­6­G­S­W PIZZERIA POD DREWNIANYM BOCIANEM This eclectic if not eccentric bistro has been serving up pizzas in the heart of Chorzów since 1996, which in the local restaurant biz is pretty much a lifetime. Their expansive menu has the wingspan of a stork that flits and flaps over countless culinary delights (including 58 Katowice In Your Pocket

REBEL GARDEN Where’s the last place you’d look to find a rocking resto-bar with great food, a huge beer selection and a jam packed calendar of cultural events? How about in front of the gates of a zoo?! This is exactly where you’ll find this rebellious and rambunctious culture garden. They’ve been operating from this little corner of paradise for just over three years and, not so surprising, they’ve managed to attract quite a lot of attention. Local bands, national acts, poetry festivals, belly dancers, travel photography, art exhibitions and the list goes on... With a full menu of Polish and American bar food (kielbasa, french fries, fried cheese etc.) it’s time to heed the Rebel call.QH‑1, Al. Gen. J. Ziętka 7 (WPKiW), Chorzów, tel. (+48) 504 44 30 07, www.rebelgarden.pl. Open 10:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 10:00 - 01:00. 6­U­N­G­ W RESTAURACJA BONAPARTE Not much surprise that in Chorzów’s finest hotel you would also find its finest restaurant. Wonderfully elegant French interiors feature pristine antique furnishings with a few columns and credenzas to match the fine table settings. The menu of Mediterranean and Polish dishes is such a masterpiece that it even makes delicacies out of the local Silesian fare. Start things off with a light appetizer before graduating on to the sumptious Silesian beef roulade. The desserts are also to die for. Very impressive start to finish.QQ‑5, ul. Paderewskiego 35, Chorzów (Diament Arsenal Palace Hotel), tel. (+48) 32 606 84 40, www. hotelediament.pl. Open 06:30 - 10:30, 12:00 - 22:30; Sat, Sun 07:00 - 10:00, 12:00 - 22:30. (24-89zł). T­U­ G­S­W

NIGHTLIFE REDEN MINIBROWAR Polish microbrews and breweries are popping up all over Silesia like mushrooms after a storm these days. This smart little bistro brews up 6 tasty beers on site and serves up plenty of delish Polish dishes to help you keep your balance. The warm wooden interiors complemented by exposed copper kettles are the perfect environs for sipping away the day. If you come early/often enough you may catch a glimpse of the master brewer whipping up a batch of one of their signature light, honey or other seasonal brews. Come for the beer, stay for the food and leave...only if you have to.QP‑4, ul. Jana III Sobieskiego 17, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 32 771 14 15, www.browar-reden.pl. Open 13:00 23:00, Mon 15:00 - 22:00, Sun 13:00 - 22:00. G­W katowice.inyourpocket.com

Chorzów exhibition on the history of money - the glass cases packed with old coins and banknotes from the 12th century onwards of which have little directly to do with Chorzów. QP‑4, ul. Powstańców 25, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 32 241 31 04, www.muzeum.chorzow.pl. Open 09:00 - 15:00, Wed 09:00 - 17:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 - 14:00. Closed Mon. Admission 3/1.50zł, family ticket 4zł. Sun free. N

SZUFLADA 15 Our favourite place to go out in Chorzów and certainly one of the best in the region, this veteran music club and restaurant still feels as fresh as ever. Modern and understated in design, half-open psuedo-shelves protrude from the dark walls, while the upstairs smoking section (dubbed the Ice Lounge) features some creative touches with silver icicles angling across the room and a sweet roof deck. The downstairs is given over more for dining from the extensive menu of international dishes with an emphasis on Mexican (nachos, chili, quesadillas), pasta and pizza, as DJs spin Girltalk-esque mashups from the stage area on weekends (check their FB page for events). With no proper dance-floor, the patrons dictate the energy level, though occasional live acts do come through. Worth reserving a table on crowded weekends.QP‑4, ul. Wolności 15, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 32 771 94 35, www.szuflada15.pl. Open 15:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 15:00 - 02:00. X­W

SIGHTSEEING CHORZÓW CULTURAL CENTRE This handsome and fully modern municipal theatre is the cultural heart of Chorzów and one of the premier event venues in all of Silesia. Hosting a full programme of concerts, from rock to jazz to classical, as well as a kids programme that rivals any other in the region. The highlight of the centre is the listening experience itself as the two floor auditorium is one of the best acoustic environments in Poland. Many national and international stars grace this beautiful stage so make sure to keep a close eye on their calendar (check our events section or their website) for upcoming concerts and events. Also visit their other branch on ul. Siemianowicka 59 (www.sdk.org.pl).QP‑4, ul. Sienkiewicza 3, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 32 349 78 60, www.chck.pl. CHORZÓW MUSEUM This humble little musuem never seems to be at full strength exhibition wise and is quite often inexplicably closed. Set in a handsome building only a block removed from the high street, should you make it indoors you’ll find some oil paintings and furniture, plus a permanent facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

ST. LAWRENCE’S CHURCH Built in 1599 in the village of Knurów, immediately southwest of neighbouring Gliwice, this charming little wooden church was abandoned by its congregation in 1926 when it became too small to accommodate the worshippers in its parish. Empty and slowly falling to pieces for almost a decade, the good people of Chorzów adopted it, took it apart, and moved it to its current location in September 1935.QQ‑4, ul. Konopnickiej 29, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 32 780 99 61, www.wawrzyniec-chorzow.katowice.opoka. org.pl. Open by prior arrangement only. SILESIA PARK This is by far the region’s best attraction and an absolute nobrainer for anyone with some spare time and who enjoys having, well, fun. Spanning 620 hectares, it claims to be the biggest park in Europe and who are we to claim otherwise? We get lost in here routinely. Among the outstanding seasonal attractions are an outdoor ethnographic museum, a massive zoo, a year-round planetarium, a brand new cabelway (chair lift) that whisks you from one end of the park to the other plus countless other attractions to be enjoyed in the warmer months. Officially located in Chorzów, take tram 6 from Katowice’s ‘Rynek’ tram stop, which makes several stops along the course of the Park, including at the zoo, on its way to Chorzów’s Rynek. If you are looking for a bite to eat while you explore the park make sure to stop at the bucolic Villa Gardena restaurant at the north end of the park near the planetarium.QR‑5, Al. Różana 2, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 32 793 70 08, www. parkslaski.pl.

“Freedom” Street in Chorzów

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Nikiszowiec & Giszowiec The former workers’ districts of Nikiszowiec and Giszowiec are home to some highly unique early 20th century architecture as well as an excellent modern art gallery, a magnificent church and a few additional offbeat attractions. These two forgotten attempts at plebeian paradise are earmarked on Silesia’s ‘Industrial Monuments Route’ (available at all Silesian tourist information offices) and offer intrepid visitors a confounding, yet fascinating glimpse at a foregone age. These neighbourhoods are slowly coming back to life as cafes and bars are creeping in and more and more curious tourists are poking around. Pack yourself a lunch, grab your camera, and off you go.

NIKISZOWIEC From the Wilson Gallery it is a short eight minute walk (or one busstop) down ul. Szopienicka into Nikiszowiec proper; you’ll know it by its uniquely uniform architecture, gruesome water tower, leering smokestacks and the church spire marking its centre. Make a left onto ul. Zofii Nałkowskiej (towards Eurohotel and the ice rink complex) and then your first right to officially enter the district on ul. Rymarska and you’ll pass the new Tourist Information Office inside a recently unveiled branch of the Katowice Historical Museum at number 4. Here you can pick up a handy free map as well as other information about the district. The museum illustrates the everyday lives of the region’s miners and other blue-collar folks through a series of ethnographic exhibits, including an interesting gallery of painting by Nikiszowiec’s renowned Janowska Group, and shouldn’t be missed. Built between 1908 and 1912 to house workers in the backyard of their place of employment - the large smokechurning Wieczorek (formerly ‘Giesche’) coal mine - the enclosed residential complex of Nikiszowiec is composed of six compact four-sided three-storey blocks with inner

GETTING THERE Tourists should plan on first visiting Nikiszowiec (8km/15min from the city centre), the closer and more compelling of the two districts, before continuing on to Giszowiec (10km/20min away) as time and interest allow. Getting there is simple: We recommend catching bus 30 from Al. Korfantego in front of the Katowice Hotel (H-3); the more direct and straightforward of the three routes, this also allows you to get off right at the stop named ‘Nikiszowiec Szyb Wilson’. Though off the map in our guide, both districts are still within Zone 1 of Katowice’s public transport network, meaning passengers only need a normal 3,20zł fare ticket. All of the above-mentioned buses can be caught at stops in Giszowiec or Nikiszowiec and taken back into town. There are also random minibuses that run regularly between Giszowiec and Katowice’s market square (Rynek) but they aren’t regular and can be tough to track down. 60 Katowice In Your Pocket

The rosy Post Office in Nikoszowiec

Courtesy of Katowice City Council

courtyards. Distinguished by its uniformity of style - red brick buildings accented with red-painted windowframing, and narrow streets joined by handsome arcades - the neighbourhood was designed by Georg and Emil Zillman of Berlin-Charlottenburg to be a completely self-sufficient community for 1,000 workers with a school, hospital, police station, post office, swimming pool, bakery and church. Thanks to WWI and the subsequent Silesian Uprisings during which time Nikiszowiec saw fierce fighting, and was afterwards incorporated into Poland - St. Anne’s Church (Pl. Wyzwolenia 21) wasn’t able to be finished until 1927, but became the crowning glory of the neighbourhood as soon as it was. Though it would ironically seem be a socialist planners’ wet dream, Nikiszowiec actually makes a happy, handsome departure from the communist botch-job of downtown Katowice and has become a prized location for amateur photographers and budding filmmakers due to the fact that it has remained virtually unchanged since the Second World War. City marketers have also recognised the district’s uniqueness with increasing efforts to draw tourist attention to the area and a campaign afoot to fasten Nikiszowiec to the UNESCO Heritage List. Though the district is generally safe to wander, you should still exercise sensible precautions about where you stick both your nose and that fancy new digital camera; and who you do it in front of. INDUSTRIAL ETHNOGRAPHY MUSEUM Located in Nikiszowiec, this branch of the Katowice Historical Museum is unique in its emphasis on ethnography and folk culture, approaching the topic from an urban, rather than rural, perspective. A collection of artefacts and cultural assets tells the everyday stories of Upper Silesia’s working class (primarily miners) from the period of early industrial development (mid-19th century) to the 1960s. More specifically you’ll see evidence of how this large demographic has lived, worked and celebrated over the years through exhibits of clothing, ceremonial costumes, tools, household items, religious objects and art. They also have three permanent exhibitions on display. katowice.inyourpocket.com

Nikiszowiec & Giszowiec The first is devoted to the Janowska Group - a collection of Nikiszowiec miners including Teofil Ociepka, Paweł Wróbel, Erwin Sówka and Ewald Gawlik (more of Gawlik’s work can be seen in two Giszowiec galleries) who gained renown for their ‘naive’ painting. Another exhibit is a replication of a typical Nikiszowiec worker’s house. The final exhibit goes even deeper and delves into the various laundering techniques used in the district’s heyday (it’s more interesting than it sounds and has English titles). The helpful Nikiszowiec tourist info centre is also in the same building.QO‑5, ul. Rymarska 4 (Nikiszowiec), tel. (+48) 32 353 95 59, www.mhk.katowice.pl. Open 10:00 - 18:00, Sat, Sun 11:00 - 15:00. Closed Mon. Last entrance 30 minutes before closing. Admission 8/4zł, family ticket 12zł. Sun free. T­U­N ST. ANNE’S CHURCH A welcome diversion from the smokestacks dominating the roofline of the district’s other side, this magnificent building incorporates Baroque design with two bell towers and a timepieced steeple, while blending into its surroundings without any of the ghastly and gratuitous exterior decoration associated with the style; make sure you take a stroll down ul. Św. Anny for the most photogenic views. If you’re lucky enough to get inside, take notice of the amazing 5,350 pipe organ and highly ornate Zillman chandelier.QO‑5, Pl. Wyzwolenia 21 (Nikiszowiec), tel. (+48) 32 356 96 22, www.sw-anna.wiara.org.pl. Open 09:00 - 18:00, Sun 08:00 - 17:00. No visiting during mass please. WILSON SHAFT GALLERY Just north of the centre of Nikiszowiec (3km by official measure), this seemingly obscure and certainly under appreciated modern art gallery is arguably Katowice’s best art space and one of the primary highlights of a trip to Nikiszowiec. Located in the pithead building and bathhouse of the old Wilson shaft of the Wieczorek mine, the buildings now occupied by the gallery date back to 1918, and were designed by the same Zillman brother tandem behind the Nikiszowiec housing district. The dilapidated mineshaft, where excavations began back in 1864, can still be seen in glorious ruin behind the gallery buildings, having ceased operation in 1997. Taken over by the ‘Pro Inwest’ company and adapted into exhibition and office spaces, the area around the Wilson shaft is now filled with brightly-painted outdoor sculptures in sharp contrast to the industrial surroundings, as well as a muraled entrance wall full of colourful pop culture icons (making it hard to miss). The gallery itself comprises an impressive 2,500 square metres divided into three halls, the largest of which wouldn’t look dissimilar to a gymnasium if the installation art was swapped for basketball hoops. Full of seriously bonkers, yet compellingly high quality sculpture, graphic and installation art by both local and international artists, exhibitions change regularly with permanent installations - some disturbing, some playful, some political - hidden throughout the dozens of small nooks spidering throughout the building. The closest facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

Giszowiec

Courtesy of Katowice City Council

thing to a contemporary art museum in Katowice, it’s an admirable and highly recommendable venue where the security guards are noticeably as passionate about the art as the owners must be. Not only is it admission free, but the mini-buffet here is the only eating option in the district. To get there jump off bus 30 at the ‘Nikiszowiec Szyb Wilson’ stop on ul. Szopienicka, or bus 920 at the ‘Janów Oswobodzenia’ stop on ul. Lwowska.QO‑4, ul. Oswobodzenia 1 (Nikiszowiec), tel. (+48) 32 730 32 20, www.szybwilson.org. Open 09:00 - 19:00. Admission free.

GISZOWIEC While Nikiszowiec is a refreshing, at times fascinating, highly photogenic adventure out of downtown Katowice, we can’t pretend to promote the same thing about its fraternal twin Giszowiec. While equally unique and unexpected, unlike Nikiszowiec, Giszowiec simply isn’t what it once was. That’s not to say there aren’t a few places of note, however. Another workers’ colony from the same sibling pair behind Nikiszowiec, in the case of Giszowiec the Zillmans took a completely different conceptual approach, designing an ideal ‘garden city’ for local miners based on the ideas of famous British urban planner Ebenezer Howard. Modelled on rural English cottages, the original dwellings of Giszowiec are low, freestanding, sloped roof houses surrounded by garden plots. Built between 1906 and 1910, the neighbourhood was arranged as a web of streets extending from Plac Pod Lipami - the central square surrounded by public buildings, shops, a restaurant, school and tavern. The project included a public laundry, a women’s bathhouse, theatre, quarantine barracks for the diseased, a prison and a strict set of guidelines to ensure the precious ‘English village’ atmosphere wouldn’t be lost; these included statutes governing everything from which garden plants could be grown to which animals could be kept. Possession of a goat, for instance, would be enough to see you expelled from this Utopian colony. March - June 2016

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Nikiszowiec & Giszowiec Originally built for workers at the ‘Wieczorek’ coal mine, when the new ‘Staszic’ coal mine opened nearby in 1964 additional dwellings had to be provided and the minds of the day decided to demolish their ideal ‘garden city’ in favour of ten-storey apartment blocks fashioned out of precast concrete slabs (as you do). The result was the labyrinth of hideous tower blocks you see when you arrive at Giszowiec today. In 1978 the destruction was stopped when some clever conservator decided to try and enter the urban structure of Giszowiec into the Registry of Historic Places; he succeeded, but only after two-thirds of the original buildings had been demolished, the charm of the remaining third being utterly overshadowed by the soulless new buildings surrounding them. As such, a trip to Giszowiec today entails steeling your stomach through the maze of concrete monoliths at its northern edge in order to reach the centre square where you’ll find the Municipal Cultural Centre (Pl. Pod Lipami 1, open 09:00 - 17:00. Closed Sat, Sun) and Dworek Pod Lipami restaurant sharing the main building, as well as the Gawlikówka - a small gallery dedicated to the art of late native folk painter Ewald Gawlik. If Gawlik’s canvases of rural Silesian life capture your interest, here you can pick up a map of all the places you’ll find them hidden in the district. All told, Giszowiec stills captures some small town charm, despite being a shadow of what it must have been. If you enjoy the small pleasures of being a stranger in a strange land, an excursion out to these two historic labour communities might just be the bizarre highlight of your time in Silesia. GAWLIKÓWKA Stop by this small gallery (though first stop by and visit the secretary at the Municipal Cultural Centre to get access) to learn more about Giszowiec’s artistic golden boy, Ewald Gawlik, whose paintings of Silesian rural life can be found dotted all over the district. A free map with these dots marked on it (including the local hairdresser, the Industrial Ethnography Museum in Nikiszowiec, the

TOURIST INFORMATION NIKISZOWIEC INFORMATION OFFICE Located inside the Industrial Ethnography Museum, this should be the first port of call for anyone on a self-guided tour of Nikiszowiec. Here you can pick up some souvenirs along with a handy free map of the district and get other helpful information about what to see and tips on how to get around. They have free audioguides (Polish, English and German) available to take while walking around Nikoszowiec (just show a valid ID and leave a 50zł deposit). The museum exhibits are also fascinating if you have the time and the free wi-fi is reason enough to linger a little longer.QO‑5, ul. Rymarska 4 (Industrial Ethnography Museum, Nikiszowiec), tel. (+48) 32 255 14 80, www.katowice.eu. Open 10:00 - 17:30, Sat 11:00 - 14:30. Closed Mon, Sun. 62 Katowice In Your Pocket

rectory of St. Stanisław’s Church, and the private home of Gawlik’s widowed wife) can also be picked up here. General admission is 5zł or 2.50zł for students and seniors.QN‑7, Pl. Pod Lipami 3-3a (Giszowiec), tel. (+48) 32 206 46 42, www.mdk.katowice.pl. Open 09:00 - 17:00. Sat, Sun open by prior arrangement only. N

EAT & DRINK CAFE BYFYJ This is the heart and soul of new-look Nikiszowiec. Grab a table inside in the bright white and soft light interior, or outside on their breezy bricked terrace. The friendly waitstaff will take it from there and catch you up on all the savoury and sweet quiches, cakes, tarts, pizzas and daily lunch specials. Don’t overlook the beverages because they serve up some of the best coffee drinks around, not to mention organic juices, cool-colas, beers (low alko % as well) and prosecco. Above all, come to Byfyj for the ambience and start to get a knack for what Niki’s really all about.QO‑5, ul. Krawczyka 5 (Nikiszowiec), tel. (+48) 696 73 08 01. Open 09:00 - 19:00, Sat, Sun 09:00 - 20:00. 6­U­G­S­W DWOREK POD LIPAMI This majestic manor specializes in large banquets, conferences, outdoor parties and weddings fit for a king. The menu is truly a sight to behold highlighted by Silesian specialties, classic Polish dishes and International fine dining staples. How about shrimp cocktail, escargot and steak tartare to start things off followed by roast pork knuckle and beef roulade?! If you’re looking to be the host with the most, bring your guests to the best.QN‑7, Pl. Pod Lipami 1 (Giszowiec), tel. (+48) 32 793 95 51, www. dworekpodlipami.katowice.pl. Open 10:00 - 22:00. (1745zł). U­G­S­W GALERIA RIKSZA PUB Now this is more like it! This ramshackle bar/antique shop/time portal should be the first point of entry and last port of call for any visit to Nikiszowiec. With trinkets, trash and treasures stashed in every corner and lashed to every wall of this makeshift barn (including the roof ), you’ll need more than a few drinks to take it all in. Or take it all home, as every item on-site is for sale for your ‘best offer.’ Stick around for another round of grilled meats or Silesian treats (sour soup, wodzionka or Silesian bigos!) with plenty of bevvies to wash it all down with. Niki at night means old-school Silesian hoe-downs are bound to go down on Riksza’s grounds. Three thumbs up.QO‑5, ul. Zamkowa 2 (Nikiszowiec), tel. (+48) 515 35 61 10, www. galeriarikszapub.blogspot.com. Open 09:00 - 21:00. They organise tours around Nikiszowiec by melex (max. 6 person) or riksza for 10zł per person. Also you can rent a bike for 5zł/hr. U­N­G­W

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Tychy Paprocany offers endless fun for amateur and professional sailors, swimmers and sun bathers. Most recently the city broke ground on what will be the biggest year-round Water Park Complex in all of Poland. The city also has a full cultural calendar so plan your trip accordingly.

RESTAURANTS & NIGHTLIFE

Tyskie Brewery

Photo By Kompania Piwowarska SA

Although the ubiquitous Tyskie beer has become one of the most recognisable Polish exports (not to mention the reigning king of domestic brews for almost 200 years), few visitors to Poland realise its name is actually derived from the very Silesian town it has been brewed in since the 17th century: Tychy. This now-thriving Silesian suburb is located a mere 20km south of Katowice and is well-connected to the Katowice mothership. Although it isn’t as close to, nor as expansive as some of Silesia’s other urban centres, Tychy has a lot to offer curious day-trippers, potential investors and vacationers alike. The rather curious Polish name of Tychy (German ‘Tichau’) is derived from the Polish word cichy or ‘quiet.’ Tychy was indeed nothing more than a sleepy village from the time it first appeared on a medieval map in the mid-15th century until well into the 17th century. It was then that the lords of beer arrived and deemed this land worthy to be brewed upon (they were literally lords as well). And thus the Browar Książęce [K’shown’zhen-tse] began its illustrious 400 year mission to provide beer to the huddled masses (ok, mostly just for themselves at the beginning). As the brewery grew, so did Tychy. By the time of German occupation during WWII, Tyskie had grown to be the biggest brewery of its kind in Europe. Operations resumed after the war, and large scale investment by the Polish State (The Party liked to drink as well) ensured that the Tyskie empire continued to expand during Communism. This is also when Tychy started to first become known as somewhat of a socialist workers’ paradise. The massive workforce employed at the brewery were treated relatively well in the 60’s and 70’s; sporting complexes were built, and a beach and docks constructed on the bucolic Lake Paprocany (Jeziora Paprocańskie). To find out more about the city’s beer-entwined history visit the Tyskie Brewery which also houses the local City Museum. Modern day Tychy is of course still tied to its long and storied brewing tradition as the Tyskie Brewery continues to pump out millions of hectolitres of beer a year and now exports all over the world. Tychy itself has also remained a destination for both vacationers and beer lovers. Lake facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

RESTAURACJA CON AMORE You will be pleasantly surprised to find this thoroughly modern and recently renovated Mediterranean restaurant tucked into the corner of the Obywatelskie Brewery. They serve up mouthwatering meat mains, exotic fish dishes, practically pisano pizzas and pastas, plus a few Silesian staples for good measure. The star of the menu is undoubtedly the hot-stone beef tenderloin. This succulent cut of meat is elegantly presented on a slab of lava stone and served rare with assorted sauces and sides. The stone is extremely hot so the longer the meat sits, the more it cooks. If you’re like us and you prefer your meat a bit bloody, you’ll have to act fast! Without thinking twice, this is the best steak we’ve had this side of NYC and it alone is worth a trip to Tychy. However if steak isn’t your thing you should still drop in as every dish here is made ‘with love’ and equally delicious.Qul. Browarowa 7, Tychy, tel. (+48) 601 89 09 64, www.con-amore.eu. Open 13:00 - 22:00, Sat, Sun 12:00 - 22:00. (20-75zł). U­G­S­W

SIGHTSEEING BROWAR OBYWATELSKI This is one of the most dynamic and rapidly developing spaces in all of Silesia and is a model for the post-industrial potential of the region as a whole. The brewery was opened in 1897 by Polish-Jewish businessmen and until WWI it grew steadily in stature and quickly became a competitor to Browar Tyskie, the biggest brewery in Europe at the time. Tyskie did the only reasonable thing and bought out Obywatelskie in 1918. The brewery continued pumping out millions of hectolitres of Poland’s leading lager until the last production facility was shut down in 1999. Since then, the current owners of the brewery have been slowly renovating the buildings on the premises and turning them into a meeting place for business, recreation, dining and the arts. The Con Amore restaurant is the beating heart, but the much larger Industrialna conference centre and concert hall is becoming more and more popular for regional events. The expansive courtyard is used during the yearly Industriada Festival in June and also hosts the impressive 3D Mapping Festival in September. They have finished renovating most of the other historic buildings on site and they will soon be transformed into one of the most modern Business and Technology offices in all of Silesia and employ hundreds if not thousands of workers. Tours of the complex are available by request and we suggest you come make a day/or a night of it.Qul. Browarowa 7, Tychy, tel. (+48) 32 323 00 20, www.browarobywatelski. pl. Admission free. March - June 2016

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Tychy PROMNICE HUNTING LODGE

One of Silesia’s best kept secrets seemingly since its creation, this absolutely stunning hunting lodge has discreetly passed the centuries overlooking a picturesque lake in the middle of a dense forest, down a dirt road 30km south of Katowice, between Tychy and Pszczyna. Though hardly a challenge to visit for anyone with a car, Promnice’s relatively remote location has helped ensure the survival of one of the area’s most unique, unexpected and astoundingly beautiful architectural monuments. Essentially a small castle, this English neoGothic ‘hunting lodge’ was built in 1868 when the land fell to Herzog von Pless, holder of the title ‘Master of the Emperor’s Hunt’ in the Prussian Empire, which occupied the area at that time. Closely connected to the Prussian court in Berlin, von Pless built the immaculate lodge to host grand hunting parties in the surrounding forests, which were attended by rulers from all over Europe, including Emperor Wilhelm I and Tsar Alexander II. Bison from Białowieża forest were even brought to the area to make the regal outings more exotic and prestigious. Almost unaltered since the von Pless dynasty passed into oblivion in 1945, the sumptuous interiors are densely adorned with all manner of mounted beasts, rifles, weaponry and royal hunting regalia, original period furnishings, gorgeously carved wainscoting, English wallpapers and a plethora of oil paintings depicting hunting scenes. The German-influenced exterior features a tower embellished with stag heads, decorative timber framing, stained-glass windows, and wooden balconies. Aesthetically, Promnice is unlike anything else in Silesia and its incredibly scenic location on Paprocańskie Lake surrounded by forests full of hiking and biking trails makes it a great place to unwind as well as take photos. Today this historic place is open to the public as a hotel and restaurant. Walk-ins are welcome in the restaurant when private functions aren’t taking place, and we highly recommend booking one of the apartments if you’re looking for a romantic weekend getaway. In either case it’s wise to call ahead and announce your intention to visit, which we guarantee you won’t regret.QZameczek Myśliwski Promnice, tel. (+48) 32 219 46 78, www. promnice.pl. 64 Katowice In Your Pocket

TYSKIE BREWERY The Tyskie Browary Książęce has been brewing beer continuously for nearly 400 years. The originally Germanowned brewery now produces the famous Tyskie Gronie, which is indeed Poland’s best selling beer, and Tyskie Browary Książęce’s (or just Tyskie) impressive ensemble of buildings also includes a superb museum which is open to the public for tours. Taking about 2.5 hours (including beer tasting) and led by a friendly and informative, English-speaking guide, the Tyskie tour takes visitors through fascinating brewing process. Starting in the immaculately preserved Old Brewery, a masterpiece of original decorative tiles and old copper vats installed during WWI that have had modern brewing equipment cleverly put inside them, the tour follows the brewing process from start to finish and also offers a fascinating insight into the history of the factory. Highlights include the so-called Bachelors’ Quarters and the saucy tales that go with them, a glimpse of the brewery’s own railway station and, across the road, a look inside the fabulous smelling bottling plant. Now producing over 8,000,000 hectolitres of booze annually (or to put it another way, if you put all that beer into half litre bottles and laid them end to end you’d have a line of beer 80,000km long), the rise of the brewery is recorded inside the superb Brewery Museum, complete with interactive displays in English and housed inside an old red brick Protestant, neo-Gothic church built in 1902. Tours must be booked in advance, and yes, there’s a tasting session at the end. The tours are conducted in Polish, English, German, French, Italian, Czech, Russian and in the Silesian dialect (if you ever wanted to hear what that might sound like).The museum building also houses the local City Museum, which is well worth having a look inside if you’ve got the time, while the town itself is also worth exploring to properly cap your trip to Tychy. There is also an exhibit about the brewery’s history, beer culture in general (who knew?) and the company as a whole.Qul. Katowicka 9, Tychy, tel. (+48) 32 327 84 30, www.tyskiebrowarium.pl. Open 10:00 - 20:00. Closed Sun. Last entrance 2.5 hours before closing. Visitors must be over 18 and should call in advance to book a place on the tour. Admission 15/10zł.

GETTING TO TYCHY Tychy is well connected to Katowice by Silesian rail. Trains leave for Tychy every 30 minutes from Katowice central train station and the journey takes around 25 minutes, with a cost of only 6zł. If you are looking to get to either the Tyskie Brewery or Obywatelskie Brewery make sure to get off at the TYCHY train station. If you are looking to get to Lake Paprocanskie or any of the hotels in the centre (Hotel Pyramida) make sure you get off at TYCHY LODOWISKO station. There are also several buses from Katowice Brynów Pętla bus stop which run once an hour (more often in summer) and cost 3.80zł. If you are planning to come by car head south from Katowice on the E75 and drive about 20 minutes until you reach Tychy. katowice.inyourpocket.com

Auschwitz GETTING TO AUSCHWITZ

For centuries the town of Oświęcim was a quiet backwater community, largely bypassed by world events. That changed with WWII when Oświęcim, known as ‘Auschwitz’ under German occupation, became the chosen site of the largest death camp in the Third Reich. Between 1.1 million and 1.5 million people were exterminated here, etching the name of Auschwitz forever into the history books; countless films, documentaries, books and survivor accounts have since burned it into the collective consciousness. Visitors to Poland, particularly to Kraków and Katowice, are faced with asking themselves whether or not they will make the effort to visit Auschwitz. It is a difficult question. There are few who would say they actually ‘want’ to visit Auschwitz, though many are compelled to do so for their own reasons. For those of us who don’t feel so compelled, it’s easy to give reasons for not going: not having enough time, already knowing as much as we need or want to know about it, not feeling personally connected enough to the site or the history to need to visit, or being uncomfortable about the prospect of visiting a site of such emotional resonance at the same time as hundreds of other tourists. Having been there, we can tell you that all of these explanations for avoiding Auschwitz are perfectly reasonable until you’ve actually visited the site; you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone who has made the trip and still argues against going.

MEETING CENTRE INTERNATIONAL YOUTH MEETING CENTRE Education centre planning international seminars on anti-Semitism, racism, nationalism, international relationships, processes of democratisation and contemporary Poland. International youth exchange programmes, conferences and lectures are also available. Additionally, they offer 100 beds, seminar rooms and library.Qul. Legionów 11, Oświęcim, tel. (+48) 33 843 21 07, www.mdsm.pl. facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

The town of Oświęcim lies 33km south-east of Katowice and there are several ways of getting there, though the easiest may be just signing on for an organised tour through a local company like Silesia Trip (see Tours). Direct trains go every couple of hours from Katowice central station and there are numerous bus options both big and small. Buses leave frequently from Katowice’s main bus station (C-2, ul. Skargi 1) every day starting at 09:00. A one way ticket costs about 9-20zł with the journey taking 6070mins (prices and times depend on the company). The bus makes several stops along the way, and weekday buses will drop you off right at Auschwitz I; however weekend buses will only get you to the Oświęcim train station (ul. Powstańców Śląskich 22), which is 1.5km away. From there hop on local buses 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 or 29 to make the short trip to the museum; you can purchase the 2.70zł fare from one of the nearby kiosks. Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau are located 3km apart (with the train station strategically between them). Free museum buses shuttle visitors between the two parts of the camp every 30 minutes in March and every 15 minutes in April. Alternatively, catch a cab for a rich 15zł. To get back to Katowice, you need to catch a bus from the Oświęcim train station. Again, local buses 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 or 29 make the trip from Auschwitz I to the train station for 2.70zł. Buses from there back to Katowice are frequent, but the last one leaves at 18:30 Mon-Fri (weekends at 17:11). The Auschwitz Museum and tour present one of the most horrific acts in human history with a level of tact, passion, poignancy and professionalism that is so profound, it almost makes as lasting an impression as the site itself. Without being heavy-handed, the history of the site is presented in all of its contexts and guests are perhaps spared from fully surrendering to their emotions only by the sheer relentlessness of the information. No matter how much you think you know on the subject, the perspective gained by visiting is incomparable. Whether or not you choose to go to Auschwitz is up to you to decide. However it should be understood that Auschwitz is not a site of Jewish concern, Polish concern, German concern, gypsy concern, historical concern... It is a site of human concern. As such, we believe everyone should visit.

VISITING AUSCHWITZ Arriving at the Auschwitz Museum can be chaotic and confusing thanks to large crowds, numerous ticket windows with different designations, and excessive signage that contradicts itself. This can be avoided by going as part of an organised group tour, organised by a local tour company. If you are visiting independently however, or in a small group, March - June 2016

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Auschwitz find the queue for the desk marked ‘Individual Guests’. During peak tourist season between the hours of 10:0015:00 the museum makes it obligatory to buy a ticket and become part of a guided tour, however in the off season it is possible to explore the museum for free without a guide any time. Be that as it may, we strongly recommend the guided tour, which is excellent, profound and professional; afterwards you’ll find it hard to imagine getting as much out of your visit had you explored the grounds on your own. Tours in English depart most frequently, and there are also regularly scheduled tours in German, French, Italian, Polish and Spanish. Tour departure times change frequently; exact times can be seen online at auschwitz.org. The museum makes a big effort to provide the tour in the native language of each guest, and in this interest all tours must be booked online in advance. Log onto visit.auschwitz.org to book your tour language and time. After purchasing your ticket and headphones, your experience typically begins with a harrowing 20 minute film of narrated footage captured by the Soviet Army when they arrived to liberate the camp in January 1945. The film (not recommended for children under 14) is not guaranteed year-round however, in which case your tour of the camp begins straightaway with a live guide speaking into a microphone which you hear through your headphones. Visiting Auschwitz is a full day’s excursion so prepare accordingly (comfortable shoes). The guided tour of Auschwitz I takes around 2 hours, so make sure you’ve eaten breakfast. After completing the tour of the first camp, there is only a short break before the bus leaves for Auschwitz-Birkenau II; in order to stay with the same tour guide, you need to catch that bus, so it would be wise to pack some food for the day (though there is some limited food available at the museum). The tour of the second camp is shorter, lasting 1-1.5 hours. Buses regularly depart back to Auschwitz I, or you can walk or catch a cab to the train station 1.5km away. At Auschwitz I there are restrooms (have change available), a fast food bar and restaurant; there are also restroom facilities at Auschwitz IIBirkenau. If exploring Auschwitz without a guide, it is highly

A BRIEF HISTORY 1940: In April a Nazi commission decides to open a concentration camp in Oświęcim, primarily because of the excellent transport links it enjoys. Using existing Polish army barracks as a foundation the construction of Auschwitz I is completed on May 20th. On June 14th, 728 Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first inmates of Auschwitz I, soon followed by 12,000 Soviet POWs. 1941: The first experiments with Zyklon B gas are conducted on 600 Soviet POWs on September 3rd. 1942: Auschwitz II-Birkenau and Auschwitz IIIMonowitz are established. 1944: Jewish crematoria workers in Birkenau stage an armed uprising on October 7, blowing up Crematorium IV. Hundreds escape but are soon captured and put to death. 1945: Liquidation of Birkenau begins in January with the burning of documents and destruction of gas chambers, crematoria and barracks. All prisoners who can walk, approximately 58,000, are sent on arduous ‘death marches’. About 15,000 die during this ‘evacuation’. On January 27 the Red Army liberates Oświęcim, where roughly 7,000 prisoners too weak to move have been abandoned to their fate. In the months after the war the Auschwitz barracks are used as an NKVD prison. Post-war: The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum is established. In 1979 UNESCO includes Auschwitz I and II on its list of World Heritage sites. In the same year it is visited by Pope John Paul II. His successor, German Pope Benedict XVI visits in 2006. On December 18th, 2009 thieves steal the infamous ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ sign from above the main entrance gate, cutting it into pieces and abandoning it in the woods in northern PL; the sign has been replaced by a replica. recommended that you pick up the official guidebook (5zł), whose map of the camp is crucial to avoid missing any of the key sites; these can be picked up at any of the numerous bookshops at both sites.Qwww.visit.auschwitz.org. Auschwitz I open 08:00 - 17:00. From April 08:00 18:00. From June open 08:00 - 19:00. Last entrance 1 hour before closing. Auschwitz II - Birkenau open 08:00 - 18:00. From April 08:00 - 19:00. From June open 08:00 - 20:00.Last entrance 1.5 hours before closing. An individual ticket for a foreign language guided tour of both camps costs 40/30zł. Tours for groups range from 300-450zł depending on the size. The film costs 4/3 zł. Official guidebook is 5zł.

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Auschwitz

AUSCHWITZ I Your tour of Auschwitz I begins by passing beneath a replica of the infamous ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ (‘Work Makes You Free’) entrance gate. [The original sign was actually made by inmates of the camp on Nazi orders and is no longer on display after it was stolen in December 2009 and found in pieces in northern Poland a few days after the theft.] From the entrance gate, the prescribed tour route leads past the kitchens, where the camp orchestra once played as prisoners marched to work, before starting in earnest inside Block 4. Here an overview of the creation and reality behind the world’s most notorious concentration camp is given, with exhibits including original architectural sketches for gas chambers, tins of Zyklon B used for extermination and mugshots of inmates. Most disturbing is over seven tonnes of human hair once destined for German factories, which does much to demonstrate the scale and depravity of the Nazi death machine. Transported to Auschwitz in cattle trucks, newly arrived prisoners were stripped of their personal property, some of which is displayed in Block 5 including mountains of artificial limbs, glasses, labelled suitcases, shaving kits and, most affectingly, children’s shoes. Block 6 examines the daily life of prisoners with collections of photographs, artists’ drawings and tools used for hard labour while the

JEWISH CENTRE AUSCHWITZ JEWISH MUSEUM & SYNAGOGUE If you have more time to spend in Oświęcim, head to this historic synagogue (one of three surviving in the centre of Oświęcim) for more information on the town’s Jewish heritage, including a permanent exhibition on Jewish life there before World War II. Located near Oświęcim’s market square 3km from the Auschwitz museum, the centre offers specially tailored programmes for those plan their visits in advance, and there’s a cafe here with a sweet roof terrace (weather permitting).QPl. Ks. Jana Skarbka 5, Oświęcim, tel. (+48) 33 844 70 02, www. ajcf.org. Open 10:00 - 17:00. Closed Sat. From April open 10:00 - 18:00. Closed Sat. Admission 10/6zł, family ticket 15zł, kids 6 and under free. facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

next set of barracks recreates the living conditions endured by prisoners: bare rooms with sackcloth spread out on the floor, and rows of communal latrines, one decorated with a poignant mural depicting two playful kittens. Block 11, otherwise known as ‘The Death Block’, is arguably the most difficult part of the tour. Outside, the ‘Wall of Death’ - against which thousands of prisoners were shot by the SS - has been turned into a memorial festooned with flowers; it was here that Pope Benedict XVI prayed during his ground-breaking visit in 2006. Within the terrifying, claustrophobic cellars of Block 11 the Nazi’s conducted their first experiments with poison gas in 1941 on Soviet prisoners. Here the cell of Father Maximilian Kolbe, the Polish priest starved to death after offering his life to save another inmate, is marked with a small memorial, and tiny ‘standing cells’ measuring 90 x 90 cm - where up to four prisoners were held for indefinite amounts of time - remain intact. The remaining blocks are dedicated to the specific suffering of individual nations, including a block dedicated in memory of the Roma people who perished. The tour concludes with the gruesome gas chamber and crematoria, whose two furnaces were capable of burning 350 corpses daily. The gallows used to hang camp commandant Rudolf Hoss in 1947 stands outside.Qul. Więźniów Oświęcimia 20, Oświęcim, www.auschwitz.org. AUSCHWITZ II - BIRKENAU Having completed the long tour of Auschwitz I, some visitors decline the opportunity to visit Auschwitz II Birkenau, however it’s here that the impact of Auschwitz can be fully felt through the sheer size, scope and solitude of the second camp. Added in 1942 Birkenau contained 300 barracks and buildings on a vast site that covered 175 hectares. Soon after the Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942, when Hitler and his henchmen rubber-stamped the wholesale extermination of European Jews, it grew to become the biggest and most savage of all the Nazi death factories, with up to 100,000 prisoners held there in 1944. The purpose-built train tracks leading directly into the camp still remain. Here a grim selection process took place with 70% of those who arrived herded directly into gas chambers. Those selected as fit for slave labour lived in squalid, unheated barracks where starvation, disease and exhaustion accounted for countless lives. With the Soviets advancing, the Nazis attempted to hide all traces of their crimes. Today little remains, with all gas chambers having been dynamited and living quarters levelled. Climb the tower of the main gate for a full impression of the complex’s size. Directly to the right lie wooden barracks used as a quarantine area, while across on the left hand side lie numerous brick barracks which were home to the penal colony and also the women’s camp. At the far end of the camp lie the mangled remains of the crematoria, as well as a bleak monument unveiled in 1967. After a comparably brief guided tour of the camp, visitors are left to wander and reflect on their own before catching the return bus to Auschwitz I.QOświęcim, tel. (+48) 33 844 81 00, www. auschwitz.org. March - June 2016

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History Katowice can count itself as one of Poland’s newer cities, and a direct result of the industrial age. That’s not to say the region was a barren wasteland prior to the age of steam. The history books suggest the area was inhabited by ethnic Silesians centuries earlier, with the first recorded settlement being the village of Krasny Dab, whose existence was officially chronicled in 1299. In 1598 a village called Villa Nova was also documented to stand in the area now taken up by Katowice. Things started heating up in 1742 when the area changed hands once more, this time as the property of the Prussians. 1788 saw Karolina - the area’s first mine - opened, and by 1822 historic documents note 102 homesteads in the village of Katowice. Two years later the first school was opened and Katowice started making its first steps into adulthood. September 11, 1865, saw Katowice awarded municipal rights and by 1875 it had grown to hold over 11,000 residents, of which half were of Polish ethnicity. The city continued to prosper as an industrial heartland, with coal and steel industries flourishing. By 1897 it was officially designated as a city. After the defeat of Germany in WWI, and the founding of a newly independent Polish State, native Poles - inspired by the rhetoric of Wojciech Korfanty - staged three uprisings between 1919 and 1921 in a bid to have the Silesia region incorporated into the Second Polish Republic. To prevent outright war from breaking out the League of Nations finally intervened and in 1922 divided the region between both Poles and Germans. The inter-war years marked a golden age for the city as heavy industry and business boomed. Bad news was lurking around the corner though, and in spite of a heroic defence, the city fell under German control on September 6, 1939. Physically speaking the city escaped the fiery fate of many eastern cities, and found itself used as a major centre of manufacturing by the Nazis. Liberation came in the form of Soviet tanks in 1945, and the city was once more Polish - in theory. Between 1953 and 1956 it was renamed ‘Stalinogród,’ and a period of thoughtless development followed. In 1980 a series of strikes inspired by the Gdańsk-born Solidarity movement quickly spread around the country. Demands for better living conditions were initially met, but Solidarity continued to lobby for further reforms and free elections. The Kremlin was furious, and with Soviet invasion a looming threat, appointed communist president Jaruzelski declared a state of martial law on December 13, 1981. Tanks roared into the street, subversives were arrested and telephone lines were cut. On December 16 a military assault was launched on striking miners in Katowice’s ‘Wujek’ mine, resulting in the deaths of nine workers. With Solidarity officially dissolved and its leaders imprisoned, discontent was growing. John Paul 68 Katowice In Your Pocket

II visited Poland, and Katowice, once more in 1983, his mere presence igniting hopes and unifying the people in popular protest. Over the next few years the Polish people continued to batter on the door of freedom. Renewed labour strikes and a faltering economy nosediving towards disaster forced Jaruzelski into initiating talks with Solidarity opposition leaders in 1988. Talks led to Poland’s first post-Communist election later that year and the party swept to victory with former electrician Lech Wałęsa leading from the soapbox. Fittingly it was Wałęsa who unveiled a monument in Katowice to the miners killed in 1981 on the tenth anniversary of the event. Poland’s transition to a market economy has since been tough, though the signs seem to point to a bright future for Poland. Katowice itself has done much to repair the environmental damage caused in the post WWII years, and the city is once more booming, with a huge influx of foreign investment marking a reversal of the city’s recent fortunes.

HISTORICAL TIMELINE 1299: First recorded settlement in Silesia, ruled by Polish Silesian Piast dynasty 1335: Territory becomes part of Crown of Bohemia 1526: Territory passed to Austrian Habsburg Monarchy 1598: First documented settlement in Katowice area 1742: Territory becomes part of Prussian empire during First Silesian War 1788: Area’s first mine opens 1822: Katowice’s population hits 100 homestead mark 1847: Railway station built 1865: Municipal rights awarded to ‘Kattowitz’ 1871: Kattowitz is incorporated into German Empire 1875: Kattowitz’s population records 11,000 residents 1897: Granted rights as a city 1922: Katowice becomes part of Second Polish Republic after WWI and Silesian Uprisings (191821). Granted autonomy by the Polish Sejm. 1939: Occupied by Nazi Germany 1945: Katowice is ‘Liberated’ by Soviets after WWII 1953: City is renamed Stalinogród by Polish communist government 1956: Former name of Katowice restored 1981: Martial law declared, Wujek mine strike and massacre 1983: The Pope visits Katowice 1989: Party-free elections in Poland; Communist regime crumbles 2004: Poland enters the European Union 2006: Pigeon Fair Disaster - 65 killed and 170 injured when Katowice convention centre roof collapses 2010: Polish President Lech Kaczyński and 95 other Polish delegates die in a plane crash near Smolensk, Russia, plunging the country into mourning 2012: Poland successfully co-hosts the Euro 2012 football tournament with neighbouring Ukraine. katowice.inyourpocket.com

Leisure

The Planetarium in Silesia Park is the perfect place to find some Space

Though it wouldn’t appear so on first, second or third glance, Katowice and the surrounding areas possess a startling number of recreational areas and leisure opportunities. Though known more for its industrial ‘attractions’ and poor air quality than its nature conservation record, Silesia has some of the largest urban green spaces, not only in Poland, but all of Europe. Chorzów’s Silesia Park is a veritable leisure section’s worth of activities in itself, and though we’re tempted to stop there, it’s only one of an incredible four parks in the immediate area that weigh in at an impressively over-sized 70+ hectares. If you’re searching for daytime alternatives to drinking and tumbling down mineshafts, they do exist. From horse-riding to star-gazing, from climbing to flying, Silesia offers plenty of opportunities for you to get up, get out and get busy.

ADRENALINE SPORTS LASERHOUSE This excellent 600 square metre laser tag arena near the centre of Katowice is equipped with strobe lights, florescent graffiti, dry ice, dynamic music and elaborate backdrops to fully immerse gamers into an exciting futuristic world. Engage your opponents in a sci-fi shootout while using barrels and tire pyramids for cover, or take a crack at the challenging laser maze (30 minutes for 50zł) with varying levels of difficulty. Laser Tag games are 30mins and cost 15zł weekdays before 17:00, 18zł after 17:00 (20zł on Fridays). Weekends are 18zł before 16:00, 20zł after 16:00. Attempts at the laser maze are 5zł. Also at ul. Wojska Polskiego 47 in Sosnowiec, Pl. Tadeusza Kościuszki 1 (C.H. Agora) 3 floor in Bytom.and ul. Bolesława Chrobrego 6 in Rybnik.QA‑4, ul. Kamienna 9, tel. (+48) 32 229 00 21, www.laserhouse.pl. Open 10:00 - 22:00, Sat, Sun 11:00 - 22:00. facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

BIKE RENTAL RENT A BIKE SILESIATRIP.PL The lovely people at SilesiaTrip.pl have now populated the greater Katowice metropolitan area with quick and easy bike rental stations. Bikes are available at most hotels in the city. Check their website for exact locations and availability. No deposits required.QD‑4, ul. Mariacka 11, tel. (+48) 502 11 63 31, www.katowice-tours.com. From May open 09:00 - 18:00; Sat, Sun 10:00 - 16:00. 5zł/1 hour, 10zł/3 hrs and 30zł per day. N

BOWLING & BILLIARDS BLACK 8 Inside a large underground entertainment complex on the outskirts of Katowice’s city centre, Black 8 is for those with more than a drunken or passing interest in pool. The only professional billiards club in Kato, Black 8 is home to 15 Dynamic II billiards tables and two high-quality snooker tables all with new cloth. Having organised the Polish Billiards Championships this place knows more than a thing or two about racking em’ up and knocking em’ down. Black 8 is also a restaurant offering a large menu of Polish standard fare and of course a lengthy drink menu to quench the players thirsts. Tables cost 10-20zł/h for billiards and 17-27zł/ h for snooker. Evening reservations would be wise.QJ‑3, ul. Dąbrówki 10, tel. (+48) 32 781 08 60, www.clubgarage. pl. Open 12:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 02:00.

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Leisure KRĘGIELNIA GALAKTYKA Located inside a 2000 square metre entertainment centre that includes the Black 8 billiards club, a music club (Club Garage) and a restaurant, this popular bowling alley features 8 lanes (plus 2 for kids), planetary graphics, computerised scoring, a full food and snack menu and even a stocked bar. True bowlers may find the setup which forces you to walk through every lane a bit frustrating, but not nearly as much so as the lanes themselves: extremely narrow, bowling has probably never been harder and you can forget about trying to put any spin on the ball. Still, it’s a fun atmosphere. Depending on the day of the week and time of day, lane rental costs 29-69zł/hr plus 2zł shoe rental; check website for full details. Reservations recommended.QJ‑3, ul. Dąbrówki 10, tel. (+48) 32 781 08 60, www.clubgarage.pl. Open 12:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 12:00 - 02:00.

RACQUET SPORTS SZKOŁA TENISA PROSERV Indoor and Outdoor (seasonal) tennis courts.QJ‑5, ul. Ceglana 67, tel. (+48) 601 48 18 32, www.proserv. katowice.pl. Open 08:00 - 22:00. Indoor courts: 40-60zł per hour until the end of April and 25-40zł per hour until the end of May. From June 20-30zł per hour.

SPA & BEAUTY CITY SPA & WELLNESS Customised treatments for men and women in this centrally located house of luxuries: facials, hand, foot and body treatments, hairdressing and a lot more.QA‑6, ul. Henryka Jordana 19, tel. (+48) 32 251 01 99, www. cityspa.com.pl. Open 09:00 - 20:30, Sat 08:00 - 16:00. Closed Sun.

HORSE RIDING KATOWICE RIDING CLUB Indoor or outdoor riding, as you like. Beginner lessons 30zł/30min. Experienced riders 40zł/1hr. Fridays are available by prior arrangement.QK‑6, ul. Francuska 180a (Muchowiec), tel. (+48) 32 251 34 84, www. katowickiklubjezdziecki.pl. Open 15:00 - 19:00, Sat, Sun 14:00 - 19:00. Closed Mon, Fri.

INDOOR PLAYGROUNDS CIUCIUBABKA Basically the best babysitters out there, Ciuciubabka gives your kids an opportunity to wear themselves out in a safe, supervised environment full of slides, ballpits, inflatible bouncy things, jungle gyms, arts and crafts and a lot more. The desert island every kid wants to get left on. Everybody wins. Tickets prices for weekdays/weekends: first half hour 6/7zł, second started half hour 5/6zł, one hour 11/13zł, unlimited playtime 19/21zł.QJ‑1, ul. Jabłoniowa 52 (Józefowiec), tel. (+48) 32 725 26 58, www.ciuciubabka. com.pl. Open 16:00 - 20:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 - 20:00.

OUTDOOR ATTRACTIONS & PARKS POKAZOWA ZAGRODA ŻUBRÓW (POLISH BISON FARM) In the quaint Silesian suburb of Pszczyna you can quite literally stumble upon a herd of bison. Spread out over 10 hectares on two farms, you can watch these beautiful beast grazing in what is almost their natural habitat. The animals can be seen from an observation deck which is even wheelchair friendly. Near the bison you can also observe red deer, fallow and roe deer. An unforgettable experience highlighted by a 3D film of the bison in action. Qul. Żorska 5, Pszczyna, tel. (+48) 32 447 05 03, www. zubry.pszczyna.pl. Open 09:00 - 18:00. From April open 09:00 - 19:00. Last entrance 15 minutes before closing. Admission 10/7zł. 70 Katowice In Your Pocket

vine.co/inyourpocket SENSE SPA This full service exclusive spa is the only spa in Silesia that offers the high end Japanese SENSAI massages, peelings and other deep healings. They offer a huge amount of all natural products including SkinCeuticals and a wide variety of wellness, beatifying and relaxation services. Free consultations are available for both men and women so do your body a favour and stop on by, it just makes Sense. QC‑5, ul. Sienkiewicza 3, tel. (+48) 600 80 84 98, www. sensespa.pl. Open 10:00 - 20:00, Sat 09:00 - 15:00. Closed Sun. TERMY RZYMSKIE Found in the impressive Pałac Saturna (see Apartments), these Roman baths were reportedly constructed based on plans for the baths at Pompeii and include a series of pools, baths and saunas which combine ancient and modern-day methods to relax and regenerate you plus a fitness club, restaurant and bar on site. The entire complex is something to behold, not least of all for its obligatory ‘nude-only’ policy. The only exception is Mondays when bathing suits are allowed in the pools. The surprisingly low prices and bold dress code have garnered this place plenty of attention, but the fact remains that facilities are of the highest quality in PL.Qul. Dehnelów 2, Czeladź, tel. (+48) 32 290 13 90, www.termyrzymskie.eu. Open 15:00 - 22:45, Sat 10:00 - 23:00, Sun 10:00 - 22:00.

SWIMMING & DIVING CENTRUM FITNESS MONOPOL This city centre complex offers a swimming pool, dry sauna, steam sauna, gym and fitness center within splashing distance of the train station.QC‑4, ul. Dyrekcyjna 2, tel. (+48) 32 782 81 00, www.fitnessmonopol.pl. Open 06:00 - 22:00, Sat, Sun 08:00 - 20:00. katowice.inyourpocket.com

Leisure ROSARIUM (ROSE GARDEN) Polish girls love flowers and you can be sure more than a few miner’s daughters have been proposed to in here. One of the largest rose gardens in Europe, Chorzów’s Rosarium was founded in 1968 in concert with the First International Rose Exhibition. Today the park’s collection includes some 35,000 rose bushes of over 280 different varieties. Very impressive in spring and summer, and an obvious date destination whether it’s botany you’re interested in or the birds and the bees.QH‑1, Promenade Gen. Jerzego Ziętka, Chorzów, www.parkslaski.pl. Open from from mid-April 08:00 until dusk. Admission free.

SILESIA PARK PLANETARIUM Opened in 1955 to commemorate Poland’s greatest astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus - of whom a fine statue can be found outside - this is the country’s oldest planetarium, which given the time period isn’t necessarily a good thing. Located along the cracked pavements of Silesia Park, while charming in intent the actual building is a quite depressed, somewhat scrubby 23m concrete dome. The large auditorium now shows a new astrological show entitled “Structures of the Universe”, although it is currently only availale in Polish. There is also a working observatory with a 30cm Zeiss telescope, seismic observatory and weather station, we’re reliably informed the full sky show can be arranged in English. If you dig 50s sci-fi, you’ll get a kick out of this; otherwise this throwback may be a disappointment.QR‑5, Al. Planetarium 4, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 32 745 27 28, www.planetarium.edu.pl. Openinig hours : Observatory: 09:00 - 18:00; Sat, Sun 10:00 - 18:00. Closed Mon. Sky Shows Tue-Fri 17:00; Sat, Sun 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00. Closed Mon. Regular admission 2zł (observatory), weather station 4zł, seismic observatory 3zł, sky show 12/6zł, families up to 4 people 30zł.

SILESIAN AMUSEMENT PARK Opened in 1959, Poland has yet to build a larger amusement park than this dated wonder in Chorzów. If you’re a fan of old amusement parks like Vienna’s Prater, you’ll get a kick out of this product of a bygone era which features some rides and amusements that literally date back 50 years, among them a drenching water ride, haunted house ride and a couple twirling whirligig rides. There are plenty of more modern thrills to get excited about however, including the ‘Tornado’ - the highest, fastest rollercoaster in PL, with two 360 degree loops. About 50 attractions in all and your admission fee is good for all of them, as many times as you want, until the park closes for the evening. Overall it’s a fun outing, in turns amusing, amazing and depressing; one of a kind at any rate.QI‑2, Plac Atrakcji 1, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 666 03 11 96, www.wesole-miasteczko.pl. Open from May, 10:00 - 19:00; Sat, Sun 10:00 - 21:00. Closed Mon. All day tickets for kids (4-12 years old) and seniors (69+ years old) is 39zł. All day tickets for kids (12+) and Adults is 50zł. Free for children age 4 and under.

GETTING THERE Silesia possesses not only the largest park in PL, but all of Europe in Chorzów’s Silesia Park, which features dozens of attractions within its 620 hectares. Getting there from Katowice is as easy as hopping on a tram or bus (tram being the fastest). There are four tram and bus stops along the course of the park: ‘WPKiW Wesołe Miasteczko’ (amusement park), ‘WPKiW Śląski Ogród Zoologiczny’ (the zoo), ‘WPKiW Wejście Główne’ (main entrance) and ‘Chorzów Stadion Śląski’ (Silesian Stadium). Take trams 6, 11 or 19; or buses 6, 820, 830 or 840 (getting off at WPKiW Śląski Ogród Zoologiczny). Chorzów is in zone 2 of Katowice’s public transport system so we recommend getting a 3,80zł zone 2 ticket which will get you to the park comfortably and beyond. facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

Relaxing in Silesia Park

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Leisure DISCO POLO!

SILESIAN ROPE PARK Give yourself a new high navigating this awesome ropes park in the Silesia Park. Nicknamed ‘The Furnace’, the park offers an adrenaline-boosting and safe challenge for everyone thanks to a brief training, helmets and harnesses. Three prepared routes of varying difficulty, including a special course designed for children ages 3-12, run a total of 620 metres with 49 obstacles, 36 platforms and no less than eight thrilling zip-lines.QI‑1, Silesia Park, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 666 03 13 84, www.slaskiparklinowy.pl. Open from April 10:00 - 20:00; Sat, Sun 10:00 - 21:00. 35/25zł per route, 15zł per mini-route.

Fanatic band © Wikipedia/User: FxJ/CC BY-SA 3.0

No, it’s not an equestrian sport involving bell-bottomed jockeys (good guess, though), Disco Polo is a rather peculiar and uniquely Polish sub-genre of dance music. In fact you may have already been exposed to it without even realising it. It could have been blaring from a suped-up Fiat Duze rolling by, pulsing from a radio in a Żabka convenience store or been the soundtrack to that local wedding you attended a few months back. This cult genre first emerged in the early 90’s as folk musicians and wedding bands finally were able to upgrade their antiquated audio gear and buy some shiny new keyboards with built in drum machines (and 70’s disco presets). By mixing a little Italo Disco (read: Eurotrash Techno) into their Casiotone folk-anthems, a music revolution was born. Disco Polo quickly conquered every wedding hall, village disco and nightclub throughout the land. By 1995 there were Disco Polo programmes on every major radio and television station and even former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski used a Disco Polo song during his presidential campaign that year. Times were good and Disco Polo labels like Blue Star and ‘bands’ such as Bayer Full, Boys and Shazza were pumping out the hits and rolling in the zlotties. But alas, the good times couldn’t last forever. Disco Polo was scoffed at from the very beginning by the likes of intellectuals, music critics and professional musicians who viewed it as hokey and primitive (which it was/is). The tide began to turn for the genre as a whole when a few scandals involving disco polo artists and local mafia bosses started to make headlines in ‘96 and ‘97. These scandals coincided with a huge drop in cassette and CD sales. By the late 90’s the wedding party was officially over and the long national hangover had begun. Public opinion and the mainstream media quickly turned and openly derided and lampooned the jovial genre. Nowadays, the Disco Polo genre is about as respected as Country & Western or Smooth Jazz. Nonetheless, Disco Polo artists continue to break album sales records and tour regularly despite being the butt of almost every musical joke. The truth is, while it’s been officially cool to make fun of Disco Polo for the better part of a decade, it’s every red-blooded Pole’s guilty pleasure. 72 Katowice In Your Pocket

All the latest news facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket UPPER SILESIAN ETHNOGRAPHIC PARK A welcome departure from the industrial monuments route, this fantastic open-air folk park presents rural Silesian life through its aged architectural monuments. Since the late 60s, Chorzów’s ‘skansen’ has been rescuing endangered or forgotten Silesian structures by hoisting them up and dropping them in this makeshift village laid out over 20 hectares of idyllic countryside. Grouped into six ethnographic regions, visitors explore some 70 buildings dating from the late 18th to early 20th century, including traditional thatched-roof homes, granaries, historic wooden churches, wayside shrines and windmills. Many of the buildings are open with indoor exhibits and an informative staff on hand (though some are closed in winter). There’s even an old karczma (inn) where you can get a bite to eat and a beer. One of the farms even has a few goats and horses, adding some extra magic to this romantic village of architectural artefacts saved from extinction. Reserve at least an hour.QQ‑4, ul. Parkowa 25, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 32 241 07 18, www.muzeumgpe-chorzow.pl. Park and Karczma are both open 09:00 - 16:00; Sat, Sun 10:00 - 16:00. From May open 09:00 - 19:00; Sat, Sun 10:00 21:00. Last entrance 1 hour before closing. Admission 8/6zł. Mon free. ZOO Located in Silesia Park, PL’s largest zoo is a massive 50 hectare extravaganza with 3,000 animals of 366 species from all over the world, including crowd favourites such as hippos, rhinos, siberian tigers and cheetahs. The kids will be thoroughly enthralled thanks to a petting zoo and Dinosaur Valley, which features some rather silly concrete dinos. The sheer size of the place makes renting a wooden handcart designed to pull them around money well spent indeed. QI‑1, Promenade Gen. Jerzego Ziętka 7 (Park of Culture & Recreation, Chorzów), tel. (+48) 666 03 14 96, www. zoo.silesia.pl. Open 09:00 - 16:00. From April open 09:00 - 17:00; Sat, Sun 09:00 - 18:00. From May open 09:00 19:00. Last entrance 1 hour before closing. Tickets 10/5zł, family ticket 25zł. From April tickets 15/8zł, family 38zł. katowice.inyourpocket.com

Shopping

Burgundia Wine Tastings & Wine Shop

ALCOHOL BURGUNDIA WINE TASTINGS & WINE SHOP A really admirable selection of world wines for all tastes and budgets in this shop/wine bar hidden in a courtyard near the train station. Another location in the Altus Centre (H-3, ul. Uniwersytecka 13).QB‑3, ul. 3 Maja 23, tel. (+48) 32 253 75 19, www.burgundia.com.pl. Open 10:00 - 21:00, Sat 11:00 - 21:00. Closed Sun. CENTRUM WINA Traditional Polish vodka, mead and other high-octane drinks made from natural ingredients, aged in oak barrels and sold to you in fancy packages.QB‑1, ul. Chorzowska 107 (Silesia City Center), tel. (+48) 32 605 09 34, www. centrumwina.com.pl. Open 10:00 - 21:00, Fri 10:00 22:00. KONDRAT WINA WYBRANE Not your typical wine shop. Own and operated by a famous Polish actor, they carefully handpick each and every wine that line’s their shelves assuring only the best selection of vintages from the Old and New world for your sipping pleasure. They also have a tasting room where you can try the wine of the day or take part in one of their regular tastings.QC‑5, ul. Plebiscytowa 10/1, tel. (+48) 32 205 20 94, www.marekkondrat.pl. Open 10:00 - 21:00, Sat 10:00 - 19:00. Closed Sun.

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WHISKY & SPIRIT HOUSE If you happen to be a whisky and high end spirits lover, or you know someone near and dear who is, then this shop is a must stop. It’s no accident they spell ‘whisky’ without an ‘e’ as exclusive Scotch single malts are their specialty and we dare say they may just have the best selection we’ve seen in all of Poland! Talisker, Laphroaig, and Islay Storm are just the beginning and the knowledgeable owner/specialist will gladly help expand your knowledge and improve your pallet. Of course you’ll also find highend bourbons, voluptuous vodkas, lucious liquours and, oh yeah, some pretty good whiskey as well. They also have a great wine, cider and craft beer selection to fill out their impressive offer. We recommend you take your time to find that perfect tincture or tipple because it’s certainly here somewhere.QC‑5, ul. Plebiscytowa 13, tel. (+48) 511 55 54 11, www.whiskyandspirit.pl. Open 10:00 - 18:00, Fri 10:00 - 19:00, Sat 10:00 - 15:00. Closed Sun.

AMBER & JEWELLERY W. KRZYŚ One stop shopping for all your gold, diamond, pearl and luxury watch needs. They stock hot brands such as Chopard, Girard Peregaux, Longines, Rado, Omega. A great excuse to break out that new Platinum Mastercard.QC‑4, ul. Staromiejska 15, tel. (+48) 32 253 98 39, www.krzysjubiler.pl. Open 10:00 - 17:00, Sat 10:00 - 13:00. Closed Sun. March - June 2016

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Shopping ART & ANTIQUES

FASHION & ACCESSORIES

Antiques are everywhere in Poland and there is no shortage of possibilities for their purchase in Katowice. Serious shoppers will find that the best items end up in the proper antique stores (‘Antyki,’ ‘Antykwariat’), rather than outdoor markets. Remember, if you are taking art that is more than 50 years old and of a potentially high value, you’ll need the proper paperworks and permissions (see Customs, under Basics). Most proper dealers can provide this straight-away, but you may want to check before opening your wallet. See the Culture section for more art gallery listings.

International designer clothing and fashion brands can be found in Katowice’s shopping malls, namely the peerless Silesia City Centre (F-1). High quality Polish brands to peel an eye for include Reserved, Vistula, Tatuum and Carry. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you should find no trouble locating secondhand clothing stores around the city, ranging from self-respecting retailers to those who offer a room of rummage bins; just look for the words ‘Tanie Odziez.’ Finally, the clothing market around Plac Synagogi on ul. Mickiewicza (H-2) is a great place to get stockings with runs in them and underwear stretched and displayed on a steering wheel.

DESA This is Desa’s flagship location in Katowice and this classy show room has a variety of unique antique works of art, furniture, china, collectibles, decorative items and jewellery. Get lost in a their spacious cases of treasures from another age. The attentive and helpful art experts on hand are there to help you find the perfect piece for your private collection or that special someone. They also handle the sale and appraisal of works of art and antiques. Also located at ul. Dworcowa 13.QD‑4, ul. Mariacka 5, tel. (+48) 32 253 99 22, www.desakatowice.com. Open 10:30 - 18:00, Sat 11:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun.

vine.co/inyourpocket GALERIA SZTUKI FOX A unique and welcoming gallery specialising in modern art, paintings, sculpture, graphics and hand-made jewellery. Fox also offers decor services, and - somewhat surprisingly - exquisite teas and all the associated equipment you might need to prepare them. There is ample parking and the opening hours are merely a suggestion and they will easily stay open longer if you so desire.QB‑6, ul. Powstańców 10, tel. (+48) 600 08 77 21, www.galeriafox.pl. Open 10:00 - 17:00, Sat 10:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun.

BOOKS, MUSIC & FILM EMPIK Located in the massive Silesian City Center, this is the best place in town to find English language paperbacks, guide books, a few foreign newspapers and a decent range of CDs and DVDs. One stop shopping for all your mass media wants and needs.QJ‑2, ul. Chorzowska 107 (Silesia City Center), tel. (+48) 22 451 03 94, www.empik.com. Open 10:00 - 21:00, Fri 10:00 - 22:00. KOMIS PŁYTOWY (RECORD STORE) The largest selection of vinyl we’ve ever seen in PL is hidden in this courtyard off one of Katowice’s main streets. Bargainpriced, though not extremely well-organised used CDs, as well as music-related DVDs, and posters.QB‑3, ul. 3 Maja 19, tel. (+48) 32 253 99 45. Open 10:00 - 18:00, Sat 10:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun. 74 Katowice In Your Pocket

Geszeft

GESZEFT Wonders never cease in this hip store for hipsters and lovers of divine design. We’ve never seen a place exude cool so effortlessly and everything you pick up, look at or try on makes you drool. Ease into the sleek coffee bar and grab a java drink to help you think. Wander the stylish salon which has racks of Polish designer threads, KATO themed knick-knacks and shoulder bags, funky jewelry and even home decor. Look through art & archi books or grab a Silesion region mag while you curl up in a window seat and search for reasons to linger here a little longer. This unique boutique is one stop shopping for temporary tourists, culture vultures and fierce fashionistas alike. For misses and misters, but not to be missed.QK‑2, ul. Morcinka 23-25, tel. (+48) 534 76 76 54, www.geszeft. co. Open 11:00 - 19:00, Sat 10:00 - 17:00. Closed Sun. A

FOOD & SWEETS KRAKOWSKI KREDENS An old-fashioned dry goods store of expensive, yet exquisite, Galician delicacies - including jams, honeys, liquors, cured meats, candies and pickled things.QI‑2, ul. Chorzowska 107 (Silesia City Center), tel. (+48) 32 605 01 17, www.krakowskikredens.pl. Open 10:00 - 21:00, Fri 10:00 - 22:00. katowice.inyourpocket.com

Shopping NATU A nice little community shop selling 100% organic food and ecological products with European certificates: fresh fruit and produce, food for special dietary needs, macrobiotic products, natural cosmetics and cleaning products, etc. QB‑6, ul. Powstańców 10, tel. (+48) 32 257 23 66, www. natu.pl. Open 08:00 - 18:30, Sat 08:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun. NATURA Ideal for those with dietary needs, Natura sells a range of organic and gluten free health food products, honeys, coldpressed oils, teas, herbs and the like.QA‑6, ul. Kościuszki 57, tel. (+48) 601 70 70 57. Open 09:00 - 17:00, Thu 09:00 - 18:00, Sat 09:00 - 13:00. Closed Sun. ORGANIC FARMA ZDROWIA We’re not sure what it says about the organic farming industry and health food market when the only place to find a store like this is in a shopping mall, but here it is: a small, expensive selection of soy and gluten-free products, natural spices, oils, honeys, and other health-conscious goods.QI‑2, ul. Chorzowska 107 (Silesia City Center), tel. (+48) 32 605 02 96, www.organicmarket.pl. Open 10:00 - 21:00, Fri 10:00 - 22:00.

GIFTS & SOUVENIRS ANWA Local hand-made porcelain, glass and ceramics.QC‑5, ul. Kochanowskiego 2 (entrance from ul.Wojewódzka), tel. (+48) 32 251 39 23. Open 10:00 - 18:00, Sat 10:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun. CEPELIA A larger than average version of the national folk art chain selling a range of related arts and crafts from kitsch to quintessential including some fine tapestries, wood carvings and even complete folk costumes for both men and women.QC‑3, Al. Korfantego 6, tel. (+48) 32 259 87 44, www.cepelia.pl. Open 10:00 - 18:00, Sat 10:00 14:00. Closed Sun. CERAMIKA BOLESŁAWIECKA This wonderful shop offers a great selection of Poland’s famous Bolesławiec folk ceramic. If you’re in need of a fool-proof gift from Poland, you really can’t go wrong here. QC‑4, ul. Dyrekcyjna 4, tel. (+48) 32 350 20 99, www. ceramicboleslawiec.com.pl. Open 10:00 - 18:00, Sat 09:00 - 16:00. Closed Sun. KURKA BEZ PIÓRKA A charming shop promoting art by young local artists, Kurka Bez Piórka specialises in handicrafts and fiber arts, but offers a wide range of art and accessories, including graphic prints, ceramics, hand-made jewellery, home decor items, gift baskets and even paintings and illustrations all made by students from Katowice’s Academy of the Arts. They also have another location at ul. Panewnicka 98.QB‑6, ul. Powstańców 4, tel. (+48) 691 40 10 40, www.kurkabezpiorka.pl. Open 10:00 - 18:00, Sat 10:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun. facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

SADZA SOAP This is the ultimate must-have souvenir for the Silesian enthusiast in your family. A lump of pristine coal that you can use to clean off all that coal dust you picked up from visiting one of the regions many mines. Ok, so it may be a novelty, but it is actually made of high quality soap with absolutely deft design. Yet another perfect stocking stuffer. You can purchase your very own clean coal for around 25 zł. They also have shampoo or body wash for 30 zł, peeling soap for 39 zł and a gift box for 170zł. Order them online or in selected museums and info points around town. Email them for more info.QC‑2, [email protected], www. sadzasoap.com.

MARKETS TARGOWISKO MIEJSKIE You haven’t really experienced Poland until you’ve smelt the unique fragrance of fruit, vegetables, fish and Chinese cotton that make up the main things for sale in a classic outdoor Polish market. This small market south of the train tracks comes with red and white striped awnings and a good selection of the aforementioned things for sale at bargain prices.QB‑5, Pl. Miarki, tel. (+48) 32 250 40 08, www.ztm.katowice.pl. Open 06:00 - 17:00. Closed Sun.

SHOPPING MALLS 3 STAWY This 40,000 square metre shopping complex southeast of centre includes an underground parking lot and a Auchan hypermarket with 60 boutique shops and some wellrecognised brands including Reserved, KappAhl, Smyk, EMPIK and H&M hedged inside. Self-standing nearby are Media Markt, Go Sport and a few others you’ve never heard of. Get there by taking bus numbers 110, 672, 674 or 910 from the bus station under the train station.QL‑5, ul. Pułaskiego 60, tel. (+48) 32 209 14 60, www.3stawy.pl. Open 09:00 - 21:00, Sun 09:00 - 20:00. ALTUS Once Katowice’s most modern edifice, Altus began the Silesian capital’s post-communist march to modernity, and at 27 stories and 125 metres tall was until recently the tallest building in all of southern PL (now completely eclipsed by Wrocław’s 225m Sky Tower). A thoroughly unique culture, entertainment, business and retail centre all contained in one glittering package, within Altus’ 63,000 square metres you’ll find a diverse range of ways to spend a typically dreary day in Silesia; in fact, with one of the best hotels in town (Qubus Prestige) occupying the upper floors, it’s conceivable you could spend your entire trip to Kato within the Altus confines.

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Shopping Home to a cinema (Planet Cinema), fitness centre, casino, atrium gallery and several fine restaurants (Via Toscana, Kyoto Sushi), Altus also contains a plethora of retail boutiques and salons (including an Apple Macintosh service store), banks, cafes a 24hr fitness club (Get-Fit) and a rooftop bar with views of that incredible city you’ll be perfectly content to miss. The complex is so vast they even have superfluous space leftover for offices and conference facilities. Serviced by an underground parking lot with 566 spaces, there’s even an Avis car rental spot and a car wash. Now that’s thorough. QD‑3, ul. Uniwersytecka 13, tel. (+48) 32 603 00 14, www. altus.katowice.pl. Open 10:00 - 20:00, Sun 10:00 - 18:00. DH SUPERSAM Katowice seems to be making up for lost time and it seems that every other month another new building or museum has a grand opening. This impressive modern glass and steel mini mall is the newest building to pop up in the city center and it certainly classes up the neighbourhood. The Supersam Shopping Centre isn’t entirely a new structure as it was literally built on the supporting steel frame of the original building from the 1930’s of the same name. Besides its superstructure, the new reinvented building has very little in common with its historical predecessor save its overarching economic mission to provide shoppers with a broader range of affordable shops, services, restaurants and outlets (76 in total) than you may find in some of the bigger shopping malls in town. Of course you will find a few International commercial stalwarts like Rossmann, Pepco and Reserved plus a lot of bigger name Polish shops like Empik, and Cropp plus they have a huge modern gym complex on the third floor. For a full list of shops and services log on to their website or FB page.QB‑3, ul. Skargi 6, tel. (+48) 32 712 18 33, www.supersam-katowice. pl. Open 09:00 - 21:00, Sun 10:00 - 20:00. GALERIA KATOWICKA The mighty Galeria Katowicka finally shed its cranes and opened its vaulted doors to a giddy and gasping public in September 2013, in concert with the completion of the final part of the three-stage modernisation of the Katowice Train Station. Featuring over 250 shops and service points including a supermarket, several convenience stores, media and appliance outlets, all the top Polish and foreign clothing and shoe brands not to mention a slew of jewellery and

TAX FREE SHOPPING Non-EU residents are entitled to claim a VAT refund when the purchased goods are exported in an unused condition outside the EU in personal luggage. Shop wherever you see the Global Blue logo. The minimum total purchase value with VAT per Tax Free Form is 200pln. Keep the Tax Free Form, have it stamped when leaving the final point of departure from the EU and reclaim your money. For full details check www.globalblue.com. 76 Katowice In Your Pocket

Galeria Katowicka

interior design boutiques - the mall literally spills out onto Plac Szewczyka, which is covered in new restaurants and cafes, and includes an underground parking lot with 1,200 spaces (first 3 hours free!). Essentially the cornerstone of the modernisation and general beautification of the entire city centre, Galeria Katowicka and the new train station were designed to smoothly blend into the city’s architecture and act as a convenient corridor of commerce for travellers, business professionals and locals alike. An unavoidable aspect of any visit to the city, those who weren’t around to ‘enjoy’ the old train station will probably never understand just what a blessing this commercial and transport complex really is.QB‑3, ul. 3 Maja 30, tel. (+48) 32 414 16 01, www. galeriakatowicka.eu. Open 09:00 - 21:00, Sun 10:00 - 20:00. PASAŻ MONOPOL The only Likus Concept Store in Silesia, Pasaż Monopol offers high-class boutique brands inside the refined interior of the five-star Hotel Monopol. Exclusive signature stores include Versace and Dono da Scheggia. There’s also Lanora, Olsen and beauty treatments at Face2Face hairdresser.QC‑4, ul. Dyrekcyjna 5-7. Open 10:00 - 19:00. Closed Sun. SILESIA CITY CENTER Located mid-way between Katowice and Chorzów on the site of an old 1904 coal mine, the spectacular Silesia City Center easily trumps everything else in the region. A combined retail, gourmet and entertainment complex, the original 65,000 metre-square building (now over 86,000) was opened in 2005 and in 2011 hotel heiress Paris Hilton descended upon Silesia to open a new wing with 60 additional shops, 2 more restaurants, a dentist office, massage studio, beauty salon and additional parking, bringing the total number of spaces to 3,500 - the largest lot in Silesia. Designed to blend in with the surrounding Gothic architecture, this shopping mall has over 300 shops including Tesco, Saturn and EMPiK superstores, a Cinema City movie complex, Pure Fitness Club, and is even a decent place to eat thanks to the upstairs Bierhalle restaurant and Hana - a magnificent sushi restaurant located externally in the mine’s former swimming pool. Other features include the preserved, red brick St Barbara’s Chapel and the remains of the tower that once lowered the miners underground now the symbol of the commercial centre. Get there via tram numbers 6, 11 or 19.QI‑2, ul. Chorzowska 107, tel. (+48) 32 605 00 00, www.silesiacitycenter.com.pl. Open 10:00 21:00, Fri 10:00 - 22:00. katowice.inyourpocket.com

Directory 24HR PHARMACIES

PRIVATE CLINICS

APTEKA BLISKO CIEBIE QC‑3, ul. Mickiewicza 10, tel. (+48) 32 258 11 11.

INTER-MED QK‑1, ul. Grabowa 32 (Wełnowiec), tel. (+48) 32 253 61 98, www.inter-med.pl.

APTEKA EUROPEJSKA QC‑5, ul. Wojewódzka 7, tel. (+48) 32 251 77 62.

CONSULATES & EMBASSIES

LUX MED QB‑2, ul. Sokolska 29, tel. (+48) 22 332 28 88, www. luxmed.pl.

LATVIA Qul. Królowej Aldony 19 (Saska Kempa), Warsaw, tel. (+48) 22 617 11 05, www.latvia.pl.

SAD-MED QC‑3, ul. Teatralna 9, tel. (+48) 32 782 40 40, www. sadmed.com.pl.

LITHUANIA QAl. Ujazdowskie 14, Warsaw, tel. (+48) 22 625 33 68, pl.mfa.lt.

REAL ESTATE

SLOVAKIA Qul. Litewska 6, Warsaw, tel. (+48) 22 525 81 10, www. mzv.sk/varsava. SLOVENIA Qul. Starościńska 1/23-24, Warsaw, tel. (+48) 22 849 82 82, www.warsaw.embassy.si.

DENTISTS EMERGENCY DENTAL SERVICE Open 24hrs for all your middle of the night dental emergencies.QL‑4, ul. Krasińskiego 25A, tel. (+48) 32 256 29 85, www.dentalservice.com.pl. MED CENTRUM QA‑3, Pl. Wolności 4, tel. (+48) 32 352 56 50, www. medcentrum.pl.

PIK QB‑5, ul. Kościuszki 26/7, tel. (+48) 32 781 95 82, www. pik.slask.pl. PROLOKUM QC‑3, Al. Korfantego 9, tel. (+48) 32 781 09 99, www. prolokum.pl.

TRANSLATORS & INTERPRETERS EKSPERT QJ‑2, ul. Johna Baildona 16/2, tel. (+48) 500 26 56 78, www.ekspert.katowice.pl. EUROBUSINESS - HALLER QF‑2, ul. Obroki 133, tel. (+48) 32 355 38 01, www. haller.pl. GROY QL‑3, ul. 1 Maja 9, tel. (+48) 32 352 10 01, www.groy.pl.

INTERNET CAFÉ KONTAKT QB‑3, ul. Stawowa 3, tel. (+48) 513 01 35 73, www. cafekontakt.net. Open 08:00 - 23:00, Sun 10:00 - 22:00. 4zł per hour.

LANGUAGE SCHOOLS LINGUA HOUSE Also at ul. Gliwicka 12/11 (C-1). tel 32 781 77 81QL‑3, ul. 1 Maja 33, tel. (+48) 32 256 10 40, www.lingua-house.pl. PROFI-LINGUA QB‑4, ul. Młyńska 23, tel. (+48) 32 253 05 19, www. profi-lingua.pl.

POST OFFICES POCZTA POLSKA QC‑4, ul. Pocztowa 9, tel. (+48) 32 359 45 88, www. poczta-polska.pl. Open 24hrs. facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

CURRENCY EXCHANGE Currency exchange offices (‘Kantor’) are easy to find in Katowice, but as with any international destination, it’s imperative to check the rates to ensure you aren’t getting fleeced. The general rule is you should never change your money at city entry points, particularly at the airport where the rates are almost criminal. To help put your mind and your wallet at ease, we’ve assembled a list of well-located exchange offices that won’t rip you off, and don’t take a commission. FIFTY-FIFTY QC‑3, ul. Mickiewicza 6, tel. (+48) 32 258 44 04. Open 09:00 - 17:00. Closed Sat, Sun. MAX KANTOR QB‑3, ul. Stawowa 10, tel. (+48) 694 99 21 67. Open 09:00 - 18:00. Closed Sat, Sun. March - June 2016

77

Hotels KATOWICE ANGELO BY VIENNA HOUSE KATOWICEQB‑2, ul. Sokolska 24, tel. (+48) 32 783 81 00, www.viennahouse. com. 203  rooms (181  singles, 181  doubles, 5  suites, 17 apartments). P­H­U­F­K­D­X hhhh BEST WESTERN PREMIER HOTEL FORUM KATOWICE Qul. Bytkowska 1a, tel. (+48) 32 721 11 11, www. bestwesternkatowice.pl. 168  rooms (61  singles, 74  doubles, 30  suites, 1  apartment). P­H­6­U­F­ K­D hhhh BOUTIQUE HOSTEL PATRIA QJ‑4, ul. Mikołajowska 44, tel. (+48) 32 204 52 08. 7 rooms (7 singles, 7 doubles, 7 triples, 7 quads). 6 CAMPANILEQL‑5, ul. Sowińskiego 48, tel. (+48) 32 205 50 50, www.campanile.com. 77 rooms (77 singles, 77 doubles). P­H­6­U­K hh DIAMENT PLAZA KATOWICE QC‑4, ul. Dworcowa 9, tel. (+48) 32 746 70 00, www. hotelediament.pl. 45  rooms (9  singles, 32  doubles, 4 suites, 1 apartment). P­H­6­U­K hhhh DIAMENT SPODEK QD‑1, Al. Korfantego 35, tel. (+48) 32 606 85 85, www. hotelediament.pl. 30  rooms (29  singles, 26  doubles, 1 apartment). H­6­U­K­D­C hhh EURORESIDENCE HOME APARTAMENT QB‑5, ul. Kopernika 6, tel. (+48) 32 608 42 52, www. euroresidence.com.pl. 34  rooms (9  singles, 9  doubles, 25 apartments). P­H­6­U­L­K­D­w IBIS BUDGET KATOWICE CENTRUM QL‑3, Al. Roździeńskiego 18, tel. (+48) 32 350 50 40, www.ibisbudget.com. 124  rooms (124  singles, 124 doubles, 4 triples). P­6­U h KATOWICEQC‑3, Al. Korfantego 9, tel. (+48) 32 258 82 81, www.hotel-katowice.com.pl. 230 rooms (136 sin‑ gles, 78 doubles, 16 suites). H­6­U­K­X hh MONOPOLQC‑4, ul. Dworcowa 5, tel. (+48) 32 782 82 82, www.lhr.com.pl. 108 rooms (12 singles, 93 doubles, 3  apartments). P­H­6­U­F­L­K­D­X­C hh­ hhh MOSQUITO SILESIA APARTMENTS QB‑3, ul. 3 Maja 23, tel. (+48) 694 26 63 54, www. mosquitosilesia.pl. 3 rooms (3 apartments). P NOVOTEL KATOWICE CENTRUM QK‑3, Al. Roździeńskiego 16, tel. (+48) 32 200 44 44, www.accorhotels.com. 300  rooms (216  singles, 84 doubles). P­H­6­U­F­K­D­C hhhh 78 Katowice In Your Pocket

PARK HOTEL DIAMENT KATOWICE QJ‑4, ul. Wita Stwosza 37, tel. (+48) 32 720 00 00, www. hotelediament.pl. 186 rooms (181 singles, 173 doubles, 5 suites). P­H­6U ­ ­F­K hhhh PATIO ZAJAZD Qul. Kościuszki 352 (Piotrowice), tel. (+48) 32 202 95 56, www.patiozajazd.pl. 22  rooms (22  singles, 12  doubles, 3 triples, 1 quad, 1 five-person room). 6­K QUBUS HOTEL PRESTIGE KATOWICE QD‑3, ul. Uniwersytecka 13, tel. (+48) 32 601 01 00, www.qubushotel.com. 150  rooms (98  singles, 14 doubles, 32 suites, 6 apartments). P­O­H­6­U­ F­K­D­X hhhh SENATORQL‑3, ul. 1 Maja 3, tel. (+48) 32 258 60 81, www.senator.katowice.pl. 48 rooms (47 singles, 47 dou‑ bles, 1 apartment). H­6U ­ ­K­X hhh SILESIAN HOTEL QUALITY AND ECONOMY QK‑5, ul. Szybowcowa 1a, tel. (+48) 32 606 88 00, www. silesianhotel.pl. 181  rooms (173  singles, 157  doubles, 8 apartments). P­H­6­U­F­K­D­C hhh SLEEP CITYQI‑2, ul. Johna Baildona 22e, tel. (+48) 509 75 29 35, www.sleepcity.pl. 12 rooms (12 apartments). U TWÓJ HOSTEL KATOWICE QI‑3, ul. Klimczoka 7, tel. (+48) 32 202 30 25, www. twojhostel.pl. 100  rooms (10  singles, 15  doubles, 19 triples, 15 quads, 43 dorm beds). U­K

BYTOM TWÓJ HOSTEL BYTOMQul. Strzelców Bytomskich 87A, Bytom, tel. (+48) 32 782 17 00, www.twojhostel.pl. 95 rooms (15 singles, 27 doubles, 32 triples, 15 quads, 5 five-person rooms, 1 six-person rooms).

CHORZÓW DIAMENT ARSENAL PALACE KATOWICE/ CHORZÓWQQ‑5, ul. Paderewskiego 35, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 32 606 84 84, www.hotelediament.pl. 115 rooms (111 singles, 83 doubles, 1 apartment). H­6­U­FL ­ ­ K­D­C­w hhhh DIAMENT BELLA NOTTE KATOWICE/CHORZÓW QQ‑4, ul. Paderewskiego 35, Chorzów, tel. (+48) 32 606 82 82, www.hotelediament.pl. 45  rooms (43  singles, 43 doubles, 1 suite, 1 apartment). H­6­U­L hhh

CZELADŹ HOTEL SZAFRANQul. Będzińska 82, Czeladź, tel. (+48) 32 784 31 00, www.hotelszafran.pl. 115  rooms (2 singles, 84 doubles, 22 triples, 7 apartments). P­H­ 6­U­F­K­X hhhh katowice.inyourpocket.com

Hotels PAŁAC SATURNA (SATURN’S PALACE)Qul. Dehnelów 2, Czeladź, tel. (+48) 32 290 13 90, www.palacsaturna.pl. 25 rooms (25 apartments). H­F­K­D­C­w

GLIWICE DIAMENT ECONOMY GLIWICEQN‑2, ul. Zwycięstwa 42, Gliwice, tel. (+48) 32 231 18 21, www.hotelediament. pl. 27 rooms (7 singles, 20 doubles). 6­U­L­K hhh DIAMENT PLAZA GLIWICEQN‑2, ul. Zwycięstwa 30, Gliwice, tel. (+48) 32 721 70 00, www.hotelediament. pl. 67 rooms (29 singles, 31 doubles, 5 suites, 2 apart‑ ments). P­H­6F ­ ­L­K hhhh QUBUS HOTEL GLIWICEQN‑3, ul. Dworcowa 27, Gliwice, tel. (+48) 32 300 11 00, www.qubushotel.com. 89  rooms (35  singles, 44  doubles, 6  suites, 4  apart‑ ments). P­H­6­U­K­X hhh ROYALQM‑3, ul. Matejki 10, Gliwice, tel. (+48) 32 400 00 00, www.hotelroyal.com.pl. 50  rooms (14  singles, 36 doubles). P­T­H­F­L­K­D­X hhh

PYRZOWICE DESILVA INN KATOWICE AIRPORTQul. Równoległa 2, Pyrzowice, tel. (+48) 32 393 88 88, www.desilva.pl. 77 rooms (77 singles, 77 doubles, 77 triples). P­H­6­UK ­ ­X hhh

facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

SOSNOWIEC M HOTEL SOSNOWIEC Qul. Wojska Polskiego 199, Sosnowiec, tel. (+48) 32 363 63 00, www.mhotelsosnowiec.pl. 55 rooms (51 singles, 50 doubles, 4 suites). H­6­U­F­L­K hhh

TYCHY HOTEL PIRAMIDA SPA & WELLNESS Qul. Sikorskiego 100, Tychy, tel. (+48) 32 325 78 78, www.hotelpiramida.pl. 63 rooms (62 singles, 62 doubles, 1 suite). P­H­UF ­ ­K­D­C­w hhhhh

ZABRZE DIAMENT ZABRZEQul. 3 maja 122a, Zabrze (Zaborze Południe), tel. (+48) 32 721 10 10, www.hotelediament. pl. 39 rooms (12 singles, 23 doubles, 4 suites). H­6­ F­K hhh IBIS KATOWICE - ZABRZEQR‑1, ul. Jagiellońska 4, Zabrze, tel. (+48) 32 777 70 00, www.ibis.com. 114 rooms (114 singles, 114 doubles). P­H­K hh OŚRODEK KONFERENCYJNO-SZKOLENIOWY ‘INNOWACJA’Qul. Jagiellońska 38A, Zabrze, tel. (+48) 32 278 75 55, www.oks.polsl.pl. 34  rooms (30  singles, 21 doubles, 2 triples, 6 quads, 8 suites, 4 apartments). H

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Street Register KATOWICE 1 Maja L/N-3 Adama Mickiewicza B-3 Adolfa Dygacza L-4/5 Akacjowa I-2 Akademicka L-3 Albatrosów J-5 Aleja Walentego Roździeńskiego C/E-2; E-3, K/M-3; M-2; N-2 Aleja Wojciecha Korfantego C-1/2, J-1; K-1/2 Aleksandra Hercena J-4 Alfonsa Górnika K-2 Alfonsa Zgrzebnioka I-5; J-5/6 Alpejska K-5; L-5 Andrzeja A-4/5; B-5 Astrów A-7; B-7 Bagienna L/O-3; O-4 Bankowa D-3/4; E-3 Błękitna J-2 Bocianów J-5 Boczna I-4 Bogucicka L-3 Bohaterów Monte Cassino L-2; M-2/3 Bolesława Czerwińskiego C-1, K-2 Bożogrobców I-2; J-2 Brata Alberta E-5 Bratków A-7; B-7 Bronisława Czecha L-3 Bruno Żogały L-2 Brynowska I-5/6 Ceglana J-5; K-5 Cicha J-2 Czapli J-5 Dobra J-2 Drzewna L-3 Dworcowa A/C-4 Edwarda Bugli I-4/5 Emanuela Imieli I-5 Fiołków A-7 Floriana L-3/4 Franciszka Anioła I-2/3 Franciszka Lubeckiego-Druckiego K-3; L-3 Francuska D-4/7, K-4/6

Courtesy of Katowice City Council

84 Katowice In Your Pocket

Friedricha Wilhelma Grundmanna A-1, J-2/3 Fryderyka Chopina A-3; B-3 Gabriela Narutowicza I-3 Gawronów I-5; J-5 Generała Józefa Longina Sowińskiego D-7; E-7, K-4; L-4/5 Generała Józefa Zajączka A-6/7 Generała Kazimierza Pułaskiego L-4/5 Generała Stanisława Szeptyckiego E-6, K-4; L-4 Generała Władysława Sikorskiego L-4 Gliwicka A-3, F/I-2; I-3; J-3 Górna L-2 Górnicza E-3/4, F-1 Graniczna E-6/7, K-4; L-3/4 Grzegorza Fitelberga I-5 Gustawa Morcinka C-1, J-2; K-2 Haliny Krahelskiej L-3/4 Heleny Modrzejewskiej I-5/6 Henryka Dąbrowskiego C-5; D-5 Henryka Jordana A-6; B-6, J-4 Henryka Mikołaja Góreckiego D-1; E-1, K-2; L-2 Henryka Sienkiewicza C-5/7 Chorzowska A/C-1; B-2; C-2 Chrześcijan Baptystów L-2 Ignacego Jana Paderewskiego L-3/4 Jagiellońska B/D-5 Jana III Sobieskiego A-2/3, J-3 Jana Kilińskiego A-5/6, J-4 Jana Kochanowskiego B-5; C-4/5 Jana Matejki A-3/4 Jana Nepomucena Stęślickiego A-1, J-2 Jasna J-2 Jerzego Dudy-Gracza L-3 Johna Baildona I-2; J-2 Józefa Ignacego Kraszewskiego L-2 Józefa Lompy C-5/7; D-5, K-4 Józefa Rymera A-6 Józefa Wolnego I-2/3 Józefa Zajączka A-6

Juliana Ordona D-1; E-1, K-2 Juliusza Ligonia B/D-6; B-5 Juliusza Słowackiego A-3/4; B-2/3 Juliusza Zarębskiego I-3 Kaktusów K-2 Kamienna A-4, J-3 Karbowa K-4 Kardynała Bolesława Kominka I-4 Karola L-3 Karola Miarki L-3 Karoliny L-2 Katowicka K-2; L-2 Kawek I-5/6 Kazimiery Iłłakowiczówny J-2; K-1/2 Kazimierza Dłuskiego J-4 Kazimierza Pułaskiego L-4 Kazimierza Skiby I-5/6 Klimczoka I-2/3 Klonowa K-2 Kolibrów J-5/6 Konstantego Damrota D-7; E-4/7 Konstantego Ildefonsa Gałczyńskiego I-5 Konstantego Woźniczki I-5/6 Kopalniana L-3 Kormoranów I-5; J-5 Koszarowa I-4 Kozielska A-5, J-3/4 Krakusa L-2 Królowej Jadwigi C-5/6 Krzemienna K-5 Krzysztofa Mieroszewskiego L-2 Krzywa A-5; B-5 Księcia Józefa Poniatowskiego A-6/7, J-4 Księdza Aleksandra Skowrońskiego L-3/4 Księdza biskupa Czesława Domina B-7 Księdza biskupa Józefa Gawliny I-4 Księdza biskupa Stanisława Adamskiego I-4; J-4 Księdza biskupa Teodora Kubiny I-4 Księdza Franciszka Ścigały L-2/3 Księdza Józefa Czempiela B-7

Księdza Józefa Szafranka D-5 Księdza kardynała Bolesława Kominka I-4; J-4 Księdza kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego K-2 Księdza Karola Żmija I-2 Księdza Konstantego Damrota D-7, K-4 Księdza Norberta Bończyka L-2 Księdza Piotra Skargi B-3; C-3 Księdza Stanisława Maślińskiego L-3 Łabędzia I-5; J-5 Lelków J-5/6 Leopolda L-2; M-2 Leopolda Markiefki L-2/3 Lipowa I-2 Ludomira Różyckiego I-5 Ludwika L-2 Macieja I-3 Macieja Ledóchowskiego I-3 Maksymiliana Wilimowskiego J-3/4 Marcina I-2/3 Marcina Szeligiewicza A-7; B-7 Marii Goeppert-Mayer A-4, J-3 Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie A-5/6 Meteorologów J-5 Michała Drzymały A-5/6; B-5 Michała Grażyńskiego B-1; C-1, J-2; K-2 Mikołaja Kopernika A-5; B-5 Mikołaja Reja L-3 Mikołowska A-4/5, I-4/5; J-3/4 Misjonarzy Oblatów MN J-2; K-2 Młyńska B-4; C-4, F-1 Modrzewiowa K-2 Morawska L-2/3 Morwowa K-2 Murckowska L-3/4; M-3/5 Myśliwska E-4 Nad Osiekiem J-3/4 Nadgórników L-2 Narcyzów A-7 Normy L-2 Nowa L-2/3 Nowotarska L-2 Olimpijska C/E-1; D-2, K-2 Ondraszka I-2/3 Opolska A-2/3; B-3, J-3 Parkowa I-5 Pawła Stalmacha A-5/6, J-4 PCK A-6 Pelikanów J-5 Pętla Słoneczna K-2 Piastowska C-3; D-3 Piękna I-4/5 Pilotów K-4 Piotra L-2 Plac Karola Miarki B-5 Plac Wolności A-3/4 Plebiscytowa B-6/7; C-5/6, J-4 Pocztowa C-4 Podgórna C-5 Podhalańska L-2; M-2 Podchorążych B-6/7 Powstańców A/E-6, K-4 Profesora Augusta Chełkowskiego D-3; E-3 Profesora Waleriana Pańki D-3; E-3, K-3; L-3 Prosta K-4; L-4 Prowansalska L-5 Przemysłowa E-5, K-4; L-4

katowice.inyourpocket.com

Street Register CHORZÓW

Courtesy of Katowice City Council Puławska L-2 Raciborska I-3/4; J-3/4 Relaksowa I-4 Rodańska K-5 Rondo generała Emila Fieldorfa "Nila" D-7, K-4 rondo Generała Jerzego Ziętka C-2 Rondo generała Stanisława Maczka I-4 Rondo Józefa Pietera D-2 Rondo Kazimierza Zenktelera E-7, K-4 Rondo księdza Józefa Kani I-2 Rondo księdza Konstantego Michalskiego J-5 Rondo Policji Województwa Śląskiego D-7 Równoległa L-3 Różana A-7 Roździeńskiego L-3 Rybnicka D-6/7 Rycerska I-4 Ryszarda L-3 Sądowa A-3/4, J-3 Skalna J-4 Sławomira Skrzypka D-1, K-2 Sokolska A-3; B-1/3; C-1, K-2 Śródmiejska C-2/3 Stanisława Fliegera J-4 Stanisława Kobylińskiego D-5 Stanisława Moniuszki D-3 Stanisława Rochowiaka I-4; J-4 Starowiejska D-4 Stefana Batorego B-5 Stefana Czarnieckiego L-3 Stefana Okrzei J-2; K-2 Strzelecka J-4 Świętego Jacka E-5 Świętego Jana C-4 Świętego Pawła E-3/4 Sztygarska L-3 Szybowa I-4

Szybowcowa K-5 Tadeusza Dobrowolskiego L-2/3 Tadeusza Konckiego B-5/6 Tadeusza Kościuszki A-6/7; B-4/6; C-4 Tadeusza Rejtana L-3 Tarasa Szewczenki I-2 Teatralna D-3 Trzech Stawów L-4; M-4 Tylna Mariacka C-4; D-4 Uniwersytecka D-2/3; E-2/3 Walerego Wróblewskiego L-2/3 Waleriana L-3 Warszawska C/E-4, K-3; L-3 Wąska I-2 Węglana L-2 Węglowa I-2 Wiązowa K-2; L-2 Widok J-2 Wierzbowa K-2 Wincentego Janasa I-3 Wincentego Styczyńskiego B-5 Wincentego Wajdy L-2 Wiślana L-2 Wita Stwosza B-5/7, F-1; J-4/5 Władysława Broniewskiego K-2 Władysława Łokietka L-3 Władysława Reymonta D-5/7 Wodna E-3/4 Wojewódzka C/E-5; C-4 Wrocławska L-2; M-2 Zabrska A-2/3 Zacisze E-5 Zakopiańska L-2 Zamułkowa I-2 Żelazna I-3; J-2/3 Zofii Koniarkowej L-2 Żołnierzy Wyklętych K-4; L-4 Żwirki i Wigury A-5; B-5/6, J-4 Zygmunta Krasińskiego E-5, K-3/4; L-4

facebook.com/KatowiceInYourPocket

Al. Bojowników o Wolność i Demokrację P-5 Al. Fali R-5 Al. Gwiazd R-5 Al. Główna Q-5; R-5 Al. Harcerska Q-5; R-5 Al. Klonowa R-4/5 Al. Księcia Henryka Pobożnego Q-5 Al. Księżnej Jadwigi Śląskiej Q-5 Al. Muzyków R-4 Al. Planetarium R-5 Al. Różana Q-5; R-5 Al. Spacerowa Q-5; R-5 Al. Sportowa R-5 Al. Widokowa R-4 Al. Wojska Polskiego P-5; Q-5 Al. Wycieczkowa Q-4; R-4 Al. Łani R-4/5 Alfonsa Zgrzebnioka Q-5 Astrów P-5 Bankowa P-4 Bartosza Głowackiego P-5 Biskupa Bernarda Bogedaina P-4 Bolesława Chrobrego P-4; Q-5 Chorzowska Q-5; R-5 Cmentarna P-5 Czysta P-5 Częstochowska P-5 Dobrodzieńska P-5 Doktora Andrzeja Mielęckiego P-4 Doktora Józefa Rostka P-4 Drogowa Trasa Średnicowa P-5 Dworcowa P-4 Działkowa P-5 Dębowa Q-5 Floriańska P-4 Franciszka Karpińskiego P-4 Franciszkańska P-5 Franklina Delano Roosevelta Q-4 Fryderyka Chopina P-4 Gajowa P-4 Generała Jana Henryka Dąbrowskiego P-4/5 Górna Q-4 Górnicza P-5 Hajducka P-5 Henryka Majętnego Q-4 Henryka Sienkiewicza P-4 Hetmańska Q-5 Ignacego Mościckiego Q-4/5 Ignacego Paderewskiego Q-4/5 Jagiellońska P-4 Jana Faski P-4 Jana III Sobieskiego P-4 Jana Kilińskiego P-4/5 Jasna P-5 Juliana Grządziela P-5 Józefa Lompy P-4 Józefa Ryszki P-5 Józefa Wybickiego Q-4 Kadecka Q-4 Karolinki Q-4 Kaszubska P-4 Katowicka P-4/5; Q-5 Kazimierza Wielkiego P-4 Klimzy P-5 Konstantego Damrota P-4 Krakowska Q-4 Krakusa P-4 Krzywa P-4/5 Kręta P-5 Księcia Józefa Poniatowskiego P-4

Księcia Władysława Opolskiego P-4 Księdza Augustyna Kordeckiego P-5 Księdza Biskupa Ignacego Krasickiego P-4 Księdza Jana Gałeczki P-4/5 Ludwika Szabatowskiego P-4 Ludwika Urbanowicza P-5 Lwowska P-4; Q-4 Magistrala Węglowa P-4; Q-4 Marii Konopnickiej P-4; Q-4 Mazurska Q-4 Michała Drzymały P-4/5 Mikołaja Kopernika P-4 Modrzewiowa R-4 Młodzieżowa P-5; Q-5 Osiedle Klimzy P-5 Parkowa Q-4/5 Piaskowa P-5 Piotra Skargi P-4; Q-4 Plac AKS Q-5 Plac Dworcowy P-4 Plac Jana Matejki P-4 Plac Kopernika P-4 Plac Piastowski Q-4 Plac Powstańców Śląskich P-4 Pocztowa P-4 Pod Estakadą P-4 Pogodna P-4; Q-4 Powstańców P-4/5 Promenada generała Jerzego Ziętka R-5 Promenada Jerzego Ziętka R-5 Przy Gazowni P-5 Przyjemna P-5 Racławicka P-5 Rajnholda Domina P-5 Rondo księdza biskupa Ignacego Jeża Q-5 Rycerska Q-4 Rynek P-4 Różana P-5 Siemianowicka R-4 Sportowa P-5 Stanisława Moniuszki P-4 Starego Zdroju P-4/5 Stefana Żeromskiego P-4 Szczecińska P-5 Słoneczna P-5 Słowiańska Q-4 Tadeusza Kościuszki P-4; Q-4 Tadeusza Rejtana Q-4 Teatralna P-4 Towarowa P-4 Tysiąclecia Q-5 Ułańska Q-5 Wawrzyna Hajdy P-5 Willowa P-5 Wiosenna P-5 Wiśniowa Q-5 Wolności P-4 Wschodnia R-4 Wycieczkowa R-4/5 Węzłowiec R-4 Władysława Truchana P-4 Zielona Q-5 Zjednoczenia P-4 Łąkowa P-5 Świętej Anny P-5 Świętej Barbary P-5 Żwirki i Wigury P-5

March - June 2016

85

Index 3 Stawy 75 Absurdalna 41 Akolada 23 Altus 75 Ambasada Śledzia 44 angelo by Vienna House Katowice 78 Anwa 75 Auschwitz I 67 Auschwitz II - Birkenau 67 Auschwitz Jewish Museum & Synagogue 67 BackStage 41 Bavitto 46 Bellmer Café 38 Best Western Premier Hotel Forum Katowice 78 Biała Małpa 41 Bierhalle 23, 47 Bistro & Cafe Krystynka wraca z Wiednia 19 Black 8 69 BOB 42 Bohema 23, 42 BO TAK Wege Przestrzeń 36 Boutique Hostel Patria 78 Browariat 42 Browar Obywatelski 63 Buddha 22 Burgundia Wine Tastings & Wine Shop 47, 73 Butchery&Grill 18 C4 42 Cadenza 33 Cafe Bistro Monopol 38 Cafe Byfyj 62 Cafe Kattowitz 38 Campanile 78 Carpe Diem 42 Centrum Fitness Monopol 70 Centrum Wina 73 Cepelia 75 Ceramika Bolesławiecka 75 C'est Si Bon 20 Chata z Zalipia 33 Chorzów Cultural Centre 59 Chorzów Museum 59 Christ the King Cathedral 50 Church of St. Michael the Archangel 51 City Information Office 52 City Pub 42 City Rock 18 City Spa & Wellness 70 Ciuciubabka 70 Club Garage 46 Cristallo 30 Desa 74 DeSilva Inn Katowice Airport 79 DH Supersam 76 Diament Arsenal Palace Katowice/ Chorzów 78 Diament Bella Notte Katowice/ Chorzów 78 Diament Economy Gliwice 79 Diament Plaza Gliwice 79 Diament Plaza Katowice 78 Diament Spodek 78 Diament Zabrze 79 Dobra Karma 37 Dobra Kasza Nasza 34 Drzwi Zwane Koniem 24 Dworcowy 24 Dworek Pod Lipami 62 El Mexicano 33 Empik 74 Europa 24, 29 EuroResidence Home Apartament 78

86 Katowice In Your Pocket

Fabryka Burgera 22 Fabryka Kurtosza 29 Fabularna 43 Fanaberia 38 Fantasmagoria 24 Galeria Katowicka 76 Galeria Riksza Pub 62 Galeria Sztuki Fox 74 Garrison Church of St. Casimir 50 Gawlikówka 62 Geszeft 74 Grill Bar 24 Gruz Cocktail Bar 43 Hana Sushi 31 Hipnoza Jazz Club 45 Hobu 31 Hospoda 20 Hotel Piramida SPA & Wellness 79 Hotel Szafran 78 Hurry Curry 18 Ibis Budget Katowice Centrum 78 Ibis Katowice - Zabrze 79 Impresja 24 Industrial Ethnography Museum 60 Inqbator 46 International Youth Meeting Centre 65 Józef Piłsudski 51 KAFEJ 39 Kato 43 Katofonia 45 Katowice 78 Katowice Historical Museum 52 Katowice Riding Club 70 Kawiarnia na Kołach 39 Kawiarnia Wawelska 39 KluboGaleria SARP 25, 43 Klub Pomarańcza 46 Klub Prime 46 Kofeina Bistro 25 Komis Płytowy 74 Kondrat Wina Wybrane 73 Krakowski Kredens 74 Kredens 44 Kręgielnia Galaktyka 70 Kurka Bez Piórka 75 Kyoto Sushi 31 Laserhouse 69 Little Hanoi...and more! 37 Longman Club 44 Mad Mick 22 Mały Kredens 44 Mañana Bistro & Wine Bar 58 Masala House 22 M Hotel Sosnowiec 79 Miss Cupcake 39 Monopol 39, 78 moodro bistro & cafe 39 moodro restaurant 36 Mosquito Silesia Apartments 78 Namaste Traveller's Club 44 Natu 75 Natura 75 Nikiszowiec Information Office 62 Novotel Katowice Centrum 78 Okiem i Brzuchem 21 Okonomiyaki YO! 31 Old Cuban 45 Old Timers Garage 46 Organic Farma Zdrowia 75 Ośrodek KonferencyjnoSzkoleniowy 'INNOWACJA' 79 Pałac Kawalera 25 Pałac Saturna 79 Pan de Rossa 26 Park Hotel Diament Katowice 78 Pasaż Monopol 76

Patio 26 Patio Park 26 Patio Zajazd 28, 78 Petit 19 Pizza Hut 29 Pizzeria Pod Drewnianym Bocianem 58 Plac Wolności 52 Planetarium 71 Pokazowa Zagroda Żubrów 70 Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra 53 Promnice Hunting Lodge 64 PTTK Katowice 50 Pub Kontynuacja 45 Qubus Hotel Gliwice 79 Qubus Hotel Prestige Katowice 78 Queens 45 Rajzefiber 46 Rebel Garden 58 Red Army Cemetery 50 Reden Minibrowar 58 Rent a Bike SilesiaTrip.pl 69 Restauracja Bonaparte 58 Restauracja Con Amore 63 Restauracja Kuchnia Otwarta 34 Restauracja Max 28 Restauracja Pod Drewnianym Bocianem 28 Restauracja Ratuszowa 36 Restauracja Sunlight 20 Restauracja Tamarynd 28 Restauracja Vacanza 29 Restauracja Villa Gardena 32 Restaurant Kryształowa 34 Ristorante Terra Mare 30 Rosarium 71 Royal 79 Rycerski 35 Rynek 52 Sadza Soap 75 Sakana Sushi Bar 32 Senator 78 Sense Spa 70 Sicilia 30 Silesia City Center 76 Silesian Amusement Park 71 Silesian Hotel Quality and Economy 78 Silesian Insurgents' Monument 51

Silesian Museum 54 Silesian Museum - The Grand Hotel 52 Silesian Parliament 53 Silesian Rope Park 72 Silesia Park 59 SilesiaTrip.pl 50 Sky Bar 45 Śląska Prażalnia Kawy Cafe Amor 39 Śląskie Rancho 35 Sleep City 78 Spencer Pub 45 Spiż 47 Spodek 53 Śruba i Przyjaciele 46 St. Anne's Church 61 Stekhouse Da Da 29 St. Lawrence's Church 59 St. Mary's Church 50 Supernova 29 Sushi Do 32 Synergia. Dobre Miejsce 39 Szafranowy Dwór 29 Szkoła Tenisa Proserv 70 Sztolnia. Chleb. Mięso. Wino 21 Szuflada 15 59 Targowisko Miejskie 75 Tatiana 30 Termy Rzymskie 70 The Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music 53 Twój Hostel Bytom 78 Twój Hostel Katowice 78 Tyskie Brewery 64 Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park 72 Via Toscana 32 Weranda Bistro&Bar 35 WHISKY & SPIRIT HOUSE 73 Wiejska Chatka 35 Wilson Shaft Gallery 61 W. Krzyś 73 WunderBAR 21 Zaklęty Czardasz 22 Zdrowa Krowa 22 Złoty Osioł 37 Złoty Róg 29 Zoo 72

FEATURES INDEX Burgers 22 Currency Exchange 77 Disco POLO! 72 Facts & Figures 12 Henryk Mikołaj Górecki 7 Katowice for Beer Lovers 47 Katowice: City of Music 5 Language Smarts 13 Market Values 12 Milk Bars 24 Polish Food 27 Polish Snacks & Shots 44 Quick Eats 29 Silesian Grub 21 Tipping Tribulations 20 katowice.inyourpocket.com

Gliwice ul. Ceglarska 35 www.queensnightclub.pl Open: 18:00 - 05:00 tel. 032/ 305 30 20

American Bar

Erotic Show Dance

Go-Go Dance

We invite you to Queens nightclub. Discretion is of our highest concern, as immediately evidenced by our parking lot. The interior design of the rooms and equipment complement each other to create an intimate, erotic atmosphere. We dedicate the greatest care to the cleanliness of the club. Your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Genießen Sie in angenehmer Atmosphäre, die perfekt gemixten Drinks unserer Bar, die prickelnde Erotikshow der QUEENS - Girl´s auf der Bühne, während Sie sich entspannt in einem der vielen Sofas zurücklehnen. Sie erleben eine Tabledance Show der Extraklasse, die perfekt aufeinander abgestimmt ist. Die Sound & Lichttechnik im QUEENS Striptease Club unterstreicht dieses noch. Geniessen Sie einen “Private Dance”, den persönlichen Striptease, nur für Sie mit einer Tänzerin Ihrer Wahl. Die Tänzerinnen des Nachtclub´s, verstehen es Erotik, Verführung, Varieté und Akrobatik miteinander zu verbinden. Ob Junggesellenabschied, Firmenfeier, Geburtstag, Vereinsfeier oder Abschlußfeier, der Tabledance Club ist der ideale Ort um einen unvergesslichen Abend zu erleben und tabulos zu feiern. “Dich erwartet eine exzellente Tabledance - Erotikshow” Wir freuen uns auf euren Besuch Euer QUEENS - Team