Katowice & region
Katowice is undergoing a process of redefinition: from a centre of heavy industry, it is becoming a place of cultural events, congresses and business meetings.
The transition is represented by the Culture Zone, created on the site of the former Katowice Coal Mine and comprising the Silesian Museum, National Symphonic Orchestra of the Polish Radio, and the International Congress Centre.
The cityscape of Katowice is a spatial collage: familok houses (old multi-family houses for coalminers), modernist quarters and icons of contemporary architecture all illustrate the dynamically changing history of the city and its diversity – its local attachments and global aspirations.
In 2015, Katowice became a UNESCO Creative City as the City of Music, host to electronic and alternative music festivals: Festiwal Tauron Nowa Muzyka, OFF Festival, Rawa Blues Festival. The city has been home to famous musicians and artists: Wojciech Kilar, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Hans Bellmer, Konrad Swinarski.
Katowice is also the place of large international events, including the UN Climate Summit in 2018 (COP24).
