Tychy

In the middle of March, my wife and I had to leave our second home – the city of Severodonetsk, where we had stayed for seven and a half years after we had left Luhansk due to the ongoing conflict. Thanks to my VT friends: my Polish brother Maciej (Matt) and my Polish sister Urszula, we had a place to stay and started a new chapter of our lives here in Poland. Now we are staying in the city of Tychy in Upper Silesia in the apartment provided to us by our good friends Matt and Urszula.

A view from Hotel Tychy

Tychy is a nice city in the south of Upper Silesia. This area belonging to the Upper Silesian Industrial Region has been known for its coal deposits, forests and fishing ponds for centuries. This is an industrial city in the basin of the Vistula River located about 40 miles from the Czech border and 60 miles from the border with Slovakia.
As a part of the Province of Upper Silesia (in German: Provinz Oberschlesien), Tychy was invaded by Germany in 1939, and then "liberated" by the Soviet Union (in fact, annexed) on January 28, 1945. The last Russian troops left Poland on September 16, 1993. Many Poles believe that September 16, 1993, when the last Russian soldier left Poland, became the final date of Poland's regained Independence.

Since 1950, Tychy has grown rapidly as a result of post-war communist planning policies. Now the city has a population of roughly 129,000 inhabitants within an area of 82.63 sq.km. The fact that Tychy having today about one hundred thirty thousand inhabitants grew up from the village of nine thousands inhabitants is really striking.
Despite the fact that the city is surrounded on three sides by forests, there are strong gusts of wind, and the weather is extremely capricious and can be very changeable. It is said that the cause is the Moravian Gate, a characteristic depression between the Carpathians and the Sudetenland, through which bitter winds - sometimes even at gale force - can blow. You will find that the locals frequently sigh, complaining that they live in a constant draught. We should also keep in mind that, even though the bitter winds were blowing in this area, there was an active trade route from the south to the north of Europe, therefore crafts and trade have long flourished in the small agricultural settlement of Tychy.

Tychy is a relatively young city, which obtained its city charter in 1934. Nonetheless, it can delight and surprise you with its unusual structures, wide avenues, appealing cafes and restaurants, modern stores and also shopping malls. In addition, it boasts an excellent city transportation system, including miles of bicycle lanes.
Nearby forests provide conditions for active leisure. Lake Paprocany is one of the most popular leisure spots. It is an artificial water reservoir created over two hundred years ago to meet the needs of the local glass-works. Now that it is surrounded by forests, it provides the perfect venue for family outings. We walked around the lake along the foot-and-bike path surrounding it. The lake area located close to Pyramid Hotel became the Paprocany Resort, a place with a beach where large outdoor events, festivals, cycling enthusiasts’ gatherings, orienteering competitions, canoeing and sailing races are held. Anglers also take advantage of the proximity of Lake Paprocany.

The Pyramid Hotel in Sikorski Avenue, close to Lake Paprocany, is also considered symbolic of the city. According to its owners, due to its specific shape and its location on the ‘chakra’ (a place of strength) the building is known to emit positive energy.

This memorial chair belongs to the bioenergy therapist, the owner and creator of the Pyramid Hotel. Leo Beenhakker, the coach of the Polish football team and a friend of the hotel owner, used to sit on this chair. The chair gave him power, because he luckily led the Polish team in the match against Portugal, where the Polish team won 2:1. This piece of furniture gained chic after the ashion designers Justyna Dembowska and Ewelina Gleba had covered it with hundreds of buttons that shone like Swarovski crystals. In the middle of the seat, colored dots formed a soccer ball.

Inside the hotel, the information board tells us that Tadeusz Ceglińcki, the owner and a specialist in bioenergetics, ordered that it be constructed in scale 1:5 to Cheops Pyramid in Egypt. The project was undertaken by architects Krzysztof Barysz and Aleksander Nowack from Barysz and Parton in 2004. The Pyramid Hotel includes a hotel, a restaurant, a conference center and biological recuperation rooms.

At the hotel lobby

At the Pyramid Hotel in Tychy

The Pyramid Hotel, Tychy

Inside the lobby of the Pyramid Hotel, Tychy

The public spaces of Tychy boast a number of attractive places for people to enjoy. There are parks, public gardens and squares with fountains such as Old Town Square and New Town Square. In the Old Town’s Market Square there is a fountain in which can be seen some beautiful sculptures of three frolicking brass otters. Unsurprisingly, it is known as ‘the fountain of Otters’, The name symbolizes an old story- in the past, there was a pond here, the surface of which reflected the silhouette of the nearby church. Otters were supposed to inhabit the pond, thus indicating how clean the water was because of this reflection. The pond, however, has gone, having been drained in 1925.

Plac Bachyńskiego (Baczynsky Square), with its numerous cafés and restaurants, is the most popular Square in Tychy. The apartment house on the southern side of the square has four skylights which illuminate the staircases, giving it a most distinctive appearance.The skylights are painted black and, at first sight, may leave to wonder as to their purpose.
On the northern side there was once the entrance to the Andromeda cinema, which functioned during 1961-2008 and was one of the best-equipped and largest cinemas in Poland. Andromeda Culture Passage was opened in its place in 2014. There is OBOK Municipal Art Gallery there, where book promotions and exhibitions are held.

In the centre of the square there is a fountain where the water cascade forms the shape of a dandelion that has gone to seed. The fountain area features a sculptural composition called "Cubes of Poetry". It was installed in 2010 by Mariusz Chodorka and Łukasz Łyducha. The cubes contain a poem - also in Braille - by Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński. The poem is called "Elegy for a Polish Soldier" and bemoans the likely fate of an entire generation of that time. The poem is built evenly, being made up of three four-verse rhymes, and is signed, Krzystoff Kamil Baczyński, 20.03.1944. It is addressed to the fallen son, to whom a desperate mother now turns in anguish to lament his tragic death incurred whist fighting in World War 2. Thus it was titled Elegy - an ‘elegy’ being a solemn lament for the dead. The Polish soldier is not named, and his mother symbolizes the mothers of all the soldiers and fighters, who perished in that war, thus forcing their mothers to bury their fallen children and weep over their bodies. The short life of the hero of the poem ends with the sound of a gunshot, representative of the fate of a whole generation. The shared anguish of all the mothers is contained in the ending point of the song: “Czy to była kula, synku, czy to serce pękło?/ “Was that a gun firing my son, or was it the sound of my shattering heart ?”

The city’s industrial development happened mostly during the communist era. At its height, over 70,000 people worked within 153 varying enterprises, More than 15,000 tons of coal were mined every year from its huge coalmines: Ziemowit and Piast. The area became known for its automobile production and its factory - FSM - manufactured about 150,000 cars per annum.

Tychy lies on the border of the imaginary line between the "black" and the "green" parts of Upper Silesia. This border runs through four cities in all - namely Mikołow, Tychy, Bieruń and Wyry. The further south you travel, the more lakes and forests - both natural and man-made - you will encounter.

Pszczyna is a town situated to the south of Tychy and has been a tourist center for many years. Gochałkowice is another popular recreation center and is a developing eco-tourism resort. There are 215 farms in the area and also some attractive botanical gardens that are certainly worth a visit. In nearby Goczałkowice-Zdrój, there is a well-known health resort house where rheumatic, orthopedic and some other infirmities are treated - and guaranteed rehabilitation is also provided therein.

There are dozens of varied and colorful playgrounds for children all over the city.
Many teenagers, and not only they, gladly use the skate park - the zone of the youth - in Jaworek Park.

This place, full of obstacles to do stunts on a skateboard, roller skates or bicycle, was designed according to their suggestions.

The Winter Stadium is the seat of the Tychy hockey team, which is a multiple winner of the title of the Polish Champion, the Polish Cup and the Polish Super Cup. The most important national hockey matches take place at the stadium. It is also a place for training future staff. An indoor ice rink operates here daily. The building was designed by Marek Dziekoński and built in 1977.

Winter Stadium, Tychy

The City Stadium in Education Street, Tychy

The City Stadium is a modern and one of the largest facilities of this type in Silesia. It was built in 2013-2015. The stadium can accommodate over 15,000 fans. It meets all UEFA and FIFA standards; therefore it is an arena of international competitions. In addition to matches, concerts and festivals are also held here. The stadium has 312 parking spaces.

By train to and from Tychy (for free until June 1,2022)

By bus in Tychy (for free until June 1,2022)

The city has 17 traffic circles that are called rondo here.
1. Mąkołowice – Las
2. Czułów - Las
3. Czułów – Szyb
4. Czułów – Palmowa
5. Browar Kciążęcy
6. Bielska – Budowlanych
7. Park Niedżwiadków – Policia
8. Rondo Polonia
9. Rondo Skałka
10. Bielska – Stoczniowców
11. Bielska – Myśliwska
12. Rondo Cassion
13. Rondo Olimpijske
14. Poziomkowa – Paprocańska
15. KSSE (Katowice Special Economic Zone)– Towarowa
16. KSSE (Katowice Special Economic Zone) – Celmicka
17. KSSE (Katowice Special Economic Zone) – Serdeczna.

We liked Circle Polonia most of all.

Zwakow Circle, Tychy

During an evening walk about our neighborhood.

City Council building , Independence Avenue, Tychy

The City Hall HQ was built in 1967-1970. It was designed by Wacław Jaciow, Emilian Piasecki and Kazimierz Wejchert.
It is designed in the shape of the letter Y. It consists of three wings connected by a staircase.

We found this walking tour offer at a city website. We have not tried it yet. Perhaps we should one day, just to see how relevant it is. It might be a good thing for those who have a short stay in Tychy. This is the walking offer from the city residents in my translation.

The walking tour starts at St.Ann' Square and ends at Lake Paprocany recreation area. Here are the stations:
St.Anna Square > Coalminers’ Memorial > Silesian Uprising monument > Baczynsky Square > Old Town Square > City Stadium, Little Bears Park > City Planning Office > NOT Club > City Council building > the monument to Ryszard Riedl > The Winter Stadium > The Brine Tower > Lake Paprocany recreation area.

Icecream is widly popular in Tychy

Biking is very popular in the city as well. There are many bike lanes all over the city, where you can ride your own bike or hire a city bike.

During an evening walk along Bielska Avenue, Tychy