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Moments after arriving in Lodz, central Poland, my taxi driver asks what other Polish destinations I’ve visited. I mention Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw and Krakow, and he smiles. “Well,” he says. “Lodz is different.”
He mentions the lack of an old town or clearly designated city centre, and I momentarily picture Berlin’s slightly maddening urban sprawl, or cities where post-war concrete monstrosities left me feeling somewhat bleak – neither of which apply to Lodz, it turns out.
Until the 1800s, Lodz was a small city surrounded by farmland, but in 1815, after the French ceded certain areas of Poland to the Russian empire following their defeat during the Napoleonic wars, the Kingdom of Poland was created. Lodz suddenly had access to the Eurasian market, an opportunity embraced by landowner Rajmund Rembieliński, who helped transform it into an economic powerhouse filled with elegant factories and mills, forested parks and Baroque palaces built by wealthy industrialists alongside their factories (living on-site slashed owners’ tax bills).
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One of the best examples is Manufaktura, a huge complex of beautiful brick buildings, once Izrael Poznański’s cotton empire and now one of Lodz’s most popular destinations. The beautiful, rust-red factory buildings house a shopping centre, dance school, cinema, restaurants and bars (the chapel-shaped former fire station is possibly the world’s most beautiful Starbucks), although nods to its past abound. At Manufaktura’s Factory Museum, faded photos provide insights into Lodz’s transformation (in the early 1800s, its population grew faster than any other European city), and exhibits include restored looms, one of which an employee fires up, explaining that noise levels in factories were similar to modern jet engines. Workers stuffed bread in their ears to protect their hearing.
The complex’s grandest building is factory owner Izrael Poznański’s former home – a neo-Baroque palace which is now a museum. Drawing rooms and ballrooms are explosions of stained glass, gold leaf and ornate plasterwork. At one point, my guide points to sculptures encircling the entire room, bespoke allegories celebrating Poznański’s industrial triumphs.
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Lodz has been referred to as Poland’s Manchester, and while there are architectural similarities, Lodz’s USP is that few of its temples to industry have been turned into swanky apartments. Happily, most are open access and include restaurants, museums, galleries and arts districts. Take Księży Młyn, a complex built in the 1800s by industrialist Karol Scheibler. Here, cobbled streets connected a castle-like cotton mill with workers’ accommodation, hospitals and social clubs. Today, it’s in the midst of a revamp, and the lovingly preserved buildings’ tenants include a museum, wine bar and a hip barbershop. I recommend the cosy Stacja Zero café, where you can refuel on cinnamon pastries and sprawl on mis-matched armchairs draped with embroidered blankets.
The complex’s Scheibler Palace, Scheibler’s former residence, is now a film museum. By the early 1900s, Lodz had another string to its bow – it was the capital of Poland’s movie industry. During the interwar period, directors and actors flocked here, and its early successes included The Promised Land, which was set in Lodz and told the story of a trio of Polish, German and Jewish entrepreneurs. Hailed by Martin Scorsese as a masterpiece, it was nominated for an Academy Award. Museum exhibits document the evolution of Lodz's movie industry, and include a restored, fully working fotoplastikon, otherwise known as a stereoscopic cinema. A century ago, Lodz’s film fans would settle into the seats surrounding this large wooden drum, peering through binocular-like lenses to watch rotating stereoscopic 3D photos.
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That afternoon, I head to Piotrkowska Street, four kilometres long, where the pavement is adorned with Hollywood-style stars honouring local directors, producers and actors. It’s Europe’s longest shopping street, and possibly the grandest – wrought iron lamps illuminate its length like a guard of honour, and its architecture is an eclectic mix of pastel-hued renaissance and baroque townhouses. Venturing off the beaten path pays huge rewards here, often in the form of street art. Hundreds of murals fill the city (which once laid claim to the world’s largest piece of street art), many in leafy courtyards hidden behind Piotrkowska Street. At one point, my guide leads me down a narrow alley, where a row of houses is completely covered with shards of mirrored glass. Known as Rose Passage, it was created by artist Joanna Rajkowska, whose large-scale installation represents her daughter’s recovery from eye cancer, and how retinas work in a similar way to mirrors.
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Dinner is at Przy Kominie, a restaurant in Monopolis, which is another spruced-up industrial complex where former factory buildings have been turned into restaurants and bars arranged around a sculpture-filled plaza with an open-air stage. Following the meal, I toast Lodz at Jabeerwocky, a craft beer pub and brewery near Piotrkowska Street. There’s an encyclopaedia-like menu of Polish beers (I recommend the deliciously smooth Owsiany Stout) and chessboards for guests to use. Despite the fact that it’s one of Lodz’s most popular breweries, a pint costs only a little over £2.
Currently, only Ryanair offers direct flights from the UK to Lodz. But few people realise that its location makes it incredibly accessible – Warsaw is an hour’s train journey away. Actually, forget I said that. Don’t come. Because I’m not sure if I’m ready for the wider world to cotton on to my quirky, beautiful slice of Polish perfection.
Where to stay
The Doubletree by Hilton Lodz provides everything you need for a comfortable city stay, with very reasonable prices.
How to get there
Return flights from London Stansted to Lodz with Ryanair start from around £16.99.
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