About the quality of the Prudnik and Gogolin railway landscape

Marek Konopka

Abstract

One of the definitions of the landscape says that landscape is a physiognomy of the world that surrounds us. Using a comparison we can say that the landscape can be modified by means of different stylising activities in the same way in which the face is decorated with make-up.

When the railway entered the panorama of the world, nobody expected that it was going to become a significant element of the landscape within the next forty years. Today we can agree that it constitutes an indispensable part of the cultural landscape. At the place where there was an intensified man’s activity, sooner or later iron horses arrived at that terrain on the iron railways. Unfortunately, when we observe the regression of the railway which has lasted on the Polish land, we cannot resist the impression that the face of the railway world is getting deep wrinkles. Thus, the question arises what next? Does this face have to die in the course of the natural cycle development?

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