Tychy
Tychy is a city in the Silesian Voivodeship in the south of Poland. With a population of 125,781 in 2021, it's part of the Katowice metropolis. It's best known in the west as the source of Tyskie beer.
Understand
Cichy means "quiet" or "still." That name probably wasn't accurate even in medieval times, when a series of villages in the forests of Silesia resounded to the clamour of metal-working forges and dwelt in a fug of coal smoke. Other coal and steel towns expanded from the 18th century and grew into each other, but in Tychy the main industry was brewing. All over Europe in that era, workers preferred to live on beer than take their chances on the output of the village pump, which was sometimes a richer shade of brown. Tyskie Brewery made low-grade beer for them, part of their wages, and higher grade beer for commercial sale.
Much of Silesia was part of Germany until the end of World War I; thereafter in 1921 Tychy joined the newly independent Poland, while several neighbouring cities such as Chorzów remained German until the end of World War II. From the 1950s Tychy mushroomed as a "New Town". Its main industry today is automobile components for Stellantis, the giant conglomerate that owns Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot and Vauxhall.
Get in
Tychy is 20 km south of Katowice, follow Highway 86 / 1. Public transport from other cities and from Katowice Airport (KTW IATA) usually means changing in Katowice city centre.
Four trains a day from Warsaw are direct, taking four hours to Tychy main station via Piotrkow Trybunalski, Częstochowa, Sosnowiec and Katowice. They continue to Pszczyn, Czechowice-Dziedzice and Bielsko-Biała.
Local trains run every 30 min from Katowice and take 20-25 min to Tychy main station, Tychy Zachodnie, Tychy Aleja Bielska, Tychy Grota Roweckiego and Tychy Lodowisko.
Other local trains continue south via Pszczyn hourly to Zabrzeg, Skoczow, Ustron and Wisła, or hourly to Bielsko-Biała and Zywiec.
1 Tychy main station is northwest edge of town. It's been renovated but is grubby with poor signage of departures, poor disabled access, and no traveller facilities.
2 Tychy Zachodnie means "western", a simple platform halt off Hacerska.
3 Tychy Aleja Bielska is the next halt, within shouting distance of Zachodnie.
4 Tychy Grota Roweckiego comes next.
5 Tychy Lodowisko is the end of this passenger route.
Tychy Żwaków is southwest edge of town on the line towards Pszczyn and Bielsko-Biała. You're unlikely to use it.
Bus M10 runs every 30 min from Katowice Aleja Korfantego and main bus station, with multiple stops through town. There isn't a bus station in Tychy, and inter-city buses don't call.
Get around
Tychy has buses and trolley buses, the Katowice trams don't run this far out.
ZTM Metropolia run almost all buses across the 40-some cities of Upper Silesian Metropolis, which straddles the Czech border. They have a unified ticket system. See Katowice#Get around for ticket options and where to buy them.
See
- 1 Rynek is the former market square. It's mostly modern, though an attempt has been made to prettify it with a fountain and plants.
- St Mary Magdalene Church is north side of Rynek. It's baroque, built in 1782.
- 2 City Museum, Plac Wolności 1, ☏ +48 32 327 1820. M-W 09:00-15:00, Th-Sa 10:00-19:00. This is small, with no room for a permanent collection, so it can only hold temporary exhibitions until it finds a larger home.
- 3 Tyskie Brewing Museum, Katowica 9, ☏ +48 724 144 511. Tu-Su 12:00-20:00. The historic brewery site and taproom, the modern brewery is a short way north. Tyskie was founded in 1629 and owned by the Promnitz nobles; since 2017 it's part of Asahi Group. Adult 50 zł.
- 4 Museum of Silesia September 1939 (Muzeum śląskiego Września 1939), Brzozowa 24, ☏ +48 506 196 338. By appointment. One enthusiast's private collection of wartime memorabilia.
- 5 Museum of Miniature Art (Muzeum Miniaturowej Sztuki), Żwakowska 8/66, ☏ +48 692 875 944. M-F 10:00-18:00. Gallery of the miniature art of Henryk Jan Dominiak.
- 6 Church of the Holy Spirit (Kościół pw Ducha Świętego), Myśliwska 43, ☏ +48 32 219 4160. M F 14:00-17:00, Tu Th 08:00-11:00. Remarkable modern structure, sort-of resembling a tent.
- Pyramid: this is a spa hotel, see "Sleep".
Do
- Theatre: Teatr Mały is at Hlonda 1 south of Rynek, Box Office +48 32 227 2067.
- Cinema: Multikino is at Jana Pawła II 16/18 near Grota Roweckiego station.
- Football: GKS Tychy play soccer in I Liga, Poland's second tier. Their home ground is Stadion Miejski (capacity 15,300) east of town centre.
- Ice hockey: GKS Tychy (same company) play in Polska Hokej Liga, the top tier. Their home rink is Stadion Zimowy, next to Lodowisko railway station.
- Wodny Park, Sikorskiego 20, ☏ +48 32 438 8835. Daily 10:00-22:00. Water park, usually clean. Adult or child 15 zł.
Buy
- Lidl is the largest downtown supermarket, at Burschego 3, open M-Sa 06:00-22:00. They have another outlet at Kopernika 15 near Grota Roweckiego station.
Eat
- Grota Roweckiego has a cluster of eating places. They include Saigon, Nudle w Zołzie, Hanoi, La Classica Pizzeria, Kaya Sushi within Hotel Tychy, Złoty Smok, Pub Żywiecki and Wynalazcy Smaku.
- Promnice Castle at the southwest end of the lake is a hunting lodge. It's been converted into a restaurant but this remains closed in 2024.
Drink
- Pubs: more than you could shake a stick at.
- Breweries are Tyskie (above, now producing at Książęcy), Obywatelski by Tychy main railway station, Wielokran micro-brewery in the Andromeda complex, and Wilkowyje northwest edge of town.
- Distillery: Czarny Baran makes gin.
Sleep
- 1 Hotel Stara Poczta, Kościuszki 24, ☏ +48 32 324 2700. Acceptable place north of centre near A4. B&B double 600 zł.
- Hotel Tychy, Jana Pawła II 10 (next to Grota Roweckiego station), ☏ +48 32 782 7500. Drab exterior, but within is a good-enough hotel. Central, so there's street noise. B&B double 500 zł.
- Sleep Well 1999, Jana Pawła II 12 (next to Hotel Tychy), ☏ +48 782 901 999. Clean, comfy and central. B&B double 500 zł.
- 2 Hotel Arena, de Gaulle'a 8, ☏ +48 32 323 2222. Pleasant hotel with spa. B&B double 500 zł.
- 3 Hotel Daria, Składowa 2, ☏ +48 32 329 1290. Simple hotel in an industrial park in the east suburbs. B&B double 450 zł.
- 4 Piramida Park, Sikorskiego 100, ☏ +48 32 325 7878. Yes, it's a pyramid, a spa hotel south edge of town by the lake and A1. B&B double 500 zł.
Connect
As of April 2024, Tychy and its approach highways have 4G from Play, and 5G from Orange, Plus and T-Mobile.
Go next
- Katowice is not scenic but has a rich industrial heritage.
- Bielsko-Biała is a resort town in the hills with attractive Vienna-style architecture.
- Częstochowa is a pilgrimage destination for its monastery church, with the icon of the Black Madonna.