Metropolis GZM Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia (Polish) | |
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 Location on the map of Poland | |
| Country | Poland |
| Voivodeship | Silesian |
| Government | |
| • Body | Management Board of Metropolis GZM |
| • Chair of the Management Board | Kazimierz Karolczak [pl] |
| • Chair of the Assembly | Marcin Krupa |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,554 km2 (986 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[1] | |
• Total | 2,128,034 |
| • Density | 833.2/km2 (2,158/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Total | €44.570 billion (2021) |
| • Per capita | €20,800 (2021) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Area code | +48 32 |
| Website | metropoliagzm |
TheMetropolis GZM[3] (Polish:Metropolia GZM, formally in PolishGórnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia (Upper Silesian-Dąbrowa Basin Metropolis))[4] is a metropolitan association (Polish:związek metropolitalny) composed of 41 contiguousgminas, with a total population of over 2 million, covering most of theKatowice metropolitan area in theSilesian Voivodeship ofPoland. The seat of metropolitan administration isKatowice, the largest member city and the voivodeship capital.
The purpose of the metropolis is to maintain a strong urban and industrially developed area with internationally competitive profile and unified management of all infrastructure.[5][6] By law, it is obligated to carry out tasks in the areas ofspatial order,socioeconomic development,public transport planning, andpromotion.[7][8] For these tasks, the metropolis receives 5% of the income tax of its residents and participating municipalities.[7][9]
Membergminas can also cede selected statutory tasks onto the Metropolis, but have to provide the financing for their execution.[9]
Metropolis GZM was created in June 2017 act of Parliament, with its boundaries defined by a regulation of Poland'sCouncil of Ministers.[10][7] It effectively replaced the earlier existingMetropolitan Association of Upper Silesia (Polish:Górnośląski Związek Metropolitalny), which was discontinued at the end od 2017.[11] That original union was formed ten years earlier inŚwiętochłowice by 14 core cities ofKatowice urban area.[12][13]
The Metropolis GZM is represented by two administrative bodies: the Management Board and the Assembly.[7]
The Management Board is the executive branch, which consists of 5 members elected by the Assembly using asecret ballot method – the Chairperson, two Deputy Chairpersons, and two other regular members. Thanks togentlemen's agreement, each of the fiveNUTS 3 regions on the area of the Metropolis is represented.[14]
The Assembly is the legislative branch, consisting of heads of 41 constituentgminas. The Assembly adopts resolutions by means ofdouble majority – more than half of delegates representing more than half of Metropolis population must vote in favour. The Assembly also elects its Bureau – the Chairperson and up to three Deputy Chairpersons.[15]
The Metropolis GZM spans urban and suburban communities in the historical regions ofUpper Silesia (the South-Eastern part ofSilesia) as well asLesser Poland'sZagłębie Dąbrowskie in the modernSilesian Voivodeship in southern Poland, within the northern portion of theUpper Silesian Coal Basin between theVistula andOder rivers. It is located roughly 72 km West ofKraków and 260 km South-West ofWarsaw. Other major population centers in relative proximity to the metropolis include:Ostrava (70 km),Vienna (290 km),Prague (320 km) andBratislava (270 km).
The Metropolis GZM has extensive road network, including national highwaysA4 andA1, as well asS1 andS86expressways. Warsaw is connected to the agglomeration throughNational Road no. 1, commonly known asGierkówka (afterEdward Gierek). The agglomeration is also connected to the Beskid Mountains in the south through two extensions ofGierkówka—National Road no. 1 andNational Road no. 81.Drogowa Trasa Średnicowa, an inter-urban, limited-access expressway, connects Gliwice and Katowice city centers. The GZM observes some of the highest traffic in Poland, with S86 between Katowice and Sosnowiec hosting 112,212 vehicles per day and A4 highway in Katowice seeing 100,983 vehicles per day.[16]
The agglomeration boasts the highest density of railway lines in Poland. Katowice Train Station is the 8th busiest passenger station in the country, handling 11.9 million passengers in 2017 (up from 10.6 million in 2014), which corresponds to 32,800 passengers per day. Gliwice is the second-busiest station in the metropolis, with 10,300 passengers per day.[17]
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Regional and metropolitan trains are operated byKoleje Śląskie. Most national and international trains are operated byPolish State Railways. Gliwice and Katowice are connected to Warsaw by a fast Express Intercity Premium train (commonly calledPendolino, after the train model that operates this line). Other major cities to which the metropolis is directly connected to by trains includeBerlin,Prague,Vienna,Budapest andBratislava.
A large tram interurban network called theSilesian Interurbans still exists today connecting the urban areas of theUpper Silesia andDąbrowa Basin. It is one of the largest interurban networks in Europe.
Katowice Airport serves as the primary airport for the metropolis, and is located approximately 30 km (19 mi) north of downtown Katowice. Katowice Airport is the fourth-busiest airport in Poland in terms of passenger traffic, handling 4.8 million passengers in 2018. It is also second-busiest cargo airport in the country, serving 18,543 tonnes in 2018.[18] It is a base forWizz Air,Ryanair Sun,Blue Panorama Airlines,Enter Air,Smartwings, andSmartwings Poland.LOT Polish Airlines base some of their aircraft in Katowice during the summer season.
The airport has daily feeder flights toWarsaw-Chopin (by LOT Polish Airlines, 4 flights),Frankfurt Airport (3 flights) andMunich Airport (1 flight, byLufthansa). Other major cities with connections to Katowice Airport includeLondon,Dubai,Amsterdam,Milan,Dublin,Rome,Barcelona,Lisbon,Stockholm,Athens,Kyiv andTel Aviv. In total, there are 61 regular and 44 charter destinations.
The Metropolis GZM is also within close (60 km) proximity ofKraków Airport, which is the second-busiest airport in Poland (6.8 million passengers in 2018[19]).
Original union included only the 14cities with powiat rights that form theurban core of the metropolitan area: (Bytom,Chorzów,Dąbrowa Górnicza,Gliwice,Jaworzno,Katowice,Mysłowice,Piekary Śląskie,Ruda Śląska,Siemianowice Śląskie,Sosnowiec,Świętochłowice,Tychy, andZabrze.
The original union could not accept more members for legal reasons, because under Polish law at that time, only cities with powiat rights could form such union. This changed in 2017 when thePolish government created a new law designed specifically for this area's needs.
Currently, 41gminas form the metropolis.Jaworzno, which was the founding member of the original union, decided not to join the new body, citing an unwillingness to merge its public transportation subsidiary company with the metropolitan one as the main reason.[20]
The official name of the metropolis is "Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia" (Upper Silesian-Dąbrowa Basin Metropolis"). This name was used on the official petition to create a metropolis, and later was used by thePolish Ministry of Interior in the final legal act published on 30 June 2017.
Previous name proposals included:
Pursuant to the law, the Metropolis receives 5% of thePIT from persons residing in its territory. In addition, a contribution is established for the municipalities included in its composition.
In 2017, the budget of the Metropolis amounted toPLN 12,306,418. In 2018, the budget amounted to PLN 361,053,107.
The Metropolis is inhabited by over 2.2 million people.[23] The population of the cities andgminas comprising the metropolis, as well as the entire voivodeship, has been steadily decreasing since 1989, mainly due to natural decrease and negative migration balance.
In 2020 Katowice'sgross metropolitan product was €39 billion. This puts Katowice in60th place among cities inEuropean Union.[2]
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