The Old Town

Stare Tychy is one of the 17 districts of Tychy. It is the oldest part of the city. We have kept visiting this district since we arrived to Tychy. The district borders with Czułów, Radziejówka, Mąkołowiec, Wilkowyje, Śródmieście and Wartogłowec districts.

The first settlement was established in this area. The first written mention of this settlement dates back to 1476, where it was mentioned in the town book of Pszczyna. The first village was associated with the presence of a brook, which is now called the Tyskie Brook.

Around 1480, the first small church was built – St. Mary Magdalene’s Church. It was a small wooden church. Another, also wooden, was built in 1624. In the years 1569-1629 the temple belonged to Protestants. It was returned to the Catholics, who planned to build a more durable building. In 1782, Rev. Stanisław Kroczka completed the construction of a brick church. It was different from the one we see today. In 1906, the temple was expanded, a transverse nave was added, and the whole architecture was Neo-Baroque style. In 1929, the renovation took place again. This time the tower was rebuilt and raised. The whole reconstruction was carried out by priest Jan Kapica, who is commemorated by a great monument under the walls of the church.

From the very beginning, the temple was surrounded by a cemetery. During the expansion, the nineteenth-century epitaphs were placed on the walls of the church, reminding of the dead buried here. There is also a Silesian insurgents memorial, the memorial to the residents of Tychy, who perished in World War I and the memorial to the participants of coal miners' strikes in December 1981.

There is a column with a statue to Our Lady in front of the stairs leading to the temple. The column is antique, but the figure dates back to modern times.

You can also see a statue of St. John of Nepomuk, which was carved in Bytom around 1745 by an unknown artist at the request of priest Andrzej Tomicki.

St.Mary Magdalene's Church, the monument to St.John Nepomucene, Tychy

The monument at the wall of St.Mary Magdalene's Cathedral

There is a memorial plaque commemorating the arrival of Józef Piłsudski to Tychy. On August 28, 1922, he met with Fr. Jan Kapica in this church.

Praying to Our Lady at the experior wall of the church, Tychy.

Admiring St.Mary Magdalene Church, Tychy

The parish garden at St.Mary Madgalene's Church, Tychy.


On the way to/from the Temple.

At St.Mary Magdalene's Church, Tychy

An old epitaph at the wall of the church cemetery, Tychy

Inside St.Mary Magdalene's Church, Tychy.

A replica of the Wonderful Image of Our Lady (from Częstochowa) at St.Mary Magdalene's Church, Tychy

The Christmas Time view of Market Square, Tychy

The Christmas Time view of Market Square, Tychy

A street sign in the Old Town, Tychy

Stefan Batory Street, Tychy

The building of the Silesian Flower Guild is opposite the brewery, Tychy

The old brewery, Tychy

There is also the Ducal Brewery (Tyskie Browar Książęce in Polish) founded in 1629. Tyskie Brewery is located at 9 Katowicka Street, opposite the Silesian Flower Exchange. Browar Książęcy is the largest industrial brewery in Poland. The brewery produces beers such as: Książęce, Tyskie, and Żubr.

There is the Tyskie Brewing Museum on the territory of the brewery.

Practically all the city monuments of Tychy are in the Old Town. The monument to the Silesian insurgents is one of them. On August 15, 1930, a monument built on donations of Tychy residents in honor of the Silesian insurgents was dedicated in Liberty Square (Plac Wolności). It was made by Wincenty Chorębalski. The bronze young man held in his right hand a saber raised high and pointing to the west.

The memorial plaque reads, To Silesian Insurgents. The residents of Tychy, 1930. The residents of Tychy, 2007.
Unfortunately, the monument was demolished by German invaders in 1939. It was not until 1958 that a new monument was erected. It was not made of bronze, but of artificial stone. The appearance of the insurgent also changed – he did not hold a saber, only a banner. Augustyn Dyrda was the author of the new monument. The same artist made an exact replica of the original in 2006. The monument stands in a park next to the City Museum that stands at 1 Liberty Square.

Tadeusz Kosciuszko Street with the war memorial, Tychy

The Nazi Victims memorial, Tadeusz Kosciuszko Street, Tychy.

St.Mary Magdalene's Church, the monument to Silesian Uprisings, Tychy

The inscription on the memorial reads, "Glory to the insurgents from Tychy who fell for the liberation of Silesia".

This district was the city center before its expansion in the fifties. The first railway station and the first cinema in Tychy called "Halka" also appeared in this district.

The Small Theater, Tychy

At Maly Theater (Small Theater), Tychy

At Maly Theater (Small Theater), Tychy

There is the Little Theatre in this district. The Little Theatre was built just behind the Tyskie Brook. This is a typical example of Tychy's modernism. It was designed by Wacław Jaciów, Kazimierz Wejchert and Bolesław Seredyński. The building is glazed from the front, and the entire central part is based on columns. Under them is a passage to the courtyard of the theater and the entrances to the Small Theatre and the Youth Culture Center. On the side of the façade there is a mosaic designed by Janusz Włodarczyk and performed by Franciszek Wyleżuch. The building was dedicated in 1965 and served as the seat of the company's cultural center at KWK "Ziemowit" coalmine, and later – at the Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych — automobile factory. It was not until 1994 that this object became the property of the city. The theatre functions as an impresario theatre. Although it does not have its own acting team, various types of performances are organized here. The repertoire includes performances, operettas and dance shows, cabarets and concerts. The hall has about 420 seats and is adapted for people with disabilities.

The Otters Fountain is a great attraction of the Old Town. It is in the old Market Square in front of the church. The fountain has a symbolic meaning. Formerly, there was a pond here, in which the silhouette of the church was reflected. The otters were supposed to swim in that pond, which indicates how clean the water was in it. However, the pond was drained in 1925.

The fountain was dedicated on October 31, 2007. People often call it Three Otters. It was sponsored by Tyskie Trademark – the world-famous brewery located in the Old Town of Tychy.

Architect Wojciech Klas was the designer of the fountain. The construction is made up of three rounded bowls next to which there are three otters made of brown bronze. The bowls are connected with wooden bridges that refer to the original character of this place. The fountain reminds the city residents and guests of the history of this location, which was once dominated by a pond that was drained over the years. The old market square used to be a well-known place of trade.

The Tyskie Brook, Tychy

The Tyskie Brook flows through the park areas in the Old Town.

Ulica Novokostelna (New Church Street), Tychy

Novokostelna Street (New Church Street) in the Old Town, Tychy.

The city's oldest roadside chapel (1760), New Church Street, Tychy

Damrot Street, Tychy.

A bank building in Damrot Street, Tychy

Another historical building in Damrot Street, Tychy

Polonez Inn, Damrot Street, Tychy

Polonez Inn used to be an inn in the old times (the old inscription is in German; it was left as a memory), Damrot Street, Tychy

City processions take place here along this street, from St.Mary Magdalene's Church to Liberty Square, on November 11 (Independence Day) and on May 3 (Constitution Day). We took part in the procession on Constitution Day.

The Constitution Day procession in Damrot Street, Tychy.

We have often admired the Old Post Hotel, Tychy

At the Old Post Hotel in Tychy

The Old Post Hotel in Tychy

A winter view of the Old Post Hotel, Tychy

They used the building of the old post-office and built and ultra modern building next to it, thus turning the entire complex into a high-end hotel with a fashionable restaurant.

The Old House Bistro in Tadeusz Kosciuszko Street can be called a museum bistro.
It's a kind of nostalgy place containing numerous old photographs.

We have often admired the old houses in Tadeusz Kosciuszko Street, Tychy.

Tadeusz Kosciuszko Street

Tadeusz Kosciuszko Street

Tadeusz Kosciuszko Street

Walking along Tadeusz Kosciuszko Street

Exploring the Old Town streets in Tychy

As we walked up this unique part of a street - Tadeusz Kosciuszko Street - located next to St.Mary Magdalene's Church we found an interesting house there.

Tadeusz Kosciuszko Street, its uphill part near St.Mary Magdalene's Church, Tychy

Old Silesian houses, Tychy

We discovered the foundation stone with my birthday (not the year) on the house above

The old storehouse (1910), Tychy.

Walking along Sienkiewicz Street, Tychy

Walking along Sienkiewicz Street, Tychy

Villa Beauty, Sienkiewicz Street in the Old Town, Tychy

Walking along Sienkiewicz Street, Tychy.

The famous House with a Tower, Sienkiewicz Street, Tychy

The old Market Square in Tychy

Agricultural markets take place here every Wednesday and Saturday.
Antique sale is held here on a Sunday every other months.

The Meantime Restaurant, Tychy

Joker Restaurant, Tychy

Graffiti in the Old Town, Tychy

Graffities are not numerous in the Old Town. I found it great that the street artists spare the old historical buildings and do not "upgrade" them with their autographs. We liked this graffiti best of all. We found it on an old barn in a remote corner of the Old Town. I keep trying to read what they wrote there...

Exploring Jan Wieczorek Street in the Old Town, Tychy

Jan Wieczorek Street in the Old Town, Tychy
Jan Wieczorek was the head of the Tychy commune in the interwar period (1923-1939).

Rome Inn, Jan Wieczorek Street, Tychy

Fr. Professor Franciszek Blachnicki Street is short and nice.

Ulica Zakątek (Nook Street), Old Town, Tychy.

Ulica Zakątek (Nook Street), Old Town, Tychy.

Ulica Zakątek (Nook Street), Old Town, Tychy.

Mikołów Street, Tychy

An evening view of the Old Town, Tychy

The sunset above the Old Town, Tychy