The Katowice conurbation comprises of towns which have developed because of the mining of metal ores, coal and raw rock materials. The development of mining and industry which have lasted for centuries has resulted in the specific character of the landscape of the area with its typical indicators such as housing estates built for the working class, winding towers, chimneys of steelworks, coking plants, power stations, drifts, quarries, etc. The residents of mining communities, and local governments within the conurbation, which have developed owing to mining, are aware of the impending economic slowdown after liquidation of coal mines. Therefore, development of the service sector, including tourism, based on postindustrial facilities can become an important factor in restructuring the economy. This article presents a classification of post-industrial cultural heritage sites prepared for the purpose of geotourism. Several categories of such sites have been distinguished: 1) historic mining landscapes, 2) places adapted for recreation, 3) places documenting changes in the groundwater environment, 4) characteristic Silesian landscapes, places commemorating stages of development of the mining industry, 5) post-mining sites adapted for service, commercial or residential purposes, 6) mining museums and open-air museums. The described post-mining sites occur in different parts of the Katowice conurbation; therefore, linking them by a system of tourist trails and surrounding them by zones of protected landscape will be an important task for the future. Material remains of the industrial culture preserved within the Katowice conurbation, despite their diversity, form complexes of monuments complementary to those that can be found in the entire industrialized Europe. Therefore, the industrial heritage in the area of the Katowice conurbation is an important part of the European, supranational heritage.

Europe experiences the development of post-industrial tourism documenting the time of growth of traditional coal basins. Contemporarily, the processes of deindustrialization take place. The material resources of traditional industry are being liquidated – which is expensive, or are adapted for the needs of tourism, which gives a new chance of development for these regions which are by rule in a difficult economic situation. Polish coal basin where many industrial plants and coal mines were closed as a result of restructurizing may serve as an example. Similar processes, although in smaller a scope, occur in the Czech Republic. Some of the industrial objects and coal mines concentrate certain values that predestine them to be included in the group of post-industrial heritage: the Czech and Polish coal mines from the 19th century, or coking plants and steel plants – as Hlubina in Ostrava Vitkovce. The idea of this article is to connect some Czech and Polish objects with one tourist route. The proposed tourist area starts in Czerwionka-Leszczyny and runs to Ostrava, and includes former industrial objects, old mines equipped with steam engines, patronage housing estates, coking plants, as well as mine waste dumps subjected to natural succession of vegetation. Creation of such route will allow to popularize the landmarks of post-industrial heritage for tourists of both countries, as well as will contribute to the development of services based on tourism. The route could become a common training ground for students of polytechnic departments of mining and environment protection, as it illustrates both the former mining technological processes and the processes of renaturalization of dumping grounds. The visiting sites were selected on the basis of unified criteria such as their age, suitability for tourism and education, as well as because of their originality, authenticity and uniqueness. The proposed tourist route will also connect the Polish Industrial Monuments Route with the monuments and mining museums in Ostrava.

The current study documents the importance of research on preserved artifacts which were previously used to take measurements of the Earth, and their importance for cultural heritage. The article reviewed the available source documents presenting the history of the astrogeodetic control point of Sucha Góra-Trockenberg as a monument of the first order triangulation network, preserved in cartographic materials and as the starting point of local geodetic networks, used in mining until 2000 in the so-called Upper Silesian Coal Basin, located in the territory of Poland and the Czech Republic. In order to determine the history of the triangulation work and the dates that the geographic coordinates of the peak were determined, field journals and other available materials were analyzed. The interesting location of this astrogeodetic control point, being in the vicinity of a UNESCO site, as well as its location in a forest and park complex, justify undertaking activities related to the conservation and promotion of this cultural heritage site.

The determinants of higher education policy have their sources in various spheres, such as economic, social, educational, national policy, administrative, and demographic. Problems for the development of higher education also stem from these spheres. One of them is the challenging demographic situation that is a significant element of developing higher education in southern Poland (particuarly in the Silesia region). Given this context, this article aims to indicate the policies of the universities in the region which respond to the existing demographic threats. This relationship is to confront student opinions regarding their vision for their education and future career within the current demographic situation. Using research-based on an analysis of university and regional local government strategic documents and surveys carried out among students, we conclude that higher education development policy is responding to the demographic transformation. Meanwhile, students’ attitudes to the challenges of the demographic situation is quite “flexible” and relatively ambivalent. This article presents the contrast between the increasingly tricky demographic situation in Silesia, Poland, and the limited response in the two main groups of stakeholders – academic authorities and students – that require shaping higher education ipolicy towards future demographic challenges.

The Katowice conurbation is situated in the Upper-Silesian Coal Basin, in a region which had high rate of water inflow in the pre-mining period. In order to make deposits of mineral resources accessible, it was, and still is, necessary provide mines with a draining system, which now reaches as deep as 1200 m. The area of the depression sink which was thus created is about 1200 km2. Currently, all metal ore mines within the conurbation, as well as part of coal mines, have been closed down, but water which flows into them is still pumped out due to the legal obligation to protect neighbouring operating mines. After the operation and drainage of mines cease, water coming to abandoned excavations will begin restoring static reserves in the orogen, which, depending on hydrological conditions, will take between several and a few dozen years. As the level of underground water rises, the process of subsidence of old shallow mining excavations will intensify, and many depressions may appear in highly urbanized areas. In areas of mining subsidence, the underground water-table will be close to the surface, causing flooding of basements and building foundations, and the deepest subsidence basins will probably be completely flooded. Current location of operating mines on the northern and southern sides of the conurbation with the central belt of drained excavations is unfavourable for its sustainable development. A solution, which would make it possible for the conurbation to grow, would be to close down and flood the mines on the northern side as soon as their mining concessions expire, which will be in early 2020s. Then, the area would regain its original stability within a decade and all kinds of construction activities could be carried out there. That, however, requires authorities of municipalities to object to the extension of concessions for mines, which may be impossible to obtain due to fears of social discontent resulting from miners - residents of those municipalities - being made redundant.