Upper Silesia. 80 attractions worth visiting in the Silesian Voivodeship

Name: Upper Silesia
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Upper Silesia is a historical land that included part of Silesia. Not everyone knows that the Upper Silesian Lands, in addition to the Silesian Voivodeship, also include theOpole Voivodeship. Although officially this name does not appear in the administration today, it is very often used in colloquial language and refers to part of the Silesian Voivodeship. For ease of reference, we will link Upper Silesia with the current Silesian Voivodeship, although the voivodeship is already a broader concept and also includes the Silesian Beskids or a large fragment of the wonderful Krakow-Częstochowa Jura.

Upper Silesia is our little homeland, we were born and raised here, so I want to show you the best side of it. All the more so because this place has become significantly more beautiful in recent years. I encourage you to explore this text to find out.

Successful reclamation of Silesia

Upper Silesia, today often simply called Silesia, is still associated in many parts of our country with heavy industry, chimneys and stale air, but the truth is that this region is being reborn and becoming more attractive to tourists every year. Old plants are being liquidated, and in their place modern in their form, albeit with a traditional message, museums, galleries and shopping and entertainment centers often grow up. Also, post-mined areas, heavily degraded, but not exploited for several or several years, begin to be captured back by nature and, as a result of reclamation, become beautiful, green oases, with well-prepared tourist infrastructure, including bicycle paths.

The City of Upper Silesia

Today, the undeniable central center of Upper Silesia is modern Katowicewith the famous Spodek and skyscrapers, but other cities are also important in the region: Chorzów with a huge and extremely attractive Silesian Park, Tarnowskie Góry with the tourist Silver Mine and the Black Trout Adit, Gliwice with the Polish Eiffel Tower, Żory, historical Racibórz with a castle or Opole with the famous Piast Tower and many other valuable monuments.

Attractions of Silesia

Upper Silesia may not be your dream place for a two-week vacation, but it is a great place for weekend tourism, where interesting places are simply huge. We know Upper Silesia quite well and I could write about its attractions endlessly, but that's not the point. It is also impossible to list all the interesting places that this region offers, which is why I present only selected attractions available to tourists, after clicking on the links you will get more detailed descriptions of individual places. These are attractions of the Silesian Voivodeship, which is slightly wider than historically indicated by Upper Silesia, and attractions of part of the Opole Voivodeship. Discover the best attractions of Silesia! If you want to find a more detailed description, click on the linked (blue) name of the experience, which takes you to the detailed description.

Silver Minein Tarnowskie Góry - the first UNESCO in Silesia

The Black Trout Adit in Tarnowskie Góry - darkness and silence bring here to another world
Silesian Park in Chorzów - the most famous park in Silesia, hiding many attractions, including a zoo and an amusement park
Silesian Zoological Garden in Chorzów
Legend - Silesian Amusement Park in Chorzów
Elka cable car in Chorzów
Open-air museum in Chorzów
Nikiszowiec in Katowice - considered by many to be the most beautiful workers' settlement in Poland, unique
Silesian Museum in Katowice - a wonderful cultural zone on the revitalized area of the former Mine
Pogoria - several lakes in Dąbrowa Górnicza, of which Pogoria III enjoys good tourist infrastructure
Guido Mine in Zabrze
Queen Louise Adit in Zabrze - a modernly arranged former drainage adit with the longest underground boat trip in Poland

Radio station in Gliwice - Polish Eiffel Tower
Palm house in Gliwice
Kolejkowo Gliwice
Funzeumin Gliwice - a new and very fashionable place in the Central Europe Shopping Centre
Rynek in Rybnik
Rybnik Lagoon
Chudów Castle - offers a lot of outdoor events in the summer
Ajska Pond in Świętochłowice - a revitalized post-mining and post-metallurgical area, giving today the opportunity for active recreation among the nourishing nature

Saucer in Katowice
Monument to the Insurgents in Katowice
Dolina Trzech Stawów in Katowice
Central Museum of Fire Fighting in Mysłowice
Tyskie Brewery
Light Park in Mysłowice - created in 2021, the light park allows you to move to the land of fairy tales thanks to new technology
Twinpigs Western Townin Żory - an interesting family park where you will actively spend a few hours having fun
Castle Hill in Cieszyn

Racibórz Castle - avaluable and magnificent Piast Castle with a wonderful Gothic chapel

Łęczok Reserve- a bird paradise in Silesia
Palace in Sławikowo- the crumbling ruins of a huge palace that has just been saved
Tworków Castle- beautifully revitalized ruins of the former castle and palace
Observation tower in Pietrowice Wielkie - part of the Silesianka Trail
Tower on the meanders of the Oder - part of the Silesianka Trail
Chałupki Castle - an old building nicely renovated, offering a restaurant and hotel today
Palace in Łubowice - interestingly arranged ruins of the Baroque Eichendorff Palace
Palace in Krowiarki - a beautiful palace, currently being renovated, which is why it is not always available to tourists
Cistercian Landscape Compositions of the Great Ores- a huge green area in Silesia, including old forests partly developed in the Middle Ages by the Cistercians

Ogrodzieniec Castle in Podzamcze - the most famous castle in the Jura, "played" even in the Netflix Witcher

Bobolice Castle - reconstructed castle in the Jura
Zborów Mountain - a collection of Jurassic rocks with beautiful panoramas
Olsztyn Castle
Alpacarnia in Poczesna - a great family place with alpacas, goats, camels or donkeys, alpacas walk slowly among children, they can be stroked, and they have such a soft coat that we did it with great pleasure, in addition, there is a cafe with delicious desserts
Błędowska Desert- a unique attraction in Europe, with interesting viewpoints

Paprocany in Tychy - a beautifully landscaped recreational area by the lake
Promnice Castle - stands almost above Paprocany, it is currently a branch of the Museum in Pszczyna
Castle in Pszczyna- a famous castle in a wide area, with wonderful interiors
Museum of Silesian Press in Pszczyna
Open-air museum in Pszczyna
Bison Farm in Pszczyna
Kapias Gardens - beautiful, show gardens available free of charge for tourists, where in addition to walks in gardens designed in different styles, you can also drink coffee or buy curiosities in a garden store, there are free parking lots, but in summer it can be crowded

Równica- an attractive peak in the Silesian Beskids, which can be reached by car
Forest Park of Surprises in Ustroń - a cool family park where children can interact with animals in close proximity, and shows with birds of prey are also interesting
Czantoria
Barania Góra
Biała Wisełka Valley - accessible for wheelchairs, a picturesque valley with a murmuring stream
Lake Czerniańskie

Market Square in Tarnowskie Góry
Water Park in Tarnowskie Góry
Segiet Reserve in Tarnowskie Góry - a beautiful beech reserve
Castle in Stare Tarnowice - a private castle open to the public is located in the brave Tarnowskie Góry Mountains, the interiors of the reconstructed castle await here, and in the former farm buildings, a restaurant and a hotel
Blachówka Quarry
Sport Valley in Bytom - here you can ski in winter
Nakło Chechło Lake - a popular lagoon in Silesia
Former Bibiela Mine - quite a secluded corner, with colorful lakes located in the forest

Gierzyna Pond - hardly anyone knows about it, lost ponds in the forests near Tarnowskie Góry
Upper Silesian Narrow Gauge Railway - in summer it still runs and takes tourists for rides
Żabie Doły in Bytom - a revitalized, post-mining area, once again taken over by nature and birds
Bytomka Valley - a beautifully revitalized and prepared for tourists section of the valley in Bytom
Museum of Bread in Radzionków - part of the Route of Technical Monuments
Basilica in Piekary Śląskie- a famous Marian cult center in Poland, attracting crowds of pilgrims, mainly from Silesia, but not only
Mound in Piekary Śląskie - a nicely developed area of the mound allows you to relax from the city and admire the beautiful panorama
Park in Świerklańiec - a large and very popular park, founded by the famous Donnersmarck family, who arranged a magnificent palace here called the Little Versailles or the Silesian Versailles, has not survived to the present day, just like the Piast Castle standing on the edge of the park, but it is still a very attractive walking place

Pławniowice Palace - a wonderful palace open to tourists

Pławniowickie Lake - a lagoon with several beaches
The castle (palace) in Moszna - a famous building with 99 towers in Poland, which is currently erecting the 100th tower
Zoo in Opole - a small but very attractive zoo, with interesting enclosures and the most interesting animals from around the world
The Piast Tower in Opole - famous throughout Poland thanks to the Polish Song Festival
Opole Cathedral
Tower in Strzelce Opolskie

Is it worth visiting Silesia?

Have I convinced you that Upper Silesia is worth visiting? I hope that you will answer the question this way 🙂 Both the multitude of attractions and photos should really encourage you to visit many places in Silesia. Significantly, not only industrial objects shown in a completely new light and a more interesting version, for which Silesia is famous, but nature surprises here, which successfully blossoms and grabs what man previously tried to take away from it. It is building how many beautiful and valuable natural areas we have in Silesia. If you add to this the mountain peaks and Jurassic castles, it is very easy to admire Silesia, where the rich accommodation and gastronomic offer makes traveling easier.

Check out our guide to the attractions of Olomouc - one of the most beautiful cities in the Czech Republic, which you can reach from Upper Silesia in 2 hours!

Trails in Upper Silesia

1. The Trail of Technical Monuments - a unique and extremely interesting trail, which could not be missed in Silesia. It combines historic industrial facilities, accessible to tourists today. A very interesting event related to this Trail is the regional Industriada usually organized in June

2. The Eagle's Nest Trail in the Jura - in the Silesian part, half of this picturesque trail runs along the northern Jura, connecting castles called eagle's nests, which today often remain in permanent ruin. Here, the Juromania regional event is organized, which takes place in September

3. Wooden Architecture Trail - the trail connects beautiful wooden monuments, usually churches, but not only

4. Śląskie Smaki Trail - the trail connects restaurants serving traditional Silesian cuisine

Upper Silesian traditions

The Upper Silesians, like the inhabitants of Kashubia or other regions, feel their separateness, have their traditions and heritage. Everyone will recognize, although not everyone will understand the Silesian dialect, which is still used by many residents. Also, the outfit is peculiar here, although it is less and less common on the streets and varies depending on the cities. In general, however, each women's outfit had to consist of a dress (skirt), a belt (decorative colored apron) and a cabot (white shirt), on which the top (decorative vest) or a Jacquard (jacket) was worn, while the men's outfit consisted of a jacket (jacket), waistcoat (vest), white shirt and galot (trousers).

See our article Where to go on holiday? The best tourist regions in Poland

Silesian Flavours

Silesian cuisine is also specific and quite diverse due to the fact that it was historically influenced by Czech, German, Austrian and even Jewish cuisine. However, the most characteristic rascal associated with Upper Silesia, still usually eaten on Sundays, is a set: broth as soup, and for the second course, Silesian noodles, roulade (zraz) and blue cabbage (red cabbage). For this, of course, a pendant sauce, because Silesian cuisine is traditionally quite caloric. These and other traditional Silesian dishes can be tasted in dozens of restaurants that make up the Silesian Tastes culinary trail.
www.slaskiesmaki.pl

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What's worth seeing in the area?

You don't have to travel far to find more interesting places. Within a radius of 100 kilometers, there are many attractions waiting for you that will certainly enrich your stay Your trip with additional memories.

Gródek Park in Jaworzno, distance: 24 km
Kapias Gardens in Goczałkowice Zdrój, distance: 37.1 km
Pławniowice Palace, distance: 38.2 km
Błędowska Desert, distance: 39 km
Eagle's Nest Trail, distance: 44.2 km
Krakowskie valleys, distance: 54.7 km
Ojców National Park, distance: 60.4 km
Castle in Żywiec, distance: 67.5 km
Kazimierz in Kraków, distance: 72.7 km
Moszna Castle, distance: 88.5 km