Świerklaniec

Świerklaniec is a commune located in the Tarnogóra county, with an area of 44.3 square kilometres, inhabited by approximately 12 thousand people. It neighbours with Miasteczko Śląskie, Tarnowskie Góry, Radzionków, Piekary Śląskie, Bobrowniki and the commune of Ożarowice.

The park in Świerklaniec is stylized after the English Hyde Park. We can admire there a beautiful Bachelor’s Little Palace, an old church and historic sculptures. The so-called “Little Versailles” were built by Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck, Europe’s richest entrepreneur at the time, for his great love, Blanca de Paiva. It housed nearly 100 rooms and six suites. More importantly, the couple invested heavily in Upper Silesia. Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck owned, among others, the “Donnersmarck” Steelworks and the “Guido” Mine in Zabrze, the “Śląsk” Mine in Chropaczów or the “Andaluzja” Mine in Piekary Śląskie. He was the first founder of the joint stock company “Śląskie Kopalnie i Cynkownie” (Silesian Mines and Tin Plants) in Upper Silesia. Then, in the vicinity of Kalety, he built a pulp mill and later a paper mill.

Out of the entire complex of von Donnersmarck’s “Bachelor’s Little Palace” residence a picturesque park remained that preserved its former character and one historic building, which was saved from the Soviet army’s destruction in 1945.

In Świerklaniec, the Nakło-Chechło reservoir was established in place of the former opencast sand mine. It is one of the most frequently visited water reservoirs in the Metropolis GZM. It is here where on hot days you can meet many Metropolis’ residents.

To this day, a hunting feast has been held in the Hubertus park in Świerklaniec. This includes a fox chasing, a special greyhound race and a falconer’s show.

One of the most characteristic landmarks in Świerklaniec is the Bachelor’s Little Palace.