KÖNIGSHÜTTE-.
2X9
the inhabitants numbered 19,536. Since that year the population has increased
more than timefold, as shown by the following Table.—
Year.
Population.
1871
1875
1880
1885
1890
1895
1900
1905
19,536
26,032
27,522
32,019
36,501
44,715
57,919
66,012
Increase.
6.496
1,490
4.497
4,482
8,214
13,204
8,123
Increase per cent.
332
5-7
16 3
140
22 5
295
14-0
The nature of its industries and the rapid growth of a population, almost
entirely working-class, which has accompanied the expansion of these industries
since 1871, have produced conditions which have made it impossible for
Königshütte to develop into an attractive town. The scarcity of tree-planted
promenades and the general griminess of the brick-faced house fronts are in
keeping with the smoke-charged atmosphere. The fact that this present town
was formed by federating a group of industrial colonies separated from each
other by areas of which a great part had been undermined and so rendered
useless for building purposes, has caused Königshütte to assume a straggling
form, except in the main thoroughfares (the Kaiserstrasse and Bergfreiheit
running south-west, the Beuthenerstrasse running north and the Kronprinzenstrasse
running west) ; the town looks deserted during the day-time, and even at
night, when the streets look their best in the light of the electric lamps, they
seem but little more frequented except by the comparatively small part of the
population who are not manual workers. Many of the streets have an
unfinished appearance, owing to the roadways being still unpaved. From the
number of vacant shops which are to be seen in those streets it would
seem as if the builders had over-estimated the probable demand for business
premises, for many of these shops are now in process of conversion into groundfloor
tenements. Facilities for outdoor recreation are not wanting even in
the smoky atmosphere of Königshütte. There is a well-kept public park in
the eastern suburb of Redensberg, while the principal iron and steel-making
concern in the town has converted a portion of the land adjoining its works,
near the centre of the town, into a garden primarily intended for the use of
its own employees but to which the public have access ; here concerts are
given by an orchestra supported by the same firm. Those among the people
of Königshütte, however, who prefer to spend their Sundays and holidays in
surroundings free from smoke, take the electric tramway to Kattowitz, where
there are extensive parks and woods and few large collieries or iron works. It
does not appear, however, that any large proportion of the working-classes of
Königshütte are in the habit of going so far afield for their recreation, especially
as the cost of the return journey on the tramway is about ninepen ;e.
Among the public services sometimes undertaken by municipalities—other
than the construction and cleansing of the roads—the waterworks is the only
branch of municipal enterprise in Königshütte. Electrical power for the
tramways (which are privately owned) and for the lighting of the entire Upper
Silesian industrial district is furnished by a company from stations situated at
Zaborze and Chorzow.
Occupations, Wages, and Hours of Labour.
At the end of 1905 there were in Königshütte some 9,000 workpeople
employed in industrial establishments subject to inspection and distributed as
shown below among the various groups oi trades distinguished in the German
official statistics :—
2 o
99088
