Upper Silesian Industrial Region
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Upper Silesian Industry Area (Upper Silesian Industrial Region), (Polish: Górnośląski Okręg Przemysłowy, GOP) is a industrial area in Upper Silesia and western Lesser Poland, Poland, centered around Katowice in the Silesian Voivodeship.
Upper Silesian Industry Area with its 3 million population together Rybnik Coal Area (Polish: Rybnicki Okręg Węglowy, ROW) with its 0.7 million population and Ostrava urban area lie within the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, a home of altogether 5 mln people (Silesian metropolitan area).
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[edit] Geography
[edit] Location
Upper Silesian Industry Area is located in the historical region of Upper Silesia and Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in southern Poland in a basin between the Vistula and Oder rivers.
[edit] Main cities
| City | Population | Area in km² |
|---|---|---|
| Katowice | 314 500 | 164.6 |
| Sosnowiec | 233 284 | 91.26 |
| Gliwice | 205 086 | 134.2 |
| Bytom | 200 234 | 69.32 |
| Zabrze | 195 400 | 80.47 |
| Ruda Śląska | 145 470 | 77.7 |
| Tychy | 135 700 | 82.63 |
| Dąbrowa Górnicza | 130 560 | 188 |
| Chorzów | 114 686 | 33.5 |
| Jaworzno | 100 000 | 152.2 |
| Mysłowice | 78 300 | 66 |
| Siemianowice Śląskie | 75 700 | 25.5 |
| Piekary Śląskie | 64 600 | 39.6 |
| Będzin | 58 600 | 37.2 |
| Świętochłowice | 55 527 | 13.22 |
| Knurów | 42 000 | 34.2 |
| Czeladź | 35 200 | 17 |
| Total | 2 143 000 | 1304 |
[edit] Notable suburbs
| Suburbs | Population | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Tarnowskie Góry | 61 642 | 82,47 km² |
| Czerwionka-Leszczyny | 41 068 | 115,65 km² |
| Mikołów | 28 460 | 18,07 km² |
| Łaziska Górne | 21 768 | 20,2 km² |
| Bieruń | 19 724 | 40,31 km² |
| Pyskowice | 18 717 | 31,14 km² |
| Orzesze | 18 667 | 85 km² |
| Radzionków | 17 300 | 13,14 km² |
| Lędziny | 15 946 | 31,04 km² |
| Toszek | 10 547 | 98,53 km² |
| Wojkowice | 9 670 | 12,78 km² |
| Imielin | 7 650 | 28,04 km² |
| Miasteczko Śląskie | 7 585 | 68,3 km² |
| Sławków | 6 770 | 36,6 km² |
| Total | 285 464 | 681,27 km² |
[edit] Transport
[edit] Public Transport
The mass transit system of the area consists of four branches -- buses, trams, trolleybuses and the regional rail united in the KZK GOP. Additional services are operated by private companies and the state-owned railways.
- Trams
Silesian Interurbans - one of the largest tram systems in the World, in existence since 1894. The system spreads for more than 50 kilometres (east-west) and covers thirteen districts: Katowice, Będzin, Bytom, Chorzów, Czeladź, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Gliwice, Mysłowice, Ruda Śląska, Siemianowice Śląskie, Sosnowiec, Świętochłowice, and Zabrze.
[edit] Roads
- Motorway A1 (Poland) (Czech - GLIWICE - Tricity / Baltic Sea)
- Motorway A4 (Poland) (Germany - KATOWICE - Ukraine)
- European route E40 (France - Belgium - Germany - KATOWICE - Ukraine - Russia - Uzbekistan - Kazakhstan)
- European route E75 (Norway - Finland - KATOWICE - Slovakia - Hungary - Serbia - Macedonia - Croatia - Crete)
- European route E462 (Czech Republic - KATOWICE)
[edit] Airports
The area is served by the Katowice International Airport, located some 30 km from the center of Katowice. With over 20 international and domestic flights daily, it is by far the biggest airport in Silesia (1.4 million passengers served in 2006; a new passenger terminal is currently being constructed).
Because of the long commute to the airport, there is a proposal to convert the much nearer sport aviation-serving Katowice-Muchowiec Airport into a so-called city airport, a second international airport for smaller, business-oriented traffic.
[edit] Railway
- Standard gauge railway
The first railroad reached this area in 1846 (the Upper Silesia Railway, in Polish: Kolej Górnośląska; in German: Oberschlesische Eisenbahn). Nowadays Metropolis Katowice is one of the main railway nodes and exchange points in Silesia and in Poland. Cheap and fairly efficient, the Polskie Koleje Państwowe (Polish State-Owned Railways) in the area of the proposed union constitute one of the main transport hubs in Poland (the most important one being Warsaw).
The main railroad station is Katowice Central station. Both the domestic and the international connections run from there to almost every major city in Poland and Europe.
- Broad gauge railway
Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa (known by its acronym LHS, English: Broad gauge metallurgy line) is the longest broad gauge railway line in Poland. Except for this one line, and a few very short stretches near border crossings, Poland uses the standard gauge for its railways, unlike Russia and the other former countries of the Soviet Union. The line runs on a single track for almost 400 km from the Polish-Ukrainian border, crossing it just east of Hrubieszów, to Sławków (one of the suburbs of the proposed union). It is used only for freight transport, mainly iron ore and coal. It is the westernmost broad gauge railway line in Europe that is connected to the broad gauge rail system of the countries which before 1991 constituted the Soviet Union. The line is managed by PKP Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa Spólka z o.o. company. Previous name of this line was Linia Hutniczo Siarkowa (English: Metallurgy - Sulfur Line), but after sulfur ceased to be transported on the line its name was changed.
[edit] Water Transport
Upper Silesian Industry Area also has several canals, including the Gliwice Canal (pl:Kanal Gliwicki) which links Gliwice Harbour to the Oder River and thus to the waterway network across much of Germany and to the Baltic Sea.
Klodnica Canal (pl: Kanal Klodnicki) is no longer used to transport goods, but it is popular with leisure cruisers.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 50°15′N 19°00′E / 50.25°N 19°E
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