Ruda Śląska

Ruda Śląska is an industrial city in the Silesian Voivodeship of southwest Poland, with a population of 135,008 in 2021. It's part of the Upper Silesian metropolis, centered around Katowice.

Understand

"Ruda" means mineral ores, and from medieval times iron and coal were mined in dozens of villages set in the forests of Upper Silesia. Better mining and metal-working techniques in the 18th century caused the villages to expand and merge with each other, but in Ruda Śląska this never quite happened, so it's a straggle of ten towns with no centre. Silesia in that era was part of Prussia then Germany, so for example the town now called Nowy Bytom was known as Friedenshütte. When Poland regained independence in 1921, some Silesian cities voted to remain German but most including Ruda Śląska joined Poland; the remainder joined after 1945.

Traditional smokestack industries are in decline here as elsewhere in Europe, but they remain active in Ruda Śląska. This incurs an environmental and a human cost: a mining explosion in 2006 killed 23 and another in 2009 killed 18.

Get in

Ruda Śląska borders Katowice, so long distance public transport is via that city. Katowice-Pyrzowice Airport (KTW ^IATA) is 36 km north of Ruda Śląska, take the airport bus into central Katowice and change.

Trains from Katowice run every 20 minutes and take 17 min via Chorzów, Świętochłowice and Ruda Chebzie; they continue west to Zabrze and Gliwice, another 12 min. These trains may start from Częstochowa or Dąbrowa Górnicza.

1 Ruda Śląska railway station is a simple unstaffed platform halt in the north of town. It has a ticket machine and that's all. Access to platforms is by a smelly passageway with steps and no ramp or elevator.

2 Ruda Chebzie railway station may be a more congenial place to get off. The station itself is just a halt, but the former station hall has been refurbished with cafes and a library. There's disabled access and trams outside run to Ruda Południowa in the centre of Ruda Śląska and on to Zabrze and Gliwice.

Long-distance buses don't serve Ruda Śląska. By road:

• from Kraków follow A4 / E40 west 80 km.
• from Wrocław follow A4 / E40 southeast 160 km.
• from the Czech Republic follow A1 past Ostrava into Poland, turning east on A4 / E40 near Gliwice.

Get around

ZTM Metropolia run almost all buses and trams across the 40-some cities of Upper Silesian Metropolis, which straddles the Czech border. They have a unified ticket system: see Katowice#Get around for ticket options and where to buy them.

Bus 130 runs from Katowice every 30 min to Ruda Śląska and its southern district of Halemba.

Bus 118 runs from Ruda Chebzie every 20 min to Ruda Śląska then north to Bytom.

See

• Church of St Joseph is at Piastowska 25, 400 m north of the railway station. It's neo-Romanesque, built 1902-04.
• 1 City Museum (Muzeum Miejskie im Maksymiliana Chroboka), Wolności 26, ☏ +48 32 248 4457. Tu-F 08:00-16:00, Su 13:00-18:00. Modern museum with exhibitions of local history. Visit by guided tour, which doesn't let you go at your own pace. It's named for Maksymilian Chrobok, a town bigwig; the building was initially a training school then the town hall. Adult 12 zł, conc or child 8 zł. (updated Apr 2024)
• 2 Pokój Steelworks Blast Furnace (Wielki Piec Huty Pokój), Hutnicza. Huta Pokój steelworks were founded in 1840, using Bessemer and open-hearth technology, and the blast furnace was erected in 1968. Remarkably, it was then decided to shift this 1780-tonne object by 19 m to its present position. Production ceased in 2005, and there's been talk ever since of turning it into an industrial museum. They're still talking, so for the time being you can only peer through the fence. (updated May 2024)

Church of St Paul the Apostle

• 3 Church of St Paul the Apostle on Plac Jana Pawła II is a sturdy neo-Romanesque building of 1912.
• City Hall (Ratusz) is north side of Plac Jana Pawła II. Neither hall nor draughty square have any architectural merit, but a brass plaque commemorates the non-visit of Lech Wałęsa - Ruda Śląska is the largest conurbation in Poland never to have been visited by him. They may have been hoping that this would bring tourists flocking, to see what was so wrong with the place.
• 4 Museum of the Polish People's Republic (Muzeum Historii Polski Ludowej), Zajęcza 42, ☏ +48 600 507 779. May-Sept W-Su 10:00-18:00. Exhibiting everyday life in communist Poland, 1945–1989. Adult 19 zł, conc or child 15 zł. (updated Apr 2024)
• 5 Church of St Mary Magdalene is redbrick neogothic, built in 1883. It's along E Kokota.

Do

• Silesian Impresario Theatre is a performance venue at Piotra Niedurnego 69, 100 m north of City Hall.
• 1 Cinema City, Ruda Śląska Plaza, ☏ +48 22 241 9222. Modern multiplex cinema with 8 screens. (updated May 2024)
• 2 Kino Patria, Chorzowska 3, ☏ +48 502 651 403. Atmospheric trad cinema established in 1937, showing mostly Polish movies. (updated May 2024)
• Aquadrom is a water park at Kłodnicka 95 in Halemba district.

Buy

• Ruda Śląska Plaza is the main mall, containing Cinema City and Carrefour supermarket. It's open M-Sa 08:00-21:00, Su 10:00-20:00.
• Lots of convenience and discount stores near the Plaza, Biedronka is the commonest chain.

Eat

• Eating places are clustered around Plac Jana Pawła II. They include Mąka & Oliwa, Smakosz, Luvu, Memo Kebab, At Mark's and Żółty Smok.

Drink

• Druid Pub, Niedrunego 69 (200 m north of city hall), ☏ +48 571 250 545. Su-Th 12:00-23:00, F Sa 12:00-02:00. A city institution, the Druid is central and with good inexpensive food and drink. It sometimes hosts events. (updated May 2024)
• Wirek district to the southwest has Duet micro-brewery, Esencja Smaku and Pod Łososiem sports bar.

Sleep

Pokój Steelworks Blast Furnace

• Adria, Wolności 1 (at Ruda Śląska station), ☏ +48 32 342 2046. Comfy hotel, some train noise. B&B double 250 zł. (updated Apr 2024)
• 1 Twój Hostel, Magazynowa 39, ☏ +48 32 248 1739. Simple hostel, usually clean, near Ruda Chebzie station. B&B double 120 zł. (updated Apr 2024)
• 2 Hostel Diament, Czarnoleśna 39, ☏ +48 603 202 020. Smart clean hostel south edge of town. B&B double 200 zł. (updated Apr 2024)

Connect

As of April 2024, Ruda Śląska and its approach roads have 5G from all Polish carriers.

Go next

• Katowice at the centre of the metropolis is grubby and industrial but with lots of 19th / 20th century heritage.
• In Chorzów the main sights are in the Culture Park along the boundary with Katowice.
• Częstochowa is a pilgrimage site for Jasna Góra monastery, with the icon of the Black Madonna.