ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on research in Ksawera estate in the town of Będzin (Silesian Voivodship) in southern Poland and formerly strongly associated with the "Paryz" coal mine until its closure in 1995. It reconstructs the representations of places connected with the respondents' biographies, locating the analysis of transformations of the space of the post-industrial estate within the context of an emotional geography. This constitutes an interdisciplinary field linking the sociological perspective with an emphasis on the emotions associated with a sense of a certain space, with the subjective shape of feelings and mental reconstructions of places and landscapes. The research was based on individual interviews with residents on a workers' estate and group interviews conducted with former workers of the "Paryz" mine. The analysis highlights the dynamics of memories, visions of space and the changes that have taken place over the last 16 or so years since the mine was closed in 1995.
