Silesian Park in Chorzów

Where trees grow today, in 1950 there were spoil heaps, illegal mine shafts and marshland. Silesian Park (Park Śląski) in Chorzów – until 2012 called the Jerzy Ziętek Provincial Park of Culture and Recreation – covers 535 hectares and is one of the largest urban parks in Europe. Around 3 million visitors come every year, and within its bounds are a zoo, a planetarium, the Silesian Stadium, an open-air museum and Poland's oldest amusement park.

History: a park built from nothing

The decision to build it was taken in 1950, and work began in July 1951. The building committee was headed by Jerzy Ziętek, and the design was drawn up by a team led by Professor Władysław Niemirski. About 75% of the site was devastated industrial land, and the local soils were so poor that 3.5 million m³ of earth were moved in and reshaped. According to the plans of the early 1950s, 1.8 million trees were planted; 9,324 people took part in the first volunteer work days in spring 1951. Niemirski divided the park into two zones: a quiet woodland area and a cultural and recreational one.

What to see

• The "Elka" cable car – according to the park's operator, the longest lowland cable railway in Europe. It has run since 1967; in December 2023 a second, 1,840-metre section to the Planetarium opened, with four-seat chairs and eight-seat gondolas.
• The Silesian Planetarium – the largest and oldest planetarium in Poland, with a dome 23 m in diameter.
• The Silesian Zoo (1954) on 47.6 hectares, with more than 2,200 animals of 280 species.
• Legendia – the amusement park opened in 1959, Poland's oldest.
• The Rosarium, opened on 24 June 1968 – the largest rose garden in the country, with about 300 rose varieties.
• The Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park (1975), the Japanese Garden, the "Fala" outdoor pool and the "Kapelusz" (Hat) exhibition hall.

Did you know?

Until 1983 the park had a 54-metre tower greenhouse – at the time of construction, the tallest in the world. The Chorzów Rosarium was included in a catalogue published in Calcutta by an Indian rose society among the 35 most beautiful rose gardens in the world. More than 350 taxa of trees and shrubs grow in the park, and some 70 bird species have been recorded here, along with wild boar, roe deer, foxes and hares.

Tripto tip

The park is open to everyone 24 hours a day, with more than 2,100 parking spaces. Individual attractions keep their own hours – for example, the zoo is open 9:00–19:00 from May to September, and the Japanese Garden 8:00–23:00 from April to September. Note that the Rosarium is currently closed for modernisation, so check the park's announcements before you go. Allow half a day for a walk and an "Elka" ride, and a full day if you add the zoo or Legendia.