Culture in the Mine
Over the past two decades, dozens of Polish mines have changed their function. Although it is not easy to preserve the forms of post-industrial, usually historic structures and at the same time to breathe completely new life into them, in many places, the effort has produced excellent and often surprising results.
In 2001, the Zollverein coal mine in Essen was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. It was placed there for two reasons: one was to respect the value of the historic industrial buildings (the mine operated continuously from 1851 to 1986), but no less important and worthy of appreciation was the conversion of this post-industrial complex into a modern cultural centre. The primary reason for placing the Zollverein mine on the List was the continuity of the site’s existence in a radically changing reality, the ability to respect the heritage of the past, but also to give it a second life through not only through a new function, but also through new architecture – as several completely new buildings have also been incorporated into the space of the mine.
The world after the industrial revolution
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Shaft Zeche Zollverein, photo: Tuxyso / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
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The post-mining Zollverein complex in Essen is often mentioned in the context of the debate on post-industrial relics present in most European countries. In the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th, the industry seemed to be the driving force behind the development of our civilisation. One city after another developed around large factories, steel mills and mines. From Manchester through Lille to Łódź, from the Ruhr district through the Yorkshire region to Upper Silesia, large industrial areas were developing, followed by smaller centres pursuing their industrial ambitions. Less than a hundred years later, the smelter chimneys began to fade, raw material extraction declined, and mass production moved to China, and to other countries with cheaper labour. European cities were left with hundreds and thousands of former factory buildings, many of which were of historical and often architectural value. A new use was therefore sought for them.
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The Silesian Museum in Katowice, photo: Sonia Szeląg
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Muzeum Śląskie w Katowicach, fot. Sonia Szeląg
Before concrete projects to adapt post-industrial spaces for new purposes materialised, factory halls became the settings for (not always legal) concerts, performances, music and art events – it was the independent culture that first discovered the potential inherent in closed mines and factories. Importantly, the process of 'gentling' post-industrial heritage, rediscovering it and exploiting its qualities has run along similar lines in all European countries. In Poland, it started only a little later, as Western Europe began to abandon large-scale industry in cities as early as the late 1970s and 1980s; in Poland, this socially painful process was initiated by the political transformation which took place.
Victims of transformation
According to the Polish Geological Institute, in 1990, 70 hard coal mines were operating in Poland. Two decades later, there were only 20. The transformation of the system also put an end to the operation of dozens of other large production plants, factories and steelworks – and it did so at a very fast pace. The social and economic impact of this process was often dramatic, and it took years for many towns to come to terms with the crisis caused by the disappearance of the largest employer. The buildings that remain after the industrial era had 'better luck'. Many today serve new functions, collect architectural awards, and offer new attractions or services.
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The main entrance to the Silesia City Center shopping center in Katowice, photo: Lestat (Jan Mehlich)/ Creative Commons/ (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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The transformation and modernisation of what are often historic buildings has made it possible not only not to lose the reminders of the industrial past, but also to preserve the identity of certain regions which were shaped by the industry for decades. In Poland, this is best demonstrated in the Upper Silesia region, where the first mines were established as early as the 17th century and which has been most closely associated with the mining industry. Just as shipyard cranes are the emblem of Gdańsk and Szczecin, mine shafts make up the skyline of Silesian cities. And that is why they are preserved in many places as a critical, recognisable sign in the space. This is evidenced by the 30-metre-high Jerzy Shaft towering over the Silesia City Centre shopping mall in Katowice, built on the site of the Gottwald Hard Coal Mine, the oldest in Katowice. In 2004, the post-industrial buildings were adapted for commercial purposes: numerous shops, a cinema, restaurants, and a chapel were created (the latter is located in the former engine room of the mine shaft). The preserved buildings of the former mine house, among others, an art gallery and the management of the shopping centre.
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Shaft 'Prezydent' in Chorzów, photo: Beata Zawrzel/Reporter/East News
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A tall shaft also dominates the site of the former Katowice Hard Coal Mine, which today is the headquarters of the Silesian Museum. At the top of the 40-metre-high structure, an observation deck is located, from which one can enjoy a panoramic view of the entire area. The Austrian architects from Riegler Riewe, who designed the transformation of the mine into a museum, deliberately placed most of the usable areas of the new facility underground so that nothing on the surface disturbs the layout of the old mine buildings; the historical brick buildings and shaft are accompanied only by transparent pavilions made of milk glass. The Silesian Museum, one of the most important institutions of that kind in the region, presents the turbulent history of the area, but it is also the venue for temporary exhibitions whose themes provide an extraordinary insight into the identity of this part of Poland. There have already been presentations of amateur painters from the Janów Śląski Group, as well as those presenting Silesian hip-hop.
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Medium Gallery, The Wilson Shaft, Katowice, Photo: www.szybwilson.org
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'What industry has taken away, culture must reclaim' is the motto of the owners of the Wilson Shaft Gallery, a private art gallery established in the historic building of the former Wieczorek Mineshaft in Katowice. In addition to presenting a large collection of works by painters with ties to Upper Silesia, the gallery hosts temporary exhibitions, festivals or cyclical cultural events such as the Art Naif Festival. The Wilson Shaft Gallery was opened as early as 2001, several years before it had become popular to adapt post-industrial buildings for new functions. While the Wilson Shaft provides a spiritual experience, the Sztygarka hotel and catering complex, built on the site of the former President Mine in Chorzów, provides services for the body. A spectacular shaft also towers over the renovated historic building complex, distinguishing it from other buildings of this kind: this one was built of reinforced concrete. The former mine and the hoist tower built for it in 1933 were named 'President' in honour of Polish President Ignacy Mościcki.
Education & entertainment
Mine shafts can be spotted not only in Upper Silesia. Several such spire-like structures have been preserved in Walbrzych; two shaft towers are located on the site of the Old Mine Science and Art Centre, established in 2015 as a result of the adaptation and modernisation of the 4.5-ha site of the Julia (formerly Thorez) Coal Mine. Apart from the exhibition of authentic relics of the mining era and machinery used in the mine, the Centre is home to the Museum of Industry and Technology, which tells the story of coal. It also hosts the Gallery of Contemporary Art and the Centre for Unique Ceramics. At the Old Mine, one can have lunch, drink coffee and stay overnight in one of the hotel rooms with a view of the post-mining monuments.
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Historic Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Góry, Deep Adit 'Fryderyk' - Black Trout Adit tourist route, photo: courtesy of ZKSwTG
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Sztolnia głęboka "Fryderyk" - trasa turystyczna Sztolnia Czarnego Pstrąga, fot. dzięki uprzejmości ZKSwTG
Among the fifteen UNESCO World Heritage sites representing Poland (there are two more entries related to natural heritage), there are as many as four mines: the Wieliczka and Bochnia salt mines, the Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine and the Neolithic flint mines in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Each of them is not only a precious relic of the past but also a top-rated tourist attraction. Because we love visiting mines, therefore, it is not always necessary to turn these preserved sites into shopping malls or museums so that they begin to attract people. Tourists like visiting such sites for the sheer desire to learn about the history of technology, the history of extracting coal or other raw materials, and the opportunity to go deep underground is also fascinating. This is why many Polish mines are simply museums of themselves. Each offers different attractions and experiences.
Krzemionki Opatowskie, photo: Dominika Zarzycka / Alamy Stock/PAP
In Wieliczka, visitors learn not only about the history of salt mining and explore the underground chambers – concerts are organised in the salt-walled halls, and overnight stays are also possible. One of the most popular attractions of the post-mining complex in Tarnowskie Góry is the Black Trout Adit, which can be visited by boat. In the Krzemionki Opatowskie archaeological reserve, visitors can see almost unchanged mining methods dating back to 3900 - 1600 BC, while in the Lower Silesian town of Nowa Ruda, the adits can be visited by means of an underground railway. A similar attraction is offered by the Guido Mine in Zabrze, where part of the route is travelled by the only device of this kind in the world available for tourists – a suspended electric rail.
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Chain bath, Zabrze, photo: Grzegorz CelejewskiAW
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Each of the mines open to tourists has its own unique character and offers attractions or surprises. Some are traces of man’s struggle with nature, such as the underground waterfall in the former gold mine in Srebrna Góra, while others are an expression of concern for the extremely difficult work of the miners. An example of the latter is the chain baths on the premises of the Queen Luiza Coal Mine in Zabrze. Operating from 1890 to 1998, it was the first facility of that kind in Upper Silesia, a testament to the social level of the plant, which was well ahead of the standards of the time. In the baths, miners coming out from underground could wash up and leave their belongings hanging on chains fixed to the ceiling. In the Zabrze baths, all the historic installations and original ceramics have been preserved to this day – the renovation of the building, designed by Konior Studio and OVO Grąbczewscy Architekci, was completed in 2015 and is open to the public.
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Center for Climbing and Strength Sports, Rozbark Mine Bytom, photo: Grzegorz Celejewski/AW
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When the first projects to restore post-industrial sites began in the early 2000s, the most apparent function for them seemed to be that of a museum. Today, post-mining buildings are more and more frequently used to house services that might be useful to local residents. In the building of the former gasworks in Zabrze, which until the 1970s produced gas from coal mined in the area, a Community Service Centre began operating in 2021, offering classes and activities for young and elderly people. The adaptation of the valuable brick building for its new functions was designed by Projekt Plus Architekci in cooperation with the conservator-restorer; it houses cinemas, gymnasiums, computer rooms, workshop spaces and meeting places. The authorities of the small town of Pszów, near Rybnik, began modernising the historic buildings on the premises of the former Anna Hard Cole Mine in 2021. The municipal library will soon be operating here, and the Jan Shaft next to it will become an observation deck. In the shaft building of the former Witold Mine in Boguszów-Gorce in Lower Silesia, there is a Cultural and Congress Centre, while the underground tourist route in the former Queen Luisa Adit in Zabrze is complemented by, among other things, an above-ground playground designed as an educational space inspired by equipment used in mines.
District of New Technologies - Katowice Gaming and Technology HUB, AMC project - Andrzej M. Chołdzyński Sp. z o. o. s.k. from Lublin, photo: Visualization: Visualization: AMC - Andrzej M. Chołdzyński
The huge, impressive buildings of the former Gliwice Coal Mine – are now a modern Education and Business Centre, an incubator of entrepreneurship that is to make the city more attractive to investors. And since 2021, the former guildhall of the Rozbark Coal Mine in Bytom has been home to a Climbing and Strength Sports Centre that has climbing walls also outdoors – on the building’s façades. In February 2022, Katowice launched an architectural competition for the concept of the 'District of New Technologies – Katowice Gaming and Technology Hub' project. Planned for many years, the investment is to transform the site of the former Wieczorek Hard Coal Mine in Katowice into a place that attracts entrepreneurs from the e-sports and computer games industry.
In Upper and Lower Silesia and other once-industrial regions of Poland, many relics of the industrial age still exist (and are falling into ruin). Finding a new function and bringing such monuments back to life is difficult and expensive. However, the projects that have already been implemented clearly show that post-mining monuments can become a driving force for the development of a city or commune. Indeed, they are not only a precious heritage, but also an extremely attractive magnet for tourists or investors. It is worth – nomen omen – exploiting their potential.
Translated from Polish by Agnieszka Mistur
