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Lodz is Poland’s third largest city with population of 753,192 in 2007 (lost its second rank to Krakow in 2007). It is located in the centre of the country and serves as the capital of the Lodz Voivodeship. The coat of arms is canting, i.e., it contains a boat, alluding to the city’s name which literally means “a boat”.
The city, dubbed the Polish Manchester, has been famous for its textile industry, flourishing especially during the fin de siecle. The movie Promised Land based on a novel by the Nobel laureate WLadysLaw Reymont, depicts those times. Lodz is the capital of the Lodzkie Voivodship.
Many tourists in Lodz visit Piotrkowska Street, which stretches north to south for a little over five kilometres, making it the longest commercial street in the world. Recently renovated, it has many beautiful buildings dating back to the 19th century, in the Art Nouveau architectural style.
Although Lodz does not have any hills nor any large body of water, one can still get close to nature in one of the city’s many parks, most notably Lagiewniki (the largest city park in Europe), Zdrowie, and Poniatowski. Lodz Zoo, and Lodz Botanical Gardens also offer pleasant opportunities for leisure. Lodz has one of the best museums of modern art in Poland, Muzeum Sztuki on Wieckowskiego Street, which displays art by all important contemporary Polish artists.
Despite insufficient exhibition space (many very impressive paintings and sculptures lie in storage in the basement), there are plans to move the museum to a larger space in the near future. Old postindustrial buildings are now being restored, among them a factory built by Izrael Poznanski, one of Europe’s largest textile factories.
Litzmannstadt Ghetto. The Litzmannstadt Ghetto was the second largest Jewish Ghetto in Poland after the Warsaw Ghetto. The Ghetto is both referred to as the Lodz Ghetto and the Litzmannstadt Ghetto, named after the German General who captured the city. The city was renamed Litzmannstadt in honor of the General during the German occupation. The ghetto is different from many of the other large ghettos, because it was the last ghetto to be liquidated due to the high productivity of the slave laborers and no armed resistance was ever formed.
The exact origin of the city’s name is unknown, however, the word Lodz translates to “boat” in English. This is referred to in the emblem and when you hear the dwellers of Lodz (Lodzianin (men) Lodzianka (women) Lodzianie (plural)) calling themselves “the boat people”.
A settlement on the area of present-day Lodz was first established in the 14th century and in 1423 it has been granted a town charter, along with the right to have a marketplace. However, the real development of Lodz starts with the industrial era at the beginning of the 19th century when the city was chosen to be the heart of the rapidly-growing textile industry. The population of Lodz soared from some 4k people in the 1830s and 40k in 1865 to over 300k inhabitants at the turn of the century, which was an unprecedented growth on a worldwide scale.
The rapid development of Lodz in the second half of the 19th century was brought about by the rise of enormous industrialist fortunes. New inhabitants, craftsmen and merchants came to Lodz; markets and town fairs came to life. The profits obtained from prosperous textile mills opened up practically unlimited possibilities for their owners. The city residences became expressions of the riches and power of the local tycoons. They were usually situated next to the owner’s factory.
Andrzej Wajda’s movie “The Promised Land” portrays Lodz’s 19th century heyday. Ever since the industrial revolution bringing a massive influx of workforce, Lodz has been a city almost equally divided between four cultures – Polish, Jewish, German and Russian. The day before the outbreak of World War II, Lodz was inhabited by approximately 672,000 people, among whom 35% were of Jewish faith and some 15% were ethnic German.
During the Nazi occupation, Lodz was incorporated directly into the Third Reich. The city was renamed to Litzmannstadt, and Piotrkowska Street was called Adolf-Hitler-Strasse. Although the city was not destroyed in the aftermath, the material losses were serious as the machinery, raw materials and finished goods have been taken away by the fleeing Nazis.
The day before the liberation, about 80,000 Germans left Lodz in panic. At the beginning of 1945, the number of population was estimated at 300,000. In recent years, Lodz was seemingly forgotten by the government, investors, and travelers in favor for other cities, such as Krakow, Warsaw, and Wroclaw. As a result, there’s a strange atmosphere in Lodz – streets are littered with cracks and potholes, soviet architecture can be the norm in some areas, and for a city of 760,000 aglomeration 1.428,000 there doesn’t seem to be much, at first glance – compared to Warsaw , which are revered for their many qualities.
However, there are signs of this changing now with Lodz campaigning and redesigning itself as a up-and-coming destination. To accomplish this, Lodz has been capitalizing on it’s film history – Lodz is jokingly referred to as the “HollyLodz” of Poland – by creating and hosting several film festivals. Lodz has also begun actively campaigning to be the European Capital of Culture in 2016
Lodz today may not have the glitz and glamour of its heyday, however there is a certain charm to Lodz in its partially renovated façades and leitmotivs, not to mention its large artistic traditions, even if not immediately evident. With a little bit of persistence, you’ll see the magic Lodz has to offer. For a different and eye-opening experience of the world and its cultures, Lodz is certainly a recommended destination.
Numerous international companies have operations in Lodz, since Lodz is the the second largest city in Poland and has an high amount of technically skilled labor. Native speakers of English, German, French, Spanish and Italian can usually easily find a job in one of many language schools in the city.
Accommodation in Lodz is different from other Polish cities, because a high end hotel here is more like a mid-range hotel in Warsaw or Krakow. Additionally, more modern chain hotels which could be “Budget” hotels in Warsaw may be Mid-range hotels, since they expect to be paid a certain rate in Warsaw and that rate was carried over to the Lodz market.
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