Museums

Silesian Freedom and Solidarity Centre

The Silesian Freedom and Solidarity Centre in Katowice's Brynów district is a museum dedicated to the strike and pacification of the Wujek mine of 16 December 1981, which followed the introduction of martial law. A ZOMO riot platoon attacked the striking miners: 6 people died on the spot, three more died in hospital, and 23 were shot and wounded.

The institution started in 2007 as the Memorial Chamber of the Wujek mine. The new permanent exhibition opened in 2021, on the 40th anniversary of the events, in a listed, over-100-year-old building that once stored miners' work clothes, next to the Cross Monument. The three-storey display is multimedia and interactive, with documentary films along the route. Among the key exhibits is a T-55 tank — machines of this type were used during the pacification.

The Monument to the Fallen Miners

The cross rising next to it measures over 30 metres and is lit up in the evening. The first, wooden cross was consecrated here as early as 1980, before the strike was crushed. The present Monument to the Fallen Miners was consecrated on 15 December 1991, and its unveiling was performed by President Lech Wałęsa.

In practice

The Centre (38 Wincentego Pola St) is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 am–6 pm, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays 9 am–4 pm; closed on Mondays and Sundays. Booking in advance is recommended (tel. +48 32 438 79 66, rezerwacje@scwis.pl). City buses stop at Brynów Wincentego Pola.