NOSPR Concert Hall (Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra)

The NOSPR building in Katowice, home of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, is one of Europe's finest modern concert halls and the most striking piece of architecture in the city. Clad in dark brick with vivid red recesses, it stands in Katowice's Culture Zone on the site of a former coal mine. Even if you are not attending a concert, it is worth a detour for the architecture, the garden and the story of a mining city reinventing itself through music.

Where is NOSPR and how do you get there?

The concert hall is at pl. Wojciecha Kilara 1 in central Katowice, the main city of Upper Silesia in southern Poland. Katowice is about 80 km (50 miles) west of Kraków – roughly an hour by train – and Katowice Airport (Pyrzowice) is about 30 km north.

From Katowice railway station it is a 15-minute walk. The nearest stops are "Katowice Strefa Kultury NOSPR" (bus, 2 minutes on foot) and "Katowice Rondo" (tram, 5 minutes). Parking is available in the Culture Zone lots, although they may close during big outdoor events; paid garages nearby include the one at Galeria Katowicka mall.

From coal mine to concert hall

The building went up in 2012–2014 on the old timber yard of the Katowice coal mine, which shut down in 1999. It opened on October 1, 2014 – International Music Day. Architect Tomasz Konior and his Konior Studio designed it, and the project cost about 333 million PLN, co-funded by the European Union.

The facade uses roughly 611,000 bricks, some fired in a 19th-century kiln, and its rhythm of windows and red niches deliberately echoes the miners' housing of Nikiszowiec, the city's famous historic estate. The building was shortlisted for the EU's Mies van der Rohe Award in 2014.

Inside: acoustics and the organ

The Grand Concert Hall seats 1,666 people (plus extra seats). Its acoustics were developed with Poland's Kozłowski acoustic studio and the Japanese consultant Yasuhisa Toyota of Nagata Acoustics, who also worked on the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. A 1:10 scale model was tested before construction. The Chamber Hall seats 283.

In 2023 the hall gained a concert organ with 105 stops and more than 7,600 pipes, built by the Slovenian organ builder Anton Škrabl.

Things to see around the building

• The main facade from Wojciech Kilar Square – the classic photo spot.
• The foyer, dominated by the curved gray shell of the concert hall – open to concertgoers, restaurant guests and tour groups.
• The garden behind the hall, with about 100 trees, a hornbeam maze tracing the 1926 street plan of Katowice and a fountain that represents the Rawa river.
• The Culture Zone – the Silesian Museum, the International Congress Center and the saucer-shaped Spodek arena are all a few minutes away.

Concerts, tours and tickets

The best way to experience NOSPR is to hear a concert. The main season usually runs from fall to June. Book online at nospr.org.pl or at the box office; prices vary by event and are in Polish zloty (PLN). Reduced tickets are available for students under 26 and seniors, and there are family and group discounts at the box office.

Guided tours (about 75 minutes, 20 PLN, reduced 15 PLN) are offered to groups of more than 20 people and must be booked by email at least a month ahead. There is no regular schedule for individual visitors, so look out for open days and Museum Night.

Opening hours (as of October 2026): the box office is open Tuesday–Saturday 10 am–8 pm from October to June, and on Sundays two hours before an event. The Ogrody restaurant inside the building is open Monday–Thursday 8:30 am–10 pm and Friday–Sunday 8:30 am–midnight.

Is NOSPR worth visiting?

Absolutely, if you enjoy music or contemporary architecture. A concert here is affordable by Western European standards and the acoustics are world-class. If you only have an hour, combine a walk around the building and garden with the nearby Silesian Museum. Allow 2–2.5 hours for a concert.

Accessibility: wheelchair spaces are available in the hall, and visitors with disabilities get a 50% ticket discount.