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Industry chains for the regional innovation activity in Silesia and Lower Silesia Voivodeships in 2008-2010

Przemysłowe łańcuchy dostaw w kształtowaniu regionalnej aktywności innowacyjnej województw śląskiego i dolnośląskiego w latach 2008-2010

Author(s): Arkadiusz Świadek / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 21/2012

Keywords: supply chain; innovation; region; industry

The main objective of the study was an attempt to search for the conditions affecting the nature of supply chains for enterprises innovative activity within the regional industrial systems, and consequently to determine the frame conditions for the model of regional innovation networks, taking into account the specificities of Upper Silesia and Lower Silesia Voivodeships. The study was based on a questionnaire on a group of 1141 companies from both regions. The study used probity modeling. This method is an effective research tool for large, but the static tests in which the dependent variable has a qualitative character. The achieved results showed that the fact of participation of enterprises in the industrial supply chain with suppliers and customers, had a positive impact on regional innovation systems in which they were located. The existence of surveyed voivodeships often in the transregional constellations of networks determines the creation of new products and technologies. At the same time, their diverse intensity depends on different conditions of the regions from an evolutionary perspective. The article points out that the entities operating in the surveyed regions to introduce innovations should be part of an industrial network integration, often in cross-border collaboration. In general, they are the more intense, the more subjects they cooperate with. The phenomenon of vertical cooperation both upward and downward is thus the basis of formal and tactical knowledge transfer in industrial systems in Poland, but with varying intensity, which depends on the level of civilization development.

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Managing of communication processes in social media by the cities of Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia and their majors

Zarządzanie procesem komunikowania w mediach społecznościowych przez miasta Metropolii Silesia i ich prezydentów

Author(s): Grażyna Piechota / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 22/2012

Keywords: social media; Facebook; political communication; local political leaders

The importance of social media used for local communication is growing. Local leaders and municipal administrations use social media for passing certain information to the local community. The subject of the article is the analysis of how some mayors and their administrations communicate with local communities, what goals they want to achieve using selected communication channels and what information they publish in social media. Th e analysis presented in the article was based on quantitative and qualitative research carried out in 2012 in cities of the Silesian Metropolis and among their mayors.

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Functional typology of Lower Silesia municipalities and “Development strategy of Lower Silesia Voivodeship 2020”

Typologia funkcjonalna gmin Dolnego Śląska a Strategia Rozwoju Województwa Dolnośląskiego 2020

Author(s): Agnieszka Stacherzak / Language(s): / Issue: 367/2014

Keywords: types of municipalities; functions of municipalities; Lower Silesia; development strategy of the voivodeship

The study concentrates on functions of rural and urban-rural municipalities of Lower Silesia in 2011. Research was related to previously made typology from the years: 1996, 2005 and 2010. The same standard was used to classify analyzed objects into different functional types of municipalities: structure of economy, level of industrialization, degree of tourist developing. The second aim of the work was to describe the document “Development strategy of Lower Silesia Voivodeship 2020” taking into consideration the same parameters used in typology. A final result was to compare “Development strategy…” to functional aggregation of Lower Silesia municipalities.

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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A FEMALE CITIZEN IN POLAND? A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF THE CIVIL ACTIVITY OF WOMEN IN THE PROVINCE OF SILESIA

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A FEMALE CITIZEN IN POLAND? A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF THE CIVIL ACTIVITY OF WOMEN IN THE PROVINCE OF SILESIA

Author(s): Justyna Tomczyk / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

Keywords: Civil activity; Women; Political Participation; Democracy;Voting;

The current article is a report on the quantitative research of civil activity of women in the Province of Silesia (N = 200). The research technique used here is CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview). The starting point of the proposal is the conceptualization of the term active citizenship and subsequently the identification of specific indicators that will be taken to represent the phenomenon explored (such as political participation, interest in government, law enforcement, altruism and volunteering, trust in people and institutions, and the use of the privileges of direct democracy). The article shows the importance of this project for development of civil society in Poland and the possibility of change that can be achieved in this way.The current article is a report on the quantitative research of civil activity of women in the Province of Silesia (N = 200). The research technique used here is CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview). The starting point of the proposal is the conceptualization of the term active citizenship and subsequently the identification of specific indicators that will be taken to represent the phenomenon explored (such as political participation, interest in government, law enforcement, altruism and volunteering, trust in people and institutions, and the use of the privileges of direct democracy). The article shows the importance of this project for development of civil society in Poland and the possibility of change that can be achieved in this way.

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The quest for medieval deserted villages in the Strzelin Heights region (Wzgórza Strzelińskie) in Silesia. Preliminary results

The quest for medieval deserted villages in the Strzelin Heights region (Wzgórza Strzelińskie) in Silesia. Preliminary results

Author(s): Krzysztof Fokt,Maria Legut-Pintal / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2018

Keywords: Silesia; Strzelin Heights (Wzgórza Strzelińskie); Middle Ages; deserted villages

In the present paper, the results of archaeological investigations conducted in the years 2007–2014 by the authors will be briefly presented and summarized. In fact, two separate research undertakings by two authors representing different institutions, but following joint research agenda, were merged in the following text into one single history of investigation, focused on a group of archaeological sites hitherto neglected in the Polish research tradition (see below, part 1), i.e. remains of deserted villages from the late Middle Ages. The main goal of the research undertakings which began in 2007 in the Strzelin Heights region was to change this inconvenient situation by discovering well-preserved material remains of some villages known from written evidence (see below, part 2). In order to place the abandoned villages of the Strzelin Heights into respective, appropriate socio-spatial framework, a short analysis of their historical context was also made (part 3). Eventually, two stages of the fieldwork were presented and commented (parts 4–5).

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Sources and Methods Used in the Reconstruction of Settlement Networks: An Archaeological and Geographical Perspective on the Example of Silesia

Sources and Methods Used in the Reconstruction of Settlement Networks: An Archaeological and Geographical Perspective on the Example of Silesia

Author(s): Agnieszka Latocha,Dominik Nowakowski / Language(s): English / Issue: 6/2018

Keywords: historical geography; settlement archeology; medieval archeology; Silesia; medieval villages

The article presents several insights on the sources and methods used in the research of medieval settlement processes using the example of Silesia region. The number and variety of sources (archaeological, written, cartographic) used in the analysis of settlement processes makes it a subject of interest for researchers representing various fields, such as archaeology, history, and historical geography, which have already got their own established research methods. Growing interest in the topic of Late Medieval settlement has prompted an influx of studies on the topic; these are most often interdisciplinary in nature, resulting in articles and monographs published within the last few years, while integrated cooperative studies employing representatives of several different fields are more rare. The works on a dictionary of medieval villages in Silesia, which employed archaeologists, historians, a geographer, and a historical cartographer. The sources described in the article provide specific (though also limited) information on past settlement processes. Archaeological materials, mostly acquired by means of field survey, though by nature chronologically imprecise, provide data on everyday life of urban and rural residents, their production and the economy (eg.: extraction and processing of raw materials); written sources are important in identifying key information, such as the identification of settlement initiators or the analysis of land ownership relations; likewise, concurrent pieces of mass documentation which enable statistical analysis and comparative analysis, such as land books, inventories of goods, and ledgers, are of fundamental importance to research. Maps of appropriate scale (usually dating to the 18th or 19th century) remain the basic source of information in the geographic analysis of settlement processes. The modern character of the maps means that retrogressive methods are most useful in the reconstruction of the late medieval settlement networks. They help recreate elements of historical natural landscape, as well as traces of settlements and economic activity. Retrogressive methods, successfully employed in historical geography, is based on the assumption that it is possible to make conclusions about an earlier reality based on sources from a later period.

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Parents’ opinion of children and teenagers’ vaccination in Lower Silesia.

Parents’ opinion of children and teenagers’ vaccination in Lower Silesia.

Author(s): Agata Furman-Bednarczyk,Jolanta Pietras / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2018

Keywords: parents; children; vaccination

Background: Immunization in Poland might be seriously threatened because of inaccurate information about its safety and effectiveness. It is necessary to monitor people’s opinions about immunization in order to stop the negative process of disinformation. Aim of the study: The aim of the diploma paper was to understand parents’ attitude and concerns about immunization in Poland. Material and methods: Two hundred parents from Lower Silesia were enrolled in the study in 2016. The research tool was the author’s unnamed questionnaire. Results: The research shows that the majority of parents 92.5% (183) have positive attitudes towards immunization. The obligatory immunization rate among children in Poland was very high 96% (191). 70.4% (138) of children were given at least one vaccination that was not obligatory in Poland and in most cases that was vaccination against pneumococcus – 61% (103) of children and chickenpox – 54.4% (92) of children. A relationship was noted between the recommended vaccination and financial situation of parents and their education level. There were several reasons why people’s attitudes to vaccination might be negative: financial reasons 60.3% (41), vaccine injury 27.19% (19), ineffectiveness 7.4% (5), and natural ways of supporting immunity 20.6% (14). More than half of respondents 51.6% (101) claim that their knowledge about the immunization is insufficient. The main source of information about immunization for parents is medical staff (doctors, nurses and midwifes). Nevertheless, 32.8% (65) of respondents reported not receiving any information about recommended vaccination from their attending physician. Conclusion: The uptake of immunization is related on parents’ education and financial reasons. Medical staff do not inform parents and promote immunization adequately. Parents are not informed about the possibility of extended vaccination. It is necessary to educate parents about the safety and effectiveness of immunization.

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University identity in the age of uncertainty

Tożsamość uniwersytetu w epoce niepewności

Author(s): Zbyszko Melosik / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2018

Keywords: university; uncertainty; competition; assessment; identity; uniwersytet; niepewność; rywalizacja; wskaźnikowanie; tożsamość

The article includes an analysis of the reconstruction of social functions of contemporary university with the category of uncertainty assumed as the axis of narration. A number of contexts were presented of creating a trajectory of uncertainty disintegrating both the identity of individual professors and the university as an institution. They include, inter alia, the creation of new forms of competition between individuals, scientific disciplines, and higher education institutions, as well as strategies of assessment which reduce the identity and activity of academics to points, strategies of permanent reporting and specific mcdonaldization of the didactic and research functions of a university. At the end, a question was posed regarding the possible ways of acting of the university and professors in the age of uncertainty. // Tekst zawiera analizę rekonstrukcji społecznych funkcji współczesnego uniwersytetu, przy czym jako oś narracji przyjęto kategorię niepewności. Przedstawiono szereg kontekstów tworzenia trajektorii niepewności dezintegrujących zarówno tożsamość poszczególnych profesorów, jak i uniwersytetu jako instytucji. I tak omówiono między innymi wytwarzanie nowych form rywalizacji zarówno między jednostkami, dyscyplinami naukowymi, jak i placówkami edukacji wyższej. Zaprezentowano strategie wskaźnikowania, które redukują tożsamość i działania akademików do punktów, strategię nieustannego sprawozdawania, jak również swoistą makdonaldyzację dydaktycznej i naukowej funkcji uniwersytetu. Na zakończenie postawiono pytanie odnoszące się do możliwych sposobów działania uniwersytetu i profesorów w epoce niepewności.

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Possibility of Knowledge Sharing Between the Old and the New Social Movements Sociological Reflections Based on Qualitative Research in Silesia

Possibility of Knowledge Sharing Between the Old and the New Social Movements Sociological Reflections Based on Qualitative Research in Silesia

Author(s): Sławomira Kamińska-Berezowska / Language(s): English / Issue: 1 (7)/2013

Keywords: trade unions; NGOs; social movements; labour market; women’s organisations

The paper presents similarities and differences in the perception of women's problems on the present Polish labour market by leaders of old and new social movements (i.e., trade unions and women's organisations respectively). Based on the qualitative research conducted in 2010-2011 in Silesia, the paper focuses on the issue of mutual perception of union leaders in trade industry and female leaders in women's organisations. It also analyses factors facilitating the integration of the both movements and their actual cooperation so far and emphasises the potential of their synergic cooperation.

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ART AS A SPACE FOR PRACTICING LOCALNESS: CONTEMPORARY REFRAMING OF NAÏVE ART IN VOJVODINA (KOVAČICA) AND IN SILESIA (JANÓW GROUP)

ART AS A SPACE FOR PRACTICING LOCALNESS: CONTEMPORARY REFRAMING OF NAÏVE ART IN VOJVODINA (KOVAČICA) AND IN SILESIA (JANÓW GROUP)

Author(s): Magdalena Bogusławska / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

Keywords: localness; naïve art; visual code; identity practice; reframing;

This article deals with art functioning as a practice of localness and an identity activity. Discussing two examples – the town of Kovačica in Serbia, inhabited by the Slovak minority, and the Nikiszowiec housing estate located in Silesia, Poland – the author shows how the so-called naïve art today participates in the creation of a sense of belonging to a given place, its memory, the image of its past and the articulation of ethnic and cultural specificity, both on a micro and macro scale (region, national culture, state). In both cases, localness is treated as a task and as a project. Artistic activities undertaken by the individuals from the local communities serve to shape and display the iconographic codes and visual representations, as well as to stimulate the institutionalisation of activities related to the experience and identity of the place. Such instrumentalisation also connotes the reframing of art – a change in its communicative, civilizational or ideological-political context – and leads to the transformation of its semantics, social existence and its status in the field of artistic practices.

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Bielsko: The Education Centre for Industrial Production between Austrian Silesia and Galicia at the Turn of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Bielsko: The Education Centre for Industrial Production between Austrian Silesia and Galicia at the Turn of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Author(s): Petr Kadlec / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

Keywords: Bielsko; Austrian Silesia; Galicia; Education; Industry; 19th Century; 20th Century;

This study deals with the issue of industrial education on the Silesian-Galician border in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Against Cisleithanian-wide trends it depicts the establishment of the so-called state industrial school (Staatsgewerbeschule) in the town of Bielsko in the 1870s and the development of this educational institution, which stood at the top of the system of schools for professional education of the time, until as late as the outbreak of the First World War. Among other things, it focuses on the founding of this important school, its organizational transformations and the composition of its students. In the study Bielsko is presented as one of the most prominent places in the Cisleithanian part of the monarchy from the aspect of educating a qualified workforce at a time of advancing industrialization and the socioeconomic changes it induced.

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The Development of the Lower Silesia Region on the Example of the Implementation of Cross-Border Cooperation Programmes between Poland and Saxony 2007–2013

The Development of the Lower Silesia Region on the Example of the Implementation of Cross-Border Cooperation Programmes between Poland and Saxony 2007–2013

Author(s): Agnieszka Kłos / Language(s): English / Issue: 27-28/2019

Keywords: European Union; cross-border cooperation; transnational cooperation; interregional cooperation; European Territorial Cooperation;

The article presents the problems revolving around sustainable development in borderland regions on the example of the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Poland–Saxony 2007–2013. It explores the issues of developing borderland areas covering cross-border cooperation between the citizens and the institutions in the neighbouring regions, i.e. Lower Silesia and Saxony. It also outlines the main problem areas in those regions and provides an assessment of projects implemented in the years 2007–2013. Finally, the author presents the current objectives that promote sustainable development in the above-mentioned territories and aim to strengthen economic and social cohesion.

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Increasing the energy efficiency of dwelling houses: case study of residential quarter in Upper Silesia, Poland

Increasing the energy efficiency of dwelling houses: case study of residential quarter in Upper Silesia, Poland

Author(s): Anna Ostańska / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

Keywords: energy efficiency; residential buildings; insulation; thermography

The paper assesses thermomodernisation measures aimed at improving energy efficiency of dwelling houses in a city quarter in Upper Silesia, Poland. The area was encompassed by the city council’s program of emission restriction that promoted energy saving activities. The assessment was carried out by means of thermographic examination. It confirmed the fact that the thermomodernisation measures taken so far provided considerable improvement, but did not solved all issues. Further works should be undertaken on the basis of thorough examination of the current condition of the buildings.

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Criminal activity in Silesia during the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648). Contribution to the research

Criminal activity in Silesia during the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648). Contribution to the research

Author(s): Daniel Wojtucki / Language(s): English / Issue: 04/2019

Keywords: Silesia; Thirty Years’ War; executioner; theft; murder; homicide; soldiers; looting; conflict; 17th century; serial killers; witchcraft; posthumous magic; gallows; execution

It must be assumed that every war created people of the criminal margins and demobilization made the people, used to fighting and robbing, left with no prospects. They were inclined to continue the activities they had been engaged in so far, but at the time, outside the ranks of the military units. During the wars, masses of various marauders and mercenaries followed the armies and sometimes they were absorbed into the ranks of the army they were shadowing. Only on the example of large cities in Silesia at that time, i.e. Legnica or partially Wrocław and Świdnica, can we learn about the scale of the phenomenon of common crime at that time, both that committed by soldiers and civilians. The unrestduring the period of armed conflict in the years 1618–1648 also brought about protests of the population against the then authorities. However, theft was the most common crimein modern penal systems, for which criminal sanctions were imposed on the most serious ones – the death penalty, corporal punishment, or discharge. The thieves’ plunders wereall that had any material value and were left without proper supervision. Particularly negatively perceived in the eyes of the law was the theft by an employed service or journeymanto their employers or a church robbery. During or just after the Thirty Years’ War, we also observe an increase in persecution of people who were accused of harmful magic, i.e. witches and sorcerers. Apart from the living, accusations of sinister, posthumous activity were also made against the dead (posthumous magic). In Silesia, epidemicsalso broke out, which were often brought with them by soldiers of the army, for whom the area became a place of accommodation or march. Witches or gravediggers from Silesiantowns were accused of calling some of them. The Thirty Years’ War “created” various kinds of criminals. Undoubtedly, the “product” of t he 1618–1648 c onflict was a wellknown,serial killer Melchior Hedloff, who being tortured, confessed to 251 murders. He was executed in Oleśnica in January 1654. Many new penitentiary facilities appearedboth in Silesia and also in the whole Reich as a result of the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War. They were mostly exhibited by municipal authorities (not military) and built on themarkets or directly in front of city gates. Among them, new wooden gallows were built, less often pillories.

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The Polish-Czechoslovakian Conflict over Cieszyn Silesia, Spiš and Orava in the years 1938-1939 as Reported by the Polish Provincial Press published in Siedlce

The Polish-Czechoslovakian Conflict over Cieszyn Silesia, Spiš and Orava in the years 1938-1939 as Reported by the Polish Provincial Press published in Siedlce

Author(s): Jarosław Cabaj / Language(s): English / Issue: 9/2020

Keywords: Zaolzie; Spiš; Orava; the Polish-Czechoslovakian conflict; periodicals; Siedlce

The paper touches upon the theme of how the provincial press in Poland commented on the Polish-Czechoslovakian conflict over Cieszyn Silesia, Spiš and Orava. The timespan covers a few months in 1938 and 1939 - from the time Hitler made his claims towards Czechoslovakia until the moment the state was dismantled. The author has focused on presenting the Polish-Czechoslovakian relations as reported by the press published in Siedlce, a district town located in the centre of pre-war Poland. At that time four periodicals were published there. The analysis of these publications has allowed the author to determine that the editors informed their readers about the situation of the disputed territories on a regular basis. The editors tried to make their message more attractive by posting photos or accounts by special correspondents. They built among its readers a negative image of the Czechoslovakian state, which was presented as an artificial creation where the rights of national minorities were not respected. The incorporation of these lands into Poland was presented as a symbol of historical justice. The press also played an important part in mobilising the local community to act for fellow countrymen from the lands being the object of the Polish-Czechoslovakian dispute. However, it did not recognise the growth of Slovakian independence activities, which were important for the internal affairs of Poland’s southern neighbour.

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Virtual space used in the communication activities of local governments on the example provided by the communes of the Upper Silesia and Zagłębie Metropolis

Virtual space used in the communication activities of local governments on the example provided by the communes of the Upper Silesia and Zagłębie Metropolis

Author(s): Dariusz Krawczyk / Language(s): English / Issue: 30/2020

Keywords: municipality; information policyl; Facebook; promotion; digital accessibility

The aim of the paper is to identify the scope of social media application in communication activities of local governments. The research field is a statutorily separated metropolitan area in the Silesia Province, established from 41 communes. The applied research methods included the analysis of the Internet sources and the academic literature. The conclusions were obtained concerning the activity of local government units in social media, contributing to the organization of the state of knowledge on the objectives, expenditure and effects of local administration activities in the studied part of cyberspace.

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Relations of Silesia to Flanders in the Middle Ages. Archaeological Evidence

Relations of Silesia to Flanders in the Middle Ages. Archaeological Evidence

Author(s): Lech Marek / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2013

Keywords: Flemish; Silesia; arms; armor; table ware;

Im Beitrag werden zwei Kategorien von Artefakten diskutiert, die sich auf flämische Traditionen in Schlesien beziehen. Die ältesten Spuren gehen ins 13./14. Jh. zurück und können als Belege einer physischen Anwesenheit von romanisch sprechenden Ansiedlern in Schlesien zur Zeit der sog. Ostsiedlung interpretiert werden. Das Vorkommen von anderen flämischen Einflüssen in der Region ist schwieriger zu erklären. Diese Artefakte, die ins 14./15. Jh. datiert werden, fanden die Weg nach Schlesien zusammen mit flämischer Bewaffnung und Tafelgeschirr, die sich dorthin vom böhmischen Hof her ausbreiteten.

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Heritagising the Vernacular in a Central European Borderland: Wooden Churches and Open-Air Museums in Upper Silesia

Heritagising the Vernacular in a Central European Borderland: Wooden Churches and Open-Air Museums in Upper Silesia

Author(s): Jerzy Gorzelik / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2021

Keywords: vernacular architecture; wooden church; Upper Silesia; open-air museum; nationalism;

This article focuses on how the demand for social and political meanings, generated by nation-building processes and competence between nationalisms in Central Europe, has determined the protection and heritagisation of vernacular architecture. The problem has been analysed using the example of the wooden churches in Upper Silesia—the region contested by Germany and Poland. These monuments gained unprecedented importance as they were believed to testify to ancient architectural traditions and were used to prove the Germanic or Slavic roots of regional culture. The article reveals the evolution of churches’ meanings and the ways they have affected the monument protection and functioning of open-air museums.

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A forgotten shield boss from Brodno, Lower Silesia, Poland. A contribution to the study of Roman influences in ‘barbarian’ armament in the Roman period

A forgotten shield boss from Brodno, Lower Silesia, Poland. A contribution to the study of Roman influences in ‘barbarian’ armament in the Roman period

Author(s): Artur Błażejewski / Language(s): English / Issue: 68/2022

Keywords: shield boss; Roman period; armament; Przeworsk culture; Roman influence

In the National Archives in Wrocław, in the Department of the Province of Silesia are kept documents about the protection and conservation of historical monuments, and specifically information on archaeological finds from the areas around the town of Środa Śląska (German: Neumarkt). One of those artefacts was an iron shield boss of the Roman period, found at the cremation cemetery belonging to the Przeworsk Culture in Brodno, Lower Silesia. It is most probably of Scandinavian origin, and is closely related to the finds from Scandinavia and the Black Sea coast, but the form of the shield boss confirms the Roman inspiration behind ‘barbarian’ military equipment. Chronologically the boss from Brodno should be placed within phase C1b, i.e. roughly in the mid-3rd century A.D. The analogies from other sepulchral sites suggest that the boss might have been an element in the inventory of a well-equipped warrior, perhaps a member of a travelling band. The presence of such an artefact in a cemetery of the Przeworsk culture in the Oder river basin is proof of intense contacts between various communities which inhabited vast areas of “barbaric” Europe between the Baltic and the Black Sea at that time.

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A GHOST VILLAGE. SPATIAL CLEANSING IN WIGANCICE-ŻYTAWSKIE IN THE LANDSCAPE OF THE TURÓW MINING AND POWER COMPLEX, LOWER SILESIA

A GHOST VILLAGE. SPATIAL CLEANSING IN WIGANCICE-ŻYTAWSKIE IN THE LANDSCAPE OF THE TURÓW MINING AND POWER COMPLEX, LOWER SILESIA

Author(s): Katarzyna Majbroda / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: anthropology of energy; assemblage; spatial cleansing; energyscape; late industrialism; ghost village; Turów mining and power complex; resource curse; displacement; dispossessions;

The article presents an excerpt of some empirical research undertaken by an anthropologist on local ways of experiencing the operation of the Turów mining and energy complex in the Bogatynia commune in Lower Silesia within the context of an just energy transition. The aim of the reflections contained in this research sample is to present Wigancice Żytawskie – a town once located in the Bogatynia commune in the Zgorzelec poviat as a ghost village that functions in the minds of its former inhabitants and the generations that have followed as a lost and demolished yet remembered place. Wigancice was demolished by the end of the 2oth century due to the expansion of the lignite open pit in the Turów mine and the creation of an external dump, which was considered a threat to the village and its inhabitants. The text draws from Michael Herzfeld’s understanding of the term ‘spatial cleansing’, which in the case of Wigancice was closely related to the activity of the Turów mining and energy complex. Adopting energy anthropology as a theoretical framework, the anthropologist shows the course and effects of this process in terms of human/non-human assemblage, at the same time asking questions about the special characteristics of human life in areas rich in energy resources and ways of experiencing a landscape changing under the influence of industrialization processes. The author also attempts to recover the stories of the inhabitants of the ghost village, whose fates intertwined with the functioning of the Turów mine and were marked by the experience of loss, dispossession and relocation in the process of industrial transformations in the region.

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