Nikiszowiec

Nikiszowiec. The 5-minute city

Probably no place in Poland seduces filmmakers and photographers so much. Katowice’s Nikiszowiec district is a unique “city within a city” – a completely preserved workers’ housing estate for miners from the early 20th century. Walking along the atmospheric streets between the low-rise brick buildings, you will find yourself in the very center of life, the rhythm of which was once determined by a mine, a house, a church and a beer tavern.

Nikiszowiec, known as “Nikisz” in Silesian, was designed as a self-sufficient settlement for about 1,000 people. There was everything needed to live here – in the courtyards stood ovens for baking bread, two steps away was a store, a school, a laundry with a mangle, and a narrow-gauge train took miners from under the estate itself to work. Long before the idea of a 15-minute city was conceived, it had already been embodied in Nikiszowiec.

The three-story brick townhouses are distinguished by their characteristic red window frames, arcades and original rose mosaics. In recent years tourists have flocked here, with atmospheric pubs and stores appearing, but it will not be a place where you will experience crowds – Nikiszowiec is an address for connoisseurs and seekers of new experiences.

It is best to wander around the district aimlessly, the neighborhood is small and it is hard to get lost. It is worth visiting the small museum at 4 Rymarska Street, located in the building of a former laundry, which shows life in the former Nikiszowiec. Meanwhile, a 15-minute walk north of the estate is the interesting Wilson Shaft art gallery, occupying a former hall for miners waiting to go down the mine.

More about Nikiszowiec (including in English)