Shallow coal mining as a case study for derelict legacy – a proposal for a new term

Abstract Post-industrial legacy and cultural heritage are important elements of understanding the dynamics of socio-economic and environmental changes over the last 100 years. Additionally, they have a practical dimension to strengthen the cultural potential of cities and regions and they are factors in developing tourism and local identity. However, it can be noticed that the directed development of this potential is uneven. In addition to the well-preserved elements of selected forms and branches of industry, some have been marginalized and even gained the title of derelict legacy. Based on the example of shallow hard coal mining in a large Polish city, the article proposes an original approach to question of derelict legacy. Archival, field and literature research has allowed the identification of a set of former mines and their material and immaterial legacy. Based on elements of tangible and intangible heritage, whose scant fragments still exist in geographical space, yet are not legally protected and are not displayed as tourist attractions, research defines them as derelict legacy. The surprising lack of scientific research on shallow mining in the Katowice conurbation and its legacy paradoxically coexists with a theoretical gap in research on this topic. The article therefore aims to serve as a starting point for further research on the issue of relics of the past, understood as derelict legacy.