Giszowiec

Giszowiec (German: Gieschewald) is an eastern district of the city of Katowice (Silesian Voivodeship, Poland), created as a coal miners' settlement in 1907.

Although Giszowiec's architectural originality suffered major damages in the 1970s and 1980s due to large scale urbanization, its early unique character can be still felt in the surviving miners' housings, the marketplace, numerous individual buildings and structures, as well as the relatively well preserved general design of a "Garden city".

Its boundaries are marked in the north by the motorway A4, in the west by the international European route E75, while in the south and in the east, Giszowiec borders the nearby city of Mysłowice.

This work was completed by George and Emil Zillmann, architects from Charlottenburg, who designed the settlement inspired by Ebenezer Howard's idea of the "Garden city".

In just three years the project was completed: high living standard houses for 600 families were built, with four main streets leading to the central marketplace (today called Plac pod Lipami - Square under the Linden Trees).

The settlement had its own institutions, a hotel, department stores, a swimming pool and a water tower.

Inhabitants of the settlement took active part in the Silesian Uprisings, and during the Plebiscite in Upper Silesia, over 70% locals voted for Poland.

With the resolutions of the responsible curator of 1978 and 1987 to place the old land development under monument protection the colony could be saved fortunately.