It is estimated that in contemporary Poland there are 74 mines for coal and other raw materials closed. Among them there are 43 hard coal mines, which, with twenty still operating, is a significant figure. The coal industry residues and post-mine facilities are the real relicts of a bygone industrial era. They are a resource that, in many cases, can be reused  for new  purposes. Developing industrial tourism offers a chance for a second life for these witnesses of the industrial revolution.
The aim of the article is to present selected examples of the second life of mine objects and the social functions that the transformation of these objects brings. The already transformed hard coal mines will be taken into account (e.g. Guido, Adit Luiza, Ignacy,), but also others - the ones which have successfully changed their purpose and functions - will be mentioned.
 The study will indicate educational, tourist, revitalizing, promotional, economic and other functions, played both in relation to the facility itself and its social environment, as well as the role of social actors in this transformation. The background for the article is a contemporary shift from industrial to information society, where modern, dynamically developing new type of a society tries to save the legacy of its historical predecessor in many ways.
 

transformation, revitalisation, coal mines, information society, social functions