2242 POLAND (Silesia) - Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver Mine and its Underground Water Management System (UNESCO WHS - Tentative List)

Tarnowskie Góry (German: Tarnowitz, established in 1526) is an old, picturesque town in the Silesian Highlands, near Katowice, known for historic lead-ore mining. According to legend, the source of silver ore (solely responsible for the town's existence,) was first discovered in 1490, when local peasant-farmer named Rybka found a strange, heavy, metallic stone. He presented his find to a local priest and within less than three decades this place became the largest silver mining center in the area.

2144 POLAND (Silesia) - Miners from Nikiszowiec in traditional costume

Now part of a district of Katowice, Nikiszowiec (German: Nikischschacht) was initially coal miners' settlement of Giesche mine, built on the land of Gieschewald manor (Giszowiec) between 1908-1918. Miners' profession was always considered dangerous but prestigious, therefore the Miners' Day (called Barbórka) was celebrated for centuries in a spectacular way. The name of the feast originate of course from Saint Barbara (December 4th) as a patron.

1466 POLAND (Silesia) - Rozbarsko-Bytomski folk costume

Silesians are the inhabitants of Silesia, a region of Central Europe, along the Odra river, now located mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. They are of Slavic descent, but because Germany ruled Silesia for a long time, Silesians have been deeply influenced by German culture. They are generally considered to belong to a Polish ethnographic group, but there is also the opinion that they constitute a distinct nation. 847,000 people declared themselves to be of Silesian nationality in the 2011 Polish national census (including 376,000 who declared it to be their only nationality). The region is rich in mineral and natural resources and includes several important industrial areas (its largest city being Wrocław).

0946 POLAND (Silesia) - The main railway station of Bielsko-Biała

Formed in 1951 by the union of two former cities on opposite banks of the Biała River, Silesian Bielsko and Lesser Poland's Biała, Bielsko-Biała is a beautiful city, which has a vibrant modernistic presence being a student-city with its associated nightlife, as well as having numerous historical sights. One of this is the main railway station (Bielsko-Biała Główna), located in the city center.