Speakers

Henryk Mercik was born on 20 February 1969 in Chorzów. Since 1995 he has been living in Ruda Śląska. In 1988 he graduated from Juliusz Słowacki Lyceum in Chorzów (I Liceum Ogólnokształcące) and continued his education at the Faculty of Architecture of Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, where he was awarded the title of Master Engineer in 1995.

In 2004, he defended his doctoral thesis in technical sciences “Housing estates from the turn of 19th and 20th centuries, their development and influence on the urbanization of Upper Silesia (based on the current city of Ruda Śląska)” written under the supervision of Professor Jacek Włodarczyk  at the same Faculty of Architecture in Gliwice. He is a member of the National Chamber of Polish Architects. In 2011 he obtained the entitlement for expert appraisal by the Association of Conservation Officers in architecture and construction.

In the years 1999-2008 he acted as City’s Conservation Officer for Ruda Śląska. In this period he worked to restore and renovate the city’s most valuable historic sites concluded with the pioneer – on the Silesian scale – revitalizations of factory housing estates (so-called Kaufhaus, Carl Emanuel, Kościelna and Staszica Streets). In 2008, he was appointed City’s Conservation Officer in Chorzów. Here, his input included a comprehensive revitalization and renovation of the site of the “Prezydent” mineshaft.

He initiated and currently leads the Upper Silesian branch of the Association of Conservation Officers. He is a member of the Committee for Monuments of the Iron and Steel Industry with the Bureau of the Association of Engineers and Technicians of the Iron and Steel Industry. He is an active advocate for the organization of Iron and Steel Industry Museum in Chorzów at the site of the former Huta Królewska steelworks.

Since 2010 he has been a deputy to the regional council – sejmik – of Silesian Voivodship. Over this period he has been acting as president to Silesian Autonomy Movement group in the council, as president for the Education, Science and Culture Committee and vice-president of the Silesian Voivodship Council. In 2015 he was appointed Member to the Voivodship Board, where his responsibilities include the areas of culture, environment and spatial planning.

He is interested in the history of architecture, 19th century and modernism in particular, in Upper Silesian culture and history and in music.