Gliwice (Gleiwitz)

Plants, Aquariums and a Park

The Municipal Palm House is the third-largest facility of its kind in Poland. It houses more than 6,000 specimens of flora and fauna. This makes it a distinct attraction for visitors who are also interested in plants and wildlife during their trip. Four themed aquariums complement the facility. One of them is a 60,000-litre tank with fish from the Amazon Basin. The size and theme of this tank make a visit a different kind of nature experience from a walk outdoors.

Fryderyk Chopin Park covers about 6 hectares. Here you can stroll among impressive floral displays. A playground in the park has slides, climbing structures, a carousel and a sandbox. If you are travelling with children, you can include these facilities as a separate activity in your day’s plans. The park and the Palm House cater to different interests: spending time among flowers outdoors and viewing the Palm House’s collections, including its aquariums.

Gliwice’s Cultural and Industrial History

The 111-metre-high antenna tower of the Gliwice Radio Tower is a landmark of technological history. In 1939, the buildings of the radio station were the scene of the so-called Gleiwitz incident: a German special unit staged a fake attack on its own German facility. The operation was part of the propagandistic and disinformation campaign in preparation for the attack on Poland. The site’s historical role gives a visit a serious and clearly defined focus. The radio station is also located on the Silesian Route of Industrial Monuments.

Willa Caro is a well-preserved 19th-century residence in the style of Renaissance villa architecture. The villa hosts temporary exhibitions, concerts, meetings, conferences and workshops accompanying exhibitions. Its programme combines historic architecture with a variety of event formats. If you are interested in exhibitions, Willa Caro is therefore a place to visit, as it is for guests who want to include cultural events in their trip.

Zamek Piastowski is one of the oldest buildings in Gliwice. Its permanent exhibition, “Gliwice – a City of Many Cultures,” covers early history, ethnography, and the history of Gliwice and the Gliwice region. Zamek Piastowski also displays Japanese armour and samurai swords, as well as Chinese and Korean swords. You can choose what to focus on during your visit: regional history and ethnography on the one hand, and East Asian weapons and armour on the other.

The Department of Artistic Foundry is located in the former machine hall of the “Gliwice” coal mine, built between 1912 and 1914. Its modern, interactive and multimedia permanent exhibition is dedicated to artistic cast iron. It mainly displays products of the Gliwice Royal Iron Foundry from the 19th century. Here, a former industrial building and an exhibition come together, centred on the local history of foundry work and its artistic products.

The Upper Silesian Jews Memorial House is a branch of the Museum in Gliwice. It is located in a former mortuary built between 1902 and 1903. More than 600 gravestones have been preserved in the Jewish cemetery next to the former mortuary. If you include this site in your stay, you can explore both the building and its history, as well as the neighbouring cemetery and its preserved gravestones.

Boat Trips and Getting There

The Gliwice Marina in Łabędy offers passenger trips along the Gliwice Canal aboard the Foxtrot passenger boat. This is another way to discover the city from a different perspective than visits to museums, historic buildings and parks offer. The A1 and A4 motorways also intersect in Gliwice.

Discover More Places

More places in this location guide: Przyszowice, Gleiwitz, Sośnicowice, Knurów, Bojszów, Pyskowice, Poniszowice, Chudów, Paczynka, Paniówki, Niewiesze and Rudziniec.

Back to the main travel guide: Silesia.