Miners' houses in Upper Silesia
The miners' houses in the Upper Silesian industrial area have a characteristic appearance with a facade made of red bricks and are widespread. These are usually built for several families.
These apartment buildings were primarily built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in workers' settlements in order to create living space for the workers in the up-and-coming heavy industry, mostly miners and steel workers, and their families.
In the Silesian language these are called Familok , derived from the German word family. It roughly means house or block of flats for families.
The nationally best known workers' settlement, which is regularly visited by tourists, is Nikiszowiec in the east of Katowice .
properties
The buildings usually have two to three floors and were built from bricks. In the beginning there was only one common water pipe in one mezzanine and the apartments themselves had neither a water supply nor a toilet. The average apartment size was around 35 m², where around six to eight people lived together. One residential unit consisted of a small pantry , a (bedroom) room and a kitchen, in which most of the family and community life took place.
In Upper Silesia, window frames and other elements on the facade were mostly painted white by the residents, sometimes bright red or green. Sometimes entire streets or even new parts of the city were built exclusively with this type of house.
Because of their historical importance, the buildings are now carefully maintained and renovated in many cities.
literature
- Władysław Kożdoń: "- I can't forget you": Memories of Buchenwald , Wallstein Verlag, 2007, ISBN 3835302108
