Chorzow

Description

A mere few years ago Chorzów was a typical Upper Silesian center of big industries. As of today the city has changed its face. Mining industry is history now and steelworks and chemical plants have been restructured. The city has focused its development line on higher education, small and medium enterprises, commerce and services.

Chorzów has been developing dynamically and utilizing its potential: central location in the agglomeration with population of 3.5 million, convenient railway and road connections (the Cross-Town Route and A-4 Motorway), close proximity to Katowice - the capital of the Voivodeship of Silesia, long traditions of the craftsmen community, flourishing trade and services.

The city has an attraction of unique character in Europe, namely the General Jerzy Ziętek Voivodeship Culture and Leisure Park, which houses a funfair, a zoological garden, a planetarium with an astronomical observatory, an ethnographic park, a cable railway, as well as a sledge run.

Tourists are also attracted to historical Wolności Street, being an elegant city promenade. Every year one can admire here a colorful parade of artists of the International Students' Folk Festivals. In the summer one can listen to the sound of brass bands, which are deeply rooted in the Silesian tradition.

Chorzów ranks higher and higher as a significant center of blues music festivals and the venue of concerts of the greatest stars of world music, such as  U2, the Rolling Stones, Metallica.

Chorzów can boast professional sport facilities, including Poland’s largest Sielesian Stadium, commonly considered to be the national stadium, the currently refurbished city stadium of “Ruch Chorzów” Sport Club, a sports complex housing a light athletics stadium and football field with artificial grass pitch, a set of open and covered tennis courts as well as modern sport halls.

Ruch Chorzów is the city’s best known football club.

The official website of Chorzów: http://www.chorzow.um.gov.pl

Gallery

Silesian Zoological Gardens

International Folklore Festival

A futsal match at MORiS hall

Tennis courts of SCS Sokół

The Silesian Stadium

Before a match at the Silesian Stadium

Park for Culture and Recreation

Wolności street

Population

Stadium

Silesian Stadium

Accomodation

	Existing hotels
Number of hotels												Number of rooms
		*****		****		***		**		*		*****		****		***		**		*
10 km from the stadium				3		7		6						469		484		501
11 - 75 km from the stadium		1		5		8		1				63		343		403		30

Planned hotels

Number of hotels

Number of rooms

*****

****

***

**

*

*****

****

***

**

*

10 km from the stadium

1

100

11 - 75 km from the stadium

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

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In Chorzów and its immediate surrounding there is a vast accommodation capacity offering lodgings of various standards. Approximate number of hotels, pensions and hostels is as follows:

• Hotels: sleeping capacity: 8,000,
• Motels: sleeping capacity: 200,
• Pensions: sleeping capacity: 400,
• Youth hostels: sleeping capacity: 1,300,
• Inns: sleeping capacity: 500,
• Agrotourism farms: sleeping capacity: 700,
• Private lodgings: sleeping capacity: 20,000,
• Camping fields: sleeping capacity: 500.

Many pensions and hotels are located in mountainous areas, which makes them even more attractive. The number of those facilities is constantly growing.

Infrastructure

Plans for the modernization of the infrastructure

The road system in Silesia is under refurbishment (a larger part of the project has been already completed), the following investments are planned before opening of the European Championships:

Ring Road

• by IV quarter of 2006 refurbishment will be completed for Chorzowska street and Roździeńskiego avenue from the building of Bank Śląski to the Roundabout on the city outskirts;
• by 2007 construction will be completed for the route section Ruda Śląska – Zabrze – Gliwice;
• by 2010 the western section of the ring road will be completed.

Road refurbishments will be financed with structural funds of the European Union and co-financing form the national budget.

The Ring Road is one of the major elements in the modernization plans for the entire traffic system for the Silesian agglomeration. Its full opening will allow for efficient organization and monitoring of street traffic in this urban complex. This will lessen traffic in residential districts, on district roads and in the center. This will be the main route for intercity connections.

Additional transport capacities

Guests of EURO can additionally use: tramways, trains, buses and minibuses. Transport capacities of those means of transport per hour are as follows:

1. tramways – 4000 passengers
2. trains – 5000 passengers
3. buses – 6000 passengers
4. minibuses – 3000 passengers

Traffic arrangements

The authorities of Chorzów do not expect any major problems with traffic. Current traffic infrastructure and experience in the organization of large events in Silesia will allow for effective organization of street traffic.