Upper Silesian Railway

First plans for a railway in Upper Silesia date to the early 19th century, but the construction work began only in 1841.

The railway was built by the Oberschlesische Eisenbahn AG (OSE), a private company, with support from the Prussian government.

[1] In the years thereafter it was steadily expanded until it reached Katowice and Mysłowice by 3 October 1846, by which time the line was declared complete.

[1][2] This was the first railway connection between Berlin and Vienna, also linking the two (at that point, both former) Polish capitals of Kraków and Warsaw.

[1] The OSE company was nationalized by Prussia in 1857, as the German government wanted to fix the prices at a low level to speed up the region's industrialization.