​​In the Polish People’s Republic (PRL) Katowice was regarded as Polish Las Vegas. At the end of the 1960s near - ly 800 neon signs illuminated the city streets. Many of them were designed on a grand scale, numerous were original and aesthetically sophisticated. Some of them covered almost entire façades, like that one on the Pedant department store at 3 Maja street. Some of them gave the impression of being mobile thanks to a sequence of lighting elements. The latter enjoyed particularly great popularity among Katowice residents and for many children an evening trip to the city centre was a considerable attraction, just due to the neon signs. The most liked ones included the Monkeys at 13, 3 Maja street, the neon sign of the Randia tea room with a cloud of steam raising above the pot, or the jumping Filipek at Stawowa street. These historic signs were not merely commercials, but true masterpieces of applied art, ranging from dynamic kinetic designs that brought the streets to life, to sophisticated graphic illustrations tailored to specific venues. They defined the visual identity of Katowice, merging industrial modernist architecture with vibrant, colorful geometry. A great return of light advertisements to Kato - wice, marked by a hundred of new and recon - structed neon signs, inspired the city authorities to create a route dedicated to them. In the very centre of the city there are display units, made specially for this purpose, where interested pe - ople can see a reconstruction of the former neon signs, the most beautiful and best known ones, archive photographs, and an outline of their history.

This route transforms the city center into an open-air museum, celebrating Katowice’s design heritage. For those wishing to dive deeper into this glowing history, iconic authentic pieces and their stories are also preserved and displayed at the Katowice Neon Warehouse (Katowicki Skład Neonów), bridging the gap between the city’s dazzling past and its modern cultural landscape.