Załęska Hałda-Brynów (full name: Załęska Hałda-Brynów część zachodnia) is a district of Katowice, located in the western part of the city. It lies between the A4 motorway and the Kłodnica river, within the area of four historical parts of Katowice: , Brynów, Stara Ligota, and .
Until the beginning of the 19th century, the present-day district was used for agriculture. From the 19th century, Załęska Hałda, Brynów, and Stara Ligota underwent significant industrial development, mainly in mining. Today, the district is both industrial and residential. Its main industrial facility is the Wujek Coal Mine (part of the ), which has operated since 1899. The district covers 6.54 km2 and had a population of 17,207 at the end of 2007.
Geography
Location Załęska Hałda-Brynów is one of the administrative districts of Katowice (No. 2), one of the western districts of the city. It borders Osiedle Witosa and Załęże to the north, Brynów-Osiedle Zgrzebnioka to the east, Ligota-Panewniki to the south, and the city of Chorzów to the west. It comprises four historical areas of Katowice: northwestern – (southern part of the settlement); eastern – Brynów (western part of the former gmina); northeastern – (western part of the former workers' colony in historic Gmina Brynów); southwestern – Stara Ligota (eastern, older part of Ligota).
According to physiogeographic division, Załęska Hałda-Brynów is located in the mesoregion, which forms the southern part of the Silesian Upland within the subprovince.
The district's boundaries are: to the north – along Kochłowicka Street (A4 motorway); to the east – along , , and streets; to the south – along the Kłodnica river and ; to the west – along the city border with Chorzów.
Geology Załęska Hałda-Brynów is located in the , filled with Upper Carboniferous formations, especially coal-bearing sediments within the Paleozoic structures of the Central Polish Uplands. The bedrock consists of Precambrian crystalline rocks, overlain by diabases and then by 100 meter thick terrestrial sediments, composed mainly of sandstones and conglomerates. Above them is a 200-meter thick Terreneuvian layer (fine-grained sandstone and mudstone), covered with Early Devonian sandstones. In the northern areas, these layers, together with Carboniferous sediments, are covered by Quaternary formations, mainly of glacial origin, formed during the Mindel glaciation. They consist of till, its weathering products, and glacial sands and gravels.
The soils in Załęska Hałda-Brynów have been subjected to strong anthropogenic pressure due to settlement and industrial activity, resulting in a high proportion of initial soils. The soils in the district are mainly anthrosols, formed from tills and sandstones. They are classified as class IV in the Polish soil quality system, and show contamination with heavy metals (lead, cadmium, and zinc) caused by emissions, especially industrial and from coal combustion.
Topography According to morphological units, Załęska Hałda-Brynów is located mostly in the Kochłowice Hills, characterized by flattened hills and deep, locally incised valleys. The district has a large terrain variation, with elevations sloping downward to the south, to the Kłodnica river valley. The highest point, , is located in the forested western part of Załęska Hałda. Its height reaches 338.8 m above sea level, while the Kłodnica riverbed lies at an altitude of about 270 m above sea level. Processes such as levelling, sedimentation, and the settling of various materials largely influence the changing terrain of Załęska Hałda-Brynów.
Climate and hydrography The climate of the district differs slightly from the conditions in Katowice as a whole. The average annual temperature is 8.1 °C, and the average annual precipitation is 710 mm. The average snow cover duration is 60–70 days, and the growing season lasts usually 200–220 days. The area is characterized by weak winds, with speeds not exceeding 2 m/s, blowing from the west.
A first-order drainage divide crosses Załęska Hałda-Brynów, so that the northern part of the district is located in the Vistula basin, in the catchment area of the Rawa, while the southern part lies in the Oder river basin, in the catchment area of the Kłodnica.
Nature and environmental protection Załęska Hałda-Brynów has a significant proportion of green areas, mainly in its western part, which are remnants of the . Oaks dominate there, with birch and pine complexes present at higher elevations. The forests are located within the . Part of these complexes is legally protected as the nature and landscape complex.
The following squares and landscaped green areas are located in Załęska Hałda-Brynów: Kazimierz Gołba Square – located in Brynów, near the intersection of and Dziewięciu z Wujka streets; Solidarity Square – located in Brynów, along Wincenty Pol Street. It has a monument to the miners killed at the Wujek Coal Mine; Bernard Polok Square – located in Załęska Hałda, at the intersection of Dobrego Urobku and Brygadzistów streets; Secret Teaching Organization Square – located in Brynów, at the intersection of and streets.
The allotment gardens in Załęska Hałda-Brynów are managed by the Silesian Regional Board of the Katowice Branch of the Polish Allotment Gardeners' Association. In 2007, the following gardens were located there:
Name Street Area (ha) No. of plots (2007) Baildon, Kochłowicki area Załęska Hałda 0.36 10 Górnik I Kombajnistów 5.15 120 Górnik II Strzałowa 3.16 90 Kępa Ligocka 3.85 100 Relaks Ligocka 0.92 25 Rezeda I Przodowników 3.04 90 Tęcza Szadoka 2.14 60 Zawadzki colony I (main) Załęska Hałda 5.10 90 Zawadzki colony Załęski Las Upadowa 0.74 20
History
Załęska Hałda The first mentions of Załęska Hałda date back to around 1710–1720, when the Bogucice parish records mentioned the settlement of "Załęsko Hołda". At that time, an agricultural settlement, a colony of Załęże, was established in the partially cleared . It retained its agricultural character until the second half of the 19th century, when workers from the Viktor and Johanna zinc smelters, as well as from the later and Wujek coal mines, began to settle there. The center of the settlement was then near the present-day motorway junction with .
On the night of 22–23 August 1920, during the Second Silesian Uprising, the Polish Military Organization of Upper Silesia seized control of Załęska Hałda. In the Third Silesian Uprising of 1921, insurgents captured the area, and a year later, the settlement was incorporated into Poland. In 1924, Załęska Hałda, along with Gmina Załęże, became part of Katowice. After World War II, on 11 September 1945, Bishop Stanisław Adamski dedicated the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius. In the 1990s, part of Załęska Hałda (located on the south side of the current A4 motorway) was incorporated into Załęska Hałda-Brynów.
Brynów and Katowicka Hałda
The village of Brynów was first mentioned in a document from 1474 as part of the Duchy of Pless. In 1536, it became the property of the Salomon family, which from then on shared the fortunes of , and later Katowice. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, the Brynów folwark was established. Until 1865, it was part of Gmina Katowice, and then it formed an independent municipality together with its colony, . From the beginning of the 19th century, open-pit mines and brickyards were established there. In 1899, the Oheim Coal Mine was opened (renamed Wujek in 1922). In 1921, Silesian insurgents from Brynów captured German barracks in Katowice and fought at Góra Świętej Anny. In 1924, the settlement was incorporated into Katowice. During the Nazi occupation, the Germans established a labor camp at the Wujek Coal Mine.
On 14 December 1981, in connection with the introduction of martial law, a sit-in strike began at the Wujek Coal Mine. Two days later, on 16 December 1981, the militia and army attacked the strikers in a bloody pacification of the mine, resulting in the deaths of nine miners.
Stara Ligota
The present-day Stara Ligota was established in the area of , , Załęska, and streets. It was first mentioned as "Lhota" in 1360 in the document of sale of the Pless estates issued by Casimir II on 21 February 1517, describing it as abandoned and empty. The lands of Stara Ligota were later owned by the dukes of Pless. At the beginning of the 18th century, the village obtained the rights of an independent gmina. The increase in the population of Ligota was related to the industrial development of the region, which began in the 19th century and was based mainly on ore processing and coal mining. In 1852, a railway was built from Katowice to Murcki through Ligota, and the was opened, thanks to which the settlement continued to develop towards (now part of Ligota-Panewniki).
On 17 August 1919, during the First Silesian Uprising, insurgents from a unit formed in under the command of captured the railway station, disrupting the connection between Katowice and Żory, and seized the German Grenzschutz post at Kaczmarczykowa's Inn. During the 1921 plebiscite, 70.54% of the citizens of the rural Gmina Ligota voted for it to belong to Poland. During the Third Silesian Uprising, on the night of 3 May 1921, Silesian insurgent forces under gathered in Ligota before attacking and capturing Katowice.
Ligota officially came under Polish administration on 20 June 1922, and two years later, together with Brynów, it was incorporated into Katowice as part of a new fourth district. During the German occupation between 1939 and 1945, a camp operated in Ligota for Poles expelled from Upper Silesia to the General Government. German forces withdrew from Ligota on the morning of 26 January 1945, destroying, among other things, three bridges over the Kłodnica river.
Demographics In 1988, the present-day Załęska Hałda-Brynów had a total population of 20,389, with the age structure dominated by residents aged 15–29 and 30–44. In later years, the population declined – in 1997, the district had approximately 17,800 inhabitants, while the population density was 2.74 thousand people per km2. In 2007, it had a population of 17,207, and the age structure was dominated by people aged 45–59 and over 60.
Politics and administration Originally, Załęska Hałda-Brynów belonged to the historic gminas of Brynów (Brynów and ), Ligota (Stara Ligota), and Załęże (). On 1 January 1992, Katowice established 22 auxiliary local government units. At that time, Załęska Hałda-Brynów was part of Ligota-Panewniki. On the basis of Resolution No. XLVI/449/97 of the Katowice City Council dated 29 September 1997, the district was separated from Ligota-Panewniki to become a statutory district (auxiliary unit No. 2) in the western district group. The resolution also defined its exact boundaries.
For elections to the Katowice City Council, the district belongs to electoral constituency no. 4, which includes Osiedle Tysiąclecia, Dąb, Załęże, Osiedle Witosa, and Załęska Hałda-Brynów. From 2010 to 2014, this constituency had 6 representatives in the city council.
Economy
Originally, Załęska Hałda-Brynów was mainly agricultural. Industrial activity began in 1788, when Wilhelm Jaenkner applied for a mining concession for the Charlotte mining area in the Załęski Forest. Later, between 1801 and 1806 and between 1836 and 1880, the Beata Coal Mine operated there. Following the discovery of rich coal deposits in Brynów, six mines were merged into Oheim mine (now Wujek) on 4 March 1899. In the same year, drilling of the first shaft began, and the first tons of coal were extracted on 7 November 1900.