Bytomka Valley

For more than a century, the land along the Bytomka river was wrecked by a steelworks and mines; today it is crossed by walking and cycling paths. The Bytomka Valley, on the border of Bytom's Łagiewniki and Szombierki districts, is not wilderness but an interesting example of land reclamation in Upper Silesia: greenery returning to former industrial wasteland. It makes a good one-hour walk without leaving the city.

A river with an industrial past

The Bytomka belongs to the Oder basin, even though Bytom sits on the watershed between the Vistula and the Oder. The town hall openly admits that the river is fed mainly by mine water, wastewater and rainwater, so do not expect a clear stream. Its banks, however, have a long history. In 1927, in sandbanks along the Bytomka in what is now Biskupice in Zabrze, thousands of small flint objects from around 10,000 BC were found. They were most likely the remains of a Stone Age flint workshop.

In the 17th century, the river brought prosperity to the people of today's Bytom, Zabrze and Gliwice. Numerous watermills worked along the Bytomka, and ponds were dug on its tributaries. Only the 19th century and the rise of heavy industry turned the valley into a landscape of spoil heaps and wasteland.

Reclaiming Łagiewniki and Szombierki

From the 19th century onwards, the land by the river was degraded by the nearby Zygmunt steelworks, by zinc and lead ore mining and by coal mining. In 2017 the city received PLN 25.5 million in funding, 85 per cent of a project worth about PLN 30 million, to reclaim almost 30 ha in Szombierki and Łagiewniki. The plans included sports facilities, cycle paths, footpaths with benches and other small structures, and a car park, with the recreational part due to be finished by the end of 2019.

What to do here

• a walk or a short bike ride along the river;
• watching vegetation take over former industrial land;
• a history lesson in the open air, from Stone Age flints through watermills to steelmaking.

Tripto tip

The area is open and free, with no gate or opening hours. The project announcement named ul. Ostatnia in Łagiewniki as the access road, and the car park was planned there too. Allow 1–1.5 hours for a walk. Some paths are unpaved, so sturdy shoes help after rain. For the current state of the pitches and facilities, you can call Bytom town hall (tel. +48 32 281 20 51).