Gliwice

Gliwice – a town and an economic, industrial and cultural centre in the western part of the Upper Silesian Industrial District on the Kłodnica River and the Glivice Canal connecting the city with the water road of the Odra. The beginnings of the one of the most beautiful Silesian cities are not known. As a city Gliwice existed as early as in the 13th century ad since 1312 it had been the capital of a duchy. The settlement’s development into a big city was originated at the end of the 18th century and was bound with the buildings of huge steelworks. Gliwice slightly differs from other Silesian cities and prides itself on profuse greenery of old parks and villa districts. Now we shall make our way in the direction of mainly the Old Town. Especially charming is the market-place surrounded with arcaded tenements of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Its centre is occupied by the recently reconstructed 18th century’s city hall. The walls of the late-gothic parish church of the 15th century tower over the Old Town buildings. Let us also visit the former castle remembering early Middle Ages, rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries embedded into the lines of old battlements. In the castle and in the palace at Dolnych Wały (Lower Embankmnts) street there are interesting collections of a regional museum presenting the history of the city and that of the Gliwice industry inseparably connected with the city. Wooden architecture admirers should visit the city’s surroundings and see numerous wooden churches.