Discover 35 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Łódź (Poland). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Zoological Park, Poniatowski Park, and Izrael Poznański Palace. Also, be sure to include Radogoszcz prison in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Łódź (Łódź).
Table of Contents
Zoological Park
The Łódź Zoo is a zoological garden in the city of Łódź, Łódź Voivodeship in Poland. Established in 1938, it covers the area of 16,64 hectares in the district of Polesie and is home to 2,245 animals representing 667 species, including endangered Asiatic lions.
The zoo is a member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is also part of the International Species Information System.[1]
Address: Ul. Konstantynowska 8/10, 94-303 Lodz (Polesie)
Poniatowski Park
The Prince Józef Poniatowski Park in Łódź is a park in Łódź, Poland located between Żeromskiego, Mickiewicza, Jana Pawła II and Parkowa Streets. The area of the park is 41.6 ha. It was named in honour of Polish general and statesman Prince Józef Poniatowski.[2]
Address: Located almost along the whole length of Mickiewicza St, Łódź (Polesie)
Izrael Poznański Palace
Also known as: Pałac Izraela Poznańskiego
The Izrael Poznański Palace is a 19th-century palace in Łódź, Poland. Initially the site of a tenement building, the property was transformed into a Neo-Renaissance and Neo-baroque style residence during the years 1888 to 1903.[3]
Address: Zachodnia 47, 91-058 Łódź (Bałuty)
Radogoszcz prison
Museum in Łódź, Poland. During World War II, the Radogoszcz prison was a German Order Police and Gestapo prison in Łódź, used by the German authorities during the German occupation of Poland in 1939–1945. Today, it is a site of the museum commemorating its wartime victims.[4]
Address: Zgierska 147, Łódź (Bałuty)
Museum of Art
Also known as: Muzeum Sztuki w Łodzi
Museum. Muzeum Sztuki, or the Museum of Art in Łódź, is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Łódź, Poland, whose main goal is to research and display avant-garde art, as well as progressive artistic interventions.
The institution is housed in three branches: ms1, ms2 and Herbst Palace Museum (Polish: Muzeum Pałac Herbsta). Established in 1930, it is one of the oldest existing and active museums to collect avant-garde art. In 1998 Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź was entered into the Polish National Register of Museums under number 53.[5]
Address: Więckowskiego 36, 90-001 Łódź (Polesie)
Helenów Park
Helenów Park in Łódź, Poland is a park located between Północna, Źródłowa and Smugowa streets and covers an area of 12 hectare. Of all park trees, five are natural monuments: two pedunculate oaks with a circumference of 320 and 340 cm, common beech with a circumference of 245 cm, red oak with a circumference of 350 cm and ash tree with a circumference of 385 cm. The park is entered in the Registry of Objects of Cultural Heritage.[6]
Survivors' Park
Survivors' Park is a park in Łódź commemorating people who survived the Łódź Ghetto, which was created and operated by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. The park was officially opened on August 30, 2004, on the 60th anniversary of the liquidation of the ghetto. The park is located in the former territory of Łódź Ghetto, between Wojska Polskiego Street and allotment gardens at Sporna Street in the valley of the Lodz River, in the area adjacent to the borders of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto during the war in Smugowa Street. The park was designed by Grażyna Ojrzyńska.[7]
Address: Oblęgorska 8, Łódź (Bałuty)
Jewish Cemetery
Also known as: Nowy cmentarz żydowski
Cemetery. The Łódź Jewish Cemetery, also known as the New Jewish Cemetery, was once the largest Jewish cemetery in Poland and one of the largest in the world. Located in the city of Łódź on Bracka Street, the necropolis was opened in 1892 and occupies around 44 hectares of land. The cemetery contains from 180,000 to 230,000 marked graves, as well as mass graves of victims of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto and the Holocaust. From 1893 to 1896, the basic construction of the necropolis was completed under the supervision of well-known architect Adolf Zeligson.
The circular access is provided by the gate from the southern side on the axis of Abram Cukier Street, which is an extension Chryzantem Street. Pedestrian access is possible from the east through a gate in the wall stretching along Zmienna Street. The composition of the foundation is based on the arrangement of two mutually perpendicular axes. The first one leads from the main gate to the square in front of the pre-funeral house. Alongside it, there were once buildings associated with the functioning of the necropolis, in addition to the pre-burial house, this complex included a synagogue, a residential house for cemetery service, a water tower, a mikveh and other minor construction facilities.
Today over a hundred of historical gravesites have been declared historical monuments and are in various stages of restoration. The mausoleum of Izrael Poznański is perhaps the largest Jewish tombstone in the world and the only one containing decorative mosaic.
The cemetery continues to function as a Jewish burial site.[8]
Address: Bracka 40, 91-717 Łódź (Bałuty)
Karl Scheibler's Chapel
Also known as: Kaplica Scheiblera
Chapel in Łódź, Poland. The Chapel of Karol Scheibler, is a major architectural work in Łódź, Poland, built in 1888 and designed by architects Edward Lilpop and Józef Pius Dziekoński. It is located in the Evangelical-Augsburg part of the Old Cemetery at Ogrodowa Street 43.
Łódź is known for its architectural monuments which form a record of the city's heritage, particularly its unique nineteenth century development. The chapel and mausoleum of Karol Scheibler are noted examples of architecture from this period.[9]
Address: Ogrodowa 43, Łódź 90-755 (Polesie)
St. Anthony's Church
Also known as: Kościół św. Antoniego w Łodzi
Building in Łódź. St. Anthony of Padua Church in Łódź-Łagiewniki - Baroque Franciscan parish church, built in the first half of the 18th century, located in Łódź-Łagiewniki. Since 1946 it belongs - along with the monastery - to the historic buildings of Łódź.[10]
Address: 185 Okólna, Łódź (Bałuty)
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Also known as: Sobór św. Aleksandra Newskiego w Łodzi
Orthodox cathedral consecrated in 1884. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is an Christian Orthodox church located in the city of Łódź, in central Poland. It was built in the late 19th century as a gift from the local industrialists to the small Orthodox community present in Łódź at the time. The church consists of many ornate elevations and has a richly decorated interior featuring an iconostasis manufactured in St. Petersburg.[11]
Address: Jana Kilińskiego 56, 90-001 Łódź (Śródmieście)
Scheibler Palace
Also known as: Pałac Scheiblerów
Historical landmark in Łódź, Poland. Scheibler Palace located at 266, Piotrkowska Street in Łódź.[12]
Łódź Cathedral
Also known as: Bazylika archikatedralna św. Stanisława Kostki w Łodzi
Basilica in Łódź. Archcathedral Basilica of St. Stanislaus Kostka is an archcathedral basilica located in Łódź, Łódź Voivodeship; in Poland.[13]
Address: 265 Piotrkowska, Łódź (Śródmieście)
Stara Synagogue
Synagogue. The Stara Synagogue, also known as Alte Szil and ‘’’Alt Stodt Shul’’’ meaning Old Town Synagogue was a "beautiful" synagogue in Łódź, Poland. The name Stara means old, many Polish cities called the oldest synagogue in town the Stara synagogue. The Stara was Łódź's principal Orthodox synagogue. It was built by Orthodox industrial magnates who wished to outshine, or at least compete with, the 1881 Great Synagogue built by the Reformed Jewish community.[14]
Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Łódź is a Roman Catholic church built in the interwar period in Anastazy Pankiewicz street. The several-storey building next to it contains the monastery of Bernards, Bernardine and Catholic High School. The artistic polychrome, made by Zygmunt Acedański in 1960, was painted in white. The main altar of St. Elżbieta Węgierska, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Piotr and Our Lady of Fátima. Side altars: Saint Anthony of Padua, Father Anastazy Pankiewicz. Classic organs were dismantled due to the poor quality of the instrument. Electronic organs are used.[15]
Address: 15 Księdza Anastazego Pankiewicza, Łódź (Bałuty)
Julian Tuwim Monument
Also known as: Ławeczka Tuwima
Sculpture by Wojciech Gryniewicz. Julian Tuwim Monument or the Tuwim's Bench is a monument dedicated to Julian Tuwim at the Piotrkowska Street district of Łódź, Poland. The monument was constructed in 1998-1999 by sculptor Wojciech Gryniewicz.[16]
Teatr Wielki
Opera house in Łódź, Poland. Teatr Wielki w Łodzi is an opera house in Łódź, Poland. It is the largest theatre in the city, specialising in opera, operetta and ballet.[17]
Address: plac Dabrowskiego, 90-249 Lodz (Śródmieście)
White Factory
Also known as: Biała Fabryka Geyera
Historical landmark in Łódź. The White Factory is the classicist building in Łódź, Poland, constructed in 1835–1839 to host a textile factory which belonged to Ludwik Geyer. It currently hosts the Central Museum of Textiles and Folk Dance Ensemble "HARNAM". It is considered a fine example of early industrial architecture in Łódź. The building is located at the southern end of Piotrkowska Street, south of the city center.
In the first half of the 19th century Łódź, which was a part of the Russian Empire and previously a small town, experienced a rapid economic and industrial development. The city was open for migrants, and Geyer, a German originally from Saxony, moved to the city to start textile production. The building was reconstructed several times after the 1830s but still retains its original plan. In 1955, the decision was taken to host the Central Museum of Textiles in the building, and in 1958 the reconstruction works which made the building usable as a museum started. The museum was established as an independent institution in 1960. Simultaneously, the building was still exploited as a factory until 1990, when the production in the eastern wing stopped. The wing was transferred to the museum in the 2002, completing the transfer of the whole complex.
White Factory is a four-wing building with a courtyard. The oldest wing is the western one, facing Piotrkowska Street. The northern wing is from 1838, the southern one is from 1847, and the eastern wing was built in 1886. In the courtyard, the Old Boiler House is constructed. The complex has a high chimney, two dust towers, and two water towers, which is an unusual solution for the first half of the 19th century. South of the building, a pond is made. Next to the White Factory, still on industrial grounds, the Open Air Museum of Łódź Timber Architecture was opened in 2009.
The building was classified as a cultural heritage monument.[18]
Address: Piotrkowska 282, Łódź (Górna)
Manufaktura
Also known as: Muzeum Fabryki w Łodzi
Museum. The Muzeum Fabryki, is a museum in Łódź, Poland. The museum is an Anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage.[19]
Address: Jana Karskiego 5, 91-071 Lodz (Bałuty)
Reinhold Richter Villa
Reinhold Richter Villa at Skorupki Street 6/8 in Łódź, Poland in a park named after the bishop Michał Klepacz is now the main office of the Rector of Lodz University of Technology.
The villa was built by an architect Ignatius Stebelski in the years 1903–1904 at then Placowa Street. The building was designed according to German and English examples of "irregular architecture" for Reinhold Richter. His brother, Joseph Richter, had built his villa in the vicinity a few years earlier, so the park joined both buildings.
After the death of Reinhold Richter in 1930, his wife Matilda, and their five children co-owned the villa. After the death of Matilda there was a further division of the property. Jadwiga Scheibler née Richter was the last inhabitant till the Second World War. After the war, the villa was taken over by the Association of Workers’ Universities. From 1951 to 1956 it housed the Preparatory Centre for Higher Schools. On 23 November 1954 a document transferring the ownership of the building to Lodz University of Technology was drawn up, but the transfer finally took place in the first half of 1956, when it became the seat of the newly created Faculty of Civil Engineering. From 1969 to 1976 the villa housed the Publications Department of TUL. In 1977 it was decided that the building will be used as the Rector’s main office. One year later the repair and maintenance work started which lasted, with a few years break, until April 1985. The official transfer of the building took place on the 40th anniversary of TUL on 24 May 1985.[20]
Central Museum of Textiles
Also known as: Centralne Muzeum Włókiennictwa w Łodzi
Museum in Łódź, Poland. The Central Museum of Textiles is a museum of textiles located in the Ludwik Geyer's White Factory in Łódź, Poland.
It is the first textile museum in the world and it has the biggest textile collection in Europe.[21]
Art Museum MS2
Museum, Concerts and shows
Address: Ogrodowa 19, 91-071 Łódź (Bałuty)
Dętka
Museum
Address: Plac Wolności, Łódź (Śródmieście)
Old City Park
Staromiejski Park - a park in Lodz, located between Zachodnia, Ogrodowa, Północna, Franciszkańska and Wolborska Streets, divided by Nowomiejska Street. The area is 17 ha.
Address: Nowomiejska/Północna intersection, Łódź (Bałuty)
Museum of Paper Making and Printing
Also known as: Muzeum Papieru i Druku w Łodzi
Museum in Łódź, Poland. The Museum of Paper Making and Printing in Łódź is located in the area of the Institute of Paper Making and Printing at Lodz University of Technology.[22]
Address: 217 Wólczańska, Łódź (Polesie)
Artur Rubinstein's Łódz Philharmonic
Also known as: Filharmonia Łódzka im. Artura Rubinsteina
The Arthur Rubinstein Łódź Philharmonic is a professional symphony orchestra based in Łódź, Poland. It was founded in 1915 by composer and conductor Tadeusz Mazurkiewicz and Gotliba Teschnera, a cello instructor and bookstore owner. The men organized the orchestra initially as a temporary ensemble to play for a benefit for impoverished musicians. The orchestra was made up of approximately 60 musicians, both professional and amateur. The enthusiastic reception of this benefit concert drew the patronage of industrialist Karol Wilhelm Scheilbler, who provided the finances necessary to make the orchestra a permanent ensemble. Mazurkiewicz was appointed the orchestra's first director. In 1934 the orchestra ceased activities, but resumed performances in 1938. World War II halted concerts again, with performances resuming following the end of the war.
The orchestra's current home is the Łódzki Dom Koncertowy, a concert hall built for the orchestra that was inaugurated in 2004. Conductor Lech Dzierżanowski has served as the orchestra's General and Artistic Director since 2007.[23]
Address: Gabriela Narutowicza 20/22, Łódź (Śródmieście)
Synagogue
Reicher Synagogue in Lodz - a synagogue located in Lodz, in the annex of a tenement house at 28 Revolucji 1905 Street, formerly known as South Street. It is the only preserved pre-war synagogue and one of two active synagogues in Lodz.
Address: Ul. Pomorska 18, Łódź (Śródmieście)
Radegast train station
Also known as: Radegast
Railway station. Radogoszcz station is a historic railway station in Łódź, Poland. The station, which was originally built between 1926 and 1937, was used extensively during The Holocaust. It served as the Umschlagplatz for transporting Jews from the Łódź Ghetto to the extermination camps during Operation Reinhard. The "loading platform" is in Marysin, a neighbourhood in the city's Bałuty district.[24]
Muzeum Archeologiczne i Etnograficzne
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography - the largest museum in Łódź, located at 14 Wolności Square, with 260,354 catalog items at the end of 2012.
The museum features three permanent exhibitions: ethnographic, numismatic and archaeological.
Address: 14 Plac Wolności, Łódź (Śródmieście)
Łódź Wooden Architecture Skansen
Also known as: Skansen Łódzkiej Architektury Drewnianej
Museum in Łódź, Poland. Open-air Museum of the Łódź Wooden Architecture is an integral part of the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź. It is located on the main artery of Łódź, Piotrkowska Street, next to the Władysław Reymont Park.[25]
Łódź University of Technology Library
Also known as: Biblioteka Politechniki Łódzkiej
Library in Łódź, Poland. Library of the Lodz University of Technology is a library of the Lodz University of Technology, Łódź, Poland. The library was founded in 1945. It began to offer its services with the collection of 930 volumes and four people of staff. Nowadays the library offers free access to over 250 thousand of books and over 130 thousand of journals, with reading rooms containing hundreds of places to study and over 120 computers for user’s needs and rooms for individual and group study. The Main Library also houses WIKAMP Center as well as an art gallery Biblio-Art.[26]
Studio Theatre
The Studio Theatre in Łódź is one of the oldest theatres in Łódź, having been built in 1870. Since 1998, it was managed by the Leon Schiller National Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre, and in 2002 the theatre became the school's property.[27]
Address: Łódź, Kopernik Street 8
Old Cemetery
Cemetery
Address: Ogrodowa 41, Łódź (Polesie)
Ogród Zoologiczny w Łodzi
Zoological garden in Łódź, Poland. The Łódź Zoo is a zoological garden in the city of Łódź, Łódź Voivodeship in Poland. Established in 1938, it covers the area of 16,64 hectares in the district of Polesie and is home to 2,245 animals representing 667 species, including endangered Asiatic lions.
The zoo is a member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is also part of the International Species Information System.[28]
Address: Konstantynowska 8/10, 94-303 Łódź (Polesie)
Konstantynów Łódzki
Town in Poland. Konstantynów Łódzki is a town in Pabianice County, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland, with 18,335 inhabitants. It borders Lodz to the east, Lutomiersk to the West, Aleksandrow Lodzki to the North, and Porszewice to the South. It was incorporated in 1924, but was founded in the 1820s by a landowner who had planned to build a textile industry there.
In 1821 Konstantynów Łódzki, at that time still a village, became a part of the textile industry of the Łódź region. Shortly thereafter, in 1824 the town was given its current name and was established as a town in 1830.[29]