About the region

Silesia is one of the smallest voivodeships in terms of area, but it is also one of the most diverse regions in Poland when it comes to landscape, history, and culture. Its location, well-developed transportation network, and proximity to three airports make it the best-connected region in the country. It is home to one of Europe’s largest metropolises – the Upper Silesian conurbation, composed of more than a dozen cities with over 2.2 million inhabitants and a strongly developed economy with the largest economic zone in Poland (KSSE).

Silesia is full of contrasts. On the one hand, it has a very high level of urbanization, and on the other, green areas make up over 70% of the region. Forests constitute 32% of the voivodeship’s area, more than in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. The region capital, Katowice, is the second most forested major city in the country. In addition to landscape parks and numerous nature reserves, you’ll find Jurassic rock formations, lake districts, rivers, caves, mountains, and even deserts. These numerous contrasts create unique conditions for organizing incentive travel. And in this respect, the region remains undiscovered.

The region has undergone a profound transformation over the past two decades of the 21st century. Cities are transforming their image, and nature is being reborn. They are steering their future towards sustainable development – ​​revitalizing spaces while focusing on effectively utilizing their industrial heritage, as evidenced by the unique Industrial Monuments Route – the largest and most popular industrial tourism route in Poland. Where mines and rolling mills once operated, business events are now thriving.

The Silesian Voivodeship is also focusing on large-scale MICE – the COP24 Climate Summit, the WUF11 World Urban Forum, and the 2019 World Anti-Doping Conference are global events driving the meetings industry in the region. Organizing events on an international scale requires the right facilities. Katowice is home to Poland’s largest space for large business events – the International Congress Center and Spodek Arena, a congress and trade fair complex that can accommodate a total of 26,000 participants.

Throughout the region, the extensive MICE infrastructure includes over 100 conference and congress venues, and over 200 hotels of varying standards. Numerous unique venues are perfect for conferences, corporate events, and business galas. This allows for business events to be organized in a variety of settings: a corporate event at a zinc rolling mill, a business gala at the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) – the best concert hall in the country, or a business meeting 320 meters underground at the Historic Guido Mine.

The Silesia Convention Bureau provides professional support.

Local cuisine

The Silesian Voivodeship is famous for its excellent regional cuisine. In 2012, on the initiative of the Silesian Tourist Organization, the “Silesian Flavors” Culinary Trail was established, showcasing the region’s culinary diversity and ranking among the first culinary trails in Poland. While traveling along the trail, you can sample not only typical Silesian cuisine—one of Poland’s best-known regional cuisines—but also other local specialties hailing from the Beskids or the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. The trail features several dozen restaurants from across the region, serving dishes prepared according to traditional recipes and showcasing the cuisines of Silesia, the Jura, the Zagłębie, and the Beskids.

You can find out more about Silesian cuisine at: www.slaskiesmaki.pl

The most interesting attractions

• Trail of the Eagles’ Nests

Unique, on a national and European scale, marked hiking and cycling route (approx. 163 km), stretching through the area of ​​the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland – from Kraków to Częstochowa. Leads, among others following the footsteps of castles built during the reign of King Casimir the Great, as part of the defense system of the former border of the Kingdom of Poland with the then Czech Silesia. Particularly limestone rock groups, called “outliers”, determine the picturesque landscape. The most popular objects on the Trail of the Eagles’ Nests in the Silesian Voivodeship are the following castles: Ogrodzieniec in Podzamcze, fortresses in Mirów and Bobolice, Bąkowiec in Morsko, Pilcza in Smolen and Olsztyn near Częstochowa.

• The Beskids

Located in the southern part of the Silesian Voivodeship, they include three mountain groups: Beskid Śląski, Beskid Żywiecki and the western part of the Beskid Mały. Their height is from 933 m above sea level. The Beskid region is well developed in terms of accommodation and catering facilities, tourist routes and ski infrastructure, as well as tourist attractions.

The Pearl of the Beskids ”is the town of Vistula (Wisła), situated at the source of the queen of Polish rivers. In summer, it offers 19 mountain hiking trails with a total length of over 150 kilometers. In addition, special walking routes and themed routes have been created. In winter, the Vistula becomes a paradise for skiers with 18 ski lifts and cross-country trails on Kubalonka. The symbol of the city is the ski jump name of Adam Małysz.

The winter capital of the Silesian Voivodeship is Szczyrk. Skiers can enjoy: the Szczyrk Mountain Resort ski resort with over 20 slopes, with a total length of almost 40 km (from 670 m to 2810 m), as well as the Central Sports Center and Beskid Sport Arena connected by one ski pass.

Special attention deserves  “Beskidzka Tri-village”, which is made up of three charming mountain towns: Koniakowa, Jaworzynka and Istebna. The first of them is famous for the production of lace, Istebna boasts the most beautiful spruce trees in the world, which has been confirmed by Swedish scientists’ research, and Jaworzynka lies on the so-called Tripoint – that is, the intersection of three borders: Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Cyclists, cross country cyclists, horseback riding enthusiasts and skiers will find the possibility of active rest. ·

• Industrial Monuments Route

It is the most interesting route of industrial tourism in Poland, a thematic tourist and cultural route that connects the most important and most interesting objects related to the industrial heritage in terms of tourist, historical and architectural values. It consists of 43 objects related to the tradition of mining, metallurgy, energy, railways, communications, textiles, water production and the food industry. You can find out what the work of a miner used to look like, learn the secrets of producing clean water and beer, but also see industrial architecture. The trail includes, among others Lead, silver and zinc mine in Tarnowskie Góry, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

• Metropolis of Upper Silesia and Zagłębie

It is one of the most important metropolitan centers in the country. It is made up of 41 communes of Silesia and Zagłębie, with 1,200 km2 inhabited by two million people. Apart from the best investment areas in the country and an absorbing labor market, the Metropolis is characterized by a rich cultural offer and unique tourist attractions. The first place is occupied by the capital of Silesia, Katowice, known as the Polish city of Chicago, with the city’s symbol, the “Spodek” Sports and Entertainment Hall, the Culture Zone, and the Nikiszowiec and Giszowiec housing estates. Katowice prides itself on the title of UNESCO Creative City as the City of Music. Other attractions of the Metropolis include: the Silesian Planetarium and Astronomical Observatory in Chorzów, the Central Museum of Firefighting in Mysłowice, the Coal Mining Museum in Zabrze, the Tradition Park in Siemianowice Śląskie or the Radio Station in Gliwice – the German provocation organized there was a pretext for aggression against Poland in 1939.

For more information about attractions in the region, visit the Silesian Tourist Organization’s website: www.slaskie.travel

An idea for incentives in Silesia

Silesia offers a multitude of opportunities for incentive travel organizers. Some are quite active and offer a significant dose of adrenaline, such as off-roading in a Jurassic quarry, rafting in a former mine tunnel, rock climbing in the Jura Mountains, or a helicopter rescue in the Beskid Mountains. Others offer a chance to relax, such as the unique underground boat floating experience in the Black Trout Adit in Tarnowskie Góry. The silence, darkness, and solitude evokes powerful emotions. Or forest bathing among the Polish redwoods hidden in the incredible Segiet reserve. Its unique landscape has earned it a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Srebrna Góra mining landscape. A detective field game through the historic Nikiszowiec workers’ estate in Katowice, or a nighttime ghost tour of Ogrodzieniec Castle under a full moon… Silesia is full of surprises!

Gallery