What did Kościuszko Street once look like? What were the shop signs like? When was the city’s first tram line opened? What were the living conditions of C19th Katowice townspeople? Using digital tools and new narrative forms, we present a micro-story of what was once one of Katowice’s most glamorous and vibrant streets.

Using archive-sourced materials, we are trying to retrieve even the finest details, including the accurate course of the street, building plans, styling of the facades, etc.. We are interested in such data as planning maps with building footprints, building construction dates, information about the investors and architects. By searching out old photographs, postcards and other archival materials, we hope to uncover not only some important historical events, but above all the daily lives of the street’s inhabitants.

The findings of our ongoing study will be presented in the form of an exhibition and website, allowing viewers to independently explore the gathered knowledge and archival materials, including scans, photographs, fragments of guidebooks and other literature.

If you are interested in the history of our city or new forms of storytelling using digital media, online mapping and data visualisation, you are welcome to join our project workgroup. While searching the archives, studying history books and creating a database of the street, we are also developing a project-based concept of the exhibition, trying to find the best form of communicating our findings to all those interested in Katowice’s history.