Every year on 16 December, school teams from the Silesian Voivodeship take part in the Run of the Nine Miners. Students, accompanied by their teachers, run along Wincentego Pola Street to the Cross-Memorial of the Miners Killed on 16 December 1981. For the run, the teams wear T-shirts featuring the images of the fallen miners.
The Run of the Nine Miners
Dlaczego organizujemy bieg
The main goal of the run is to commemorate the events of 16 December and to pay tribute to the miners shot during the pacification of the “Wujek" coal mine. We aim to spark students’ interest in the region’s history and actively involve them in remembering important historical events. Learning through understanding facts, events, and phenomena, as well as their causes, consequences, and significance, is a key part of our educational mission. At the same time, by organizing the run, we seek to strengthen patriotic values and foster respect for humanity’s spiritual and material heritage.
The chosen form of commemorating this event is through running – the simplest form of physical activity – while promoting a healthy lifestyle among young people in our region. The run takes place on 16 December, marking another anniversary of the pacification of the “Wujek" mine. It is an open event for students of primary and secondary schools. Each school is represented by nine students and a supervising teacher. Schools select a patron of the run, one of the fallen miners, and students run wearing T-shirts with his image (provided by the SCWiS) to the Miners’ Cross Memorial of the “Wujek" coal mine.
Run of the Nine Miners, Katowice, “Wujek" Coal Mine Site
The starting point of the run is chosen freely by each school. Students, accompanied by their supervising teacher, move only in areas designated for pedestrians. All runners gather at the intersection of Wincentego Pola and Mikołowska streets, from where the entire group proceeds along a street closed to traffic to the Miners’ Cross Memorial of the “Wujek" coal mine.
