Katowice [katɔˈvit͡sɛ] ( listen) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers (tributaries of the Oder and the Vistula respectively). Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about 50 km (31 mi) north of the Silesian Beskids (part of the Carpathian Mountains) and about 100 km (62 mi) southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.
It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2 million. Katowice is the center of science, culture, industry, business and transportation in southern Poland. It is the main city in the Upper Silesian Industrial Region and of the 2,7 million conurbation, the Katowice urban area, within a Silesian metropolitan area populated by 4,676,983 people.
Katowice has been the capital of the Silesian Voivodeship since its formation in 1999. Previously, it was the capital of the Katowice Voivodeship, before then, of the Silesian Voivodeship and before then Province of Upper Silesia in Germany.
