Journal of Geography, Politics and Society 2023, 13(1), 11–21 https://doi.org/10.26881/jpgs.2023.1.02 THE MULTICULTURALISM OF A TRADITIONAL ECONOMIC REGION – THE EXAMPLE OF THE KATOWICE CONURBATION (POLAND) Jerzy Runge (1), Anna Runge (2) (1) Institute of Social and Economic Geography and Spatial Management, University of Silesia in Katowice, Będzińska 60, 41–200 Sosnowiec, Poland, ORCID: 0000- 0003-2766-4926 e-mail: jerzy.runge@us.edu.pl (corresponding author) (2) Institute of Social and Economic Geography and Spatial Management, University of Silesia in Katowice, Będzińska 60, 41–200 Sosnowiec, Poland, ORCID: 0000- 0003-1271-5559 e-mail: anna.runge@us.edu.pl Citation Runge J., Runge A., 2023, The Multiculturalism of a Traditional Economic Region – the Example of the Katowice Conurbation (Poland), Journal of Geography, Politics and Society, 13(1), 11–21. Abstract The Katowice conurbation took shape from the end of the 18th century in the borderlands of two states, Poland and Germany. In this sense, it was an area on both their peripheries. Permanent and dynamic interactions between different national-ethnic groups resulted in cultural intermingling. From the middle of the twentieth century, this complex settlement system was already at the centre of socio-economic development on a supra-regional scale. As a result of multidirectional migration, influenced by intensive industrialisation, social relations evolved between the migrants and the local (indigenous) population, as well as between the migrants themselves. The aim of this paper is to analyse the early multicultural nature of selected cities in the Katowice conurbation against a methodological and terminological background and to indicate the extent to which this feature might be an asset in present- day socio-economic transformations in this area. The temporal and spatial overlapping of various origins of socio-cultural links and relations leads the authors to formulate the concepts of cultural genotype and primary and secondary cultural genotype, and to exemplify the formation of cultural genotypes in the Katowice conurbation. Key words multiculturalism, cultural genotype, Katowice conurbation. Received: 11 December 2022 Accepted: 02 March 2023 Published: 31 March 2023 1. Introduction Mass transcontinental emigration, the formation of nation states from the second half of the 19th century onwards, changes in the course of national borders after the First and Second World Wars, or the processes of economic transformation and social modernisation and, finally, globalisation – these all changed the face of socio-cultural differentiation. This concerned different size categories as well as the functional-spatial characteristics of individual towns and complex settlement systems. Today, in the space of cities and urban complexes, it is often difficult to identify the previous cultural pluralism of local or regional communities (Glazer, 1998; Knight, 1982; Newman, 2006; Paasi, 2003). Geopolitical realities have changed, the urban fabric underwent numerous transformations during and after the wars, while in many cases new residents have arrived in place of previous residents, often unaware of the 12 Jerzy Runge, Anna Runge socio-cultural complexity of the place have arrived in (Otto, 2015). The complexity of socio-cultural transformations is particularly evident in historical and geographical borderlands, especially those where political and administrative changes have overlapped, corresponding to dynamic urbanisation transformations. At the same time, former national and ethnic regionalisms and nationalisms are being revived in many such areas (Horowitz, 2000; Kamusella, 2002). Thus, we find attempts to conceptualise national and ethnic issues considered in the global sense (Kłoskowska, 1966; Esman, 2008), including theoretical comparisons with the possibilities of multicultural education (Grant, Lei (Eds.), 2001). At the regional level, research interest encompasses Central and Eastern Europe and its historical national-ethnic and denominational diversity (Evans, Need, 2002; Keating, 1998; Paasi, 2003). An interesting attempt to identify the role of transport in the spread of cultural diversity was presented by T. Klinger and M. Lanzendorf (2015), taking into account different modes of transport. As T.G. Jordan and L. Rowntree (1979) emphasise, the issue of ethnic diversity is an important component of cultural geography. Among the important factors – from both a historical and contemporary point of view – is the issue of cultural differentiation in Upper Silesia, which was a borderland between Prussia/ Germany, Russia and Austria between 1795 and 1918. Attempts have already been made to show the socio-sedentary complexity of this area (Krzysztofik, 2014; Runge, Runge, 2020; Runge, 2020; Śliz, Szczepański, 2015), the resurgence of regionalism (Kamusella, 2002), or to identify the process by which Upper Silesians «find their place» in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) – (Otto 2015). The aim of this study is to outline the multicultural nature of selected cities in the Katowice conurbation in the past against a methodological and terminological background and to indicate the extent to which this feature may be an asset in the contemporary socio-economic transformations of this area. Multiculturalism is treated here in terms of religious and linguistic diversity. 2. Multiculturalism and related issues The economic development recorded in the post- war years required adequate labour resources. Therefore, the newly created Silesian-Dąbrowa Voivodeship experienced an influx of people. This multidirectional migration – the outflow of the German population on the one hand, and the influx of migrants from the voivodeship’s rural areas and from outside the voivodeship on the other – shaped social relations between the migrants and the local (autochthonous) population, as well as between the migrants themselves. These relations were generally shaped in places of work and places of residence, which is a manifestation of multiculturalism. As A. Śliz and M.S. Szczepański (2011, p. 9 et seq.) note, multiculturalism is not a simple reflection of the proximity of social groups characterised by national- ethnic differences, places of origin, as well as developed relations between them. According to the authors, an important element of multiculturalism is also that cultures interact with each other in different ways. A. Śliz and M.S. Szczepański state that multiculturalism is a set of principles and processes for the implementation of social coexistence under conditions of [...] ethnic and social pluralism [...] and processes aimed at optimising social relations by equalizing rights and opportunities for participation, which allows for the levelling of tensions and conflicts (Śliz, Szczepański. 2011, p. 10). Terms related in meaning to multiculturalism are interculturalism and transculturalism. While the former emphasises the identification of permanent and dynamic interactions between different national- ethnic groups, with the latter we are dealing with the enduring effect of the interpenetration of cultures as an intermediate type combining the characteristics of individual cultures. The interpenetration of cultures at different levels of social life is not new; it intensifies with economic transformation, social modernisation or globalisation. Differentiating between multiculturalism, interculturalism or transculturalism does not exhaust the possibilities of distinguishing types of phenomena, depending on the criteria adopted. If the contact between two cultures is called duoculturalism, then having many cultures adjacent to each other would entail multiculturalism. Changes over time make multiculturalism with a long duration (historical) possible, and this is exemplified by Switzerland. Consequently, a distinction should be made between medium- and short-term multiculturalism. Generally, the former has an industrial basis. The abolition of serfdom facilitated massive, multidirectional migration processes towards dynamically developing cities in early capitalism, at the same time leading to a situation where national and ethnic groups of different origins would meet in the urban space. With the passage of time, these groups became more or less integrated, forming today’s relatively homogeneous urban communities. One manifestation of these The Multiculturalism of a Traditional Economic Region – the Example of the Katowice Conurbation (Poland) 13 integration processes is transculturalism, for example, in the form of mixed marriages. Short- term multiculturalism is also possible, and generally results from military conflicts or natural disasters. After such threats have passed, not all migrants return to the places they were forced to leave. Another possible distinction can be made between indigenous multiculturalism and multiculturalism imposed by various causes (political, economic, social, etc.). Such displacement, often of large social groups, nations and ethnic groups, has occurred many times in different regions of the world during the course of history. With regard to the spatial dimension of multiculturalism, one can identify state, regional or local forms of multiculturalism. In the first case, the state has various national-ethnic groups on its territory, in the second case, these groups reside only in a certain part of the national territory, while in the third case, they are found fragmentarily and locally in a small number of localities (towns or rural municipalities). The presence of national-ethnic groups in space can be either continuous or territorially discontinuous. Immigrant individuals or families may reside in close proximity to each other, in the immediate vicinity (the same house, the same street, neighbourhood), or they may live some distance from their fellow citizens, ‘blending in’ with the local population. The last distinction cited here (though not the last possible one) is between exogenous and endogenous multiculturalism. The former indicates that the scale of multiculturalism in a country, region or local space is so great that it is difficult to identify the native representatives of the community in that territory. In the second case, representatives of other nations or ethnic groups are clearly in the minority within a given area. As signalled earlier, an important element of multiculturalism is the formation of a structure of social relations between representatives of different national or ethnic cultures. These relations have both a spatial and a structural dimension. The appearance of representatives of a given culture signifies a specific location in space and, at the same time, the fact of adopting a specific position (role) in the demographic and social structure of the inhabitants (age, gender, education, socio- professional activity). Thus, the spatial dimension of multiculturalism is connected with the place of residence, while the structural dimension is related to the place of work, study and the fulfilment of other social needs (Knight, 1982). These places determine how direct and indirect social relations are formed. Direct relations are oriented towards neighbours living next door and also towards work colleagues. In many cases, these are fellow residents, people representing the same cultural group, which generally results in the existence of territorial socio-cultural enclaves of different sizes (house, street, neighbourhood) – (Jordan, Rowntree, 1979). Indirect relations are formed to a greater extent in places of work, studies, the occasional fulfilment of social needs (e.g. management of the workplace, administration of the university, management of units and departments in municipal administration). The formation of relations between representatives of national-ethnic groups is dynamic: it can stem from the varying degree of the influx/outflow of migrants over time, the changing directions of such migrations, and the degree of incumbency, as well as intra-territorial (country, region. local space) migration. While long-duration multiculturalism is generally highly stable, multiculturalism’s medium- and short-duration forms are subject to political, economic, or social change due to economic cycles, social modernisation, or geopolitical decisions. Other types of multiculturalism may overlap with long-duration multiculturalism. The Silesian- Lesser Poland (Małopolska) borderlands are a case in point. The multiculturalism in this area, which had existed since the early Middle Ages, was first layered with medium-duration multiculturalism (a consequence of industrialisation at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries), and in the 20th century with the multiculturalism of a short duration (in the aftermath of World War I and World War II). Since the 10th century, the Polish lands had also been home to a Jewish community. The multiculturalism of the Silesian-Lesser Poland borderlands meant that Poles, Jews, Germans, Russians, Czechs or Moravians coexisted here (1931 Census). In the 10th century, Jews appeared in the Polish lands, but they were merchants traversing the trade routes, who stayed in the main trade settlements of the time, that is, Krakow and Przemysl. The first permanent settlements with a Jewish population appeared later in the first half of the 11th century, in the suburb of Wawel, in what was then Cracow. Larger groups of Jews are found only at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries in Silesian cities. They appeared after the expulsion of the Jewish population from Prague (Kowalski, 2016, Szuchta, 2015). The degree of cultural awareness and identity is subject to change. In the literature, the fact of migration from the countryside to urban areas has been equated with a shift from peasant culture to urban culture. In many cases, the adjacency of other cultures leads from indifference, through curiosity, to the adoption of certain behaviour patterns and customs of another culture, sometimes resulting in transcultural relationships (e.g. marriage). 14 Jerzy Runge, Anna Runge 3. Cultural genotype and related concepts – a methodological proposal When talking about culture as a set of tangible and intangible values developed by a specific social group at a given stage of civilisational change, one should recognise the complex and multifaceted nature of this research issue, which is analysed by ethnologists, anthropologists, sociologists, cultural scientists and cultural geographers. When talking about cultural areas/regions, we ordinarily identify them in terms of the national-ethnic or religious context. These are the origins of studies of the indigenous peoples of North and South America, Africa or Australia, for example. In Poland, this may apply to the inhabitants of Podhale, the Tatra Mountains, the Beskid Żywiecki mountain range or Upper Silesia. However, the context of ethical norms, rituals, beliefs, material products, etc. obscures the fact that the cultural dimension of the local/regional community overlaps with everyday existence, and vice versa. Culture is to a large extent what we want to use in order to distinguish ourselves from others (rituals), what we want to leave to future generations (material culture), or how we want to organise the group of which we are a member (norms of social life, law). The everyday functioning of an individual and of a social group in a given area denotes the ability to organise a kind of added value around oneself, which serves as a ‘superstructure’ for the biological rhythm of everyday life. In human history, we can note a process of superimposing various types of cultural values on this everyday life, from primitive humans, who documented this everyday life with drawings of hunting on cave walls, through the everyday life of ancient temples and pharaohs’ tombs with representations of battles fought on the desert sands, right through the Greek amphorae with paintings of athletes, and then the works of Dutch painters illustrating the everyday life of the inhabitants of Amsterdam to the photographers and film-makers of the 20th century, documenting the everyday life of various societies around the world, etc. The dominance of the everyday ended with the decline of feudalism. Relatively permanent local communities began to experience a transition towards the disintegration of previous human connections and relationships in favour of rural depopulation and displacement in favour of rapidly growing industrial cities. The hitherto daily, highly homogenous rhythm of rural, local social structures was replaced to varying degrees in different areas by new dynamic connections and relationships. The local communities of Pyskowice, Toszek, Będzin, Bieruń or Mikołów, which had been growing since the Middle Ages, were progressively connected by closer or more distant neighbours – immigrant communities who came to work in the then new economic activities (mining, metallurgy), bringing with them their own cultural patterns. The consequence was a temporal and spatial overlapping of different origins of socio-cultural links and relations. At this point, it is necessary to introduce three concepts: the cultural genotype, and primary and secondary cultural genotype. The term cultural genotype refers to the earliest historically permanently settled social group in a given area, characterised by a particular material and immaterial culture, engaged in a specific type of spatial management, and, at the same time, maintaining links with the environment. Two basic cultural genotypes are possible – primary and secondary. The primary genotype is a derivative of long-term, permanent settlement in a given area, while the secondary genotype emerges over a relatively short period of time as a derivative of dynamic change. The primary genotype could be further defined as autochthonous and the secondary genotype as allochthonous. In the former case, the genotype of a culture is characterised by a clear integrity, systemicity, a certain type of activity, primordiality or complexity. In the latter case, however, we are dealing with a blurring of these properties, to a greater or lesser extent. Thus, the integrity of the primary genotype should be considered in terms of the degree to which the local community is closed (to what extent and under what conditions outsiders are accepted), while systemicity entails the predominance of in-group bonds and relations compared to out-group bonds and relations. In the case of the type of activity, we indicate certain proportions of tangible and intangible cultural products; primordiality means that the social group initiated the process of transformation of the area; and complexity is identified in terms of the multifaceted structural as well as the vectorial characteristics of the social group in question. This is the original proposal of the authors concept. In the case of a locality representing an allochthonous (secondary) cultural genotype, the properties listed above do not occur or are blurred (fuzzy). 4. The formation of cultural genotypes in the Katowice conurbation The dynamic development of settlements resulting from the capitalist industrialisation of the core of the Katowice conurbation meant that the differences between primary and secondary cultural genotypes began to diminish, especially where a second genotype appeared right next to the first. In some of the conurbation’s cities, this situation had a particular dimension. For example, in the Middle Ages and the following centuries there were more than 50 villages in the area of what is now Zabrze, villages with different functional and spatial structures and, at the same time, different cultural genotypes. Only the emergence of heavy industry led to an increase in population, along with an increase in the homogeneity of the spatial- functional structure. However, this does not mean a unification of the city’s socio-cultural space: quite the contrary was the case. Even today, zones of discontinuity reflecting the former boundaries between once independent localities are still visible. On the scale of the entire settlement system, processes of territorial integration and disintegration have both been recorded (Krzysztofik, 2014), leading to cultural differences being erases or strengthened. In the form of what might be termed ‘guiding fossils’, local/local communities characterised by a primary cultural genotype and dating back to the pre- industrial period have been preserved until today, integrated into the surrounding secondary cultural genotypes. Research in this area carried out in the 1990s by sociologists confirmed the inertia of socio- cultural transformations in the workers’ hamlets and settlements established in various parts of the Katowice conurbation (e.g. the Nikiszowiec and Giszowiec settlements in Katowice). This ‘cultural mosaicism’ not only has a historical dimension but also a contemporary and prospective one, most often being a consequence of migration waves associated with large, supra-regional economic investments, both within the Katowice conurbation and in other parts of the province. Jastrzębie Zdrój, Dąbrowa Górnicza or Tychy are characteristic cases of secondary cultural genotype in the post- war years. Here, the autochthonous local cultural genotype was superimposed on a significant scale by a dominant allochthonous cultural type. The migratory influx, both from different localities in this province and from other regions of the country, resulted in the superimposition of different cultural patterns in workplace- and cooperative housing estates. Paradoxically, the effect of migrants flowing in from different localities of the closer and further surroundings of the secondary genotype locality does not equate to a process by which socio-cultural links and relations are intensified. The weakening of neighbourhood relations and the anonymity of neighbouring households are more significant in the case of large-scale housing. A factor frequently complementing this is the indifference, sometimes resentment, of the permanent residents of the villages in which these hamlets / settlements were located. Researchers’ attention has been drawn far more often to the urban features of the new settlements than to the formation of their internal socio-cultural structure. It suffices to review the state of the literature on the socio-cultural issues of Dąbrowa Górnicza, Jastrzębie Zdrój and Tychy. In view of the scale of supra-regional economic investments in these localities, the formation of allochthonous cultural patterns has been examined to an extremely modest degree. This mostly concerns the localities of the dynamically developing core of the Katowice or Rybnik conurbation. In fact, the most spectacular case of Dąbrowa Górnicza is still to be subject to a synthetic analysis of the formation of a secondary (allochthonous) cultural genotype, initiated first by the establishment of the Bankowa Steelworks in the 19th century, and a century later by the Katowice Steelworks. The authors of existing publications focus more on the issues of local identity, economic changes, or cross-border relations across the Przemsza and Brynica rivers with neighbouring Silesia (Śliz, Szczepański, 2011, 2015). Taking into account the number of towns and cities that make up the present-day Silesian Voivodeship, the changing administrative divisions, and the numerous intra-regional adjustments to the boundaries of towns and rural communes, the creation of multiculturalism in this area and its neighbouring areas should be considered at various territorial levels, from the local to the regional level. The local level of multiculturalism manifests itself where a specific national/ethnic or religious group occupies a certain part of the city, for example, a street, city block or neighbourhood. In every city, a hierarchy of neighbourhoods/functional areas can be identified, in which the characteristics of the socio-cultural groups resident there can be placed on an ordinal scale according to the structure of this population. One element of this structure is the presence of specific socio-cultural groups that enhance or downgrade the attractiveness of an area. For example, in the case of Katowice, one such depreciating area is the district of Załęże, directly to the west of the central district; in the case of Chorzów it is the district of Chorzów II, where the Kościuszko Steelworks was located, the fundamental employment base in this city until it was liquidated; in the case of Sosnowiec, it is the district of Konstantynów, in the case of Świętochłowice, the district of Lipiny, etc. In contrast, socio-culturally enhancing are those fragments of the city in which representatives of the creative class are located, The Multiculturalism of a Traditional Economic Region – the Example of the Katowice Conurbation (Poland) 15 most often situated within individual developer housing, in revitalised residential spaces and in other attractive locations. The socio-cultural dimension of the distinctiveness of this group is signified by their multifaceted activity on a city/regional and, in many cases, supra-regional scale. Belonging to the creative class also means being able to make different kinds of decisions that affect the functional and spatial structure of the region, as well as the demographic and social processes and structures recorded here. The location in the local space is occasionally accompanied by multifaceted links and relations with the surroundings. The local level of socio-cultural differentiation constitutes a unification of national-ethnic and religious differentiation on the one hand and local multiculturalism in historical-structural terms on the other. At the local level (on the basis of census statistics), we can identify structural changes in socio-cultural differentiation. At the same time, we are able to compare these changes in different time periods in individual localities. These can be interpreted in terms of strengthening or weakening socio-cultural differences. At the regional level, first of all, it is important to identify the external causes of the ongoing changes in the socio-cultural space. These may stem from national social policy priorities, from economic projects that have been initiated and affect the regional labour market, including the extent and volume of population movements leading to changes in the socio-cultural space. Moving from the local to the regional scale, we are confronted with successive levels of generalisation in the picture of the differentiation of socio-cultural space. 5. The statistical dimension of multiculturalism Multiculturalism treated in terms of national-ethnic and religious diversity has a numerical dimension in the official statistics. Here, censuses are the primary source of information on the number and territorial presence of representatives of specific nationalities, ethnic groups or religions on the territory of the country as a whole and in individual administrative units. As the authors prove in the 3rd volume of The History of Silesia, published in 1976 under the editorship of S. Michalkiewicz ((Ed.), 1976), it is particularly difficult to identify the territorial range of Polishness in nationality statistics from the Silesian area since the intensification of the industrialisation process (1850–1890). On the one hand, it was as early as the Middle Ages that Czech influences began to be felt, then later Austrian, from the middle of the 18th century Prussian and, from 1871, German. As a result of the collapse of the Polish state at the end of the 18th century, the subsequent three partitions, or the establishment in 1790-1805 of what was termed ‘New Silesia’ east of the border line of the Przemsza and Brynica rivers separating the historical regions of Silesia from western Lesser Poland, this rapidly developing region was described by three different sets of national statistics – Prussian- German, Austrian and Russian. This makes direct comparisons of local statistics difficult. In practice, the declaration of using the Polish language at home was a legitimate identification criterion for Polish in Silesian conditions. The national-ethnic and confessional diversity was shaped by and overlaid (especially from the second half of the 19th century onwards) with external migratory movements (migration inflows and outflows) on the one hand, and by migrations from the countryside to the cities, on the other hand. While in the years 1850–1858 the Opole governmental district (Regierungsbezirk), covering the area of Upper Silesia, recorded a migration increase of 11,700, in the following years there was already an outflow (1859–1867) of 9,000 people, 1868–1880, a decreases of 69,500 people, and from 1881–1890 a decrease of 80,900 people. As T. Ładogórski (1976, p. 41) notes, these were emigrants heading for Saxony, and also for America. The author estimated the first group at 80–90,000 people, and the second at around 120,000. Among those heading over the ocean were Upper Silesian peasants from the vicinity of Strzelce Opolskie and Toszek, settling in 1854–1855 in Texas, where the Polish language has been preserved to this day. According to the author’s estimates, in 1890 there were approximately 600,000 people born in Upper Silesia outside the Silesian Voivodeship, i.e. 14% of the local population. At the same time, 188,000 people were born outside Upper Silesia in the same year. The largest number of immigrants at that time came from Greater Poland (Wielkopolska) (49,200 people), Austria and Russia (40,700 people), Berlin and Brandenburg (33,800 people), and 25,900 people from Saxony. However, this direction of migration was insufficient to counterbalance the general outflow from Upper Silesia, referred to in the literature as the Ostflucht (Ładogórski, 1976, p. 43). Migrations towards the Rhineland and Westphalia and beyond the borders of Europe intensified at the turn of the 20th century. Migration from the countryside to the cities was also an important part of population movements. 16 Jerzy Runge, Anna Runge This was motivated by the desire to break out of rural poverty, which was facilitated by the abolition of serfdom in Prussia at the beginning of the 19th century. In particular, the rapidly developing hamlets and factory settlements were for many immigrants from the countryside a manifestation of socio- cultural urbanisation, the acquisition of a sense of urbanity, the creation of highly homogeneous population centres, functioning in many cases far from inner city spaces. It is estimated that between 1/2 and 3/4 of urban residents were immigrants from rural areas. For example, according to an 1890 statistic, 63.0 per cent of Bytom’s population was born outside the city, in the Królewska Huta district of Chorzów 52.0 per cent, and in Racibórz 64.0 per cent (Ładogórski, 1976, p. 44). According to estimates made by T. Ładogórski (1976, p. 52), in 1840 the proportion of the Polish population in districts with a predominance of this nationality reached 90.1%, whereas by 1890 it had decreased to 82.2%. Among the towns in the Katowice conurbation, the relatively weakest share of the Polish population in 1890 was in Bytom (55.0%), while Katowice had a Polish population of 79.0%, Tarnowskie Góry 85.0% and Zabrze 82.0%. In 1890 second place in terms of nationality structure was occupied by Germans, ranging from 44.9% in Bytom to 20.9% in Katowice. The Jewish community in predominantly Polish boroughs did not exceed 6.0% at that time (5.9% in Bytom). As indicated earlier, the changing geopolitical location of the Katowice conurbation meant that the processes and socio-economic structures were recorded in population censuses at different times in the Prussian/German, Russian or Austrian parts of the region. Therefore, only partial comparability of the data is possible. Moreover, due to limited space, this publication focuses only on the denominational structure and mother tongue as identifiers of multiculturalism. A publication by A. Krzyżanowski and K. Kumaniecki (1915) entitled Statystyka Polski (Statistics of Poland) and the materials from the 1931 Census were used. Owing to Poland’s absence from the political map of Europe, the authors used data for 1910 from the statistical offices of Germany, Russia and Austria, compiling the data regionally, including data for the cities and districts of Upper Silesia. We find data on the denominational structure for six cities in the Katowice conurbation area (Table 1). The Multiculturalism of a Traditional Economic Region – the Example of the Katowice Conurbation (Poland) 17 Tab.1. Denominational structure in selected cities in the Silesian Voivodeship in 1910. City Religious denomination Roman-Catholic Protestant Jewish Other Bytom 85.38 10.71 3.81 0.10 Gliwice 81.55 15.53 2.68 0.24 Katowice 71.88 20.83 6.89 0.40 Królewska Huta 86.93 11.80 1.24 0.03 Tarnowskie Góry 94.54 4.71 0.75 0.00 Zabrze 94.98 4.25 0.75 0.02 Source: own analysis based on: Krzyżanowski, Kumaniecki, 1915 (Tab. 42 Districts in Upper Silesia (Rejencya Opolska). Area. 1910 population of towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants, p. 70). In six cities in the western and central part of the Katowice conurbation, the Roman Catholic denomination was predominant, with over 80%, and in Zabrze and Tarnowskie Góry even reaching a level of over 90% (94.98% and 94.54%, respectively). However, the proportions of Protestant and Jewish denominations varied. Relative to the other centres, Gliwice had the highest percentage of Protestants and Zabrze the lowest. Among the adherents of Judaism, the highest percentage of this community was in Katowice, Bytom, followed by Gliwice. They were least represented in Tarnowskie Góry. Comparing these figures with other localities in Upper Silesia, it was apparent that the Jewish community was concentrated in the larger industrial cities, and was significantly smaller in the other localities, including rural areas. As the territory of the Polish state, resurgent after 123 years of partitions, was still being formed after the end of the First World War, the 1921 Census did not include Upper Silesia and Vilnius. It was not until the 1931 Census that population tables by religious denomination and mother tongue were included. In fact, the data in the tables refer to the administrative division as of 01.08.1934. It should be remembered that the present-day Katowice conurbation found itself in two countries after World War I – the western part lay in the territory of Germany, while the central and eastern parts were part of the Polish state. After the creation of the Silesian Voivodeship in 1922, in practice, the territory of the Dąbrowa Basin (Zagłębie Dąbrowskie – the eastern part of the Katowice conurbation) became part of Kielce Voivodeship. This fact is taken into account in Tables 2 and 3, which present the denominational structure and mother tongue in the nine cities, respectively. In the denominational structure (Table 2), the previously high dominance of the Roman Catholic denomination was confirmed. It was only in Sosnowiec that the percentage of this denomination was below 80% (79.5%). The Jewish denomination came second (Będzin, Czeladź, Dąbrowa Górnicza and Sosnowiec). A particularly high proportion of the Jewish denomination was recorded in Będzin; in fact, Będzin was commonly called a ‘Jewish town’. In Chorzów, Katowice, Mysłowice and Tarnowskie Góry, on the other hand, Protestants were the second most numerous religious denomination. Comparing the data from 1910 with the 1931 Census, one can discern a decrease in the share of adherents of Judaism in Katowice, Chorzów and Tarnowskie Góry, which could perhaps be explained by the First World War and emigration from overseas. 18 Jerzy Runge, Anna Runge Tab.2. Denominational structure in selected cities in the Silesian Voivodeship in 1931. City Religious denomination Total Roman- Catholic and Armenian- Catholic Greek- Catholic Orthodox Protestant Jewish Other and unspecified Będzin 100.0 54.18 0.04 0.10 0.12 45.43 0.13 Chorzów 100.0 92.19 0.04 0.05 4.78 2.76 0.18 Czeladź 100.0 94.38 0.04 0.13 0.19 5.13 0.13 Dąbrowa Górnicza 100.0 85.27 0.02 0.30 0.27 13.94 0.20 Katowice 100.0 89.81 0.14 0.11 5.09 4.53 0.32 Mysłowice 100.0 94.50 0.09 0.13 3.10 2.04 0.14 Siemianowice Śl. 100.0 94.83 0.03 0.01 4.35 0.64 0.14 Sosnowiec 100.0 79.48 0.09 0.44 0.72 19.09 0.18 Tarnowskie Góry 100.0 95.44 0.07 0.09 2.74 1.62 0.04 Source: authors’ own analysis based on: Narodowy..., 1931 (Tab. 11. Population by sex and religion. Silesian Voivodeship p. 24–25; Kielce Voivodship p. 32 and 34). In terms of linguistic structure, the dominance of Polish as the mother tongue among the inhabitants of the cities was evident (Table 3). In relative terms, the smallest margin of Polish predominance was recorded in Będzin (55.4%), which was due to the high proportion of Będzin’s Jewish community using Yiddish (40.0%). In neighbouring Sosnowiec, the proportions were 81.9% to 17.3%. While Yiddish was prominent in the cities of the Dąbrowa Basin (the eastern part of the Katowice conurbation), German was the second most widely spoken language in Silesia’s cities (Chorzów, Mysłowice, Siemianowice Śląskie, Tarnowskie Góry). Thus, in spite of the dismantling of the state border between Germany and Russia after the First World War, the socio-cultural boundary (religion, mother tongue) along the Przemsza and Brynica rivers, which formed the state border from 1795 to 1914, remained in place between the wars. 6. Discussion The Katowice conurbation was formed from the end of the 18th century on the border of two states, Poland and Germany. In this sense, it was an area on their peripheries. Since the mid-20th century, however, this complex settlement system has been a centre of socio-economic development on a supra-regional scale. While centres are the focus of socio-economic life, determining not only the transformation of their own territory but also that of other areas, the periphery is an area of socio-economic and cultural influence. Peripherality is associated with the fluidity of borders, the difficulty of creating a unified political centre, or socio-cultural, religious and confessional homogeneity (Skrok, 2008, pp. 9–12). Yet this dualism of territories is by no means obvious. Analysing the history of the great powers that created political, economic or cultural centres of civilisation, one can see both the processes of transition from the position of the periphery towards the centre and the loss of significance of the previous rank. The cycle of transformation did not have to end there, as in many cases development impulses became apparent after a certain time. One need only trace the historical process of the movement of the centre of Europe’s socio-economic and cultural development after the great geographical discoveries began (Genoa, Lisbon, Madrid, Amsterdam, London) – (Braudel, 1992a, 1992b, 1992c). For example, in Central Europe, states emerged successively over time: Great Moravia, Bohemia, the Habsburg Empire, Austria- Hungary, modern Austria, all punctuated by periods of relative peace. The Polish lands also experienced periods of political, economic and socio-cultural prosperity, as well as the collapse of the state, the partitions, and then, after World War One, its reinstatement 123 years after its independence was lost. Similar variability of transformations, as well as the variability of processes and structures within the area are characteristic of many other peripheries initiating their transformations in the first or second Kondratieff cycle (Kondratiew, 1925). As M. Barwiński notes (2016, pp. 148–150), interest in multiculturalism is not only of historical dimension; quite the contrary is the case. The recorded processes of globalisation, social modernisation, multidirectional migration, or urbanisation and suburbanisation cause an intensification of contacts between individuals, social groups presenting different types of norms, behaviours, and cultural customs. Poland’s accession to the EU has opened up the possibility of both short-term trips to Western European countries and permanent moves, with direct contact with the national culture there, on the one hand, and contact with non-European immigrants arriving from various parts of the world on the other hand (especially former colonies). This dual cultural contact, often manifesting itself between districts/ areas inhabited by different national-ethnic or worker groups, required certain pro-social attitudes, both on the local labor market and in the places of residence. One might even venture the hypothesis that historical multiculturalism between the 1st and 2nd cycles of Kondratieff ’s theory (1925) was subject to a process of erasure in Europe with the rise in military conflicts from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. The creation of nation-states and the First and Second World Wars significantly reduced or, in many cases, eliminated the previous national-ethnic and denominational differentiation. At the same time, with the decline of colonialism, economic migration by the inhabitants of former colonies to Europe’s colonial states began in the aftermath of World War II, resulting in the formation of multicultural cities and regions. The accumulation of socio-political and economic problems and armed conflicts all contributes to an increase in refugees/ migration to economically developed countries. According to R. Kaczmarek, borderlands are culturally attractive, economically dynamic, and creative in the creation of new The Multiculturalism of a Traditional Economic Region – the Example of the Katowice Conurbation (Poland) 19 Tab.3. Linguistic structure of selected cities in the Silesian Voivodeship in 1931. City Linguistic structure Total Polish Russian Czech German Jewish Hebrew Other Będzin 100.0 55.40 0.02 0.01 0.07 40.03 4.34 0.13 Chorzów 100.0 87.03 0.01 0.02 11.70 0.95 0.18 0.12 Czeladź 100.0 95.28 0.05 0.01 0.03 4.30 0.04 0.30 Dąbrowa Górnicza 100.0 86.05 0.10 0.01 0.04 12.90 0.37 0.53 Katowice 100.0 84.91 0.04 0.04 13.44 1.10 0.15 0.32 Mysłowice 100.0 89.76 0.04 0.01 9.37 0.61 0.06 0.16 Siemianowice Śl. 100.0 92.44 0.00 0.03 7.36 0.12 0.02 0.02 Sosnowiec 100.0 81.87 0.17 0.01 0.15 16.81 0.81 0.19 Tarnowskie Góry 100.0 83.22 0.03 0.01 16.35 0.29 0.01 0.09 Source: authors’ own analysis based on: the Narodowy..., 1931 (Tab. 12. Population by sex and native language. Silesian Voivodeship p. 26–27; Kielce Voivodeship p. 35 and 37). Tomek Komentarz w tekście Linguistic structure patterns of behaviour and political visions thanks to the diversity of people living there and the transfer of ideas [...] Today, borderland regions, with the richness of the traditions of their inhabitants, need not be a problem. Without losing their social dynamism, they are among the best economically and culturally developing in the whole of Europe, as long as they do not allow themselves to be pushed into sterile disputes that have been taken over in a raw state from the last century, disputes about whether they should be integrated (read: unified) as quickly as possible into a homogenous nation state... (Kaczmarek, 2010, p. 67). According to H. Rusek (2000, pp. 146–47), when talking about borderlands, we usually mean cultural borderlands. Yet there are many dimensions to this concept – from spatial to non-spatial (psychological), from economic to socio-cultural, from regional to national, or from inter-group to inter-cultural, etc. H. Rusek (2000, p. 147) emphasises that «the multicultural space of the borderlands [...] imposes on its inhabitants the necessity to develop and adopt complex attitudes towards it, which often differ in relation to particular spheres of life...». According to Rusek, borderland multiculturalism occurs in two different senses: • firstly, it is an analytical category enabling description of the multiplicity of cultures in the area being studied; • and secondly, it is an ideology of multiculturalism, leading to the observance of norms of customs, legal systems, etc. that create a policy towards minorities, allowing differences to be respected and accepted in the name of democracy and tolerance. While the central territory is characterised by a higher level of homogeneity of socio-economic and cultural processes and structures, the periphery is generally not as homogeneous. Such areas may be subject to significant territorial variations in the formation of political-administrative, socio- economic and cultural processes and structures. Thus, we are dealing with the multidimensional external variability of borderlands, as well as with their internal variability. The former is the result of the clash of interactions and relations between the central territories, while the latter stems from the intra-border differentiation of the constituent local and sub-regional spaces. Within borderlands, changes are generally a consequence of military conflicts (shifts of political borders, mass migration movements), the introduction of new administrative divisions, as well as the correction of existing ones, and contemporary socio-economic policies that initiate, for example, large economic investments, thus significantly changing the functional and spatial structure of the area. Irrespective of the central or peripheral source of the initiation of economic and social change, the intangible components of the cultural heritage of border regions are the historical legacy of earlier stages of transformation, alongside material cultural dimension. 7. Conclusion Local communities formed up until the rise of industrialisation were relatively homogeneous and had a small proportion of immigrants, mainly as a result of the segmentation of local labour markets (merchants, craftsmen, liberal professions). These communities attracted to the area of today’s Katowice conurbation those who were interested in the possibilities of trade on an important European route from Western Europe to the east from the Middle Ages onwards. This promoted the relatively even development of numerous towns and cities in the Upper Silesia area. However, it was not until coal mining and metallurgy emerged that the processes of change were diversified beyond this west-east axis. The influx of migrants to the mines and smelters led to multifaceted socio-cultural stratification - in terms of area of origin (locals, immigrants), income (factory owners, landowners, managers, engineers, foremen, workers), religious denomination (Catholics, Evangelicals, Orthodox, Jews), place in the social hierarchy (aristocracy, clergy of various denominations, bourgeoisie, workers, peasants), nature of family ties, or by the degree of local/regional awareness and identity. 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