Zabrze
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Zabrze is a city in the Silesian Voivodeship of southern Poland, part of a metropolis centred on Katowice. It's industrial, with a population of 168,946 in 2021. Its top sight is the Coal Mining Museum, with two facilities where you explore underground.
Understand
Medieval villages in the forests of Silesia mined coal and worked metal, but remained small until the 18th century, when mining and steel-making techniques advanced. In Zabrze the spark for growth came in 1791 with the discovery of coal suitable for coke, which you need for high-temperature steel and glass manufacture. In this era Poland was carved up between other nations and Zabrze was part of Prussia then Germany. When World War I broke out, it was thought politic to rename the town Hindenburg after the leader of the German Imperial Army. After the war Poland was re-established and the cities of Silesia voted on whether to join it; Hindenburg was among those voting to remain in Germany. It joined Poland and reverted to being Zabrze after World War II. Zabrze gained city rights in 1922. It quickly became of the mid-size industrial towns common in the Silesian region.
The post-war communist government promoted traditional smokestack industries, but these and communism collapsed together in the 1980s. This has left a large industrial heritage which today is the most interesting aspect of Zabrze.
Today, it is one of the cities composing the 2.7 million inhabitant conurbation referred to as the Katowice urban area, itself a major centre in the greater Silesian metropolitan area which is populated by just over five million people
Get in
For long-distance routes, see Katowice#Get in. By public transport from Katowice (KTW IATA) or Kraków (KRK IATA) airports, travel via their city centres, there's no direct link to Zabrze.
By road
From Kraków and points east follow E40 to Katowice then Hwy 902.
From Warsaw follow E75 / A1 southwest past Częstochowa and Bytom.
From Berlin follow E40 southeast past Wrocław.
By bus
Long-distance buses don't call here, change in Katowice.
The bus station is 100 m west of the railway station and in 2024 is one big mess, as the old station is being demolished and a new transport centre built.
By train
Trains from Katowice run every 20 min and take 20 min via Chorzów Batory, Ruda Chebzie and Ruda Śląska, continuing to Gliwice.
An occasional long-distance train calls here, for example from Budapest via Bratislava, Breclav and Ostrava. But usually you change at Katowice coming from anywhere east (Kraków, Warsaw or Gdańsk), or at Gliwice from the west (Berlin or Wrocław).
1 Zabrze Railway Station is central in this straggling city. Few facilities here.
Trams link the GZM towns and are a good way to get here from Bytom, but slow from Chorzów or Katowice.
Get around
ZTM Metropolia run almost all buses and trams 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
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- 1 City Museum, 3 Maja 6, ☏ +48 32 777 0501. Tu W F 09:00-16:00, Th 09:00-18:00, Sa Su 10:00-14:00. Municipal museum and art gallery with exhibitions of local history and culture. Free.
- 2 Coal Mining Museum (Muzeum Górnictwa Węglowego), 3 Maja 19, ☏ +48 32 630 3091. This displays the history of coal mining locally, but to get the real experience you should visit the other branches at Guido Mine and Queen Louisa Adit, where you tour underground. However for those you need to be reasonably mobile, and the minimum age is six.
- 3 St Anne Church at 3 Maja 18 is a confident redbrick neo-gothic building of 1900.
- 4 Water Tower (Wieża ciśnień), Jana Zamoyskiego 2. Daily 10:00-18:00. 100-year old tower converted into a viewing platform.
- 5 Military Technology Museum, Maurycego Mochnackiego 12, ☏ +48 601 655 252. Tu-Su 10:00-18:00. Large display of tanks, guns and other military gear, most of it in working order. Wear stout shoes as the outdoor areas are quaggy after rainfall.
- 6 Guido Mine (Kopalnia Guido), 3 Maja 93, ☏ +48 32 271 4077. Daily 09:00-20:00. Part of the Coal Mining Museum, reservations essential. There was lots of coal down here but the strata are riven by faults, so it took three attempts from 1856 to reach a profitable seam at 170 m depth. When that was exhausted they drilled down to 320 m, and the main part of the museum is down here, with demonstrations of machinery and mining daily life - and death. English tours may be available. After the lower seam was finished Guido acted as a sump, draining other nearby mines, and was also a test bed for mining machinery. It became a museum in 2007. Adult 60 zł.
- 7 Queen Louisa Adit (Sztolnia Królowa Luiza), Wolności 408, ☏ +48 32 271 4077. Daily 11:00-18:00. Part of the Coal Mining Museum. An adit is a horizontal tunnel giving access to the mine workings, or connecting the parts of a mine. It can also mean a tunnel that follows a seam horizontally, but that's more correctly a "drift mine". You explore this one by underground boat.
- 8 St Joseph Church at Franklina Roosevelta 102 is a redbrick building of 1930-33 with a striking facade, like a Roman aqueduct.
- 9 Botanical Garden (Miejski Ogród Botaniczny), Piłsudskiego 60, ☏ +48 32 271 3033. Daily 10:00-18:00. A botanical garden opened in 1938. Adult 2 zł.
- 10 Jewish Cemetery was in use 1872-1954. It's an atmospheric bosky place with traditional grave markers, but seldom open.
Do
- 1 New Theatre (Teatr Nowy), Plac Teatralny 1, ☏ +48 723 331 007. The city theatre is in an Art Nouveau building, formerly a steelworks casino.
- 2 Zabrze Philharmonic (Filharmonia Zabrzańska), Park Hutniczy 7 (behind Nowy Teatr), ☏ +48 32 271 4717. The city concert hall.
- 3 House of Music and Dance (Dom Muzyki i Tańca), Gen Charlesa de Gaulle’a 17, ☏ +48 32 271 5641. A large event hall, hosting concerts and other events.
- Football: Górnik Zabrze play soccer in Ekstraklasa, Poland's top tier. Their home ground is Arena Zabrze (capacity 24,500) near the Botanic Gardens.
Buy
- Lidl is the largest central supermarket, at Franklina Roosevelta 43, open M-Sa 06:00-22:00.
- Aldi is 500 m north of the station at Miarki 2, open M-Sa 06:00-22:00.
- Galeria Zabrze is a shopping centre on Wolności, a block north of the station, open M-Sa 09:00-20:00, Su 10:00-19:00.
- Lots of convenience stores, Biedronka, Żabka and Odido are the main franchises.
Eat
- The main eating strip is Wolności, a block north of the station. Along here are Akira Sushi, Sorrento, Calavera, Mąka & Oliwa, Happy Star, Gruby Benek and Skrzydlaty Byk.
Drink
- The main cluster of pubs is just north of the station.
- Van Pur is a commercial brewery on Wolności south of the station. No tours.
Sleep
- 1 Aparthotel Zabrze, Wolności 306b, ☏ +48 501 428 048. Spacious comfy apartments near the railway station, sleep 6-8. Room only 250 zł.
- 2 ibis Katowice Zabrze, Jagiellońska 4, ☏ +48 32 777 7000. Comfy reliable Accor chain hotel. B&B double 200 zł.
- 3 Innowacja, Jagiellońska 38A, ☏ +48 32 278 7555. Styles itself a "conference hotel", perhaps because you hear every conversation in the other rooms, but it's hostel-standard basic accommodation. B&B double 150 zł.
- 4 Hotel Alpex, Franciszkańska 8, ☏ +48 32 271 0776. Decent mid-range hotel in a quiet area. B&B double 250 zł.
- 5 Gościniec Promus, Pawliczka 25, ☏ +48 32 370 0441. Out in the industrial eastern suburbs, but clean and spacious. B&B double 250 zł.
- 6 Hotel Diament Zabrze, 3 Maja 122A, ☏ +48 32 721 1000. Smart friendly chain hotel near the mining museum. Double (room only) 200 zł.
Connect
As of April 2024, Zabrze and its approach roads have 5G from all Polish carriers.
Go next
- Katowice at the centre of the metropolis is grubby and industrial but with lots of 19th / 20th century heritage.
- In Chorzów the main sights are in the Culture Park along the boundary with Katowice.
- Częstochowa is a pilgrimage site for Jasna Góra monastery, with the icon of the Black Madonna.