Katowice Beboks

About

Katowice beboks are a collection of small outdoor sculptures portraying characters from Slavic folklore known as beboks, scattered across various locations in Katowice, Poland. Initiated and designed by Katowice artist Grzegorz Chudy, the first beboks were installed in July 2021 in the Nikiszowiec district. These sculptures are often compared to the Wrocław Dwarfs or the Zielona Góra Bachusiki, serving as a tourist attraction in Katowice. Earlier attempts at similar figurines, introduced on 7 September 2017 as part of the Silesian Dialect Trail, were short-lived due to theft and vandalism.

The Katowice beboks are a series of small outdoor sculptures depicting the Slavic demon bebok in varied forms with distinct attributes. Conceived by Katowice artist Grzegorz Chudy [ pl ], whose studio is located at 9/4 Odrowążów Street in Nikiszowiec, the beboks are portrayed as friendly creatures, inspired by a drawing Chudy created for a child.

Typically commissioned by businesses, local communities, or institutions, the figurines are funded independently or through crowdfunding and sales of commemorative items. The creation process begins with a sketch, followed by a watercolor, and culminates in a bronze casting crafted in a Zabrze workshop run by Dariusz Kik and Karolina Piechota.

Beyond sculptures, beboks appear as magnets, Christmas cards, watercolors, and plush toys produced by Ewa Kapias of the KrysKa Designe Handicraft Association, based at 11 St. Anna Street in Katowice.

The beboks are a tourist attraction in Katowice, akin to Wrocław Dwarfs or Zielona Góra Bachusiki [ pl ]. They form the Katowice Bebok Trail. Visitors can collect stamps to earn a "Bebok Hunter" badge. Residents and institutions often dress the beboks in seasonal outfits, such as winter clothing, Halloween costumes, or accessories for social campaigns.

Beboks by Grzegorz Chudy outside Katowice

Figurines from the Silesian Dialect Trail

The first small outdoor sculptures in the public space of Katowice were created as part of the Silesian Dialect Trail. They were intended to consist of small figurines placed in the city center (similar to the Wrocław Dwarfs ), symbolizing words or figures from Upper Silesian tradition. The trail aimed to encourage people to explore local traditions and culture, with publicly available maps to aid in finding the figurines. The project was a collaboration between individuals involved in the Ogrody Przedsiębiorczości event and the Katowice City Hall [ pl ]. The trail included the following figures: Skarbnik, Utopek, Heksa (witch), Połednica, Bebok, Strziga, Geld (representing Karl Godulla ), Maszkieciorz (a figure fond of sweets), and Drach (dragon).

The Silesian Dialect Trail was inaugurated during Katowice's 152nd birthday on 7 September 2017 at the Ateneum Theatre [ pl ]. It operated for only one day – on 8 September, most figurines were found to have been vandalized, either destroyed or stolen, necessitating the trail's closure by removing the surviving figurines. Initially, the city planned to revive the trail by replacing the old figurines with new ones made from vandalism-resistant materials.

On 26 April 2018, the Geld figurine was stolen, having survived on the trail for only two days. In June, police recovered the Połednica figurine, stolen at the end of May from Sławika i Antalla Square. On 31 August, another figurine, Drach, depicting a dragon, was unveiled on the trail. It was placed in Chorzów, in front of Legendia.

In September 2018, due to ongoing vandalism and thefts (only four of the nine figurines remained – Drach, Skarbnik, Heksa, and Bebok ), it was decided that the figurines would not return to the trail in their original form. A new concept emerged to transform the trail – replacing physical figurines with digital versions via markers placed at the original locations. These figures would appear on phone screens after downloading a special app and scanning the marker's code.

The idea for figurines depicting beboks originated with Katowice artist Grzegorz Chudy [ pl ] in 2018. Initially, it was a drawing for a child, after which he began painting watercolors of legendary creatures. His first book about beboks, published in 2019, described their life in Nikiszowiec.

Later, the idea emerged to create figurines to decorate Nikiszowiec. Dariusz Kik and Karolina Piechota visited Chudy's atelier, stating they could cast a bebok figurine in bronze and place it. The first was temporarily placed in Nikiszowiec in January 2021. The first permanent figurines, Michalino and Wincynt, were installed in the historic district in July of the same year.

On 29 September 2021, the first beboks outside Nikiszowiec were unveiled. Two new figurines, Frelka and Miglanc, were revealed in front of Galeria Katowicka. Their names were chosen through an online contest from many proposals by Katowice residents. A ceremony celebrated their installation, attended by Galeria Katowicka director Joanna Bagińska, artist Grzegorz Chudy, and Katowice mayor Marcin Krupa.

On 1 June 2022, a bebok named Bebook was unveiled. It resulted from the "Let's Make a Bebok" campaign, organized at the request of students from Social Primary School No. 1 of the Civic Educational Society [ pl ] in Katowice. After visiting Chudy's atelier, they wanted to place their own bebok in front of the school building.

On 29 September 2022, Bebok Day was celebrated at Galeria Katowicka. A figurine named Bōncloka was unveiled, with its name chosen by Katowice residents, similar to the figurines at the gallery's entrance. On the same day, the play Beboki by Teatr Trip premiered at the Korez Theatre [ pl ]. The proposal came from Grzegorz Chudy, inspired by his watercolors.

On 19 October 2022, the bebok Bogucia was unveiled at Porcelana Śląska [ pl ] factory, tied to the Giesche Foundation's anniversary. Its name was chosen via an online contest. On 4 December of the same year, a bebok miner named Ferdynand was placed in Bogucice Park [ pl ], heading to a shift at the Ferdynand mine (later Katowice mine). Its funding involved Bogucice residents purchasing decorative magnets designed for the occasion and participating in an online auction for a bebok watercolor. A festival, "Barbórka with Bebok", and a special run were organized to mark the unveiling. At the end of 2022, Katowice beboks appeared in the music video for the song Co to jest za dźwiynk, inviting people to discover them.

In mid-January 2023, a bebok holding a heart-shaped logo of Katowice was unveiled at the Market Square. On 30 May 2023, a female bebok named Kasia was unveiled in front of the entrance [ pl ] of the Adam Mickiewicz High School [ pl ]. In June 2023, a bebok named Ewald was placed in Giszowiec in front of the Giszowiec branch of the Szopienice-Giszowiec Municipal Cultural Center [ pl ], commemorating Ewald Gawlik [ pl ]. It was unveiled during the Giszowiec Children's Day celebrations. Later that month, the Medical University of Silesia gained its own bebok, placed in front of the Main Library at Warszawska Street. It was unveiled by the university's rector, Prof. Tomasz Szczepański.

In August 2023, the first bebok outside Katowice was unveiled in Sopot at Sopotorium, named Kuracjuszka.

On 11 September 2023, a square with stairs was ceremonially opened at the KTW office complex, where a new Katowice bebok, Katewusia, was unveiled. On 2 October of the same year, another Nikiszowiec bebok – two figurines, Sztefa and Erwinek – was placed at the entrance to the Department of Urban Ethnology of the Katowice Historical Museum [ pl ] at 4 Rymarska Street. Erwinek refers to Erwin Sówka [ pl ], a naïve art painter from the Janów Group [ pl ], while Sztefa commemorates a Nikiszowiec resident who used the local mangle. In early November 2023, a female bebok named Harmonia was placed in front of the Krzysztof Czuma Psychiatry Center in Katowice, intended to remind people of the importance of mental balance. The figurine was initiated by psychologist Joanna Czuma-Sitek. On 4 December 2023, during the 96th anniversary of Katowice Polish Radio, a bebok named Antenek was unveiled in front of the Radio Katowice headquarters [ pl ] in the presence of Silesian Voivodeship marshal Jakub Chełstowski and Katowice mayor Marcin Krupa.