Śródmieście

Geography

Location

Śródmieście is one of the 22 districts of Katowice, functioning as an auxiliary unit of gmina no. 1 within the group of downtown districts. It borders Koszutka and Bogucice to the north, Zawodzie and Osiedle Paderewskiego-Muchowiec to the east, Brynów-Osiedle Zgrzebnioka and Załęska Hałda-Brynów to the south, and Załęże and Dąb to the west.

The district's boundaries are:

to the north – along Chorzowska Street from the intersection with W. F. Grundmann Street to Jerzy Ziętek Square (which the border surrounds from the south), continuing along Walenty Roździeński Avenue to the intersection with Jerzy Duda-Gracz Street,

to the east – parallel to the west of J. Duda-Gracz Street and Graniczna Street to the intersection with Przemysłowa Street; then the border follows Konstanty Damrot and Polna streets to the junction with the A4 motorway (Górnośląska Avenue),

to the south – along the A4 motorway (Górnośląska Avenue) to the intersection with the railway tracks running towards the Katowice Ligota railway station,

to the west – along the Katowice–Brynów railway (west of the former locomotive depot complex); at Kamienna Street, the boundary turns north along M. Goeppert-Mayer Street and the western part of W. F. Grundmann Street to the intersection with Chorzowska Street and Jan Nepomucen Stęślicki Street.

According to Jerzy Kondracki's physical-geographical division, Śródmieście is located within the Katowice Upland mesoregion, which is a part of the geographic region of Silesian Upland. In terms of historical geography, Śródmieście is located in the eastern part of Upper Silesia.

Geology and terrain

Śródmieście is located within the Upper Silesian Basin. The rocks filling it originated during the Upper Carboniferous period and consist of shales, sandstones, and conglomerates that contain deposits of bituminous coal. These formations form the bedrock of Śródmieście, as well as the surface of the southern part of the district, located east of Mikołowska Street and further south of the railway tracks. Outcrops of the Orzesze layers (Westphalian B) are present in this area. They consist of massive series of mainly shales with sandstones, siderites, and coal seams. The thickness of this series exceeds 900 m.

The main features of Śródmieście's terrain were formed during the Tertiary period through intensive chemical weathering and denudation. During the Quaternary period, the Śródmieście area was likely covered by the Scandinavian ice sheet twice: during the oldest Mindel glaciation and during the Riss glaciation. The sediments from the first glaciation were mostly removed during the interglacial, while the ice sheet of the Riss glaciation left behind tills along valley depressions. During the Holocene, Pleistocene sediments were destroyed and cleared away, and a low terrace formed in several stages in the river valleys. There are no formations from the Tertiary period in Śródmieście; instead, a significant part of the district is covered by Quaternary formations. These mainly consist of glacial and fluvioglacial sands and gravels from the Pleistocene, while the Rawa river valley and the trough along the border between Śródmieście and Załęże are composed of Holocene river sediments.

According to morphological units, Śródmieście is divided into two parts. The lower, northern part of Śródmieście is part of the Rawa Depression, which stretches along the valley of the Rawa river. It is deeply cut into the Carboniferous formations and forms the bottom of the valley together with the Pleistocene terrace. This is also the lowest point – the water level of the Rawa river at Jerzy Duda-Gracz Street is approximately 260 meters above sea level. The area of the district rises towards the south. This part of the district also encompasses the eastern edges of the Kochłowice Hills, which are characterized by flattened elevations. The highest point in Śródmieście is located near the Voivodeship Office Building, where the elevation above sea level exceeds 300 meters. The difference in height between the extreme points is about 40 meters. The terrain of Śródmieście has been heavily influenced by human activity related to urbanization and mining. Almost the entire area of Śródmieście consists of an anthropogenic surface of levelled land.

Climate and topoclimate

The climatic conditions of Śródmieście are similar to those of Katowice as a whole. They are shaped by both climatic and local factors. The climate of the district is mainly modified by oceanic influences, which prevail over continental influences, and sporadic tropical air masses arriving in the area from the southwest through the Moravian Gate.

The average annual temperature for the period of 1961–2005, based on data from the station in Muchowiec near Śródmieście, was 8.1 °C. The warmest month in the studied period was July (17.8 °C), and the coldest was January (−2.2 °C). The average annual sunshine duration between 1966 and 2005 was 1,474 hours, while the average cloud cover in the same period was 5.3. The average annual precipitation between 1951 and 2005 was 713.8 mm. The average duration of snow cover is 60–70 days, and the growing season lasts an average 200–220 days. Throughout the year, westerly and southwesterly winds prevail (20.7% and 20.4% of all winds, respectively), while winds from the north are the least frequent (5.7%). The average wind speed was 2.4 m/s.

The climate of Śródmieście is modified by local factors (topoclimate), depending on the land cover and proximity to river valleys. The topoclimate of areas located directly along the Rawa river is the most unfavorable. There is frequent heat radiation, and the high moisture levels cause significant evaporation, which draws heat. In densely built-up areas, the local climate is influenced by the warming of the atmosphere as a result of human activity. High concentrations of buildings, roads, and squares cause an increase in air temperature in the ground layer of the atmosphere. These areas also lose heat more quickly due to radiation at night, and a lack of moisture in the air prevents prolonged heat retention.

Surface and groundwater

The entire area of Śródmieście is located in the left basin of the Vistula river, almost entirely within the drainage basin of the Rawa. This river, a tributary of the Czarna Przemsza, flows from west to east through the district. Its course is fully regulated and embanked, and a large part of it within the Śródmieście area is covered. It is a recipient of treated and raw wastewater and meteoric water. In the mid-19th century, the Rawa was an exceptionally clean river, with a lot of fish and crayfish habitats. It was divided by numerous weirs, which formed cascades. In present-day Śródmieście, there was a large pond with an area of about 40 hectares, which stretched along today's Adam Mickiewicz Street and Stanisław Moniuszko Street. These reservoirs were built for fish farming and to drive water wheels; the Bogucice forge, among others, used the cascades on the Rawa. By the end of the 19th century, the river had become significantly polluted. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, 60% of Rawa's waters consisted of sewage and post-mining waters. In the mid-1960s, the river was covered.

A small southeastern part of Śródmieście, located east of Henryk Sienkiewicz Street and south of Powstańców Street, is located within the drainage basin of the Leśny Stream. A fifth-order drainage divide separtes the Rawa and Leśny Stream basins. Currently, there are no water reservoirs in Śródmieście.

According to Bronisław Paczyński's classification, Śródmieście is located within the Silesian-Kraków hydrogeological region, in the Upper Silesian subregion. Aquifers occur across all layers, but their importance depends on several factors. According to the division of Poland into Uniform Groundwater Areas, the entire district is located within Uniform Groundwater Area No. 111 (Central Vistula Uplands Subregion).

Nature and environmental protection

The natural vegetation of today's Śródmieście was shaped during the last glaciation 12,000–16,000 years ago. Over the last 200 years, it has been subjected to strong anthropogenic pressure. Originally, the areas along the Rawa river valley were covered with riparian forests and alder carrs, while pine and beech forests grew in the higher areas. The development of dense downtown infrastructure in the 19th and 20th centuries led to the almost complete disappearance of natural elements. According to a study from 1859, the following green areas were located in Śródmieście: the Large City Pond, the park next to the castle, the park next to the Evangelical church, and agricultural lands in the southern part of the city. Ruderal species, among others, developed in urbanized habitats. Conditions were also created for the development of synanthropic animals, the most important of which are birds, including those that have long accompanied humans, such as the house sparrow and pigeon, as well as native birds that have adapted to urban conditions, including swifts, house martins, and barn swallows.

In the current natural structure of Śródmieście as a place of dense, older buildings, greenery mainly exists as street plantings, courtyards, squares, parks, cemeteries, and church grounds. These areas form green islands of various sizes, which are separated by barriers in the form of dense buildings. The Rawa river, on the other hand, serves as a wildlife corridor in Śródmieście. The area of green space for recreational purposes in Śródmieście is 17.7 ha, family allotments occupy 5.45 ha of the district, district parks 4.59 ha, and there are 13.11 ha of squares and green areas. The first park established in the district was the park next to the castle, on the site of today's Silesian Insurgents' Park. Other parks and squares developed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in Śródmieście include the Freedom Square and Karol Miarka Square. Before World War I, there was also a tree-lined square with a playground between the Great Synagogue and the Municipal Baths; the Ślązak department store was built there during the Polish People's Republic era.

There are two groups of family allotment gardens within the boundaries of Śródmieście:

History

The first settlement in what is now Śródmieście is associated with the industrial settlement of Kuźnica Bogucka, located between Roździanka (Rawa), its right tributary, Osiek, and Kłodnica. The first mention of Kuźnica Bogucka's activities appeared in 1397, and by the 15th century, it had separated from Bogucice. At the end of the 16th century, blacksmith Andrzej Bogucki founded the village of Katowice on lands belonging to Kuźnica Bogucka, where several farmers settled. Katowice was first mentioned in 1598 as "villa nova Katowicze" in a lease agreement which noted a manor farm and that four farmers and two cottagers lived in the village. The name "Katowice" is first mentioned in a document from 1614, and until the end of the 18th century, the names Katowice and Kuźnica Bogucka were used interchangeably.

In 1702, the estate of Kuźnica Bogucka was acquired by Baltazar Erdman Promnitz for 15,000 guldens. Kuźnica Bogucka, Katowice, and Brwinów were later repurchased by Jan Krzysztof Mieroszewski, starosta and land judge of the Duchy of Siewierz, the first fee tail of Mysłowice. In the 18th century, Katowice was an agricultural settlement inhabited by a dozen or so peasants and was closely linked to Kuźnica Bogucka. The village's distance from transport routes and its location in barren, wooded areas meant that Katowice developed very slowly – in 1799, it had 78 farms, and in the 1820s, 142 farms. In 1827, the first school in Katowice was established in a building located between today's Młyńska Street and Pocztowa Street.

The dynamic development and intensive urbanization of contemporary Śródmieście was caused by fast development of industry in Upper Silesia. Three economic sectors developed mainly in the vicinity of today's district: coal mining, zinc smelting, and iron smelting. In 1839, Franz von Winckler purchased Katowice along with the Mysłowice estates. Shortly thereafter, he moved the general management of his properties there from Miechowice and made efforts to route the planned railway through Katowice. In 1858, this management was changed into a mining directorate, becoming the first industrial administrative body in today's Śródmieście. On 3 October 1846, the Upper Silesian Railway (German: Oberschlesische Eisenbahn AG) launched a railway running through Katowice, connecting Wrocław with Mysłowice; the first passenger train to Katowice arrived on 6 August 1847.

In 1846, serfdom was abolished on the Winckler family estate, and manor lands were subdivided. In the second half of the 19th century, these plots were mainly purchased by German and Jewish settlers, political and cultural associations, and the Katowice municipal authorities. In the 1850s, the Marta Steelworks (German: Marthahütte) was launched in what is now Śródmieście, operating as a zinc rolling mill until 1929. From 1856, the Jakub Steelworks (German: Jacobhütte) also operated on present-day Stawowa Street. With the development of industry, the roads leading to Katowice were expanded, including the route connecting Tarnowskie Góry and Mysłowice through Wełnowiec and Katowice in 1836.

Demography

In December 2007, Śródmieście had a population of 35,927, which accounted for 11.4% of the city's inhabitants at that time. It was the most populous district of Katowice at the time. The population density was 9,427 people/km², making it the second most densely populated district of the city after Osiedle Tysiąclecia. In 2010, 33,035 people lived in Śródmieście (10.8% of the city's total population), and at the end of 2011, 32,131 people. Two years later, in 2013, 30,336 people lived in Śródmieście. At the end of 2020, it was the second most populous district of Katowice, after Ligota-Panewniki, with a population of 25,320.

Between 1988 and 2007, there was a significant decline in the number of residents in Śródmieście. This decrease was the largest of all districts of Katowice, reaching approximately 11,500 people, or over 25% of the population as of 1988. Several factors contributed to this situation, including natural decline related to the high percentage of people of post-working age, the replacement of apartments with service functions, and a shortage of parking spaces.

In 2010, 15.1% of Śródmieście residents were of pre-working age, 63.1% were of working age, and 21.1% were of post-working age. In 2013, Śródmieście had the highest number of residents over the age of 75 among all districts of the city – 3,322 people (11% of the total population of the city).

Sources: 1988; 1997; 2005; 2010; 2015; 2020

Politics and administration

Śródmieście is a district where government and local government offices, as well as the headquarters of non-integrated and state administration bodies, are concentrated, including, among others:

Katowice City Hall (4 Młyńska Street),

Metropolitan Office of Metropolis GZM (21a Barbary Street),

Silesian Voivodeship Office (25 Jagiellońska Street),

Marshal's Office of the Silesian Voivodeship (46 Juliusz Ligoń Street),

Katowice Branch of the Supreme Audit Office (29 Powstańców Street),

Office of the Regional Representative of the Commissioner for Human Rights.

The district is also the headquarters of the judiciary, including:

Regional Court (38 Francuska Street; 16/18 Andrzeja Street),

Katowice-West District Court (10 Freedom Square and 45 Warszawska Street),

Katowice-East District Court (one of two headquarters – 14 Józef Lompa Street).

The regional authorities of numerous non-governmental organizations and consular offices are also concentrated in Śródmieście. The following countries have consulates there: Belarus (29 Graniczna Street), Kazakhstan (24/2 Jagiellońska Street), Lithuania (2 John III Sobieski Street), Luxembourg (4 Wawelska Street), Peru (17 Paweł Stalmach Street), Slovenia (15 Opolska Street), and Ukraine (4/4 Nicolaus Copernicus Street).

Economy

As the central district of Katowice, Śródmieście is an important economic hub of the city, focusing on services and concentrating functions of municipal, regional, national, and international scope. The most important of these include office, administrative, hotel, cultural, educational (especially universities), commercial, catering, and other functions. Śródmieście is home to the headquarters of many companies, located in high-class office buildings, including:

Altus (13 Uniwersytecka Street),

Chorzowska 50 (50 Chorzowska Street),

Stalexport (29 Adam Mickiewicz Street),

Global Office Park (A. Mickiewicz Street).

There are also hotels of various standards, such as:

Monopol Hotel (5 Dworcowa Street),

Katowice Hotel (9 W. Korfanty Avenue),

B&B Hotel Katowice Centrum (4 Sokolska Street).

The commercial and gastronomic functions of Śródmieście are concentrated along shopping and pedestrian streets, such as 3 Maja Street, Stawowa Street, and Mariacka Street, as well as in large-scale facilities:

Galeria Katowicka (30 3 Maja Street),

Supersam (6a Piotr Skarga Street),

Skarbek Cooperative Department Store,

Zenit Cooperative Department Store.

Śródmieście is home to various economic and business institutions, including:

Transport and infrastructure

Road transport

Śródmieście has a well-developed road network. Transit roads running parallel to the equator cross the entire city from east to west. The main roads running along the meridian are less prominent. These roads form a framework around Śródmieście and integrate the central part of Katowice with other districts and neighboring cities. These are the following roads:

A4 motorway (Górnośląska Avenue) – runs parallel to the southern border of Śródmieście. It is a part of the European route E40, providing interregional and international connections to the west (Opole, Wrocław, and further to Germany) and east (Kraków, Rzeszów, and further to Ukraine). In Śródmieście, there is the Katowice Mikołowska junction, where the motorway intersects with Mikołowska Street and Kochłowicka Street. Górnośląska Avenue is one of the most important roads in the city, built in stages. The section between the former Mikołów roundabout and the intersection with Murckowska Street was opened on 24 March 1971, and between 1978 and 1982, the Mikołów roundabout was rebuilt into a road junction. On 10 November 1999, the part between the intersection with Mikołowska Street and Francuska Street, which had been converted into a motorway, was opened to traffic;

Voivodeship road 902 (Chorzowska Street and Walenty Roździeński Avenue) – expressways, running parallel to the northern border of Śródmieście. Within the district, this route also serves as a compositional axis, but its parameters and noise barriers also make it a spatial barrier for this part of Katowice. In September 2007, the average afternoon rush hour traffic at the intersection with Olimpijska Street was 9,710 vehicles. Between 2001 and 2007, the route was rebuilt and became a part of Drogowa Trasa Średnicowa. Jerzy Ziętek Square was then rebuilt and a 600-meter road tunnel was constructed underneath it.

Other important roads passing through Śródmieście include:

Wojciech Korfanty Avenue – one of the most important roads in Katowice, running towards Koszutka, Wełnowiec-Józefowiec, and further on to Siemianowice Śląskie. After World War II, as part of the project to transform the city center, it was rebuilt as a dual carriageway with a greenery in the middle. The decision to reconstruct it was made in 1959, and in 1965 a roundabout was built at its intersection with today's Chorzowska Street. In September 2007, the average afternoon rush hour traffic at the intersection with Piastowska Street was 1,702 vehicles;

Railway transport

Within Śródmieście is the largest railway station in the Katowice hub, serving passenger trains of all categories. In 2005, it was used by an average of over 24,000 passengers daily – the most of any station or stop in the Silesian Voivodeship. The main station building is located in the northern part of the station, at the former 2 Wilhelm Szewczyk Square, opened on 29 October 2012. It is the largest station building of Metropolis GZM, which, according to the Polish State Railways categorization, has the highest category, A.

The following railways within Śródmieście connect to the Katowice railway station:

Warszawa Zachodnia-Katowice line – a main, electrified, double-track railway used for passenger and freight traffic;

Katowice–Legnica railway – a partially main, first-class, electrified, double-track railway used for passenger and freight traffic;

Oświęcim–Katowice railway – primary, electrified, double-track railway used for passenger and freight traffic;

Katowice–Zwardoń railway – partially main, electrified, double-track railway used for passenger and freight traffic;

Katowice–Brynów railway – local railway;

Katowice–Chorzów Batory railway – local railway.

These railways are managed by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, with direct supervision handled by the Railway Lines Plant in Sosnowiec. The international E30 railway runs along parts of these lines (Dresden–Katowice–Kyiv) and E65 (Gdynia–Warsaw–Katowice–Vienna–Rijeka).

Śródmieście gained a railway connection on 3 October 1846 as part of the Upper Silesian Railway route. Surveying work on the Strzybnica–Piekary–Roździeń–Bieruń Nowy section began as early as 1837, but likely as a result of Franz von Winckler's actions, the railway was redirected towards Katowice. It became one of the factors contributing to the development of the future city. The first Katowice railway station was a simple timbered building, which was demolished in the 19th century. In later periods, local connections were developed in Upper Silesia, mainly to support the transport of goods between industrial plants. On 1 December 1852, a railway connecting Katowice and Ligota, built by the Upper Silesian Railway and later leased to Wilhelm Railway, was put into operation. Connections were also established between the city and nearby industrial plants, including Katowice–Karolinegrube on 1 November (in Wełnowiec), in March 1864 Katowice–Ferdinandgrube (later the Katowice Mine), in 1869 sidings to the Baildon Steelworks, and a year later to the Marta Steelworks.

Urban public transport

The public transport in Śródmieście is based on tram and bus transport. It is organized by the Metropolitan Transport Authority, located at 21a Barbary Street in the district. The largest bus operators providing services on behalf of the Metropolitan Transport Authority through Śródmieście are: Katowice Municipal Transport Company, Sosnowiec Municipal Transport Company, and Gliwice Municipal Transport Company, while trams are operated by Silesian Interurbans. Śródmieście is the most important public transport hub in Metropolis GZM, with most of the main transfer points. In August 2007, non-pedestrian traffic accounted for approximately 50% of public transport journeys to the city center.

Beneath the main railway station in Katowice, there is a ten-bay Katowice Dworzec bus terminal, connecting this part of Śródmieście with other districts of Katowice and some cities of Metropolis GZM, including Chorzów, Gliwice, Mikołów, Mysłowice, Ruda Śląska, Tarnowskie Góry, Siemianowice Śląskie, and Zabrze, as well as Katowice Airport in Pyrzowice. In mid-March 2022, approximately 40 bus lines and 9 tram lines departed from the three-bay Katowice Plac Wolności stop in various directions, while the Katowice Piotra Skargi stop mainly served buses to the cities of Dąbrowa Basin, including Będzin, Dąbrowa Górnicza, and Sosnowiec.

There are two tram stops in the Market Square area: Katowice Rynek and Katowice Rynek /Teatr Śl./. In mid-March 2022, nine tram lines departed from the first stop, connecting Śródmieście with other parts of Katowice, including Brynów, Dąb, Koszutka, Osiedle Tysiąclecia, Wełnowiec, and Załęże, as well as other cities, such as Bytom, Chorzów, Ruda Śląska, and Siemianowice Śląskie. From the second stop, 13 tram lines connected this part of the city with Brynów, Szopienice-Burowiec, Załęże, and Zawodzie, as well as the cities of Chorzów, Ruda Śląska, Sosnowiec, and Świętochłowice.

The beginnings of the tram network in what is now Śródmieście are linked to the Berlin-based company Kramer & Co. The concession for the first section in Katowice, connecting Królewska Huta (Chorzów) with Katowice via Dąb and further towards Laurahuta (Siemianowice Śląskie) via Wełnowiec, was obtained on 25 November 1898. On 29 December 1897, partial concessions were granted for the construction of the Świętochłowice–Hajduki–Załęże–Katowice tram line section and further to Mysłowice. In August 1898, the Katowice–Zawodzie section was put into use, and on September 7 of the same year, the route towards Załęże. The last section completed in Śródmieście was opened on 14 June 1912, running to Kościuszko Park. After World War I, in the fall of 1926, work began on converting the tracks on 3 Maja Street to standard gauge. On 27 October 1929, the Katowice–Hajduki Wielkie section was opened on a standard gauge track, and on 24 December 1940, the Market Square–Dąb section and further towards the current Chorzów Market Square.

Architecture and urban planning

Architecture

Śródmieście is dominated by dense, block-style frontage buildings, and in terms of architecture, it has buildings in the historicist and eclectic styles, as well as International Style buildings from the interwar period with high historical importance. Most of Katowice's buildings listed in the Registry of Cultural Property are also located in Śródmieście.

The first more impressive buildings in what is now Śródmieście began to be constructed in the 1850s and 1860s along today's Warszawska Street, even before Katowice was granted town privileges. These include: the Romanesque Revival Evangelical church, built between 1856 and 1858 and later expanded, and the adjacent Evangelical school building, the neoclassical railway station complex opened in 1859 (the largest and most monumental building in Katowice at that time), the Gothic Revival Roman Catholic St. Mary's Church, built between 1862 and 1870, and garden villas. Some of the villas were later converted into tenements or demolished. The buildings changed over the years from single-story and two-story tenements or villas to multi-story buildings, especially at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Currently, only a few tenements built between 1840 and 1870 remain, all rebuilt or converted. Few of them have retained part of their original decor, especially the tenement at 10 Warszawska Street from the second half of the 1860s. During this period, tenements were characterized by stylistic unity, mainly Renaissance Revival and Classicism, and were not typical tenements at the time. Buildings were then mainly rectangular in plan, with two or three stories.

In the 1870s, the area around today's Freedom Square was developed. The two-story Goldstein Palace, headquarters of the company owned by brothers Abraham and Józef Goldstein, was located at the corner of Freedom Square and Jan Matejko Street. The square also had a monument to two German emperors, Wilhelm I and his son Frederick III, erected in 1898. The 1880s were a period of major construction activity in Katowice. The tenements built at that time were taller, mainly four and five stories high, and more often decorated with avant-corps, bay windows, and towers. The buildings became denser, with tenements forming compact rows of street frontages. The development of today's Śródmieście at that time reached the areas of present-day Freedom Square, Mariacka Street, Dworcowa Street, and the southern part of the district, especially along the railway tracks and present-day Tadeusz Kościuszko and Mikołowska streets.

Between 1880 and 1900, Baroque Revival and Renaissance Revival architecture dominated, while Gothic Revival style was used least frequently, mainly for public buildings such as schools and churches. During this period, several Baroque Revival tenements were completed, including those at 5 and 35 Warszawska Street. Monumental schools were also constructed during this period, such as the buildings of the current Adam Mickiewicz High School and Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music. Other important structures from this period include the neoclassical building of the present-day post office (1 Pocztowa Street), the District Court (16/18 Andrzeja Street), and the Katowice-West District Court (10 Freedom Square). Between 1906 and 1907, the building of the Municipal Theatre (now the seat of the Silesian Theatre) was built on the Market Square, designed by Karl Moritz.

Urban planning

Katowice has a clearly defined downtown area with a planned and coherent urban layout that developed in a relatively short period of time, starting from the arrival of the first railway in Katowice in the mid-19th century. The axis of the urban layout of Śródmieście is formed by today's 3 Maja and Warszawska streets, intersecting at the Market Square. This axis is accentuated by two squares located parallel to each other about 600 meters from the Market Square: on the west side, at the edge of 3 Maja Street, there is Freedom Square, and on the other side of the axis, at Warszawska Street, there is E. Szramek Square. Perpendicular to the main axis, also at a similar distance and north of the Market Square, there is Jerzy Ziętek Square, and opposite the axis, K. Miarka Square. The following streets are also of great compositional importance: A. Mickiewicz, closed off by the Stalexport Skyscrapers and the Global Office Park complex, and Mariacka Street with the St. Mary's Church at the end of the street.

The first urban plans for the city, which was then under construction, were drawn up in 1856 and 1859. The first of these was developed by architect Nottenbohm. The axes of the city layout were Warszawska Street, running along the old route to Mysłowice, the Market Square, located at the intersection of this route and the road towards Mikołów, the newly marked 3 Maja Street, and Freedom Square. These axes were integrated into the new street grid, in which an effort was made to maintain a perpendicular and parallel street layout. From the south, the urban layout of Katowice was closed off by railway tracks.

In terms of architecture and urban planning, Śródmieście is divided into several clearly parallel zones:

Central – the northern part of the zone is located between Chorzowska Street, W. Roździeński Avenue, and the Rawa river, where the city center buildings from the 1960s and 1970s are located (including Haperowiec, Superjednostka, Ślizgowiec, Separator, Katowice Hotel, and the now-demolished Silesia Hotel), the campus of the University of Silesia, and the areas around Sokolska and A. Mickiewicz streets with contemporary buildings (including Chorzowska 50, Sokolska 30 Towers, and Global Office Park). The part covers the area between Rawa river and the railway grounds and includes the earliest developed area of Śródmieście along the axis of the following streets: 1 Maja–Warszawska–Market Square–3 Maja–Freedom Square and Dworcowa–Mariacka.

Spatial development

In terms of floor area ratio, Śródmieście has the highest proportion of built-up land in relation to the total area of the district, at 50% (Zawodzie and Załęże are tied for second place with 32%). Over 75% of the built-up area is located between the railway tracks and the Rawa river – in the vicinity of the following streets: St. Stanisław, Warszawska, 3 Maja, Młyńska, Pocztowa, St. Jan, Dworcowa, A. Mielęcki, Staromiejska, Dyrekcyjna, and Stawowa, as well as the areas in the southern part of Śródmieście between Wojewódzka, H. Dąbrowski, W. Reymont, and Francuska streets.

The net floor area ratio for Śródmieście is also by far the highest, at 1.79. The highest building density (2.5 on average) is found in the downtown area around the following streets: P. Skarga, Sokolska, A. Mickiewicz, J. III Sobieski, Sądowa, J. Słowacki, Dworcowa, Mariacka, Francuska, Warszawska, Szkolna, S. Moniuszko, and Piastowska. In the area of the Market Square, this index is over 3.00, while in the southern part of Śródmieście, depending on the area, it averages between 2.5 and 3.0. The weighted average number of storeys in Śródmieście is 3.58, higher than the average for the entire city, which is 2.13 storeys.

In terms of residential development, Śródmieście is dominated by multi-family housing. It is also a district where a large part of the area – nearly 130 ha – is occupied by service buildings, as well as transport infrastructure.

Monuments and places of national remembrance

The most important places of remembrance located in Śródmieście include:

Silesian Insurgents Memorial (Jerzy Ziętek Square); from 1967,

September Scouts Monument (Market Square); from 1983,

Victims of Katyn Monument (Andrzeja Square); from 2001,

Stanisław Moniuszko Monument (Karol Miarka Square); from 1930, rebuilt in 1959,

Wojciech Korfanty Monument (Silesian Parliament Square); from 1999,

Józef Piłsudski Monument (Bolesław Chrobry Square); from 1936, erected in 1993,

Obelisk of the Silesian Eagles (B. Chrobry Square); from 1984.

Education

In March 2022, the following educational institutions operated in Śródmieście:

Kindergartens:

Municipal Kindergarten No. 2 (4 T. Kubina Street),

Municipal Kindergarten No. 3 (25 Barbary Street),

Municipal Kindergarten No. 5 (6 J. Zajączek Street),

Municipal Kindergarten No. 33 (23 Powstańców Street),

Municipal Kindergarten No. 35 (1 Rybnicka Street),

Municipal Kindergarten No. 36 (2 Zacisze Street),

Municipal Kindergarten No. 45 (25 Sokolska Street),

Primary schools:

Józef Piłsudski Primary School No. 1 (18 Jagiellońska Street),

Special Primary School No. 7 (5 Szkolna Street),

Maria Curie-Skłodowska Primary School No. 10 (23 Sokolska Street),

John Paul II Primary School No. 15 with Bilingual Divisions (24 S. Adamski Street),

Secondary schools:

Maria Konopnicka High School with Bilingual Divisions (6 B. Głowacki Street),

Adam Mickiewicz High School (11 A. Mickiewicz Street),

Culture

Śródmieście is home to many cultural institutions, including those with a supra-regional reach. The city itself is an important center for music and the arts. The Silesian Philharmonic (2 Sokolska Street), Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music (3 Zacisze Street), and the Academy of Fine Arts and Design (37 Raciborska Street), as well as numerous art galleries, including the BWA Gallery of Contemporary Art (6 W. Korfanty Avenue), have their headquarters in Śródmieście. The building at 2 Silesian Parliament Square is home to the Katowice City of Gardens – Krystyna Bochenek Cultural Institution. It was arranged by the city of Katowice and organizes a number of cultural events, including the city's birthday celebration "I Love Katowice", as well as provides organizational support on behalf of the city for events such as the Off Festival, Tauron Nowa Muzyka, and the Rawa Blues Festival. The Korez Theater and the Museum of Computer and Information Technology are located at the headquarters of the City of Gardens.

The beginnings of musical life in what is now Śródmieście date back to the mid-19th century. Concerts at that time were organized at venues such as the Welt Hotel, and after 1855 also in the newly built Hotel de Prusse with a theater hall. Richard Holtze founded the Singing Society (German: Männergesangverein) in 1857, and in 1867 he co-founded the Music Society. The beginnings of the professional music movement in Katowice are associated with Oskar Meister, who arrived in the city in 1872. He founded the Music Institute, and its graduates established a number of musical and choral ensembles. In 1873, the Reichshalle building (now the Silesian Philharmonic) was opened, where numerous concerts were organized.

The origins of theater in Katowice date back to the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The construction of the theater was planned as early as 1 April 1900, but the actual preparatory work on the construction of the building at the Market Square began in July 1906. The official opening of the Silesian Theatre took place on 2 October 1907, and during the inauguration, Friedrich Schiller's drama William Tell, directed by theatre director Emmanuel Raul, was presented.

The first permanent cinema in today's Śródmieście, the Welt-Theater, was established on 10 March 1907 on what is now Warszawska Street . Later that same year, at the end of March, the Grand Kinematografh Cinema was opened on present-day 3 Maja Street. Both cinemas were established in converted outbuildings, but they were closed in 1911 and 1915, respectively. The first cinema built from scratch was officially opened on 25 December 1909 on the site of today's Światowid Cinema. The builder, Martin Tichauer, who had previously built the Colosseum Cinema for Eckerich, constructed his own cinema, which was completed in 1912. The then Kamerlichspiele Cinema, known as Rialto from 1928, was opened on 15 January 1913 and was advertised at the time as the largest in Upper Silesia, with a capacity of 1,000 people.

Religion

Roman Catholic Church

Śródmieście is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Katowice. Roman Catholic parishes in the district are part of the Katowice-Śródmieście deanery, which includes a total of 10 parishes from Śródmieście, Koszutka, Zawodzie, and part of Brynów. Among them, the following parish communities are based in the district:

Cathedral Parish of Christ the King (49a Plebiscytowa Street),

Garrison Parish of St. Casimir (20 M. Skłodowska-Curie Street),

Parish of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (1 E. Szramek Square),

Parish of Saints Peter and Paul (32 Mikołowska Street),

Parish of the Transfiguration (12 Sokolska Street).

Roman Catholic parishes within the boundaries of Śródmieście have a total of two cemeteries:

Cemetery of the Parish of Saints Peter and Paul at H. Sienkiewicz Street (4.2 ha),

Cemetery of the Parish of the Immaculate Conception of Mary at Francuska Street (2.4 ha).

Originally, the Roman Catholic inhabitants of what is now Śródmieście belonged to the Bogucice parish, established in the 14th century. Father Krzysztof Kazimierski – a delegate of the Bishop of Kraków, Cardinal Jerzy Radziwiłł – who visited the parish in Bogucice mentioned the establishment of a new village of Katowice, which was part of the Bogucice parish. The parish was part of the Bytom deanery in the Diocese of Kraków, and from the 19th century, the Diocese of Wrocław. In 1860, the first Catholic church in Śródmieście, the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, was built as a temporary structure. It was erected in the area of Freedom Square, next to the present building of the Silesian Philharmonic. About 3,100 faithful from Brynów and Katowice, as well as from Załęże, Załęska Hałda, and Katowicka Hałda, began attending it. On 31 August 1862, construction of St. Mary's Church began on today's Warszawska Street. The church was dedicated by Bishop Adrian Włodarski on 20 November 1870. The first parish in Katowice was established on 14 September 1873, and its first parson was Father Wiktor Schmidt.

Evangelical-Augsburg Church

Śródmieście is the seat of the authorities of the Evangelical Diocese of Katowice, and the home to one of Katowice's two Evangelical-Augsburg parishes at 18 Warszawska Street. The parish has its own cemetery with an area of 1.9 ha on Francuska Street.

The first parish community in contemporary Śródmieście was organized by Evangelicals in 1854, and among them were the most influential residents of Katowice at the time, including Hubert von Tiele-Winckler, Friedrich Grundmann, and Richard Holtze. The further development of the Evangelical community was linked to the migration of skilled people of various professions to Katowice. In 1855, a total of 586 Evangelicals lived in the city. On 17 July 1856, a ceremony was held to lay the cornerstone for the Church of the Resurrection, and it was dedicated on 24 September 1858. The Evangelical church was the first brick religious building in Katowice.

Judaism

The Jewish Religious Community operates in Śródmieście since 1993 and has about 200 members. It is located at 16 3 Maja Street and has houses of prayer in Katowice and Gliwice, including the Chaskel Besser House of Prayer at 16 3 Maja Street. It has been operating since March 2010 after moving from its former headquarters on Młyńska Street. Services are held there on all Sabbaths and holidays. The community manages a 1.0-hectare Jewish Cemetery on Kozielska Street.

Jews living in Śródmieście originally belonged to the community in Mysłowice. In 1861, the company of Ignatz Grünfeld built the first synagogue in Katowice, known as the Old Synagogue, on what is now J. Słowacki Street. Its consecration took place on 4 July 1865, and on 1 January 1866, the Katowice Jewish community was established. In 1896, the Jewish community council decided to build a new synagogue, which was planned on present A. Mickiewicz Street. The consecration of the later Great Synagogue, also built by Ignatz Grünfeld's company, took place on 12 September 1900. The Jewish community purchased a plot of land for its own cemetery on today's Kozielska Street in 1868. On 9 September of the same year, the cemetery was opened.

On 6–11 November 1884, the Katowice Conference was held in contemporary Śródmieście. It was a meeting organized by the Lovers of Zion, during which a decision was made to establish institutions supporting Jewish agriculture and settlement in Palestine. The Katowice Conference was the first large gathering of Zionists of this kind, whose actions led to the establishment of Israel in 1948.

As a result of deportations and mass escapes during World War II, only 27 Jews remained in Katowice in October 1940. After World War II, the first representation of Jewish residents of the Silesian Voivodeship was the Voivodeship Jewish Committee, established on 4 February 1945, and moved on 18 April of the same year to the building at 10 A. Mielęcki Street. In March 2010, the house of prayer for Katowice Jews was moved to 16 3 Maja Street, and on 1 September of the same year, it was named after Rabbi Chaskel Besser, who was born in Katowice.

Other denominations

As of March 2022, the following denominations also have their communities in Śródmieście:

Islam – Center of Islamic Culture in Katowice (50a Warszawska Street),

Seventh-day Adventist Church – Seventh-day Adventist Church Congregation in Katowice (1 F. Chopin Street),

Church of Christ – Christian Community in Katowice (22/5 H. Dąbrowski Street),

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – Congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Katowice (1 Warszawska Street),

Church of Free Christians – Congregation in Katowice (21 J. Zajączek Street).

Sports and recreation

The development of organized sports and recreational structures in Śródmieście dates back to the second half of the 19th century. In 1860, an initiative to revive the gymnastics movement was started in Katowice, and by the outbreak of World War I, related associations had been established. Football began to develop in the area of present-day Śródmieście at the beginning of the 20th century. The first football structure was the Fußballclub Frischauf, established at the Parish of Saints Peter and Paul, and its successors were the clubs Preußen, Diana, and Germania. The first swimming club in Katowice was Erster Kattowitzer Schwimmverein, established in 1912, and the first tennis club was Kattowitzer Tennis Vereinigung.

In 1896, the Katowice branch of the Sokół Gymnastic Society was established, which also marked the beginning of Polish tourism in the area. At the end of World War I, on the initiative of Ernest Miller, the Piast Gymnastics and Sports Society was established, and in 1920, the Pogoń Katowice football club was founded. Between 1922 and 1939, a total of 96 sports organizations operated in Katowice. During World War II, the existing model of physical culture was abolished and replaced by one developed in Berlin in 1937. At that time, the 1. FC Kattowitz club was reactivated.

After World War II, the reconstruction of sports life in Katowice began, first in the form of state structures, and then social organizations. Ideological considerations had a major impact on the structure of sports in Śródmieście. Between 1954 and 1964, a total of 35 reactivated clubs were involved in high-level sports throughout Katowice, including those located in Śródmieście at the time: Silesian Automobile Club, Gwardia Katowice, Iskra Katowice, and Katowice Skating Club. Attempts were also made to reactivate clubs such as Pogoń Katowice, Silesian Skating Society, and Boxing Sports Club. In the 1960s, the number of clubs was reduced, partly due to the formation of the GKS Katowice structures, and in the 1970s, academic and school sports were reorganized.

With the development of sports movements during the Polish People's Republic, new sports facilities were also built in Katowice. One of them was Torkat, reopened in Śródmieście in 1949 – the 13th artificially cooled ice rink in Europe. Torkat had originally been in operation since 7 December 1930. It had a cooled ice surface, stands, and a club-technical building. A fire in August 1973 led to the almost complete collapse of the building, which was not rebuilt. The Scientific Information Centre and Academic Library is now located in its place.

Public safety

In terms of crime rates, Śródmieście is one of the least safe districts in Katowice. In 2007, the crime rate for Śródmieście was the highest among all districts of Katowice, amounting to 6.51 incidents per 100 residents of the district. At the same time, it was more than twice as high as the average for Katowice as a whole. Between 2004 and 2007, it decreased from 9.62 crimes per 100 residents in 2004. During this period, the most dangerous places were the area around the Katowice railway station and 3 Maja, Mikołowska, Warszawska, and P. Skarga streets. In 2007, there were 63 traffic accidents in Śródmieście. Most of them were recorded in the area of Chorzowska, T. Kościuszko, and Mikołowska streets, and W. Roździeński and W. Korfanty avenues. In 2013, there were 2,488 crimes in Śródmieście, equivalent to 82 crimes per 1,000 residents. Śródmieście is home to the headquarters of the Voivodeship Police Headquarters at 19 J. Lompa Street, the Municipal Police Headquarters, and a branch of the Internal Security Agency. The municipal headquarters includes, among others, Police Station I, located in Śródmieście at 28 Żwirki i Wigury Street.

The headquarters of the Voivodeship Fire Service Headquarters is located at 36 W. Stwosz Street in Śródmieście. The area of the district is covered by the Municipal Fire Service Headquarters, located at 11 Wojewódzka Street, and the same address is also home to Rescue and Firefighting Unit No. 1. The Professional Fire Service was established in 1903, and its headquarters were located at what is now 11 Wojewódzka Street.

Due to frequent epidemics of infectious diseases in Katowice in the mid-19th century, a small hospital with 14 beds was opened in 1867 on what is now Plebiscytowa Street, and Dr. Richard Holtze cared for the sick. The first large hospital in Katowice, owned by the Fraternal Association from Tarnowskie Góry, was opened on Francuska Street on 1 June 1895. At that time, it was the largest hospital in the area, with 450 beds. In the same year, a public bathhouse was built on what is now A. Mickiewicz Street. In 1900, a hospital run by the Sisters of St. Elizabeth was established on today's Warszawska Street, and in 1904, a municipal hospital was opened on what is now Raciborska Street. In the 1920s, a children's hospital with 115 beds was opened on the same street, which was enlarged a few years later.

In March 2022, the following hospitals were located in Śródmieście: