Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the KÅ‚odnica and Rawa rivers (tributaries of the Oder and the Vistula). Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about 50 km from the Silesian Beskids (part of the Carpathian Mountains) and about 100 km from Sudetes Mountains.
Katowice has been the capital of Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999. Previously, it was the capital of the Katowice Voivodeship, and before then, of the Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship. Katowice is the main city of the Upper Silesian Industry Area and the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union. Its population is 317,220 (2006), within a greater urban area populated by about 3.5 million people.
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