Zabrze 2024-09-27

Zabrze Railway Station.

Geographic coordinates: 50.305N 18.787E. Elevation 252 m. Address: ulica Plac Dworcowy 7, 41-800 Zabrze.

Photo description: Platform 1 and the viaduct along 3 Maja Street.

Photo description: Viaduct over Wolności Street.

The city of Zabrze.

Zabrze is a city in Poland in the Silesian Voivodeship, in the agglomeration of Upper Silesia. The proto-Slavic settlement was founded in the 13th century. City rights were granted on October 1, 1922. The city’s area is 80.4 square kilometers. The population is 155,430 inhabitants (2021). The city lies on the Kłodnica and Bytomka rivers, which are tributaries of the Oder.

For many centuries, the Slavic name Zabrze was used. Unexpectedly, at the request of the commune council in 1914, by a Prussian royal decree of February 21, 1915, the name of the town was changed from Zabrze to Hindenburg, to commemorate Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, who successfully fought against the Muscovites at the beginning of the Great World War. The official name Zabrze was restored on December 1, 1945, which was confirmed at the government level by a decree of May 7, 1946.

Historically, Zabrze was located in the lands of the Duchy of Opole. In the 16th century, deposits of silver and lead ore were found here. In the 17th century, a brewery, water mills, and sawmills were built here. In the 18th century, hard coal mining began here. In 1796, the first state mine was opened; Królowa Luiza. At that time, river canals were built here for the transport of goods. In the 19th century, more hard coal mines were opened. In 1851, the Donnersmarck steelworks was opened. In 1857, the Reden steelworks was founded, and then a wire rope factory, glassworks, rolling mills, a forge, and a steelworks were launched. Then, open-hearth furnaces, coking plants, and a power plant were opened.

In 1922, the city area was divided by the border. Kończyce, Pawłów and Makoszowy (apart from the mine area) found themselves within the borders of Poland. The remaining municipalities fell to the Germans. At the beginning of World War II, Zabrze was incorporated into the Germanic borders. One of several branches of the Auschwitz concentration camp, or Germanic garbage factory, was established here. On January 24, 1945, the Soviet army entered Zabrze. In February 1945, the Muscovites began deporting the residents of Zabrze to labor camps on the territory of the CCCP. 8,700 people were deported. The pseudo-liberators deported thousands of machines and devices. It was not until March 1945 that the Muscovites handed the city over to Polish administration. In the period 1945-1947, Poles displaced from the Polish Borderlands occupied by the CCCP flooded into Upper Silesia.

On April 1, 1951, the towns of Grzybowice, Mikulczyce, Rokitnica, Kończyce, Makoszowy, and Pawłów were incorporated into the city. In 1985, the first successful heart transplant in Poland was performed in Zabrze, under the supervision of Professor Zbigniew Religa.

Zabrze was an important mining center. Coal mines were a key element of the city’s economy. As a result of economic and structural transformations, many mines were closed, but the mining heritage is still present in the culture and architecture of Zabrze.

Rail transport in Zabrze.

On October 1, 1845, a section of the railway line was opened; Opole – Gliwice – Zabrze – Świętochłowice. The last section Świętochłowice – Mysłowice was launched in 1846. Also in 1846, a railway station was built in Zabrze, which does not exist today. In 1851, mail transport was launched on the Upper Silesian Railway, a post office was built and a postman’s office was established.

Currently, the following railway stations are located in Zabrze; Zabrze on the E30 railway line, Zabrze Biskupice, Zabrze Makoszowy, Zabrze Mikulczyce, Zabrze Północ.

Zabrze railway station.

Zabrze railway station was opened on 1 October 1845, providing a connection with Wrocław, and in 1947, with Kraków. Regular operation of the Zabrze station began on 15 November 1845. The station building was built in the middle of nowhere and was a typical Prussian railway building. The building housed ticket and luggage offices, a restaurant, a waiting room, and railway service rooms. In front of the station there was a square where carriages stopped. There were four tracks on the station level; two for passenger service and two for freight and post. A ramp was built at the storage square.

The area at today’s Wolności Street became very attractive and hotels, restaurants, warehouses, shops, and service points were built here. The owner of the railway line and the station was the company “Oberschlesische Eisenbahn” (Upper Silesian Railway), which in the following years played a significant role in the expansion of railway lines throughout Silesia. Especially in the construction of railway sidings to mines, steelworks and other factories.

In the following years, traffic on the railway lines increased significantly. This meant difficulties for passenger and freight traffic in the city. Therefore, a viaduct was built over the tracks along the current 3 Maja Street. At that time, it was above the western head of the station. As a result, on the southern side of the station, another station level was built with seven sidings and a hump for freight trains. Currently, there is a large car park in this place. Before the outbreak of the Great World War, about 15 sidings to production plants were built. Around 1910, a passenger passage was built under the tracks in the eastern part of the station. This passage allowed access to the platforms and also connected both sides of the city.

In 1922, the borders between Poland and the Germans changed. The town of Zabrze was divided. Ruda Śląska was incorporated into Poland. In this way, the station in Zabrze became a border station. The existing station building was expanded to the east. A customs post was installed in it and this is where travelers leaving for Poland were cleared. The period of the 20s and 30s of the 20th century was a time of expansion of the city center. One of the most significant projects was the reconstruction of the existing station. The then Plac Dworcowy was considered too small for the developing city. A plan was drawn up to expand the station. It was to have three levels. The plans were not implemented.

The station survived World War II without any damage. On January 24, 1945, Soviet troops entered Zabrze. Property destruction, robberies and rapes began. In February 1945, the Muscovites began deporting Zabrze residents to labor camps on the CCCP territory. 8,700 people were deported. Fortunately, after two months, the Polish administration took over power, which prevented further devastation of property.

PKP had different priorities than the Prussian railways. Zabrze station lost its importance. By 1955, the locomotive shed and water tower were liquidated. In the 1960s, the sidings on the southern side of the railway line and the freight station were dismantled. Zabrze station became a through station, for both passenger and freight traffic.

On April 13, 1959, a few minutes after 3 p.m., the viaduct over the tracks near the station, along 3 Maja Street, collapsed. The disaster occurred as a result of a heavy truck driving onto the viaduct. Reconstruction was completed in 1962. There were no longer any tram tracks on the viaduct, because the tram line had been routed along a different route.

In 1964, the old station was demolished. In its place, a modern station building was built in the modernist style. The building is still in use (2024). The building was built on the old foundations. It is spacious and well-lit. Inside there are ticket offices, a waiting room, toilets, a small catering facility, and a luggage room (in the underground part). Both levels are connected by a staircase. The station was opened on October 1, 1967. At that time, the only platform was also rebuilt. Access to the platform is from the road viaduct, as well as from the old tunnel under the tracks. In 1984, new stairs were built from the viaduct to the platform. Currently, Platform 1 is 340 m long and has a very long roof; 185 m. On the platform there are benches, railway information display cases, an audio information system and lighting. The surface at the platform edges is made of red slabs measuring 1 m x 2 m, with a yellow warning line and buttons. The texture of the slabs is anti-slip. The rest of the surface is made of concrete grey cubes. The structure of the shelter is steel, riveted. Currently, the shelter is covered with corrugated sheet metal.

In the 1990s, the destruction of Polish Railways began. This trend was also reflected in the station in Zabrze. The lower part of the station was closed. Luggage storage rooms and the lower part of the waiting room were liquidated. Various shopping booths appeared in the station hall.

Since 2001, there has been an ongoing discussion about the reconstruction of the station and building a shopping center there. To date (2024), the idea has not been implemented. Only ad hoc renovation has been carried out. However, looking at other stations, such as Katowice, Poznań Główny, Kraków Główny; soon a shopping mall and transfer center will be built in Zabrze. We encourage railway enthusiasts to visit Zabrze station, before the reconstruction that will certainly take place.

In 2021, the station served 986,000 passengers, and in 2022, 1,423,500, and for the first time in history exceeded one million passengers. All InterCity and Koleje Śląskie trains stop at the station. In January 2024, 136 trains departed from Zabrze per day. You could go to: Bohumin, Częstochowa, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Dąbrowa Górnicza Ząbkowice, Frankfurt/Oder, Gdynia Główna, Gliwice, Hrubieszów Miasto, Jelenia Góra, Katowice, Kołobrzeg, Kraków Główny, Lublin Główny, Olsztyn Główny, Poznań Główny, Przemyśl Główny, Racibórz, Słupsk, Szczecin Główny, Szklarska Poręba Górna, Świnoujście, Ustka, Warsaw Wschodnia, Wrocław Główny, Zakopane, Zawiercie, Zielona Góra Główna.

Written by Karol Placha Hetman