Katowice City of Music

Katowice in southern Poland has few significant historical monuments, but it’s also a major commercial and cultural centre and holds sufficient attractions to make it worthy stopover. Recently, the city has been awarded the status of UNESCO City of Music

Katowice in Poland is seeing a lot of congratulations and celebrations! A few weeks ago, in December, 47 cities around the world from 33 countries joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. And Katowice was one of them. It was awarded the status of UNESCO City of Music.

Actually, UNESCO has several categories for its creative cities namely Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music. By designating a city as Music City it acknowledges the rich musical heritage of the place.

Katowice is a city located in southwestern Poland and the center of the Silesian Metropolis. It’s claims to this distinction are many-it hosts over 30 international level music festivals every year! It also home to prestigious ensembles as the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Silesian Philharmonic, and the Silesian Quartet.

There is also the famous Camerata Silesia Choir. Boosting the city's image is the fact that it has been chosen to host the International Classical Music Awards ICMA in 2018. The city does not draw as many tourists as do other places in Poland like Warsaw, Gdansk, Torun, etc.

It is not exactly on the top of the sightseeing list of the average tourist to Poland. However, it does have several interesting things to see and do and this UNESCO honour will ensure there are more visitors, especially the art lovers.

Among Katowice's attractions are the very large Cathedral of Christ the King, the Silesian Zoological Garden with a dinosaur section that draws kids, the Silesian Museum, the Spodek, which is a multipurpose arena with a futuristic design, and a pretty stretch of the city with lovely townhouses.

Katowice is proud that it has become the first Central and Eastern European city to win the title. However, Katowice is not the only claim to musical heritage that Poland has. There is Chopin! And he is celebrated, rightly all over Poland. Walking the streets of Warsaw you will pass buildings where he stayed or which he visited.

For the uninitiated, Frédéric François Chopin (1810 – 1849), is a world-famous composer and one of the biggest and brightest stars in the Western music firmament. And Warsaw celebrates its great son in so many ways. In fact, it was the legacy of Chopin that was the biggest draw for me when I visited Poland.

As you walk through Warsaw's streets, you will see buildings where he had stayed or visited. Warsaw otherwise too is a great destination. The city's once ruined (by war) buildings have been reconstructed lovingly and wonderfully. The winding Vistula river and its banks offer an attraction all of their own.

The Old Town Area is the pride of Warsaw, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Check out the Old Market Square aka Old Town Market Place. A must-see is the large Zamkowy Square, which faces the Royal Castle – the former official residence of Polish monarchs. There is an imposing Zygmunt column here.

Like so many city centre squares in Europe famed for their impressive historical buildings with colourful facades, lining the street, this too is a sheer delight. You should also visit the cobbled Swietojanska Street, Canon Square, the Bronze Bell and the famous Gothic St John's Cathedral.

The city symbol, the Mermaid or statue of Syrenka, is located in the centre of the Old Town.Restaurants serving traditional Polish cuisine, small cafes, people feeding pigeons and, of course, tourists like us photographing away are the things you will see here.

Warsaw is also known for its imposing royal residences, which are connected to well-known rulers and linked to important milestones in the city's and country's history. The Palace of Culture and Science is both interesting in itself and also a famous viewing point-it offers stunning views of the city from its top or 30th floor. There are some highly interesting museums.

One is the Warsaw Uprising Museum which pays tribute to the freedom fighters of the country. Yet another is the National Museum with a vast and interesting collection of exhibits. Poland is the country of the renowned mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

His home town Torun has a big centre, and here in Warsaw you find the Copernicus Science Centre. For the sports lovers, there is the National Stadium to check out.

Warsaw, naturally, is home to the world’s largest Chopin memorabilia collection. The best known tribute is the Chopin Monument which is a large bronze statue located in the Royal Łazienki Park near the Belvedere. It depicts him sitting under a willow and listening to the music of nature.

The Żelazowa Wola – on the city outskirts – is where Chopin was born. The Holy Cross Church is where his heart is interred. There are numerous other places associated with Chopin-- Saski Palace, Kazimierzowski Palace, Czapski Palace, etc.

Homage has also been paid to Chopin through musical benches. Around 2010, several musical benches were placed across Warsaw and near Chopin landmarks. On pressing a button on this bench, you hear a few bars of a his composition. I simply loved it. What a beautiful tribute to a great composer!