Zawodzie () is a part and a district of Katowice, located in the central-eastern section of the city, between Bogucice, Dàbrówka Maà Âa, Janów-Nikiszowiec, Osiedle Paderewskiego-Muchowiec, and à Âródmieà Âcie, along the Rawa river. The district is multifunctional, with a well-developed industrial sector (factories such as the and once operated there), including a rich tradition of metallurgy (the and Ferrum SA). Due to the presence of the University of Economics in the district, it also has a well-developed higher education sector.
The history of Zawodzie dates back to the late 17th century. It was founded as a colony of Bogucice on the other side of the Rawa river â "beyond the water" (za wodàin Polish) â which is said to be the origin of the district's name. Initially an agricultural settlement, it transformed into an industrial center in the 19th century. The main thoroughfare of Zawodzie's development became the present-day , along which a number of tenements, industrial plants, and public buildings were constructed, including the Gmina Bogucice Town Hall and the . Zawodzie belonged to Gmina Bogucice, which was incorporated into Katowice in 1924. In the 1970s, was built there, and a large portion of the district was redeveloped, resulting in the creation of a major transportation hub.
Several national roads run through Zawodzie: national road 79 ( and ) and national road 86 ( and Walenty Roà ºdzieà Âski Avenue from the Bagienna interchange), as well as Warszawa ZachodniaâÂÂKatowice and railways, along which the is located. The district has an area of 4 kmò, and in 2020 had 10,835 inhabitants.
Zawodzie is one of the 22 districts of Katowice, serving as a sub-unit of Gmina No. 3 and located within the group of eastern districts. The district is situated in the central-eastern part of the city and borders Bogucice and Dàbrówka Maà Âa to the north, Szopienice-Burowiec to the east, Janów-Nikiszowiec to the south, and Osiedle Paderewskiego-Muchowiec to the west. Its boundaries are:
The historical boundaries of Zawodzie run through the areas of two Katowice districts: Osiedle Paderewskiego-Muchowiec and Zawodzie. To the west, Zawodzie is historically bounded by Graniczna Street; to the north by the Rawa river; to the east, the boundary runs near the tram depot; and to the south, it runs through and the Valley of Three Ponds, crosses Murckowska Street, and continues behind the municipal cemetery and near the Amanda Colony. In terms of historical regions, the district is located in the eastern part of Upper Silesia.
According to physio-geographical regionalization, Zawodzie is located in the mesoregion, which forms the southern part of the Silesian Upland macroregion. The Silesian Upland itself is a part of the subprovince.
Zawodzie is located in the in an area with horst structures. At the turn of the Devonian and Carboniferous periods, the Paleozoic bedrock of the Silesian Upland was disturbed by the formation of a sinkhole, which during the Carboniferous was filled with conglomerates, sandstones, and shales containing bituminous coal deposits. Formations from this period form the bedrock of the district, and a fault runs meridionally near Murckowska Street. Upper formations from the Carboniferous period cover a large part of the district, located south of the railroad tracks. Outcrops of the Orzesze layers (Westphalian B) are found there. They consist of massive sequences of mostly shale with intercalations of sandstone, siderite, and coal, and its thickness exceeds 900 m.
The main characteristics of the Zawodzie landscape were formed during the Tertiary period. At that time, intense chemical weathering and denudation were taking place. During the Quaternary, the area was likely covered by the Scandinavian ice sheet twice: during the oldest Mindel glaciation and during the Riss glaciation. The sediments from the first glaciation were mostly removed during the interglacial, while the Riss glaciation ice sheet left behind tills along valley depressions.
In Zawodzie, the area formed on till stretches along the valley of the south of the railroad tracks, while the urbanized part of the district along 1 Maja Street near and along is built on Pleistocene glacial and fluvioglacial sands and gravels. Additionally, the industrial and commercial areas on the border between Zawodzie and Bogucice are composed of sandy and silty eluvial till on layered sands.
During the current Holocene, Pleistocene sediment layers are being eroded and cleared away, while in river valleys a low terrace has formed in several stages. The valley of the Leà Âny Stream and the Rawa river in its immediate vicinity are composed of Holocene river sediments.
Zawodzie is located in the Silesian Upland, on the Bytom-Katowice Plateau, which is part of the mesoregion. The topography of the district is varied. The urbanized part of Zawodzie consists of river valley floors with Pleistocene terraces; the area along the southern section of Murckowska Street comprises flat clay uplands, while the remaining area, encompassing industrial and forested lands south of the railroad tracks, consists of hilly uplands.
The present-day topography of Zawodzie was mainly shaped by the Mindel glaciation and the maximum stage of the Riss glaciation, while in recent times, morphogenetic activity of humans related to settlement and mining has also had a significant impact. This has led to the destruction of the natural substrate and the creation of new forms of landform degradation. Almost the entire area of the district also forms an anthropogenic leveled surface.
In terms of morphological units, Zawodzie is located mainly in two areas. The urbanized part of the district is situated in the Rawa Depression. It is a valley form deeply incised into Carboniferous strata. The higher part of the terrace constitutes an erosional-denudational surface formed after the Riss glaciation. The Murcek Plateau, meanwhile, covers the southern part of the district, forming several distinct ridges as it extends toward the city center. Zawodzie's highest point is also located there, on the border between Zawodzie and Janów-Nikiszowiec, on the slope of hill. Its elevation is approximately 290 m above sea level. The lowest point is a large area in the eastern part of the district, in the Rawa Depression, with an elevation of less than 260 m above sea level. The elevation difference between the highest and lowest points is approximately 30 meters.
The soils in Zawodzie have generally developed on a subsoil of sandy loam, while river valleys often contain an organic subsoil. Human activity has altered soil properties, and long-term urban development has led to the formation of anthrosols in the district. Some of the land is affected by mining operations and is also contaminated with heavy metals. The area along the Leà Âny Stream valley is covered with brown soils formed from tills and loamy and silty sands. Their properties are similar to those of brown soils, and their pH is mostly acidic or close to neutral. In the eastern part of the district, however, anthrosols formed from sandstones predominate. Human activity is the main soil-forming factor in these soils.
Zawodzie is located within the Vistula drainage basin, in the basin of two rivers: and the Rawa. The Rawa basin covers the western, northern, and eastern parts of Zawodzie, while the Leà Âny Stream basin encompasses a section in the center of Zawodzie at its confluence with the Rawa and extends southward near Murckowska Street. A fifth-order drainage divide runs between the two basins.
The Leà Âny Stream is subject to ongoing regulation. In 2012, the water quality of the Leà Âny Stream at its confluence with the Rawa was assessed as poor, its physicochemical status was below good, its ecological potential and biological status were rated as moderate, and its status regarding the presence of particularly harmful substances was good at that time. The Rawa is an open drainage channel, fed mainly by rainwater as well as municipal and industrial wastewater. This river, a tributary of the Czarna Przemsza, flows from west to east within Zawodzie. Its entire course is regulated, and it is embanked. In 1913, as part of the regulation of the Rawa, the weir located near Zawodzie was removed.
Today, there are no bodies of water within Zawodzie, although the Kaszyca Pond was located on the site of the Zawodzie tram depot. It was visible on maps from 1916 and 1958. Between approximately 1916 and 1934, a pumping station was located there.
According to Bronisà Âaw Paczyà Âski's classification, Zawodzie is located within the Silesian-Kraków hydrogeological region, in the Upper Silesian subregion. Aquifers are present in all strata, but their significance depends on several factors. According to Poland's division into Groundwater Bodies, the entire district lies within Groundwater Body No. 111 (Central Vistula Upland Subregion).
The climatic conditions in Zawodzie are similar to those of Katowice as a whole. They are modified by both climatic and local factors. The district's climate is influenced more by oceanic factors than by continental ones, and occasionally by tropical air masses reaching the area from the southwest through the Moravian Gate.
The average annual temperature for the 1961âÂÂ2005 period at the nearby station in Muchowiec was 8.1ðC. The warmest month during the study period was July (17.8ðC), and the coldest was January (âÂÂ2.2ðC). The average annual sunshine duration from 1966 to 2005 was 1,474 hours, while the average cloud cover during the same period was 5.3. The average annual total precipitation for the period 1951âÂÂ2005 was 713.8 mm. The average duration of snow cover is 60âÂÂ70 days, and the growing season lasts an average of 200âÂÂ220 days. Throughout the year, westerly and southwesterly winds predominate (20.7% and 20.4% of all winds, respectively), while winds from the north are the least frequent (5.7%). The average wind speed was 2.4 m/s.
The climate of Zawodzie is influenced by local factors (microclimate), which depend on land cover as well as on the area's location relative to river valleys. The microclimate of areas located directly along the Rawa river is the most unfavorable. Heat is frequently radiated there, and high humidity causes evaporation to increase significantly, which absorbs heat. In areas of dense development, the local climate is influenced by the heating of the atmosphere due to human activity. Compact areas of buildings, roads, and squares cause an increase in air temperature in the lower atmospheric layer. These areas also lose heat more quickly due to radiation at night, and the lack of moisture in the air does not promote prolonged heat retention.
The natural vegetation in Zawodzie has been shaped since the last glaciation 12,000âÂÂ16,000 years ago, and over the last 200 years it has been subjected to strong anthropogenic pressure. Originally, the lands along the Rawa valley were covered by riparian forests and alder carrs, while beech forests grew in higher-elevation areas, and between these, oak-hornbeam forests. The development of dense housing has led to the almost complete disappearance of natural elements. Ruderal species have developed in urbanized habitats, growing in Zawodzie mainly in industrial and post-industrial areas. Conditions were also created for the development of synanthropic animals, the most important of which are birds, including those that have long accompanied humans, such as the house sparrow and pigeon, as well as native birds that have adapted to urban conditions, including swifts, house martins, and barn swallows.
Today, green spaces in the form of street plantings, courtyard greenery, cemeteries, squares, and parks play a central role in Zawodzie's natural landscape. These areas form green islands of varying sizes, and contact between them is hindered by barriers in the form of dense development. The Rawa River, on the other hand, serves as a wildlife corridor. The area of green space designated for recreational use in the Zawodzie urban unit is 1.49 ha; there are no family allotment gardens or parks there, while the area of squares and green spaces is 1.49 ha. There are two squares in Zawodzie established by the Katowice City Council: Andrzej Fonfara Square (at the corner of 1 Maja and Murckowska streets) and the Independent Students' Union Square (at the corner of Bogucicka and B. Czech streets). A problem in Zawodzie related to green spaces is their insufficient size. There are few playgrounds, developed green areas, and outdoor fitness facilities there.
The name "Zawodzie" is associated with the presence of numerous bodies of water and wetlands in the area â in this case, the Rawa river, which flows through the district and was formerly known as the Roà ºdzianka. The name reflects the topography of the area â in this case, Zawodzie means a settlement "beyond the water" (za wodà) relative to the location of Bogucice. The name "Zawodzie" began to spread around 1700.
The German teacher , however, mistakenly classified "Zawodzie" as a patronymic name derived from the name of the village's founder, Zawadzki, translating it as "Dorf des Zawadzki", meaning "Village of Zawadzki".
Before Zawodzie was founded, there was a watermill in the area of the present-day district at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries â it is known that around 1390, it stood on the Rawa river. It was called Olszowy, and the residents of the surrounding buildings were known as Olszówki. Among the privileges granted to the parson of the Bogucice parish was also the right to collect rent from the mill. In the mid-17th century, a second facility of this type was opened at the site of today's S. à »Ã³à Âkiewski Street. Zawodzie was founded as a colony of Bogucice on the right bank of the Rawa, most likely at the end of the 17th century near the Olszowy mill. The first mention of Zawodzie dates back to 1700.
Originally, it was an agricultural settlement, expanding parallel to the course of the river, along which mills and other structures were located. In the early 18th century, the name "Zawodzie" was used interchangeably with the name "". According to data from the Carolinian Cadastre from between 1723 and 1725, there were no houses there at the time, only fields. In the 17th century, the lands of present-day Zawodzie were incorporated into the estates of the of Mysà Âowice, and the privilege of the Bogucice parson to collect tolls was abolished. At that time, a second mill was also built on one of the flooded meadows. In 1783, the first public school in Zawodzie was opened in the Weissenberg's inn in the area of present-day .
In the early 19th century, a road was built along the present-day 1 Maja Street. It replaced the old, winding country road located several dozen meters to the south of it. The route originally connected Katowice with Mysà Âowice via . Until 1816, Zawodzie was a hamlet of Bogucice, and after that time it became part of Gmina Bogucice. Maps from 1827 show sparsely developed areas of Zawodzie along the current 1 Maja Street, which at that time was concentrated at the intersection with today's .
In the mid-19th century, industrial activity began to develop in Zawodzie. On 3 October 1846, the railroad reached Zawodzie. At that time, the railway connecting Katowice and Mysà Âowice was completed, built by the Upper Silesian Railway Company. The present-day was established on this railway in 1861. The first major industrial plant in the district was the , which began operations in 1840. In 1871, a factory producing steam boilers and other iron products â later known as Elewator â began production, and between 1873 and 1874, iron foundries were established, which gave rise to the later Ferrum SA.
In the 1860s, a road was laid out along today's Murckowska Street; around 1901, it was named Emanuelssegenstrasse, and it acquired its current name around 1920. According to , at the end of the 19th century, Zawodzie was an independent gmina, and at the beginning of the 20th century, it formed a joint gmina with Bogucice. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Zawodzie underwent rapid architectural and urban development, with 1 Maja Street becoming the center of this growth, where a number of houses were built, including some with Art Nouveau façades. Next to the present-day Katowice Zawodzie railway station, on P. Chromik Street, stood the oldest hotel in Zawodzie â the Station Hotel (). The first mentions of it date back to 1899. On 7 August 1899, a tram line connecting Katowice with Mysà Âowice via Zawodzie was opened. In 1912, the Gmina Bogucice Town Hall was built at 50 1 Maja Street.
The following settlements and colonies were also established in Zawodzie: the Christmas Colony and . The Christmas Colony was located on the border between present-day Zawodzie and Osiedle Paderewskiego-Muchowiec, in the area of Równolegà Âa and I. J. Paderewski streets, while Drajok was located near Burowiecka Street. The current buildings there date back to the 19th century.
During the Silesian Uprisings, the residents of Zawodzie actively participated in the insurgent activities. During the First Silesian Uprising, Zawodzie was captured by a unit led by Tomasz Kotlorz from Bogucice on 17âÂÂ18 August 1919. The district came under fire from Grenzschutz units from the direction of the Valley of Three Ponds, which prevented the insurgents from organizing an attack on Katowice. The brothers Alojzy and Walenty Staw, who were shot by German militias in 1919, died while aiding the insurgents. On 3 May 1920, a ceremonial Constitution Day was celebrated with ceremonies at the sports field in Zawodzie and in Katowice's Market Square, drawing a crowd of approximately 72,000 people. That same year, the Second Silesian Uprising broke out. Fighting in Zawodzie took place on 19 August of that year. On that same day, Zawodzie was captured by the insurgents and remained in their hands until the end of the uprising. During the Upper Silesia plebiscite held in March 1921, the majority of residents of Gmina Bogucice-Zawodzie voted in favor of joining Poland. During the Third Silesian Uprising, Zawodzie was captured without resistance on the night of 2âÂÂ3 May 1921 by insurgents led by Rudolf Niemczyk, a native of Zawodzie. Franciszek Kuà  and Rudolf Lanuszny were also killed on the battlefield. Among the most active insurgents from Zawodzie were and . On 22 June 1922, Polish troops marched through Zawodzie, led by General Stanisà Âaw Szeptycki, who, along with his unit, was heading to Katowice for the ceremonies marking the annexation of part of Upper Silesia to Poland.
The interwar years in Zawodzie were a time of development for a number of sports, cultural, and social organizations, including women's associations such as the Polish Women's Society, the National Women's Organization, and the Catholic Women's Association; veterans' organisations such as the Youth Insurgents' Division and the ; and others such as the Polish Youth Association.
A number of companies in various industries were also established during the interwar period. In 1921 (or 1920), the (later Bogucice) was founded; in 1927, the (from 1938 known as Montana) was established; and in 1931 (or 1933), the was created. During the Great Depression in 1932, there were 86 bootleg mines operating in Zawodzie, where coal was mined illegally.
In 1924, Zawodzie, along with the entire Gmina Bogucice-Zawodzie, was incorporated into Katowice, becoming one of its districts. On 1 January 1927, a parish station was separated from the Bogucice parish in Zawodzie, which was elevated to the status of a parish on 20 December 1957. On 17 June 1931, a demonstration of approximately 150âÂÂ180 unemployed people took place in the area of present-day and 1 Maja streets. Clashes with the mounted police ensued, and as a result of the intervention, Emil Dawid was killed and three people were injured.
During World War II and the German occupation of Zawodzie at that time, many residents of the district were imprisoned and held in concentration camps, including , who served as deputy head of the Bureau of Information and Propaganda in the Katowice Inspectorate of the Home Army. He was executed by guillotine in 1944 at the Katowice prison. Labor camps were established at industrial facilities in Zawodzie, three of which were on the grounds of the Ferrum steelworks. On 26âÂÂ27 January 1945, heavy fighting took place in Zawodzie between the German army and Soviet forces. During these operations, the building of the former town hall was damaged after being hit by an artillery shell.
During the Polish People's Republic, the headquarters of several Katowice-based universities were located in Zawodzie, including the Academy of Economics (later the University of Economics), and in 1949, a building for the primary and high school of the Society of Friends of Children was opened, which today houses the I. J. Paderewski X High School. In the 1950s, a road was built connecting the center of Katowice with the Dàbrowa Basin, bypassing the developments of Bogucice, Dàbrówka Maà Âa, and Zawodzie â the present-day . Originally, the road was single-lane; in the 1970s, it was modernized with new interchanges and overpasses, and the avenue itself was widened. In 1962, a tram depot on 1 Maja Street was opened.
In the historic area of Zawodzie, within the boundaries of the present-day district of Osiedle Paderewskiego-Muchowiec, was constructed in the 1970s. The decision to build it was made in 1965, and the first cooperative buildings were completed in 1974. In the early 1970s, construction began on a second housing estate in Zawodzie â â on the marshy and waterlogged land along the Rawa river.
In 1975, work began on the redevelopment of Zawodzie in the area of 1 Maja, Murckowska, Bohaterów Monte Cassino, à Âàczna, and P. Chromik streets. A year later, some of the houses on 1 Maja Street near Murckowska Street were demolished, and in 1978, those on Bohaterów Monte Cassino Street. In the 1970s, in connection with the reconstruction of the road network, the buildings of were also partially demolished, and the size of the entire settlement was reduced. In the 1980s, the first hotel in Zawodzie, the Senator, opened at 3 1 Maja Street. During the same period, in 1984, the was opened at the foot of hill near Gospodarcza Street.
On 16 September 1991, the Katowice City Council adopted a resolution under which, on 1 January 1992, Katowice was divided into 22 local government units and 22 areas of operation. At that time, Local Government Unit No. 3 Zawodzie was also established. At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, a housing estate developed by the Social Housing Association, known as , was built between Bohaterów Monte Cassino and K. Marcinkowski streets. The first residential buildings in the estate were completed in 2001. Between 2007 and 2009, the tram tracks along 1 Maja Street were modernized, while the street itself, on the section between Jerzy Duda-Gracz Street and the future transit hub, was rebuilt between 2013 and 2015.
In 1988, the area of present-day Zawodzie had a population of 15,661. At that time, the largest age groups were those aged 30âÂÂ44 and those under 14. The smallest group was people over the age of 60.
In December 2007, 13,406 people lived in Zawodzie, which at the time accounted for 4.2% of Katowice's population. The district's population density at that time was 3,318 people per kmò. At that time, the largest age groups were those aged 40âÂÂ59 and 15âÂÂ29, while the smallest group consisted of people aged 14 and under. The part of the district located east of Murckowska Street was then home to approximately 7,700 people.
On 31 December 2013, 783 residents of Zawodzie were aged 75 or older.
At the end of 2014, 12,297 people lived in Zawodzie, and the population density at that time was 3,074 people per kmò. In terms of economic population groups, 1,859 people of pre-working age (15% of residents) lived in the district, 7,732 people of working age (63%), and 2,706 people of post-working age (22% of the total). In terms of gender, at the end of 2014, 5,836 men and 6,461 women lived in Zawodzie, while the femininity ratio during this period reached 111. <small>Sources: 1885 (according to another source, in December 1885 Zawodzie had 2,888 residents); 1900; 1988; 1997; 2005; 2010; 2015; 2020.</small>
According to a survey conducted in 2011, 39.3% of the residents of Zawodzie identified as Polish, 24.6% as Silesian, and 36.1% as both Silesian and Polish.
In a demographic projection for 2030 prepared in 2007, the population of the Zawodzie urban area in 2020 was estimated at 7,112 people (95.4% of the 2007 figure) in the pessimistic scenario, and in the optimistic scenario at 7,212 people (96.7% of the 2007 population), while for 2030, the figures were 6,409 (86.0%) and 6,619 (88.8%), respectively. For the urban unit of Osiedle Paderewskiego-Roà ºdzieà Âskiego, the population decline for 2020 was estimated at 14,960 people in the pessimistic scenario and 15,157 people in the optimistic scenario, and for 2030 at 13,037 and 13,441 people, respectively.
District No. 3 Zawodzie is currently one of the 22 districts of Katowice, constituting a subsidiary unit of the gmina. It was established on 1 January 1992 by a resolution of the Katowice City Council as local government unit no. 3. According to Resolution No. XLVI/449/97 of the Katowice City Council of 29 September 1997, Zawodzie is a statutory district within the group of eastern districts.
The current district by-law was established by Resolution No. XLI/893/21 of the Katowice City Council of 25 November 2021. In accordance with the provisions of the by-law, the district's governing bodies are the District Council and the District Executive Board. The District Council consists of 15 members elected for a five-year term. It is the district's decision-making body, and its tasks include, among others, submitting requests to the authorities of the City of Katowice regarding proposals from district residents within the scope of its activities, initiating and organizing special events, cultural, sports, or recreational activities, providing opinions on local initiatives, and submitting proposals on city matters concerning Zawodzie. The District Executive Board is the district's executive body. The Chair of the Executive Board represents the district externally, and the board's responsibilities include, among other things, accepting requests from district residents, organizing and coordinating community initiatives, informing residents about district matters, and preparing draft resolutions for the District Council.
As of May 2022, neither the District Council nor the District Board were operational.
As of May 2022, the only public administration office in Zawodzie is the Katowice branch of the Central Anticorruption Bureau, located at 123 1 Maja Street.
Historically, the area of Zawodzie underwent a series of administrative changes. After the Napoleonic Wars, Oppeln was established in the Kingdom of Prussia, and in 1818, the boundaries of certain counties were adjusted. At that time, the areas of present-day Zawodzie, among others, were incorporated into the Bytom County. Katowice became the capital of an independent county separated from the Bytom County, and its territory included, among others, Zawodzie.
At the end of the 19th century, Zawodzie was an independent gmina, and at the beginning of the 20th century, a joint gmina with Bogucice was established. points out, however, that Zawodzie was never a separate gmina in history, as this is not documented anywhere. On 1 May 1918, by resolution of the Gmina Council, the previous name of the Zawodzie district was abolished and it was renamed Bogutschütz-Süd, while Bogucice retained the name Bogutschütz-Nord. Two years later, on 10 March 1920, the new council renamed the gmina Bogutschütz-Zawodzie. In 1922, after the incorporation of parts of Upper Silesia into Poland, Zawodzie was located within Gmina Bogucice, situated in the Katowice County.
Pursuant to the Act of the Silesian Parliament of 15 July 1924, it was decided to incorporate into Katowice, among others, Gmina Bogucice, in which Zawodzie was located. This act entered into force on 15 October 1924. In 1925, in connection with the expansion of the city's boundaries and the increase in its population, the City Council divided Katowice into districts. The Bogucice-Zawodzie district was also established at that time.
In the 1930s, the Katowice City Council included council members elected from Zawodzie, such as Leopold Broda, a Sanation activist, Moritz à »migród from the Jewish Circle, Jan Mutz, a representative of the German minority, and Bazyli Józefowicz from the Homeowners' Association. All of them lived on what was then Krakowska Street. Among the councilors' successes were the actions taken in 1932 against the threat of the closure of the Ferrum steelworks â under pressure from a group of councilors from Zawodzie, Mayor of Katowice, , granted the plant a loan.
After the German occupation of Katowice in 1939, the new authorities restored the official place names that had been in use in 1922. On 3 February 1942, a new administrative division of the city was established by decree of the president of the Province of Upper Silesia. At that time, Zawodzie, along with Bogucice, was placed in the Kattowitz-Ost district. After Polish authorities took over the administration of Katowice in 1945, the legal status as of 1 September 1939 was restored. In 1954, present-day Katowice was divided into three districts, with the Zawodzie area forming part of the Bogucice-Zawodzie district. This division was abolished in 1973.
In economic terms, Zawodzie is a multifunctional district. It has large storage and logistics areas; services have developed in the central part of the district, while the southern areas consist of industrial zones with many plants and factories. Industry in Zawodzie developed south of the railway connecting Wrocà Âaw with Mysà Âowice via Katowice. Heavy industry also developed there, including zinc and iron smelting, as well as the chemical, machine, metal, ceramic, electrical engineering, construction, and wood industries. Industrial plants were also built along present-day 1 Maja Street, where numerous transportation-related facilities were established in the early 20th century, and metal and lighting industry plants during the interwar period.
As of 31 December 2013, there were 1,887 businesses registered in the REGON system operating in Zawodzie, which at the time accounted for 4.1% of all companies in Katowice. Of these, 1,750 were micro-enterprises. At that time, there were 465 registered unemployed residents of Zawodzie, which accounted for 3.71% of the district's population. Of these, 248 were women, and 52 were under the age of 25.
The local retail and service center in Zawodzie stretches along 1 Maja Street, from the intersection with S. Czarniecki Street to K. Marcinkowski Street. Retail and service establishments in this area generally line the main street and are located on the ground floors of buildings. Within , they are arranged in a scattered pattern, usually integrated with green spaces.
Historically, Zawodzie was originally an agricultural settlement, and industry began to develop there in the mid-19th century. Forges operated along the Rawa river, and the first major industrial plant in Zawodzie was the , which began operations in 1840. It was located south of the railroad tracks. It was founded at the request of Wilhelm Schneider. In the 19th century, another zinc smelter â Augusta â was in operation; it began production in 1839. It changed owners several times and remained in business until 1870. On 11 September 1838, the Paulisens Glück Coal Mine, operating in Zawodzie, was granted a license. The first owner of the plant was Anton Klausa, and coal was mined there until 1873.
In 1871, a factory producing steam boilers and other iron products (later known as Elewator) was established; an iron foundry was built between 1873 and 1874, and a superphosphate factory (later known as Montokwas) was opened in 1876. In 1889, the boiler factory was transformed into the Kania i Kuntze â Zawodzie iron machinery and equipment factory, where the joint-stock company Elewator was established in 1923. In 1991, the Elewator company was created, and its headquarters are currently in Ruda à Âlàska. In Zawodzie, the factory was located at 31 1 Maja Street â its buildings were demolished in 2013.
In 1890, the Rhein & Co. iron foundry merged with the Jakub Steelworks (Jakobshütte; it was founded in 1856 in Katowice on present-day Stawowa Street), establishing the joint-stock company Ferrum-vormals Rhein & Co., which was transformed into Ferrum SA in 1919. At the end of the 19th century, the steelworks' annual output was estimated at approximately 0.5 million marks, and it produced, among other things, pipes, water equipment, and turnouts for railway stations. It also supplied equipment for hoist towers for coal mines. After 1890, the steelworks specialized in the production of steel pipes (including those for hydroelectric power plants), and its monthly production in 1912 amounted to approximately 1,000 tons.
Further industrial development took place during the interwar period. Among others, the following industrial plants were established at that time: the (1920 or 1921), the (1917; operating under the name "Katomasz" from 1930), and the (1931 or 1933). Smaller companies were also operating at that time, located mainly on what was then Krakowska Street, some of which dated back to the 19th century. These were: the Albert Hermann Bodywork and Carriage Factory, the Pieckafel Tile Stove Factory, the Goldman & Co. Footwear Factory, the Upper Silesian Cable and Insulating Pipes Factory, the Elmes Mill, and the Higiena Sanitary Fittings and Central Heating Factory.
After 1922, the Kunegunda Zinc Smelter belonged to the Silesian Mines and Zinc Works joint-stock company. In 1938, with a workforce of 634 people, it produced 14,873 tons of raw zinc and sulfuric acid. Part of the capital of the Ferrum smelter was taken over by the Polish state after 1933. During the interwar period, it produced, among other things, water and sewer pipes, high-pressure pipes, castings for railcars and locomotives, as well as bolts and rivets; in the years leading up to the outbreak of World War II, the plant began manufacturing mining machinery. The company had representative offices in many parts of the world.
On 27 February 1924, the Almeco Company, the first factory in present-day Katowice to produce perfumes, essential oils, and makeup, was established in Zawodzie. It was located at today's 88 1 Maja Street. The factory ran into financial difficulties and was eventually shut down in 1935.
In 1945, the Kunegunda Zinc Smelter was taken over by the Zinc Industry Association, and five years later, it was incorporated into the . The smelting furnaces of the former Kunegunda were shut down in 1963 and later dismantled. All that remains of the smelter is the water tower, visible from Murckowska Street. On 19 February 1945, operations resumed at the Helios plant, and in 1948, the factory established a partnership with Philips. By 1982, 326.6 million light bulbs had been exported from the factory. In 1958, the Katomasz Mining Machinery Factory was nationalized. The plant underwent modernization, and in 1983, it produced 29,534 mining carts and launched the production of protective mining nets. In 1952, the Ferrum steelworks was taken over by the Central Union of the Polish Metallurgical Industry. After 1989, the plant became an independent enterprise, and in the 1990s, the Huta Ferrum joint-stock company was established.
In 1954, the porcelain factory was renamed Bogucice Porcelain Works and was then owned by the Polish Ceramics Association â Cerpol. It was taken over by Italian investors in 1994, and in the same year, production was taken over by the company , which operated it until 2008. A year later, the factory went bankrupt. In 2012, the site of the former Porcelana à Âlàska factory was acquired by the civil law partnership Porcelana à Âlàska, which transformed the post-industrial site into the Porcelana à Âlàska industrial-technology park.
The supply of running water to Zawodzie is provided by the Mikoà Âów and Murcki network reservoirs. These are fed from water treatment plants in , Goczaà Âkowice-Zdrój, and Kobiernice. This water is pumped into the common distribution system of the Upper Silesian Waterworks Company, from where, via a network of water mains and the associated distribution network of Katowice Waterworks, water is supplied to, among other areas, Zawodzie. The GPW transit water main in Zawodzie runs along Gospodarcza Street near the border with Janów-Nikiszowiec. Since 1919, Gmina Bogucice has been responsible for water supply to the area of Zawodzie and others, and the network at that time also included the former Kunegunda railway station. Since 1925, Ferrum SA and have been using the water tower built in the district. Since 1951, Zawodzie has been supplied from the Goczaà Âkowice reservoir.
The Sewer Network Operations Branch â Center, which is part of Katowice Waterworks, is responsible for the operation of the sewer network in the district. The Zawodzie sewer system is located within the catchment area of the Gigablok wastewater treatment plant. It is a separate system, divided into sanitary and stormwater networks. In 1906, Max Rosenquist designed the sewer system on behalf of Gmina Bogucice's authorities. In Zawodzie, a separate system was built in 1908, along with a sewage treatment plant, which was located at the end of present-day Braci Stawowych Street (or near Jerzy Duda-Gracz Street, on the site of which the Municipal Taxi Company's depot was established after World War II), beside the Rawa river. It was a mechanical treatment plant, consisting of: a double sand trap, a pump house, settling tanks, and plots for drying sludge. The sewer system in the gmina was put into operation in November 1908.
The district is supplied with electricity via a 110-kV high-voltage grid connected to nearby power plants. The electrical grids run relatively densely through Zawodzie. There are three substations within the district's boundaries: Katowice (220/110/6 kV; at the intersection of Bohaterów Monte Cassino and Burowiecka streets), Bogucice (110/20/6 kV; at the intersection of K. Marcinkowski and S. Wyspiaà Âski streets), and Ferrum (110 kV; on the grounds of the Ferrum steelworks on Porcelanowa Street). They are connected by 110 kV lines, while the Katowice substation is additionally connected by a 220 kV line.
Zawodzie is supplied with heat from the former Katowice Power Station (currently the Katowice Production Unit), operated by Tauron Ciepà Âo.
Gas in Zawodzie is supplied via a gas pipeline network. A high-pressure gas pipeline runs along the edge of the industrial areas south of the railroad tracks, near Porcelanowa Street. Two first-stage pressure-reducing and metering stations are also located there.
The following national roads and expressways pass through Zawodzie:
The following streets are among the most important roads for traffic within the district:
The is located in Zawodzie, near P. Chromik Street. It has two platforms and four platform edges. It also has, among other things, additional siding tracks and light signals, and no ticket office. The modern station was built in 1861 on the Upper Silesian Railway railway and was then known as Kunigundeweiche. It has had its current name since 1996 â previously, it was known as Bogucice (1922âÂÂ1925) and Katowice Bogucice (1926âÂÂ1939, 1945âÂÂ1953, and 1956âÂÂ1996). In May 2022, passenger trains operated by Koleje à Âlàskie and Polregio stopped at the station, and the main destinations at that time were: , CzÃÂstochowa, Gliwice, Katowice, Kraków Gà Âówny, , , , , and Tychy Lodowisko. Direct connections to and Rzeszów Gà Âówny also ran from the station.
The earliest railway built in Zawodzie is , which runs parallel to the district between Katowice railway station in the west and the in the east. Along part of this section, the district's border with Osiedle Paderewskiego-Muchowiec also runs parallel to it. The railway was built by the Upper Silesian Railway Company as part of the route connecting Katowice with Mysà Âowice and was put into service on 3 October 1846. By 1856, it had gained a second track, and on 14 May 1959, its electrified section was put into service. Regular passenger and freight traffic operates on this railway.
On 24 August 1859, the Upper Silesian Railway Company built a section of track toward Sosnowiec Gà Âówny, connecting the city to Katowice via Zawodzie (the present-day Warszawa ZachodniaâÂÂKatowice railway). A second track was added by 1915, and on 1 June 1957, the railway was electrified. Within the district, it runs parallel to Oà ÂwiÃÂcimâÂÂKatowice railway. It carries both passenger and freight traffic.
On 1 November 1861, a railway spur connecting Zawodzie with was opened. It ran parallel to present-day P. Chromik Street, Braci Stawowych Street, and between the Gigablok Sewage Treatment Plant, as well as the industrial and commercial areas north of the plant. Passenger service on the railway continued until 1 April 1968, and in 1976, the railway track that crossed 1 Maja Street near the intersection with K. Marcinkowski Street was closed and later dismantled. Another railway ran from Zawodzie toward and . It was put into service on 17 June 1900 and carried freight traffic; however, the section of this line in Zawodzie was dismantled before 2014.
Zawodzie was also a intersection point for numerous industrial rail spurs, including those of the Upper Silesian Narrow-Gauge Railways, which were used mainly to transport raw materials and semi-finished products between industrial plants. These spurs connected to the (operational from 1856 to 1963) and Ferrum SA (until 1961).
Public transportation in Zawodzie is organized by the Metropolitan Transport Authority, which took over these responsibilities from previous operators on 1 January 2019. Public transportation within the district is provided both by bus routes and, on behalf of Silesian Interurbans, by trams.
As of mid-May 2022, there are 9 bus stops in Zawodzie: Zawodzie Bohaterów Monte Cassino, Zawodzie Centrum Przesiadkowe, Zawodzie Centrum Przesiadkowe Parking, Zawodzie à Âàczna, Zawodzie Oà Ârodek Sportowy, Zawodzie Paderewskiego, Zawodzie Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny, Zawodzie Waleriana, and Zawodzie Zajezdnia. The following additional stops also operated within the district's boundaries: Katowice Cmentarz Komunalny, Katowice Fabryka Porcelany, Katowice Graniczna (on 1 Maja Street), Katowice Hutnicza, Katowice Porcelanowa (stop in the northbound direction), Katowice Porcelanowa Zakà Âady, and Katowice Strefa Kultury (stop in the eastbound direction).
The transit hub near the Zawodzie Transit Center on 1 Maja Street serves exclusively as a transportation hub. The center consists of two platforms, additional tram tracks, and 16 bus bays, as well as a 175-space car parking lot, a bicycle parking area, and a park and ride point. The transit center building houses a waiting area and two retail outlets. There are two stops there: Zawodzie Centrum Przesiadkowe and Zawodzie Centrum Przesiadkowe Parking. As of mid-May 2022, 13 bus lines departed from the first stop, including one night line connecting various areas of Metropolis GZM, as well as 14 tram lines.
The Zawodzie Paderewskiego stop serves an average of 700 passengers per hour. It is exclusively a tram stop, from which a total of 13 lines departed in both directions in mid-May 2022. These lines connected this part of Zawodzie with certain districts of Katowice, including Dàb, Osiedle Tysiàclecia, Szopienice-Burowiec, à Âródmieà Âcie, Weà Ânowiec-Józefowiec, and Zaà ÂÃÂà ¼e, as well as other cities: Bytom, Chorzów, Mysà Âowice, Sosnowiec, and Siemianowice à Âlàskie.
The history of the tram line running through Zawodzie dates back to the late 19th century. In 1893, the company Schikora & Wolff, headquartered in Katowice, was established. On 29 December 1897, it obtained a partial concession to construct a tram route between à ÂwiÃÂtochà Âowice, Hajduki, Zaà ÂÃÂà ¼e, Katowice, Zawodzie, and Mysà Âowice. The following year, the company transferred its rights to a consortium of several banking houses, which on 27 May 1898 established the joint-stock company Oberschlesische Kleinbahnen und Elektrizitätswerke A.G. The line on the section from Katowice to Zawodzie was built by Kramer & Co. in 1898, and on 23 June 1900, the section between Zawodzie and , owned by Kramer & Co., and the section between Bagno and Roà ºdzieà Â, owned by Oberschlesische Kleinbahnen und Elektrizitätswerke, were accepted. The tram line connecting Katowice with Mysà Âowice via Zawodzie was put into service on 7 August 1899.
A plan was also drawn up to build a tram line connecting Zawodzie with Bogucice and Dàbrówka Maà Âa, but it was never implemented. In Zawodzie, this line was to run along Bogucicka Street.
After World War I, work began on converting the network to standard gauge â standard-gauge operation along the entire route from Katowice to Sosnowiec was launched on 8 December 1928. A tram terminus was built in Zawodzie between 1943 and 1944. In the postwar period, a substation was commissioned in Zawodzie in 1947, and between 1958 and 1962, construction was underway on a tram depot with a capacity of 118 cars, which was commissioned in February 1962. In its vicinity, on 1 Maja Street, a bus depot was opened in 1972. Between 2007 and 2009, the tram tracks running along 1 Maja Street were modernized. As part of the work, the tram rails and subgrade were replaced, and the stops were rebuilt.
In mid-December 2017, the construction site for the Zawodzie transit hub, located in the area of Bagienna, Krakowska, and 1 Maja streets, was handed over. The transit hub was opened on 7 December 2020 when the first passengers were able to use the new facility. The cost of constructing the hub was 95.2 million zloty.
Zawodzie is characterized by great diversity in terms of architecture and urban planning. The district has a number of buildings dating from various periods and of differing architectural value. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Zawodzie underwent significant architectural and urban development, especially along . As Zawodzie developed and industrialized, single-story rural dwellings with small gardens were replaced by 2- to 4-story bourgeois tenements. By the end of the 19th century, the district's buildings had taken on a distinctly urban character. The buildings from the late 19th century that exist today are located in various parts of Zawodzie, with the largest concentration on 1 Maja Street, including buildings numbered: 6, 15, 23, 37, 45, 49, 87, 102, 125, 127, 131, and 154. Also dating from the late 19th century are the buildings at 13 , 1 I. J. Paderewski Street, 10 and 12 Walerian Street, 10 P. Niedurny Street (from the 1880s), and 13 K. Marcinkowski Street.
A relatively large proportion of Zawodzie's buildings was constructed between 1900 and 1922. This development spread mainly west of and is concentrated along 1 Maja Street, while the eastern side saw the construction of most of the present-day buildings on Walerian, G. Haà Âubek, P. Niedurny, Racà Âawicka, and P. Chromik streets. Between 1900 and 1901, a workers' colony for the Ferrum steelworks was built in the area of today's housing estate. At that time, 31 buildings were constructed according to a design by Jakub Weissenberg, including residential houses and the so-called "Rest House" (currently the headquarters of the Zawodzie branch of the ). The colony existed until the 1990s. In 1912, the Gmina Bogucice town hall was opened on 1 Maja Street. It was built in the Neoclassical style and currently serves as the headquarters of the University of Economics. It was built between 1911 and 1912 on the initiative of what would later become the Katowice Joint-Stock Company for Mining and Metallurgy, and the building was designed by from Berlin.
In 1930, construction began on the on present-day 1 Maja Street. The building was designed by Tadeusz à Âobosz. Construction of the church was completed a year later, while finishing work, including the erection of a freestanding tower, continued until 1937. The church has a simple, massive silhouette of a horizontal cubic structure. Between 1935 and 1937, a housing estate for the unemployed â known as Pierwsza Potrzeba â was built on Cynkowa Street. It was developed with the participation of the Katowice municipal government. It consists of four uniform apartment blocks containing 72 flats and a former kindergarten building. In addition, individual buildings were constructed in Zawodzie during the interwar period.
The postwar phase of Zawodzie's architectural and urban development, which lasted from 1945 to the late 1980s, was mainly associated with the construction of large housing estates, the expansion of the road network (including Walenty Roà ºdzieà Âski Avenue and Murckowska Street), and the development of higher education institutions. In the early years of the Polish People's Republic, up until the 1970s, new development in Zawodzie took place mostly outside the compact frontage of 1 Maja Street. Buildings from this period include, among others, the residential buildings at 110, 112, and 112 1 Maja Street (from the early 1960s), 5 Racà Âawicka Street (from 1969), and 7 P. Niedurny Street (from the 1950s). Between 1947 and 1949, the building of the Ignacy Jan Paderewski X High School was constructed at 6 K. Miarka Street.
was built in the 1970s. The project was completed in two phases. In the first phase, carried out between 1972 and 1978, three residential high-rises and a school were built, while the second phase took place between 1980 and 1982 and included the construction of four additional high-rises and a retail and service complex. The housing estate was designed by architects , , and . Located within the district's boundaries, Osiedle Walentego Roà ºdzieà Âskiego is characterized by the highest net floor area ratio (1.96) among Katowice's other estates, as well as the highest average number of stories â 16.3. The proportion of built-up area within the estate's total area is 12%. It consists of seven residential high-rises, also known as the "Stars" (Gwiazdy). Each has 24 stories, and the height of each building reaches 75 meters. They are located at 86, 86a, 88, 90, 96, 98, and 100 Walenty Roà ºdzieà Âski Avenue. Four of the residential high-rises in the estate are managed by the Stars Estate Administration of the Katowice Housing Cooperative, headquartered at 86a Walenty Roà ºdzieà Âski Avenue.
In 1975, work began on the redevelopment of Zawodzie's transportation network. To this end, a year later, some of the buildings on 1 Maja Street on the section between Murckowska and S. à »Ã³à Âkiewski streets were demolished, and in 1978, similar work took place on . There, as well as in the area of P. Chromik and à Âàczna streets, new apartment buildings were built, designed by architect Andrzej Trybus. The housing estate on Bohaterów Monte Cassino Street is also known as Osiedle Dawida, and was formerly called Zawodzie II. Of the eight planned buildings, only three apartment blocks were completed. The postwar Zawodzie housing estate, located in Zawodzie, is managed by the Katowice Housing Cooperative. It consists of 31 multi-family buildings, inhabited by 3,251 people as of April 2020. Its headquarters are located at 5 Bohaterów Monte Cassino Street. The estate consists of buildings situated on 1 Maja, Bohaterów Monte Cassino, G. Haà Âubek, à Âàczna, Piaskowa, Racà Âawicka, and S. Staszic streets.
The current urban development of Zawodzie, which has been underway since the early 1990s, is characterized by the growth of new, small residential developments, the expansion of the road network, the removal of a significant portion of railways and sidings, as well as economic transformations that led, among other things, to the gradual closure of polluting industrial plants and the revitalization of post-industrial areas. In 1999, construction began on the Bulwary Rawy housing estate in the area of K. Marcinkowski, Braci Stawowych, Bohaterów Monte Cassino, and 1 Maja streets. By August 2011, four phases had been completed. The first phase involved the construction of six buildings with a total of 204 apartments, the second phase included one four-section building with 154 apartments, the third phase saw the completion of 198 apartments, and the fourth phase involved one four-section building with 165 apartments.
Between 2011 and 2013, construction work was carried out on the Center for Modern Information Technologies building, which opened in November 2013. It is located at 5 Bogucicka Street. The building's total usable floor area is 7,800 mò. During the same period, from 2011 to 2013, the University of Economics' administration building underwent renovation. As part of the work, the turret crowning the building was rebuilt, having been destroyed during World War II.
The following buildings, listed in the Registry of Cultural Property, are located within the boundaries of Zawodzie:
The following structures in Zawodzie are protected under local zoning plans or proposed for protection based on the findings of the study of conditions and directions for spatial development of the city of Katowice:
The following conservation protection zones or areas proposed for protection are located in Zawodzie:
The following memorial sites are located in Zawodzie:
Zawodzie is characterized by multifunctional land use related to: transportation, commercial and industrial areas, retail areas, residential areas, and higher education and research functions. As part of the Study of Conditions and Directions of Spatial Planning for the City of Katowice, the Zawodzie urban area, covering 533.37 ha, was designated. In terms of actual land use as of January 2008, the largest portion of the district is occupied by industrial and service areas covering 146.4 ha, which accounts for 27.45% of Zawodzie's total area. There are also transportation areas (87.8 ha; 16.46%), forests (81.89 ha; 15.35%), and vacant building lots (62.04 ha; 11.63%). However, there are no agricultural areas in Zawodzie.
The proportion of developed area in Zawodzie in 2007 was 32%, which was higher than the average for Katowice as a whole â 23%. In some parts of the district, this ratio exceeds 50%. The net floor area ratio for Zawodzie fluctuated at 0.82 (higher than the ratio for Katowice â 0.49), while the average number of stories in 2007 was 2.56 (also higher than the citywide average of 2.13 stories).
The spatial structure of Zawodzie is fragmented by anthropogenic barriers in the form of parallel bands of railway land stretching along the axis between Szopienice, Zawodzie, and à Âródmieà Âcie, as well as major thoroughfares â Walenty Roà ºdzieà Âski Avenue and Murckowska Street. Additional barriers include strips of industrial and warehouse areas, wasteland, and forests between Zawodzie and Burowiec, as well as between Zawodzie and Janów-Nikiszowiec.
In May 2022, the following educational institutions were operating in Zawodzie:
The origins of education in Zawodzie date back to 1783, when the first public school was established on the premises of Weissenberg's inn, in the area of present-day 1 Maja Street. At the start of its operation, it had 170 students. The first vocational school in Zawodzie was the four-grade Craft and Industrial Supplementary School, established in 1907 and maintained by the gmina. A year later, it had 143 students. With the development of Zawodzie and the growth of its population, there arose a need to expand the old school and build a new facility. In 1908, a new building was constructed next to the existing structure, in which an Evangelical school was inaugurated, while at that time the old building housed the Katowice Girls' School. Both institutions operated until 1924, when the voivodeship authorities established the Municipal Commercial School in their place. It was the first school of its kind in Katowice, operating until the outbreak of World War II.
In 1936, there were four elementary schools and one vocational school in Zawodzie. Two of them were housed in a building on S. Staszic Street, constructed between 1899 and 1908. These were John II Sobieski School No. 16 and Paweà  Stalmach Minority School No. 17. In 1931, a new school was constructed at 4 Bogucicka Street, housing two new schools: School No. 14 for girls, named after Jadwiga of Poland, and School No. 15 for boys, named after King Wà Âadysà Âaw II Jagieà Âà Âo.
After World War II, of the schools in Zawodzie that had been operating before the war, only the Municipal Commercial School did not resume operations. Schools No. 14 and 15 operated independently until 9 January 1956, and the schools at 2 S. Staszic Street were designated as Schools No. 15 and 16; they were merged in 1962 and named after the Smoà Âek brothers.
On 24 April 1949, the school of the Society of Friends of Children was officially opened, operating under the society's auspices until 1956. In 1967, the primary and secondary schools were separated, with the primary school moving to a different building, while the secondary school was designated as No. X. Since 1993, Ignacy Jan Paderewski has been the patron of High School No. X, and in 2019, the school gained the status of an academic high school.
In 1963, Primary School No. 31 was established. The old school housed classrooms for grades 1âÂÂ5, while grades 6âÂÂ8 were taught in a section of the building occupied by Primary School No. 16 on S. Staszic Street. The school's old location was at 80/81 1 Maja Street (the building was demolished in 1976), and due to the reconstruction of the transportation network in Zawodzie, the school was moved to the building at 17 K. Marcinkowski Street. In 1979, Primary School No. 2 was established in Osiedle Walentego Roà ºdzieà Âskiego, with John III Sobieski as its patron.
The University of Economics is headquartered in Zawodzie. On 19 February 1949, the former Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences was nationalized, and the State Higher School of Economic Administration was established. Due to the growing number of students, the Katowice authorities transferred the building of the former town hall of Gmina Bogucice-Zawodzie on 1 Maja Street and the school building on Bogucicka Street for academic use. The school began operations in its new facilities during the 1946/1947 academic year, and a campus developed around these buildings in the 1970s and 1980s. On 11 July 1950, the institution was transformed into the Higher School of Economics, in 1972, it was named after Karol Adamiecki, and in 1974, it was renamed the Academy of Economics. The school became the University of Economics by virtue of a resolution of the Council of Ministers on 1 September 2010.
In terms of the crime rate in 2007, Zawodzie was the second most dangerous district in Katowice, right after à Âródmieà Âcie. In 2007, the crime rate stood at 3.53 incidents per 100 residents of the district, while the average for Katowice as a whole was 3.08 crimes. Between 2004 and 2007, this rate decreased from 6.11 in 2004. In 2013, 365 crimes were recorded in Zawodzie, which amounted to 29 incidents per 1,000 residents at the time. During this period, there were 12 robberies and 10 acts of hooliganism. The area of Zawodzie is covered by Police Station I, located in the neighboring à Âródmieà Âcie district at 28 à »wirki i Wigury Street. According to a survey conducted in 2011, 41.0% of respondents from Zawodzie indicated that they felt safe in their district, while 45.8% disagreed.
In 2007, there were 31 traffic accidents in the district. The locations with the highest number of traffic collisions in Zawodzie include Walenty Roà ºdzieà Âski Avenue and 1 Maja Street.
Fire protection in the western part of Zawodzie is provided by Rescue and Firefighting Unit No. 3 of the Katowice Municipal Headquarters of the State Fire Service, located in à Âródmieà Âcie at 11 .
At 2 B. Czech Street, Local Social Assistance Point No. 6 of the Municipal Social Assistance Center operates, covering Zawodzie, the eastern part of Bogucice, and Dàbrówka Maà Âa. At the end of 2013, 245 families in Zawodzie were receiving assistance from the Municipal Social Welfare Center due to poverty, and the number of families receiving social assistance at that time was 393.
The Atlantis Cinema was likely the first cultural institution in Zawodzie; it had been operating in a hall dating back to 1899 since 1932, located within the Besucha restaurant on present-day 1 Maja Street. The cinema later changed owners and names, and remained in operation until 1945. In the pre-war period, theatrical performances in Katowice were staged by, among others, the Gwiazda group from Zawodzie.
The oldest secular choir in present-day Katowice was likely the Lutnia Singing Society (renamed the Charity Society in 1898), founded in the second half of 1894 by young people from Bogucice, Dàbrówka Maà Âa, and Zawodzie. Until World War I, the Singing Society choir, founded in 1909, operated in Zawodzie and remained active until 1926, while in 1919 the A. Mickiewicz Choir was established, operating until 1956. The second of these choirs, as well as the Men's Choir at Ferrum SA, active from 1934 to 1939, and the Women's Choir at the Porcelain Factory (active from 1926 to 1927), belonged to a group of large ensembles, ranging from 100 to 300 members. They were affiliated with the Silesian Singers' Association.
During the interwar period, the following groups were active: the Halka and Jaskóà Âka Mandolinists' Societies, and the Women's Choir of the Giesche Porcelain Factory. The illustrated biweekly Strzecha Rodzinna was published in Zawodzie at what was then 46 Krakowska Street (now 1 Maja Street). In 1928 (or as early as 1919), the People's Libraries Society was established in Zawodzie. Its reading room was located in the People's House. Its library branch in Zawodzie had 1,071 volumes in 1935, and at that time, 147 readers used it.
After 1945, cultural activities in Zawodzie received support in the form of state patronage. After World War II, the A. Mickiewicz Choir resumed its activities. In 1949, the choir held 93 rehearsals, 3 concerts, and 5 performances, and at that time it had 160 members. After the death of Joseph Stalin, the choir was forced to suspend its activities.
In 1945, a staff lounge for Ferrum SA and a children's daycare center began operating at 13 K. Marcinkowski Street. From 1971 to 1991, the facility functioned as a company cultural center. It hosted a variety of cultural and educational activities. In December 1991, the assets of Ferrum SA not related to production were transferred to the city of Katowice. By a resolution of the City Council on 1 January 1992, the was established, which also houses a branch of the Katowice Municipal Public Library â No. 31. The second of the Zawodzie branches â No. 24 â is located at 88a Walenty Roà ºdzieà Âski Avenue. In 2002, a branch in Bogucice was incorporated into the Zawodzie Municipal Cultural Center, and since 2010 it has operated under the name Bogucice-Zawodzie Municipal Cultural Center. It conducts a wide range of cultural, educational, entertainment, and dining activities for children, youth, and adults. Among others, it runs sections and clubs: theater and music, as well as dance, instrument lessons, and senior groups. The Zawodzie Painting Group also operates under the Zawodzie Department of the Bogucice-Zawodzie Municipal Cultural Center. The group has about 20 members who create a variety of paintings, and each artist has their own unique painting style.
The Trzynastka Katowice Housing Cooperative Club is also located at 13 Racà Âawicka Street. Its name was chosen by children and is derived from the club's address. It has been operating at the Katowice Housing Cooperative since 1980. Today, the club conducts a wide range of cultural, educational, and developmental activities for all age groups. The main activities include sports sections and the Senior Club. The Arkada Student Club also operated at the University of Economics. It was founded in October 1994. The club organized a series of cultural and entertainment events, including concerts, sung poetry evenings, exhibitions, and charity events.
In November 2020, city authorities launched a project to create a trail of Katowice murals, most of which were created as part of various editions of the Katowice Street Art Festival. As of mid-May 2022, the following murals are located within the boundaries of Zawodzie:
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest religious community in Zawodzie. The , located at 52 1 Maja Street, operates in the district. It covers Zawodzie along with part of Osiedle Walentego Roà ºdzieà Âskiego. The parish in Zawodzie belongs to the Katowice-à Âródmieà Âcie deanery of the Archdiocese of Katowice. Numerous pastoral groups operate within the parish, including ministries for various professions. In 2019, 70 baptisms, 10 weddings, and 159 funerals were held at the church in Zawodzie. On average, 1,700 faithful attended Sunday Mass each week.
Originally, Roman Catholic parishioners from Zawodzie belonged to the Bogucice parish, the oldest in Katowice. Father Antoni Lindner was assigned to establish the Zawodzie parish and build the church. The chaplaincy covering the faithful in Zawodzie was separated from the Bogucice parish on 1 January 1927. The new chaplaincy covered the area south of Rawa and east of Graniczna Street, including the faithful from the Amanda and Zuzanna colonies. A temporary church for the faithful of the new parish was established in 1930 in Jan Prosz's dance hall, known as "u Szwedy", in a building that no longer exists at 2 Murckowska Street. It served as a place of worship for 18 months. The Church of the Divine Providence was built between 1930 and 1931. In August 1931, finishing work was underway, and the altar was moved from the Bogucice cemetery chapel to Zawodzie. In August 1948, construction of the chancel began, and on 20 December 1957, the chaplaincy was elevated to the status of a parish.
In the early postwar years, Zawodzie was also home to at least 450 Greek Catholic parishioners and several Orthodox parishioners.
The , largest in Katowice in terms of area, is located on Murckowska Street. It covers an area of 30.5 hectares and has a section for unidentified individuals, a funeral home, a morgue, and a mortuary. The cemetery is maintained by the Parish of the Divine Providence.
The first sports facility in Zawodzie, and the second within the present-day boundaries of Katowice, was a shooting range. It was built in 1878 at the current address of 45 1 Maja Street and was maintained first by Gmina Bogucice, and later by the city of Katowice. Originally, it was used by the German Shooting Guild, and from 1926 to 1928 by the Shooting Brotherhood. After reconstruction, the building became the People's House in Katowice-Zawodzie, and numerous organizations had their headquarters there.
Sports and recreational organizations developed especially quickly in the 1920s and 1930s. During this time, the following sports clubs were active: Sià Âa, Sà Âowian, Powstaniec, the Strzaà Âa Cyclists' Society, and the Silesia hockey club. 13 sports organizations were active between 1922 and 1939.
The Sà Âowian Sports Club was founded in 1924 by employees of Ferrum SA. It initially had only a soccer team, which began competing in the Class C championship in 1926. In 1931, the first team was promoted to the Silesian League. In 1939, the club merged with . The Powstaniec Sports Club was founded in 1926 and focused on combat sports: boxing, wrestling, and weightlifting. The greatest successes were achieved by two Powstaniec weightlifters: Karol Rychlik and Józef Szwarc, who won the Polish Championship in their discipline. In 1929, the club merged with the SokÃ³à  II Gymnastics Society.
After World War II, between 1945 and 1949, there were five sports clubs in Zawodzie that played soccer: Atom Chemical Factory (founded at the Giesche Chemical Factory on 30 September 1946; it merged with Naprzód Szopienice in August 1948), Ferrum 1945, the Sports Club of the Kunegunda steelworks, Katowiczanka (a club founded in 1946; on 15 July 1949, it merged with Sià Âa Giszowiec and Naprzód Janów), and Silesia Giesche Porcelain Factory Giesche.
In the postwar period, the Academic Sports Association Sports Club, which had been headquartered in the former town hall since 1 June 1946, played a pioneering role in the development of collegiate sports. At the time, it was the only multi-sport club in Zawodzie, which established sections for handball, soccer, athletics, boxing, fencing, skiing, water sports, tennis, and a motor sports section. In 1948, the Academic Sports Union handball team was promoted to the First League, and from 1962 to 1966, the women's team of Sà Âowian Katowice competed in the First League. In 1970, the AZS Environmental Board club was founded, bringing together the academic sports community of Katowice, including the K. Adamiecki University of Economics; the new club was headquartered on Mikoà Âowska Street. The university club in Zawodzie was reactivated in 1982.
In 2002, the SÃ Âowian Sports Center was built on the site of the former SÃ Âowian Katowice facility; it is administered by the Katowice Municipal Sports and Recreation Center. The facility includes a soccer training field, multi-purpose tartan tracks, and two tennis courts. In 2007, there were four sports clubs operating in Zawodzie.
The following sports and recreation facilities are located in the district: