Luggage storage Katowice

About Katowice

Located in the southwest of Poland, Katowice is the main city of the Silesian region. With a population just under 300,000, it is only the eleventh biggest city in Poland. However, if you include the wider metropolitan area, that population swells to2.3 million, making it the second biggest city in Poland and the 21st biggest in the entire EU.

Katowice has a history that dates back to the twelfth century, but for most of its existence, the city was relatively insignificant. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century, when what is now Poland was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, that the city really began to take off. Becoming a city in 1865, the economy of Katowice exploded thanks to coal deposits in the nearby mountains. Katowice became an industrial town and an important driver of the Polish economy.

Like much of Poland, Katowice suffered heavily under Nazi occupation in the Second World War and the Russian occupation that followed. The city was briefly named Stalinogrod in honor of the Soviet dictator during the 1950s, but soon reverted to its former name. In 1990, the first democratic elections were held in the city. Since then, this industrial town has seen significant improvements in infrastructure and has become an important center for business in Poland.

Things to do in Katowice

Katowice owes its wealth and importance to its industrial history. However, there’s more to do here than mine coal. The city’s rich history and industrial wealth mean it has plenty to offer travelers. Drop off your bags at a Bounce luggage storage in Katowice and experience the city for yourself.

• Experience the city’s industrial heritage at the Silesian Museum. This former coal mine has been converted into a memorial to this extremely important local industry. The old tower now has an observation platform, and the underground tunnels have been converted into art galleries lit by skylights. It’s a truly unique cultural institution to visit.
• See a purpose-built town for miners at Nikiszowiec. Built in 1918, this district was a separate city from Katowice until they merged in 1951. The town has barely changed over the last century, and the beautiful brick buildings are well worth exploring.
• Understand more of the complicated history of the city at the Museum of the History of Katowice. Located in a 1908 apartment building, this museum has re-created typical apartments for a rich family and a middle-class one. Other exhibitions explain the history of the city from the thirteenth century up to the modern-day.
• Get a breath of fresh air at Kosciuszko Park. Covering 72 hectares, this park was established in 1888 and is home to a variety of trees and plants. There’s also a parachute training tower from before the Second World War where a group of Boy Scouts attempted to defend the city from the German army in 1939.
• Soak up the atmosphere on St. Mary Street. This pedestrianized thoroughfare is dominated by the 19th-century St. Mary’s church, but the street is also the center of Katowice’s nightlife. It’s a lively place to visit by day or by night, and the many bars and restaurants along the street are the perfect place to have a good time.

Transport options in Katowice

• Katowice is served by its own airport, which is20 miles from the center of the city and is connected by buses AP2 and AP3. AP2 takes an hour to make the journey, while AP3 is an express bus and takes around 45 to 50 minutes.
• Katowice train station lies close to the center of the city and receives trains from Kraków, Warsaw, and other cities from across Poland and Eastern Europe.
• Most of the cities both routes stop at the train station, including 7N, 61, 6, 29, 45, 120, and others, making it easy to reach many points in the city from this hub.

Luggage storage in Katowice

The metropolitan area of the city may have a large population, but Katowice itself is relatively small. And the center of town where the most interesting attractions are is even smaller. This makes the city perfect for exploring on foot.

Of course, that’s much easier when you don’t carry more than you need to. Luckily, Bounce can help. Bounce has luggage storage locations in Katowice and in hundreds of other cities around the world, so you’ll never have to carry more than you need to. Drop off your bags and start exploring Katowice for yourself.

Attractions and activities near Katowice

• Visit a truly unique building at Spodek. The building’s name means ‘saucer’, and you’ll immediately see why. Completed in 1971, this building resembles a UFO, and was the largest indoor arena in Poland until 2014. A marvel of Soviet engineering, Spodek remains a great place to catch a game or show in the city, and the unique architecture is worth a visit by itself.
• Katowice is the closest major city to one of the world’s most notorious prisons. The Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz is located around a half-hour drive from the city, and is easy to take a tour of the camp from Katowice. The camp explores an extraordinarily dark period of history, and is not a place to visit for the squeamish. However, it is important that the atrocities committed here be remembered to ensure they never happen again, and a visit to Auschwitz brings home the tragedy of the Holocaust like nothing else.
• Music fans won’t want to miss the unique Guitar History Museum. This museum is the result of a scheme in which the city reduces rents on people’s homes if they open them up to visitors. This particular home is dedicated to displaying guitars and other stringed instruments from around the world. Best of all is that visitors are invited to pick up and play the instruments for themselves, making this a far cry from a regular museum.