Olkuskie Słowiki is a unique housing estate that stands out from other estates in Poland with its unusual architecture and colours. It was established during the communist era on the northern outskirts of Olkusz, in the former area of the Katowice Province. For years, the estate has attracted attention with its characteristic blue roofs of the blocks of flats, for which they are called ‘Smurfs’.
The estate was designed in the 1980s by Waldemar Szarapa, a respected architect associated with housing projects in Silesia. Nightingales was built as part of a larger project called “Olkusz Północ”, which envisaged the construction of two housing estates – Nightingales and Skalski. Ultimately, however, only Słowików lived to see realisation. The project envisaged accommodation for 4.5 to 5 thousand residents, mainly employees of the Katowice Steelworks and the Przyjaźń Coking Plant.
Construction, 1980s. Photo: SM “Nowa”
Construction of the housing estate started in 1985 and progressed very quickly. The “W-70” technology, modern for those times, was used, thanks to which it was possible to erect the large-panel buildings quickly. Interestingly, the housing estate was settled even before the whole project was completed, and the residents had to cope with Spartan conditions – there were no roads or infrastructure, and after rainfall the estate was drowning in mud.
The Słowiki estate is characterised by its highly original architecture. The blocks have sloping roofs, which was an innovative solution at the time. At the top of the estate is a square with a clock tower, which is one of the most recognisable elements of the block. This clock is mechanical and was designed by the same master clockmakers who were responsible for the clock at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Nightingales is also one of the few housing estates in Poland where none of the blocks are identical – they differ in layout, number of staircases and storeys, which adds to the unique character of the place and emphasises the form of the hill on which it was built.
Nightingale’s distinctive blue roofs, which have given the estate its nickname ‘Smurfs’, have an interesting genesis. During communist times, when the availability of building materials was limited, a budget option was chosen – sheet metal, which came from the steelworks in Świętochłowice, and the cheapest blue paint imported from abroad. Over time, the roofs in the unusual colour became one of the most recognisable elements of Olkusz’s landscape, and their colour reminds some of the views from the Greek Santorini.
The Słowiki estate is dominated by M-4 flats of around 64 square metres, but there are also larger and smaller units. The estate had its own extensive social infrastructure – from a kindergarten to a clinic. An important centre of cultural life was the Kubuś club run by the Nowa housing cooperative, and a real sensation was the “Baltona” shop, one of the few in the Katowice voivodeship at the time, which attracted residents from all over the region.
Today, Olkusz’s Słowiki is a housing estate that stands out from other communist housing projects because of its unconventionality and original approach to architecture. The varied blocks of flats with blue roofs, the market square with its clock tower and the thoughtful layout of the individual buildings make it a place worth seeing.
Source: slazag.pl, olkusz.naszemiasto.pl
Photos: Osiedle Słowiki, history told
Read also: Architecture in Poland | Architect | Estate | Urban planning | History | Interesting facts | Postmodernism
