Autumn Eurocrankhop - Day 8

Ruch Chorzow v Korona Kielce, Polska Ekstraklasa.

Back to the magnificence of Budapest Keleti.

I was on the 0822 EuroCity service to Warsaw.  This had a Czech loco, Hungarian coaching stock....

....then at the back, Russian sleeping cars, as there is a through portion to Moscow.  These are brand new vehicles, but brilliantly, still have a coal powered heating stove in them as Russian locos don't have any train power supply.

The route heads north, along the Danube, with the Pilis mountains in the background.

It soon passes into Slovakia, which is basically the Czech Republic ten years ago, but with a lot more piss.

It then heads into Bratislava Hlavná station that makes Belgrades look like Grand Central.  Without doubt, the worst central station of any European capital.  Dark and dingy with puddles of stenching piss everywhere, occupied by swivel eyed lunatics, swigging whatever aniseed flavoured meths they can get their hands on.  Although the city is very nice.

By Breclav, we were into the Czech Republic.  In the last couple of years CD, the state railways, have completely transformed the passenger operation, with new trains, the old ones refurbished, and stations rebuilt.

Here is the only example I saw of an old liveried train in service, a class 843 rakev (coffin) in its original red and cream, but looking pristine.

Into Bohumín and a loco change to a PKP 'taurus'.

Soon we were over the border, and a string of Polish locos waiting at the exchange sidings.

Football grounds visible from the railway;  Lesnik Kobiór.

Into Katowice.  

I may be being a bit harsh on the city, put I do find it a bit of a nothing place.  It was mainly constructed from the 1850s when the surrounding mineral deposits started to be exploited.  Much of that was then knocked down post war for the communist projects, but even that architecture is dull rather than brutal.  It does have the Nikiszowiec area of the historic town, but I'd been there before.  To sum it up, trip advisors top ten things to do in Katowice has cinema at 2 and a bowling alley at 3.  In essence, its like trying to find something good to do in Basingstoke.  My last visit to the city was a few years ago, returning from Ukraine, where a stopover in Katowice did however coincide with its hosting of the International Festival of Military Orchestras, which was a lot of elderly drunks with huge epolates trying to play the William Tell Overture, and us trying to teach them the floral dance.

After a quick dash to the hotel, it was back to the station for one of the ubiquitous PKP Ek57 units, for the couple of stops to Chorzów Batory.  Nearly 1500 of these units were built over a 30 year period from 1962, the longest production run of any electric train.

Into Chorzów, with a welcome from the police.  Chorzów is basically the shit part of Katowice, and Katowice is hardly Bath in the architecture stakes.  Though it also isn't like Bath in the brewery stakes, as Katowice makes a decent beer.  Over history, Chorzów has regularly swapped between being Polish and German/Prussian/Holy Roman Empireian.  By the end of the 19th century, it was in German hands, who turned it into a major industrial area, for coal, steel and nitrogen production.  By the 1920s, the natives were restless, and it went back to Poland, only for the Germans to take it back on day one of WW2.  It switched back to Poland as future retribution for the German affections for double denim and Hasselhof.  More recently, the industry has been in decline, due to the more stringent environmental regulations.  The city hit the news in 2006 when its trade hall collapsed, killing 65 people.  The only Polish victim of the London bombings came from Chorzów.

Whilst the ground could be spotted, it was difficult to actually get to, being surrounded by a gas works...

....terraced housing....

....and a super market car park.

Eventually I did get to it, and headed to the ticket tent, where a lengthy queue was in place, mainly due to anyone wanting to buy a ticket who didn't have a membership card, being made to fill in a three page form.  Pleading extenuating circumstances of being English, a cursory glance of my passport was all that was needed and I was into the ground.

Ruch Chorzów 4 v Korona Kielce 0, Poland Ekstraklasa.

Ruch Chorzów were founded in 1920 Hajduki Wielkie, as the city, then known as Bismarckhütte, was part of Germany.  As it changed to Polish rule, the Ruch prefix was added, it meaning movement and relates to the pro Polish uprisings.  with Ruch (a common noun for movement) being sometimes interpreted by Polish patriots as a cover reference to the Silesian Uprisings.  During WW2, and back under German rule, it became Bismarckhütter SV 99 playing in the German leagues.  Under communism it became Unia Chorzów, then finally back to its current name.  The team have been successful, winning the league 14 times, including five titles in six years in the 1930s, but none since 1989.  They have won the cup three times, and reached the quarter finals of both the European and UEFA cups in the mid 1970s.

Kielce is situated a hundred or so miles north east of Katowice, half way to Warsaw.  Korona were formed in 1973 with the merger of two city clubs.  For the next twenty years they bobbed around between the second and third divisions, before success came in the last ten years.  A new sponsor saw the club change their name to 'Kielecki Klub Piłkarski Kolporter Korona', a definite triumph of alliteration over practicality.  This also saw promotion up to the top division, though without ever really challenging for the title, and a couple of relegations to division 2.  They have also been one of the few Polish teams to move to a new stadium.

Stadion Miejski Chorzowie was built in the 1930s.  It has hosted internationals, but my memory of it is from it hosting Speedway World Championships in the seventies and eighties with Reading Racers Barry Briggs and Per Johnson both having success here.  The ground was a shallow bowl round a track, with a stout main stand on one side.  A bit like an all seater Springfield Park.

The Ruch 'Psycho Fans' were situated behind one goal.

Whilst the Kielce fans were at the apex of the other end, which with the redundant speedway track, was so far away that those who had stayed at home were probably closer to the pitch.

I had been given the most expensive seat, 55 zloty, about £11, for top centre of the main stand.

The game was being televised, so I though it a bit strange it was a 1800 kick off.  It brought all the usual TV theatrics to the teams coming out, including walking on to a thrash metal version of Taylor Dane.  I feel the night explode, when we're together.....

The game was bottom versus second from bottom, though to be fair, it was of a decent standard.  Thankfully, there was none of this 'patient build up from the back' wank.  Both teams got it forward, and weren't afraid to have a shot.  Chorzów were the dominant team and scored mid way through the first half, with a shot from the edge of the box.

Quite brilliantly, the current team sponsor translates as 'The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity'.  Every inch of the ground was painted blue, and adorned with massive pictures of historic players....

.....and at the back of this stand, league winning teams.  These were all round the perimeter fence as well, and a nice touch.  They were also the only surface in the city not to be daubed in graffiti.

The old track meant that the technical areas were of such a size that you could have fitted the old Highbury pitch into them.

Some wonderful iron work on the big windows.

A novel idea was that kids don't really take any interest in the games, so there was an organised relay race going on for them during the game.

Into the second half and Chorzów scored a couple more.

The game ended 4-0, lifting Ruch up five places from the bottom of the league.

After the game, I headed back to the station but there was a battalion of police in place, so instead I jumped on a waiting tram back to Katowice, this being a rare example of a modern eight wheeled tram, most new ones have gone for multi-part articulated trams.

Thinly Veiled Undercurrent of Skinhead Violence Times