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Photos| Farewell to coal: A Polish city wakes up and smells the blossom

From Sunday, Poland’s Katowice will host a round of United Nations climate talks, at which nearly 200 countries will attempt to agree rules on how to shift the world economy from fossil fuels to try to curb rising temperatures. The Wieczorek mine in Katowice, with its towering brick shaft, is among dozens closing down throughout Poland, home to one of the most polluted coal mining regions in Europe. But for those with mining in the blood, moving on is harder and the smell of coal dust is as sweet as blossom.

Updated on: Dec 02, 2018 3:38 PM IST

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1/11

Katarzyna Depa, 26, who makes jewellery from coal, holds a silver ring at her atelier in Katowice, Poland. “For me using coal in a different way than it used to be, which was energy, shows its completely new face, so we can call it our new, cool black gold,” said Depa. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

Updated on Dec 02, 2018 3:38 PM

Katarzyna Depa, 26, who makes jewellery from coal, holds a silver ring at her atelier in Katowice, Poland. “For me using coal in a different way than it used to be, which was energy, shows its completely new face, so we can call it our new, cool black gold,” said Depa. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

2/11

The Wieczorek mine in Poland. From Sunday, Katowice will host a round of United Nations climate talks, at which nearly 200 countries will attempt to agree rules on how to shift the world economy from fossil fuels. The meeting comes as the World Meteorological Organization warned that global temperatures were on course to rise by 3-5 degrees Celsius this century. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

Updated on Dec 02, 2018 3:38 PM

The Wieczorek mine in Poland. From Sunday, Katowice will host a round of United Nations climate talks, at which nearly 200 countries will attempt to agree rules on how to shift the world economy from fossil fuels. The meeting comes as the World Meteorological Organization warned that global temperatures were on course to rise by 3-5 degrees Celsius this century. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

3/11

A miner holds a chain to get his clothes at the cloakroom inside the mine. Reaching agreement on how to implement ambitious fossil fuel cuts at the talks could be tough given fears over the impact on industry which have divided the European Union and trade tensions between the US and China. Poland has painful experience of the difficulty of an economic transition from coal. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

Updated on Dec 02, 2018 3:38 PM

A miner holds a chain to get his clothes at the cloakroom inside the mine. Reaching agreement on how to implement ambitious fossil fuel cuts at the talks could be tough given fears over the impact on industry which have divided the European Union and trade tensions between the US and China. Poland has painful experience of the difficulty of an economic transition from coal. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

4/11

Miners at the Wieczorek mine. Even as it counts down to Sunday, Poland announced plans for a new coal mine in the south of the country. Its government drew support in part from those with an emotional attachment to the job security, social fabric and national pride associated with mining that overlooked the downside for health and the planet. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

Updated on Dec 02, 2018 3:38 PM

Miners at the Wieczorek mine. Even as it counts down to Sunday, Poland announced plans for a new coal mine in the south of the country. Its government drew support in part from those with an emotional attachment to the job security, social fabric and national pride associated with mining that overlooked the downside for health and the planet. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

5/11

A poster with words “Daddy, be careful as if I, was there with you” hangs on a window inside the mine. The issue resonates especially with older Poles who remember deadly anti-communist protests in the early 1980s when the miners emerged as heroes. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

Updated on Dec 02, 2018 3:38 PM

A poster with words “Daddy, be careful as if I, was there with you” hangs on a window inside the mine. The issue resonates especially with older Poles who remember deadly anti-communist protests in the early 1980s when the miners emerged as heroes. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

6/11

Katowice Steelworks is seen in Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland. Grzegorz Chudy (not pictured) whose paintings often depict the life and architecture of Nikiszowiec, is one of hundreds of people who have moved to the area, drawn by its industrial feel and affordable housing. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

Updated on Dec 02, 2018 3:38 PM

Katowice Steelworks is seen in Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland. Grzegorz Chudy (not pictured) whose paintings often depict the life and architecture of Nikiszowiec, is one of hundreds of people who have moved to the area, drawn by its industrial feel and affordable housing. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

7/11

When the Wieczorek mine, one of the oldest coal mines in Poland, closed in March, Chudy noticed for the first time the neighbourhood was vibrant with trees in the full bloom of spring. The smell was heady. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

Updated on Dec 02, 2018 3:38 PM

When the Wieczorek mine, one of the oldest coal mines in Poland, closed in March, Chudy noticed for the first time the neighbourhood was vibrant with trees in the full bloom of spring. The smell was heady. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

8/11

Artist Grzegorz Chudy, walks in front of the house where his atelier is located. “It was incredible. You never knew all those trees were there,” Churdy said. “The smell wasn’t there while coal was being transported on trucks. The dust covered it up,” he added. Chudy and others in the artistic community say their work could only exist with the inspiration provided by decades of mining. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

Updated on Dec 02, 2018 3:38 PM

Artist Grzegorz Chudy, walks in front of the house where his atelier is located. “It was incredible. You never knew all those trees were there,” Churdy said. “The smell wasn’t there while coal was being transported on trucks. The dust covered it up,” he added. Chudy and others in the artistic community say their work could only exist with the inspiration provided by decades of mining. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

9/11

Built to house the families of miners at the start of the 20th century, Nikiszowiec was designed as a self-sufficient neighbourhood with its own communal bread ovens and pigsties, as well as a bath house for miners and laundry and mangle facilities. After communist rule ended in Poland in 1989 and the mining sector started to shrink, the area became notorious for crime and poverty. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

Updated on Dec 02, 2018 3:38 PM

Built to house the families of miners at the start of the 20th century, Nikiszowiec was designed as a self-sufficient neighbourhood with its own communal bread ovens and pigsties, as well as a bath house for miners and laundry and mangle facilities. After communist rule ended in Poland in 1989 and the mining sector started to shrink, the area became notorious for crime and poverty. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

10/11

But for those with mining in the blood, moving on is harder and the smell of coal dust is as sweet as blossom. Miner Krzysztof Zawisza, 32, kisses his wife Magdalena, 31, as their daughter Zuzanna, 8, plays with a parrot during a family trip. “The atmosphere used to be much better,” Zawisza said. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

Updated on Dec 02, 2018 3:38 PM

But for those with mining in the blood, moving on is harder and the smell of coal dust is as sweet as blossom. Miner Krzysztof Zawisza, 32, kisses his wife Magdalena, 31, as their daughter Zuzanna, 8, plays with a parrot during a family trip. “The atmosphere used to be much better,” Zawisza said. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

11/11

A woman with a dog looks out from a window in Nikiszowiec district. The people miss the community spirit even if it meant shared danger and hardship. “On Friday or Saturday evening people were coming out to sit on the banks, drink some beer, have a barbecue. Now I do not know most of those who have come here,” Zawisza said. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

Updated on Dec 02, 2018 3:38 PM

A woman with a dog looks out from a window in Nikiszowiec district. The people miss the community spirit even if it meant shared danger and hardship. “On Friday or Saturday evening people were coming out to sit on the banks, drink some beer, have a barbecue. Now I do not know most of those who have come here,” Zawisza said. (Kacper Pempel / REUTERS)

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