Kolonia Hegenscheidta, Workers' residential complex in Załęże district, Katowice, Poland
Kolonia Hegenscheidta is a workers' settlement with multi-family houses in Katowice that stretches along Bogusławskiego Street. The buildings date from different construction periods, with some retaining their original form while others were modified over time.
Wilhelm Hegenscheidt founded this settlement in 1870 as a way to support steelworkers in purchasing land and building homes. The neighborhood where workers from the Baildon Steel Mill lived grew quickly and became an established community for the local working population.
The settlement shows how workers built their own homes and shaped their living spaces during the industrial era. You can see today in the varied building styles how each family added their own touches to their house.
The settlement is best explored on foot along Bogusławskiego Street, where the most impressive original houses can be seen. Buildings numbered 1, 3, and 8 show particularly well how the early constructions looked.
Some of the houses were built by residents themselves after receiving loans from Hegenscheidt to purchase land. This mix of self-built and later added structures makes the neighborhood a rare example of worker-led building initiative.
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