Miners, their families and residents of the Nikiszowiec housing estate after mass at St. Anne's Church in Katowice, Poland, on Dec. 4.
Photographer: Damian Lemanski/BloombergEnergy
Europe’s Coal Mining Holdout Braces for Its Inevitable Demise
Poland is speeding up its transition to clean energy, and that means pain for an industry whose traditions run deep through the nation.
St. Barbara’s Day is always a big celebration in Nikiszowiec. Every December, the red brick district of Katowice in southern Poland marks the patron saint of miners with a parade, special mass and a fair.
The annual “Barborka” tribute, though, has become more of a long goodbye for an industry that once employed more than 400,000 people.