Social capital
• depth in the aging population
• close access to one of Poland’s biggest university cities
• unemployment rate below a regional average
Godów has some 14,000 residents, comparable with the same period in 2017 (14,000). Such as elsewhere in Europe, it is experiencing depth of the aging population. Between 2017 and 2021, the region saw a decrease in birthrate (-1.46 per 1,000 inhabitants). In the last five years, an increase in retirement-age population (+1.2 pp) occurred at the expense of a drop in working-age population (-2.1 pp). Importantly, the number of people who are not yet on the job market has seen a slight increase by 1.0 pp. Indeed, despite the increasingly aging population, the number of young workers should be no lower than in the last five years.
A big advantage of Godów is that it lies close to Katowice, which is home to some of Poland’s biggest universities. Godów is just 72 km away from Katowice that is easily accessible by road and rail, as described further in this report. With a relatively short distance from the region’s capital, bringing highly skilled people into workforce should not cause any logistical problems.
From 2017 to 2021, the average unemployment rate among the working age population was 2.19% (2.21% in 2021). The unemployment rate declined steadily between 2017 and 2019. This trend reversed in 2020 while the unemployment rate dropped further into 2021. The indicators above are far lower than those across the Silesian region (3% while 2.9% in 2021).
Tourism and quality of life
• many travel worthy sites
• extensive sporting and recreational facilities
• noteworthy educational facilities
Godów offers a wide variety of tourist attractions Each year it hosts festivals, workshops, and other culture events. Godów has many historic landmarks including chapels, wooden churches, and medieval archaeological sites.
Godów is home to teams representing many major national sports. Public leisure facilities develop the interests of local community. Godów has a wealth of sports facilities. It is also known for its parks, which improves the quality of life of residents.
Local educational facilities include kindergartens and primary schools.
Five local governments of regions located near the border between Poland and the Czech Republic decided to tackle the problem of closed and unused railway lines and exploit the potential of railway history to create a unique cross-border tourist product. They decided to build the Iron Bike Trail linking Godów, Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Zebrzydowice, Petrovice u Karvine and Karviná. A large part of the trail will go along old railway tracks which are now owned by local governments.
Due to organizational reasons, it was decided that this ambitious project will be implemented in stages. The governments started from creating the first small loop of the Iron Bike Trail (the first stage) which makes use of the post-industrial heritage of Upper Silesia and is based on railway infrastructure.
The Iron Bike Trail was supplemented with a historical study which lays the foundation for an educational tourist product. As is known, the development of the economy and infrastructure in this region wasn’t balanced. Tourists will have a chance to find out how the railway emerged on the areas governed by the said local authorities and how it affected the lives of their inhabitants. On the Trail, there are information boards which talk about the railway and its historical heritage. The webpage of the Iron Bike Rail was also launched. Tourists can download a mobile app.
