Monuments of Sosnowiec

Sosnowiec is a modern city, which celebrated its centenary only a couple years ago. Despite its relatively short history, the city isn't devoid of valuable historical monuments. Taking into consideration places particularly marked with historical value and cities established on the fundamentals of medieval principles, it might seem that Sosnowiec doesn't stand a chance of shining in the field of architecture. But fortunately it's not the case. Thanks to a fast development of the city in a period of industrialization of Poland, people with economic concepts, who came to this part of Poland, found here suitable grounds for reforms and were strongly influenced by districts dating back to the Middle Ages. Sosnowiec is by no means a colourless city. Its buildings, such as the Neoclassical Vienna and Warsaw Railway Station or the theatre, which were thriving centers of the city cultural life, encouraged German manufacturers to invest in Sosnowiec. This in turn resulted in the construction of mansions, palaces and gardens, as well as other places gathering people who were not indifferent to the cultural and economic development.

In the new Monuments Protection and Maintenance Act of July 23 2003 the notion of cultural goods is replaced with the notion of a monument, described as „real or movable property, its parts or groups, which are the work of human beings or related to the human activity, and which are evidence of past ages or events, whose preservation is in the public interest, because of their historical or scientific value”. The definition of a monument is very broad, which allows one to draw up an extensive catalogue of Sosnowiec buildings and objects, which deserve to be called monuments.

31 buildings situated in Sosnowiec are entered in the Silesian Province register of real estate monuments, whereas 9 buildings are entered in the register of movable monuments. It is not a lot, however one should not forget about the communal register of monuments, with a few hundred items.

The city monuments are often gems of architecture on the regional or even national level. The issue of Sosnowiec palaces often runs through discussions of art restorers and historians. The Silesian Center of Cultural Heritage has acknowledged Sosnowiec palaces as the most beautiful mansions in this region, dating from the the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.