Katowice Railway Station

In front of Katowice station stand 16 reinforced-concrete "chalices" – columns that flare upwards like concrete flowers. They echo the famous Brutalist station of 1972, demolished in 2010–2011 despite protests from architects. Today's station, opened on 29 October 2012, is the main railway hub of Upper Silesia, with an underground bus station beneath it.

History: from the Upper Silesian Railway to the "Tigers"

The station opened on 3 October 1846 on the Upper Silesian Railway from Wrocław to Mysłowice. Rail traffic was one of the reasons Katowice received town rights in 1865. The building on ul. Dworcowa was extended in 1906–1908 in a historicist modernist style and survives today as the "old station". After the Second World War it proved far too small: it could hold at most about 1,500 people at a time, and only one platform could take long trains.

In 1959 a competition of the Association of Polish Architects for a new station was won by the "Tigers" team – Wacław Kłyszewski, Jerzy Mokrzyński and Eugeniusz Wierzbicki. The station, with its platforms and underpasses, was completed in 1972. The roof of the upper hall rested on huge concrete chalices, and the building was considered the finest example of Brutalism in Poland. In 1974 the station handled 200 million passengers.

Demolition and the new station

Ahead of the Euro 2012 football championship, Polish Railways decided to rebuild the station as a public-private partnership. Demolition of the hall began on 22 December 2010, and the last of the sixteen chalices came down on 11 January 2011. The new hall opened less than two years later; its architecture refers to its predecessor, with 16 rough-surfaced chalices recreated in a new structure. The underground bus terminal opened on 2 February 2013, and the Galeria Katowicka shopping centre, which forms one complex with the station, on 18 September 2013.

Finding your way

• Level 0 – the hall with ticket offices of Koleje Śląskie (open 24 hours) and PKP Intercity, plus three passages to the platforms.
• Level −1 – the bus station with 10 bays and 36 lines; the lifts are behind the ticket offices.
• 5 platforms – four island platforms in the main part of the station and platform 5 level with the old station.
• From the Katowice Dworzec stop the AP bus runs to Katowice Airport in Pyrzowice, and trams stop nearby, for example on ul. 3 Maja.

Tripto tip

The station is at pl. Marii i Lecha Kaczyńskich 2, right in the city centre. According to PKP (October 2026), luggage lockers cost PLN 25–30, toilets are open 24 hours (PLN 4.50) and a shower costs PLN 15. The PKP Mobility car park on pl. Oddziałów Młodzieży Powstańczej has only 19 spaces (PLN 7 per hour), so the Galeria Katowicka car park is more convenient. Travellers who need assistance should request it before the journey; electric wheelchair users currently cannot reach the platforms because of track works. From the station it is a few minutes' walk to the Market Square and the tourist information office at ul. Rynek 13, and on to the Spodek arena, the Silesian Museum and the NOSPR concert hall. Architecture fans should also look at ul. Dworcowa, home to the old early 20th-century station.