Editing Katowice (section)

===Emergence as an industrial centre===
[[File:Katowice Huta Baildon.jpg|thumb|left|Baildon steelworks, 19th century]]
On 3 October 1846, the works of the final stage of the [[Wrocław|Breslau]]-[[Mysłowice|Myslowitz]] (''Wrocław-Mysłowice'') rail line ended, built and operated by the [[Upper Silesian Railway]]. It was opened by king [[Frederick William IV of Prussia]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Nadolski|first1=Przemysław|title=Węzeł Kolejowy Gliwice|last2=Roszak|first2=Tomasz|last3=Soida|first3=Krzysztof|last4=Wieczorek|first4=Edward|publisher=Eurosprinter|year=2010|isbn=978-83-931006-1-3|location=Rybnik}}</ref> A year later, on 6 August 1847, the first train arrived at the new [[Katowice historic railway station|Katowice station]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-02 |title="No limits" {{!}} The Architecture of Industrial Agglomerations {{!}} Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach |url=https://us.edu.pl/en/no-limits-architektura-aglomeracji-przemyslowych/ |access-date=2024-06-28 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The railway connection with major European cities (Katowice gained connections to [[Berlin]], [[Kraków]], [[Vienna]] and [[Warsaw]], among others, between 1847 and 1848) fostered economic and population growth. The population grew enough to erect the first [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] church on 29 September 1858 ([[Church of the Resurrection, Katowice|Church of the Resurrection]]), and the first [[Catholic Church|Catholic church]] two years later, on 11 November 1860. Katowice (then: ''Kattowitz'') gained [[Town privileges|city status]] on 11 September 1865 in the Prussian [[Province of Silesia]], by the act of the king [[William I, German Emperor|Wilhelm I Hohenzollern]].<ref name="auto" />

The city flourished due to large mineral (especially coal) deposits in the area. Extensive city growth and prosperity depended on the coal mining and steel industries, which took off during the [[Industrial Revolution]]. The city was inhabited mainly by [[Germans]], [[Polish people|Poles]] incl. [[Silesians]], and [[Jews]]. In 1884, 36 Jewish [[Zionism|Zionist]] delegates met here, forming the [[Hovevei Zion]] movement. Previously part of the Beuthen district, in 1873 it became the capital of the new [[East Upper Silesia|Kattowitz district]]. On 1 April 1899, the city was separated from the district, becoming an [[independent city]].

In 1882, the Upper Silesian Coal and Steelworks Company (''Oberschlesischer Berg- und Hüttenmännischer Verein'') moved its headquarters to Katowice, followed by creation of the Upper Silesian Coal Convention (''Oberschlesische Kohlen-Konvention'') in 1898. Civic development followed industrial development: in 1851, the first post office opens in Katowice, and in 1893 the current regional post office headquarters have been opened; in 1871 the first middle school was opened (later expanded to high school); in 1889, Katowice got a district court; in 1895, the city bath opened and regional headquarters of the [[Prussian state railways]] has been established in the city; in 1907, the city theater (currently the [[Silesian Theatre]]) opened.

[[File:Katowice - ogolny widok z placem sw. Andrzeja. 1936 (69617540) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Katowice in the 1930s]]
Under the [[Treaty of Versailles]] after [[World War I]], the [[Upper Silesia plebiscite]] was organised by the [[League of Nations]]. Though Kattowitz proper voted 22,774 to remain in Germany and 3,900 for Poland,<ref name="Urban">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bM2kvVUpCPYC&q=urban+danzig|title=Von Krakau bis Danzig|access-date=21 March 2009|publisher=[[Thomas Urban|Urban, Thomas]]|year=2004|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024011628/http://books.google.de/books?id=bM2kvVUpCPYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=urban+danzig&lr=&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPA143,M1|archive-date=24 October 2012|url-status=live|isbn=9783406510823}}</ref> it was attached to Poland as the larger district voted 66,119 for Poland and 52,992 for Germany.<ref>Documents on British foreign policy, 1919–1939 Great Britain. Foreign Office, Ernest [[Llewellyn Woodward]] page 44</ref> Following the [[Silesian Uprisings]] of 1918–21 Katowice became part of the [[Second Polish Republic]] with some autonomy for the [[Silesian Parliament]] as a constituency and the Silesian Voivodeship Council as the executive body. In 1924, the surrounding villages and towns were incorporated into Katowice, and the number of inhabitants increased to over 112,000, since then the number of Poles exceeded the number of Germans – throughout the interwar period, the number of Germans decreased (in 1925 they constituted 12% of the inhabitants of Katowice, and in 1939 only 6%, while Poles constituted 93%). At the end of the interwar period, the number of inhabitants exceeded 134,000.

From 1926 to 1933, Katowice and the Polish part of Upper Silesia were connected with [[Gdynia]] and the Polish part of [[Pomerania]] through the [[Polish Coal Trunk-Line]] ({{langx|pl|Magistrala Węglowa}}).