Photographs explore the industrial memory embedded in the urban landscapes of Bytom-Bobrek, Swietochlowice - Lipiny and Ruda Slaska—once among the most dynamic centers of European heavy industry. From the late 19th century onward, coal mines, coke plants, and steelworks transformed Silesia into a powerful industrial region, shaping not only the economy but also the architecture, culture, and social life of its cities.
After the economic transition of the 1990s, many of these structures fell silent. Mines were closed, coke plants dismantled, and slag heaps abandoned. Yet their monumental forms and workers' estates remain.
The series captures scenes such as: a miners’ housing estate near the former Bobrek plant, the black spoil heaps of Ruda Slaska, and the looming silhouette of the Bobrek coking plant. Some photographs were taken during the Corpus Christi procession, showing how these industrial landscapes remain intertwined with contemporary cultural and religious life.
On the left, a former mining spoil heap rises like an artificial hill; on the right, an old ‘familok’—a traditional workers’ tenement that once housed miners and their families—stands as a reminder of the region’s industrial heritage., Ruda Śląska, Silesia Region, Poland.
The industrial chimney of the former Bobrek Steelworks, once part of its coke plant. Bytom, Silesia Region, Poland.
Świętochłowice, Lipiny. Silesia Region, Poland.
Preparation to the Corpus Christi procession in Świętochłowice, Lipiny. Silesia Region, Poland.
Traditional workers’ tenements that once housed miners and their families. Bytom- Bobrek, Silesia Region, Poland.
Świętochłowice, Lipiny. Silesia Region, Poland
A former mining spoil heap rises like an artificial hill, Ruda Śląska, Silesia Region, Poland
A girl wearing a white First Communion gown, Świętochłowice, Lipiny. Silesia Region, Poland
An old ‘familok’—a traditional workers’ tenement that once housed miners and their families. Świętochłowice, Lipiny. Silesia Region, Poland
A former mining spoil heap rises like an artificial hill, Ruda Śląska, Silesia Region, Poland
A panoramic view of the historic miners’ housing estate near the former Bobrek plant in Bytom. In the foreground lie scattered stones and rubble—the remains of demolished industrial buildings—silent traces of the area’s past function.”
A panoramic view of the historic miners’ housing estate near the former Bobrek plant in Bytom. In the foreground lie scattered stones and rubble—the remains of demolished industrial buildings—silent traces of the area’s past function.”
Preparation to the Corpus Christi procession in Świętochłowice, Lipiny. Silesia Region, Poland