Ever since the railway line was extended to Katowice in 1846, this previously small industrial settlement began to rapidly transform into a thriving urban centre. Hotels, restaurants, a post office, banks and other facilities needed to serve travellers began to be built near the station. One of the most luxurious hotels was the Savoy, which opened before the First World War. It was located at Holtzestrasse 4-6 (today’s Mariacka Street). In the 1920s, the hotel restaurant was a favourite of Wojciech Korfanty. So it is no surprise that it was here that, on 20 June 1922, the leaders of the Third Silesian Uprising met with General Szeptycki, the commander of the Polish army entering Upper Silesia.

This fragment of a hotel neon sign designed in 1958 allows one to appreciate the craftsmanship of its creators – the glass tube is shaped so that the successive letters form a continuum.