The Via Regia section of the Way of St. James passes through Radzionków and connects two green spaces here: Księża Góra Park and the Silesian Botanical Garden. The route is a pilgrimage path to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Visitors interested in this route can therefore find both nature and a clear connection to the pilgrimage tradition in Radzionków.
Green spaces along the route
The Silesian Botanical Garden covers about 16 hectares. Its diverse habitats include wooded areas, thickets, grassland, meadows and bodies of water. There are also plant collections featuring trees and shrubs, fruit plants, ornamental plants and plants beneficial to bees. The garden thus combines habitat types and thematically organised collections rather than focusing on a single plant species.
The Botanical Garden is also home to a Regional Environmental Education Centre. Its facilities include a microscopy room, a laboratory and a seminar room. This adds an educational dimension to its botanical focus: alongside the collections and habitats, there are also spaces for environmental education.
Księża Góra Park is on a different scale. It covers 30 hectares and lies at an altitude of 357 metres. In area, it is larger than the Botanical Garden, which covers about 16 hectares. Both places lie along the local Via Regia route; their different sizes and focuses give Radzionków’s nature offering two distinct aspects.
History, work and remembrance
The Centre for the Documentation of the Deportations of Upper Silesians to the USSR in 1945 devotes its permanent exhibition to the history of the deportations. Its subject is clearly defined: it focuses on a pivotal chapter in Upper Silesian history. The centre’s educational programmes also explore the history of Upper Silesia and are aimed mainly at primary and secondary school pupils.
These educational programmes use historical artefacts, source texts and parts of the exhibition as part of a “living history” approach. This sets the educational method apart from a presentation based solely on exhibition texts: the objects and sources mentioned are expressly among the materials used. The focus remains on the history of Upper Silesia and the deportations.
The open-air mining museum commemorates the long history of the local hard coal mine. Over the years, it was known as “Radzionkau Grube”, “Radzionków” and “Powstańców Śląskich”. The exhibition includes a flywheel and several mine carts, originally used to transport coal. There is also a St Barbara’s Chapel in a former transformer station dating from around the turn of the 20th century. The exhibits show different aspects of mining: the former means of transport, a technical component and a place of religious devotion.
Another museum focuses on a different aspect of everyday life and craft history. Muzeum Chleba, Szkoły i Ciekawostek (Museum of Bread, School and Curiosities) presents historical tools used by bakers and confectioners, as well as the history and traditions of breadmaking. The local museums therefore cover a range of subjects, from industrial work and mining to the trades involved in making bread and pastries.
Architecture in Radzionków
St Wojciech’s Church is a three-aisled Neo-Gothic brick basilica. It was consecrated in 1875. Its architecture and date provide a distinct point of interest alongside the green spaces and museums: this church offers a tangible way to explore the area’s architectural history. Together, the places described here show different ways of discovering Radzionków: through its landscape and pilgrimage route, its history and work, and its architecture and crafts.
Discover more destinations: Nowa Wieś Tworoska, Krupski Młyn, Boniowice, Ziętek, Tąpkowice, Świerklaniec, Tarnowskie Góry, Wieszowa.
Go to the main travel guide: Tarnowskie Góry.
