The location act issued on June 24, 1257 by Wladyslaw, the Duke of Opole and Racibórz, which granted the right of location of Chorzów (Chareu) settlement to the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulrchre from Miechów is regarded as the historical document that gave rise to Chorzów. Persuant to the bylaw of the City Council the City Festival celebrations mark the historic date. In the XIV century the village is known to have already been well established with a church and an inn. Two centuries later silver, iron and lead ore excavations had begun.

Also in the XVI century (1590), the first brick parish church was erected in Chorzów with Błażej Bronowski serving as head priest. Sadly the next church (from 1721) burned down on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene in 1782. Within the next three years a new church had been constructed. The present church was built in 1892.

In 1780 Ludwik Bojarski the head priest discovered deposits of coal that soon began to be excavated by the parish coal mine of Duchess Jadwiga.

The Friars of the Holy Sepulchre had stayed in Chorzów till 1810 when the Order ceased to exist and under the ruling of Frederick Wilhelm III its assets were taken over by the Prussian state. This early history is present in Chorzów's coat of arms, taking the form of half of the Order cross while the other half is taken up by the image of half of an eagle - an emblem of the Piast House. The city of Chorzów was formed by merging a couple of smaller communes with the city of Królewska Huta. The land ruled by the Order is now a district called Chorzów Stary. For centuries the village has been turning into a city with a current population of roughly 100 000. In the past the city was a place where various nations could coexist: the Polish, Germans and Jews.

Frederick von Reden, a German count, has contributed greatly to the growth of the city. Königshütte was set up under the Prussian administration. In 1792 the Prussian government established the coal mine "Prinz Carl von Hessen" in the area taken by the railway station in the present city centre. The curiosity is that they encountered brine in the mine and this gave origin to a spa. Count von Reden named the newly established steel works Königshütte in 1799. In the vicinity of the steel works they built a working class settlement of the same name. Part of the settlement is still there to be seen including the bithplace of renowned sculptor T.E Kalide, whose name was given to the main street of the former settlement. In 1800 Prinz von Hessen mine was named "the King".

Count von Reden's contribution was commemorated in Königshütte in the form of a statue by T.E Kalide, who also produced a popular and enchanting fountain statue "A boy with a swan".The statue of Count von Reden had been destroyed many a time and eventually was pulled down in 1945. But, in 2002 they unveiled a reconstructed statue in Chorzów done by Augustyn Dyrda.

The dynamically developing Königshütte was granted city rights on the strength of the Prussian King Wilhelm I's deed. The city encompassed many neighbouring towns. In 1892 the post office main building was erected and its open top tower has been one of the city's most recognizable symbols ever since then. In 1901 Graf Reden Hotel (currently Teatr Rozrywki) opened. In 1905 a magnificant Market Hall was built, but deconstructed soon after due to ideological reasons. The Market Hall was built again in the seventies of the 20th century, unfortunately, being built without much style it had lost it's glamour for good. In 1922 Köningshutte became part of Poland and received the Polish name Królewska Huta. 

In 1934 Królewska Huta and Chorzów merged. The new city - Chorzów also encompassed Nowe Hajduki. April 1, 1939 Wielkie Hajduki (currently Chorzów Batory) merged with Chorzów. Wielkie Hajduki was a commune made up of Upper and Lower Hajduki which had previously been a prosperous commune in the świętochłowice district. Its origin goes back to the XVII century and its growth peak is tightly related to the beginning of "Bismarckhütte" steelworks in 1839 (currently Huta Batory). On Reden Hill sits St. Lawrence, a magnificent 16th century wood church. This unique and charming church was moved from Knurów to Chorzów in 1935. The church of St. Barbara is the oldest catholic one in Królewska Huta and the church of St. Mary Magdalene belongs to the oldest Chorzów parishes. In th vicinity of that church you can admire the remains of the former farm facilities at St. John's Square.

The origins of Wolności high street can be traced to 1826 when the Erdmannswille colony was established and the street had little in common with its current looks. Its significance grew because it had become the major road leading to the railway station built in świętochłowice in 1845. Gradually you could see numerous town houses rising on both sides of what was then called Kaiserstrasse. According to the first land development plan from 1871 the northern part of the street was to be used exclusively for trade. A year later the stretch between the railways and current Zjednoczenia street was paved. Then it was connected to the water and sewage pipes and finally electrified in 1898. It was at that time that the first trams appeared. The most vivid development of the street took place between 1895 and 1913. The street architecture got more unitary and its frontage was developed. The groundfloors of the numerous art nouveau town houses turned into shops, cafes, restaurants, offices and banks.

The street received its current name in 1922, after losing it for a couple of years during the Nazi occupation and after World War II, when Chorzów was returned to Poland. Although it has changed its name and image the street has remained a busy mall through the present and has retained its main characteristics ever since the shops and offices appeared on it. Wolności high street is synonymous with Chorzów for many reasons. One being that on either end of the street are two of the most characteristic and historically important buildings in Chorzów, namely the church of St. Jadwiga (1874), and the main post office building (1892). The street gained its popularity as a shopping mall long before World War I. The street was reconstructed for the last time in the nineties of the last century.

In1996 a thorough renovation of Wolności street was completed, and it has been attracting local shoppers, foreign tourists, and businessmen, as well as those simply trying to chill out in a cafe, restaurant or movie theatre. It was on the front of the movie theatre that a plaque was unveiled in 2006 to commemorate Franz Waxman, an Oscar winning composer born in Königshütte, and at 59 Wolności street they placed another commemorative plaque for Kurt Alder, a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry.

source: www.chorzow.eu