Hello everyone and good morning from Poland! Today we are going to explore very
unusual touristic destination. It's a city Katowice, industrial city in Poland. Many
tourists avoid it, let's find out why. But first let's start with the breakfast.
Katowice is a very young city by Polish standards. And one of the few cities in
Poland where almost all architectural styles are present: from eclecticism to postmodernism. And
the main architectural symbol of the city will surprise you. So behind my back you can see the
most famous building in Katowice called UFO. UFO or «Spodek» - translated from Polish as
"saucer" - is a stadium that occupies a prominent place in the panorama of the city.
During the construction of the stadium in the 60s of the 20th century, Katowice was one of
the fastest growing Polish cities. The authorities designated it as the industrial capital of Poland.
“Spodek” was conceived from the very beginning as a multifunctional facility, so the configuration
of the stage and stands had to have sufficient elasticity. Not only sports competitions, concerts
and exhibitions were held here. On the day of my arrival in Katowice, a large-scale floristic fair
was just taking place in the stadium. I have never seen so many people buying home plants in my life.
So you can see the stadium doesn't stay without the deal. They often use it for some
different events. Our next stop is a former industrial region that happened to be a museum now.
Silesian Museum located on the site of the former Katowice coal mine,
together with other institutions created here - a museum of art, history, architecture and
others - forms a new center of the cultural life of the city. The main part of the architectural
complex of the Silesian Museum is a seven-levels building with three underground levels.
But I was not well prepared for visiting the museum and mainly paid attention to
the sightseeing of old buildings from the time of the operation of the mine.
So here is another very interesting viewpoint in Katowice. It's a panoramic elevator. Unfortunately
right now it's closed, so I can't show you the view. A panoramic elevator was installed in the former
Warsaw 2 mine shaft, and the structure gained a second life.
In summer, you can go upstairs and admire the panorama of Katowice from a height of 40 meters.
But from November 1 until the end of March, the tower is closed to the public. So like
every polish city Katowice has its Rynok square. But it's very different from the
one you can see in other cities. The Katowice Market Square may not strike the imagination,
but it lives up to its name - there are a huge number of shopping centers and a food fair.
And if you want to see more beautiful and old architecture,
be sure to take a walk along Mariacka street to Roman Catholic Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
And then take some time for a walk to Cathedral of Christ the King.
Katowice has tons of beautiful buildings. One of them is this Music academy. It has cafeteria inside,
so you can go and enjoy the architecture. So let's go for coffee now.
I spent some time walking around Katowice enjoying its beautiful architecture.
Now it's time for the dinner, before I leave for my train to Krakow. And I want to show you one very
unusual place. This restaurant is located on the 27th floor of the Marriott hotel and is called:
"27th floor". I won’t say that the view from there is amazing - after all,
there are no high-rise buildings in Katowice, so the whole city is in full view. Also,
I do not recommend this restaurant to budget travelers, as the prices are very high too. But
why not treat yourself once. So answering the question is Katowice worth visiting.
If you are just regular tourist, probably not, because there is so much more to see in Poland.
But if you live here then you should definitely explore this destination. Katowice is really nice
and beautiful city, I really enjoyed this trip, I recommend it to everyone.
So that's my conclusion about Katowice. Take care and see you in the next video.