Osiedle Witosa (Wincenty Witos Housing Estate) is a housing estate and district of Katowice, located in the northwestern part of the city, within the northern district group, between Załęże, Załęska Hałda-Brynów, and the city of Chorzów, on the territory of the historic Gmina Załęże.
The beginnings of settlement in the district are linked to the establishment of two colonies of Załęże in the area in the 18th century: and . The housing estate itself was built on the site of Finnish houses in the 1970s and 1980s. Currently, it is mainly residential and commercial. Osiedle Witosa is very well connected thanks to the A4 motorway running alongside it, as well as the E 30 international railway. It has an area of 3.49 km2 and in 2007 had 12,401 inhabitants.
Geography Osiedle Witosa is one of Katowice's districts (No. 8), belonging to the group of northern districts. It borders Załęże to the north and east, Załęska Hałda-Brynów to the south, and the city of Chorzów (with the district of Chorzów Batory) to the west. The district boundaries are:
to the north – Katowice–Legnica railway, to the east – , to the south – Kochłowicka Street (A4 motorway), to the west – the boundary with Chorzów.
According to physio-geographical regionalization, Osiedle Witosa is located in the mesoregion, which forms a part of the Silesian Upland, which in turn is part of the . Geologically, the district is located in the , which is filled with Carboniferous sediments – mainly shales, sandstones, and conglomerates containing deposits of coal. The top of the Carboniferous strata is at an elevation of 220–240 m above sea level. Underneath it, there are sediments from the Devonian period, mainly marls, conglomerates, and dolomites. Above these are Quaternary deposits, mainly of glacial origin: tills, their weathered forms, and glacial sands and gravels in the northern part of the district, and sandstones, conglomerates, mudstones, claystones, and coal in the southern part. The soils in Osiedle Witosa have been subjected to strong anthropogenic pressure as a result of settlement and industrial activity, which is why the proportion of initial soils is significant there. The soils are mainly anthrosols, formed from tills.
The northern part of the Osiedle Witosa district, along , is located in the Rawa Depression, which stretches along the valley of the Rawa river. It is deeply cut (over 100 m) into Carboniferous formations. In the southern part of the district are the Kochłowice Hills, characterized by flattened terrain and locally cut deep valleys. The surface of Osiedle Witosa slopes downwards in a north-easterly direction, towards Rawa, following its course. The lowest point in the district is the intersection of and J. Pukowiec Street (268 m above sea level), and the highest is Kochłowicka Street (A4 motorway) at the exit to the housing estate near the Chorzów Batory junction (309 m above sea level), from where the terrain rises towards the summit of in . At M. Rataj Street, the estate is located at 278 m above sea level, while at the entrance to the closed (Obroki Street) the elevation is 277 m above sea level.
The climate of Osiedle Witosa differs slightly from the climatic conditions prevailing throughout Katowice. It is modified by both climatic and local factors, as well as by human activity. The average annual temperature in the period 1961–2005 was +8.1 °C. The warmest month is July (+17.8 °C) and the coldest is January (–2.2 °C). The average annual precipitation in the 1951–2005 period was 713.8 mm. The average duration of snow cover is 60–70 days, and the growing season lasts on average 200–220 days. The area is characterized by weak winds, with speeds not exceeding 2 m/s, blowing from the west.
Osiedle Witosa is located entirely within the Vistula drainage basin, in the basin of the Rawa river. However, it has no watercourses or larger bodies of water – the only larger water reservoir, , is on Obroki Street. It is an anthropogenic reservoir created after the closure of the Kleofas Coal Mine.
Although Osiedle Witosa is heavily urbanized, it has a fairly large proportion of green areas, especially forests (part of the ), located in the western part of the district. Oaks predominate there, and in the higher part of the area there are birch and pine complexes. These forests belong to the and are not legally protected nature areas.
There are also allotment gardens in the district, located mainly in the south-eastern part of the estate. They are managed by the Silesian Regional Board of the , Katowice Branch. The following Family Allotment Gardens are located in Osiedle Witosa: Baildon (6.95 ha), Gonar (2.87 ha), and Nadzieja (3.05 ha).
History Before the establishment
The earliest information about settlement in the area of the present district dates back to the 17th century with the mention of – a settlement located in the northern part of the district, which at that time was part of Załęże. From the 18th century, there was a folwark there where sheep were kept.
The further development of these areas is linked to the growth of industrial activity. On 3 October 1846, the Upper Silesian Railway opened the railway from Świętochłowice to Mysłowice, running along the border between the districts of Osiedle Witosa and Załęże, forming a part of the railway from Wrocław. In 1840, the (later Kleofas) Coal Mine was established, which later contributed to the development of the district. The mine was not operational between 1867 and 1886; mining resumed after it was bought by .
At the beginning of the 20th century, a company housing estate was built next to the mine, as well as the administrative buildings of the Kleofas Coal Mine. After World War II, the district continued to develop. Between 1947 and 1948, an estate of Finnish houses was built in the southern part of Osiedle Witosa, on the grounds of . An estate for miners of the Kleofas Coal Mine and the Gonar Mining Tools Factory was also opened in Obroki in the 1960s.
Construction and subsequent history
Osiedle Witosa was built on land occupied by a Finnish housing estate in Załęska Hałda, which was erected in the 1940s. In 1976, the demolition of the houses began, and with it the construction of a new estate, which was completed in 1981. It was designed by Jan Grzegorczyk, Marek Oleś, Jerzy Rak, and Andrzej Trybuś. In 1983, the estate was named after Wincenty Witos. On 14 September 1983, the was established, but the parish church was not built until 10 years later. The building was consecrated by Archbishop of Katowice, Damian Zimoń, on 16 May 1993.
After the political transformation, 22 Auxiliary Local Government Units were created in Katowice on 1 January 1992, as a result of which Osiedle Witosa, together with Obroki, was separated from Załęże as a separate district called Osiedle Załęska Hałda. In accordance with Resolution No. XLVI/449/97 of the Katowice City Council of 29 September 1997, Osiedle Witosa is a statutory district in the northern district group and constitutes auxiliary unit No. 8 of the city of Katowice.
After 1989, as a result of economic restructuring, industrial activity in the district was significantly reduced. In 2001, it was decided to close the Kleofas Coal Mine, which finally took place in 2004. However, the service sector developed, and residential construction continued to grow, including new apartments in buildings owned by the Katowice Social Housing Association on W. Sławek Street, construction of which began in January 2009. By Resolution No. LII/1070/10 of 25 January 2009, the Katowice City Council named the square at the corner of and Michał Ossowski streets .
Demography Before Osiedle Witosa was built, the area belonged to Załęska Hałda in the former Gmina Załęże, which had a population of approximately 4,500 in 1980. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a large increase in population due to the creation of the new Osiedle Witosa estate in the northern part of Załęska Hałda. In 1988, 14,041 people lived within the boundaries of the district. At that time, the population structure was dominated by people in the 30–44 and 0–14 age groups. In later years, the population continued to grow – in 1997, the district had approximately 14,200 inhabitants. Subsequently, the population declined. In 2007, the district had 12,401 inhabitants, of whom approximately 3,000 lived in Obroki and approximately 9,500 in Osiedle Witosa. The dominant age groups at that time were 45–59 and 15–29.
Politics and administration Originally, the area of Osiedle Witosa district was part of Gmina Załęże (the settlements of Obroki and Załęska Hałda). On 1 January 1992, 22 Auxiliary Local Government Units were created in Katowice, one of which, within the boundaries of the present district, was Osiedle Załęska Hałda. Under Resolution No. XLVI/449/97 of the Katowice City Council of 29 September 1997, Osiedle Witosa is a statutory district within the northern district group and constitutes Auxiliary Unit No. 8. The resolution also defined its exact boundaries.
The amended 2001 Act on Municipal Self-Government made it possible to obtain a by-law and appoint an Auxiliary Unit Council. In mid-2014, 11 districts had such councils, including Osiedle Witosa. The council is based at 8 E. Kwiatkowski Street. In the 2014–2018 term, the council had 15 councilors, with Krzysztof Kraus as Council Chairman and Marcin Waszczuk as chairman of the management board. In the elections to the Katowice City Council, the district belongs to constituency No. 4 (Osiedle Tysiąclecia, Dąb, Załęże, Osiedle Witosa, Załęska Hałda-Brynów). In 2010–2014, this constituency had 6 representatives in the City Council. Residents of Osiedle Witosa belonged to six general constituencies (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26).
Economy
Poland's economic transformation after 1989 led to a significant decline in industry in the northwestern part of the district. This was especially true of the mining industry, as the Kleofas Coal Mine was closed down in 2004. To this day, however, GONAR, a company specializing in the production of mining tools, continues to operate in the district. The service sector has also developed, especially in the eastern part of the district, where a municipal market (Załęże bazaar) has been operating since 1991. In the western part, wholesale food trade has been developing since the 1990s. Currently, the Silesian Wholesale Market in Obroki is the largest market of its kind in Upper Silesia.
In the central part of Osiedle Witosa, there is a local service center concentrated around and along and E. Kwiatkowski streets. It is home to all local service facilities, including commercial establishments, educational institutions, a community center, a library, a church, public transport stops, as well as green and recreational areas.
Due to the residential nature of the district, there is a large network of shops of various types there. Among the large-format stores, the following facilities are located in Osiedle Witosa: Lewiatan (6 I. Mościcki Street), Lidl (50 Obroki Street).
In addition, the following administrative and municipal facilities are located in the district: Silesian Regional Branch of the National Health Fund (13 S. Kossuth Street), Regional Mining Office in Katowice (87 Obroki Street), Institute of Ecology of Industrial Areas (6 S. Kossuth Street), Municipal Utilities Company in Katowice (140 Obroki Street).
Technical infrastructure