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Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of
Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship (also known as Lodz Province, or by its Polish name ''Województwo łódzkie'' ) is a province-voivodeship in central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the Sieradz ...
, and is located approximately south-west of
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
. The city's
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
is an example of
canting ' (IPA: , VOS Spelling: ''tjanting'', jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ, Tjanting) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax ( jv, ) in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely '' batik tulis'' (lit. "written batik"). Traditional ''T ...
, as it depicts a boat ( in
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
), which alludes to the city's name. As of 2022, Łódź has a population of 670,642 making it the country's fourth largest city. Łódź was once a small settlement that first appeared in 14th-century records. It was granted
town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
in 1423 by Polish King
Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło ()He is known under a number of names: lt, Jogaila Algirdaitis; pl, Władysław II Jagiełło; be, Jahajła (Ягайла). See also: Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło. w ...
and it remained a private town of the
Kuyavia Kuyavia ( pl, Kujawy; german: Kujawien; la, Cuiavia), also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three t ...
n bishops and clergy until the late 18th century. In the
Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian War ...
in 1793, Łódź was annexed to
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
before becoming part of the
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
ic
Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...
; the city joined
Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...
, a
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
client state, at the 1815
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
. The
Second Industrial Revolution The Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution, was a phase of rapid scientific discovery, standardization, mass production and industrialization from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. The Firs ...
(from 1870) brought rapid growth in textile manufacturing and in population owing to the inflow of migrants, notably Germans and Jews. Ever since the industrialization of the area the city has been multinational and struggled with social inequalities, as documented in the novel '' The Promised Land'' by
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
–winning author
Władysław Reymont Władysław Stanisław Reymont (, born Rejment; 7 May 1867 – 5 December 1925) was a Polish novelist and the 1924 laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known work is the award-winning four-volume novel '' Chłopi'' (''The Peasant ...
. The contrasts greatly reflected on the architecture of the city, where luxurious mansions coexisted with red-brick factories and dilapidated tenement houses. The industrial development and demographic surge made Łódź one of the largest cities in Poland. Under the German occupation during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Łódź was briefly renamed after
Karl Litzmann Karl Litzmann (22 January 1850 – 28 May 1936) was a German World War I general and later Nazi Party member and state politician. World War I He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Łódź (1914); he earned the nickname "the Lion of ...
. The city's population was persecuted and its large Jewish minority was forced into a walled zone known as the
Łódź Ghetto The Łódź Ghetto or Litzmannstadt Ghetto (after the Nazi German name for Łódź) was a Nazi ghetto established by the German authorities for Polish Jews and Roma following the Invasion of Poland. It was the second-largest ghetto in all of Ge ...
, from where they were sent to German concentration and extermination camps. The city became Poland's temporary seat of power in 1945. Łódź experienced a sharp demographic and economic decline after 1989. It was only in the 2010s that the city began to experience revitalization of its neglected downtown area. Łódź is ranked by the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershi ...
on the “Sufficiency” level of global influence and is internationally known for its
National Film School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2021 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repo ...
, a cradle for the most renowned Polish actors and directors, including
Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...
and
Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...
. In 2017, the city was inducted into the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Creative Cities Network The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development.City of Film UNESCO's City of Film project is part of the wider Creative Cities Network. Film is one of seven creative fields in the Network, the others: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music. Criteria for UNESCO Cities o ...
.


Name and toponymy

The
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
name for the city, , directly translates to 'boat' in the
English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
. There is no unanimous consensus on its precise origin, but popular theories link it with the
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
village of Lodzia and the now-canalised River Łódka on which the modern city was founded. It may have also derived from the term denoting a
willow tree Willows are a genus of trees. Willow Tree may refer to: Places * Willow Tree, New South Wales, a village in Australia * Willow Tree railway station, in Australia * Willow Tree (LIRR station), a railway station in New York Entertainment * "Wil ...
and the personal
Old Polish The Old Polish language ( pl, język staropolski, staropolszczyzna) was a period in the history of the Polish language between the 10th and the 16th centuries. It was followed by the Middle Polish language. The sources for the study of the Old ...
name Włodzisław.


History


Early beginnings (1332–1815)

Łódź first appears in a 1332 written record issued by
Władysław the Hunchback Władysław the Hunchback (pl: ''Władysław Garbaty''; ca. 1303/05 - 5 June 1351/April 1352), was a Polish prince, member of the House of Piast. He was Duke of Dobrzyń during 1312-1327 (until 1316 under the regency of his mother and uncle) and ...
, Duke of Łęczyca, which transferred the village of Lodzia to the Bishopric of Włocławek. The document enumerated the privileges of its inhabitants, notably the right to graze land, establish
pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...
s and engage in
logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
. In 1423,
King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...
Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło ()He is known under a number of names: lt, Jogaila Algirdaitis; pl, Władysław II Jagiełło; be, Jahajła (Ягайла). See also: Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło. w ...
officially granted town rights to the village under
Magdeburg Law Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within c ...
. For centuries, it remained a small remote settlement situated among woodlands and
marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
es, which was privately held by the
Kuyavia Kuyavia ( pl, Kujawy; german: Kujawien; la, Cuiavia), also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three t ...
n bishops. The economy was predominantly driven by
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
and farming until the 19th century. The earliest two versions of the
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
appeared on seal emblems in 1535 and 1577, with the latter illustrating a boat-like vessel and a turned
oar An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles is that oars are used exclusively for rowing. In rowing the oar is connecte ...
. With the
Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian War ...
in 1793, Łódź was annexed by
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
. In 1798, the Kuyavian bishops' ownership over the region was formally revoked during the secularisation of church property. The town, governed by a
burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief m ...
(), at the time had only 190 residents, 44 occupied dwellings, a church and a prison. In 1806, Łódź was incorporated into the Napoleonic
Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...
. In the aftermath of the 1815
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
, the duchy was dissolved and the town became part of the
Congress Kingdom of Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It ...
, a
client state A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...
of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
.


Partitions and development (1815–1918)

In 1820, the government of the Congress Kingdom designated Łódź and its rural surroundings for centrally planned industrial development.
Rajmund Rembieliński Rajmund Rembieliński (1774–1841) was a Polish nobleman ( szlachcic), political activist, and landowner. Rembieliński owned estates in Jedwabne, Krośniewice and Giełczyn. He was a graduate of the Knight School in Warsaw (1788–1 ...
, head of the
Administrative Council Administrative Council () was a part of Council of State of the Congress Poland. Introduced by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland in 1815, it was composed of 5 ministers, special nominees of the King and the Namestnik of the Kingdom of Polan ...
and prefect of
Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...
, became the president of a commission that subdivided the works two major phases; the first (1821–23) comprised the creation of a new city centre with an octagonal square (contemporary ; Liberty Square) and arranged housing allotments on
greenfield land Greenfield land is a British English term referring to undeveloped land in an urban or rural area either used for agriculture or landscape design, or left to evolve naturally. These areas of land are usually agricultural or amenity properties b ...
situated south of the old marketplace; the second stage (1824–28) involved the establishment of
cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Althou ...
colonies and a linear street system along with an arterial north-south thoroughfare, Piotrkowska. Many of the early dwellings were timber cottages built for housing
weavers Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainment ...
(). During this time, a sizeable number of
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
craftsmen settled in the city, encouraged by exemptions from tax obligations. Their settlement in Poland was encouraged by renowned philosopher and statesman
Stanisław Staszic Stanisław Wawrzyniec Staszic (baptised 6 November 1755 – 20 January 1826) was a leading figure in the Polish Enlightenment: a Catholic priest, philosopher, geologist, writer, poet, translator and statesman. A physiocrat, monist, pan-Slavist ...
, who acted as the director of the Department of Trade, Crafts and Industry. In 1851, the Imperial authorities abolished a
customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...
barrier which was imposed on Congress Poland following the failed
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...
(1830–1831). The suppression of tariffs allowed the city to freely export its goods to Russia, where the demand for textiles was high. Poland's first
steam-powered A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...
loom commenced operations at Ludwik Geyer's
White Factory The White Factory ( pl, Biała Fabryka) 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 Ensemb ...
in 1839. During the first weeks of the
January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
(1863–1864), a unit of 300 Polish insurgents entered the city without resistance and seized weapons, and later on, there were also clashes between Polish insurgents and Russian troops in the city. In 1864, the inhabitants of adjacent villages were permitted to settle in Łódź without restrictions. The development of railways in the region was also instrumental in expanding the textile industry; in 1865 the Łódź–Koluszki line, a branch of the
Warsaw–Vienna railway The Warsaw-Vienna Railway ( pl, Kolej Warszawsko-Wiedeńska, german: Warschau-Wiener Eisenbahn) was a railway system which operated since 1845 in Congress Poland, then part of the Russian Empire. The main component of its network was a line 327.6 ...
, was opened, thus providing a train connection to larger markets. In 1867, the city was incorporated into the
Piotrków Governorate Piotrków Governorate (russian: Петроковская губерния; pl, Gubernia piotrkowska) was one of the administrative divisions ( ; ) in the Kingdom of Poland, established in 1867 by splitting some areas of the Radom and Warsaw Gover ...
, a local province. The infrastructure and edifices of Łódź were built at the expense of industrialists and
business magnate A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...
s, chiefly Karl Wilhelm Scheibler and Izrael Poznański, who sponsored schools, hospitals, orphanages, and
places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...
. From 1872 to 1892, Poznański established a major textile manufactory composed of twelve factories, power plants, worker
tenements A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...
, a private fire station, and a large eclectic palace. By the end of the century, Scheibler's became one of Europe's largest industrial complexes, employing 5,000 workers within a single facility. The years 1870–1890 saw the most intense industrialisation, which was marked by social inequalities and dire working conditions. Łódź soon became a notable centre of the
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
movement and the so-called Łódź rebellion( pl) in May 1892 was quelled by a military intervention. The turn of the 20th century coincided with cultural and technological progress; in 1899, the first stationary
cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...
in Poland () was opened in Łódź. In the same year,
Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wan ...
, the future
Marshal of Poland Marshal of Poland ( pl, Marszałek Polski) is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, Marshal is equivalent to a Field Marshal or General of the Army (OF-10) in other NATO armies. History To ...
, settled in the city and began printing the '' Robotnik'' (The Worker; p. 1894–1939), an
underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rec ...
published by the
Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' P ...
. During the June Days (1905), approximately 100,000 unemployed labourers went on a mass strike, barricaded the streets and clashed with troops. Officially, 151 demonstrators were killed and thousands were wounded. In 1912, the Archcathedral of St. Stanislaus Kostka was completed and its tower at is one of the tallest in Poland. Despite the impending crisis preceding
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Łódź grew exponentially and was one of the world's most densely populated industrial cities, with a population density of by 1914. In the aftermath of the Battle of Łódź (1914), the city came under Imperial German occupation on 6 December. With Polish independence restored in November 1918, the local population disarmed the
German army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
. Subsequently, the textile industry of Łódź stalled and its population briefly decreased as ethnic Germans left the city.


Restored Poland (1918–1939)

Despite its large population and economic output, Łódź did not serve as the seat of its province until the 20th century. Following the establishment of the
Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...
, it became the capital of the
Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship (also known as Lodz Province, or by its Polish name ''Województwo łódzkie'' ) is a province-voivodeship in central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the Sieradz ...
in 1919. The early
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
was characterised by considerable economic hardship and industrial stagnation. The
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and the
German–Polish customs war The German–Polish customs war was a political and economic conflict between the Second Polish Republic and the Weimar Republic, which began in June 1925 (shortly after the death of German president Friedrich Ebert from SPD) and ended officially ...
closed western markets to Polish textiles while the
Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was ...
and the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
in Russia put an end to the most profitable trade with the East. Because of rapid and, consequently, chaotic development in the previous century, Łódź did not possess the adequate infrastructure and living standards for its inhabitants. Pollution was acute, sanitary conditions were poor and the authorities did not invest in a
sewage treatment Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...
system until the 1920s. From 1918 to 1939, many cultural, educational and scientific institutions were created, including elementary schools, museums, art galleries and
public libraries A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamenta ...
which prior to the First World War did not exist. Łódź also began developing an
entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...
scene, with 34 movie theatres opened by 1939. On 13 September 1925, the city's first airport, Lublinek, commenced operations. In 1930, the first
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
transmission from a newly-founded broadcasting station took place. The ideological orientation of Łódź was strongly
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
and the city was a notable centre of socialist,
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
and bundist activity in Polish politics during the interbellum.


Second World War (1939–1945)

During the
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
in September 1939, the Polish forces of General
Juliusz Rómmel Juliusz Karol Wilhelm Józef Rómmel (german: Julius Karl Wilhelm Josef Freiherr von Rummel; 3 June 1881 – 8 September 1967) was a Polish military commander, a general of the Polish Armed Forces (Second Polish Republic), Polish Armed Forces. He ...
's
Army Łódź An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
defended the city against the German assault by forming a line of resistance between
Sieradz Sieradz ( la, Siradia, yi, שעראַדז, שערעדז, שעריץ, german: 1941-45 Schieratz) is a city on the Warta river in central Poland with 40,891 inhabitants (2021). It is the seat of the Sieradz County, situated in the Łódź Voivodes ...
and
Piotrków Trybunalski Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by #Etymology, alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a city in central Poland with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the second-largest city situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Previously, it wa ...
. The attack was perpetrated by the 8th Army of
Johannes Blaskowitz Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz (10 July 1883 – 5 February 1948) was a German ''Generaloberst'' during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. After joining the Imperial German Army in 1 ...
, who encircled the city with the X Army Corps. After fierce resistance, a Polish delegation surrendered to the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
on 8 September, and the first troops entered in the early hours of 9 September. The German paramilitary death squad entered the city on 12 September.
Arthur Greiser Arthur Karl Greiser (22 January 1897 – 21 July 1946) was a Nazi German politician, SS-''Obergruppenführer'', ''Gauleiter'' and ''Reichsstatthalter'' (Reich Governor) of the German-occupied territory of ''Wartheland''. He was one of the perso ...
incorporated Łódź into a new administrative subdivision of Nazi Germany called on 9 November 1939, and on 11 April 1940 the city was renamed to after German general and
NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
member
Karl Litzmann Karl Litzmann (22 January 1850 – 28 May 1936) was a German World War I general and later Nazi Party member and state politician. World War I He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Łódź (1914); he earned the nickname "the Lion of ...
. The city became subjected to immediate
Germanisation Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, German people, people and German culture, culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationa ...
, with Polish and Jewish establishments closed, and
Polish-language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as t ...
press banned. Low-wage
forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
was imposed on the city's inhabitants aged 16 to 60; many were subsequently deported to Germany. As part of the , Polish intellectuals from the city and region were imprisoned at Radogoszcz and then either sent to
concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
or murdered in the forests of Łagiewniki and the village of Lućmierz-Las. Polish children were forcibly taken from their parents, and from 1942 to 1945 the German ''
Sicherheitspolizei The ''Sicherheitspolizei'' ( en, Security Police), often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Germany for security police. In the Nazi era, it referred to the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the ...
'' operated a camp for kidnapped Polish children from various regions in Łódź. The Nazi authorities established the
Łódź Ghetto The Łódź Ghetto or Litzmannstadt Ghetto (after the Nazi German name for Łódź) was a Nazi ghetto established by the German authorities for Polish Jews and Roma following the Invasion of Poland. It was the second-largest ghetto in all of Ge ...
() in the city and populated it with more than 200,000 Jews from the region, who were systematically sent to German extermination camps. It was the second-largest ghetto in
occupied Europe German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
, and the last major ghetto to be liquidated, in August 1944. The Polish resistance movement () operated in the city and aided the Jewish people throughout its existence. However, only 877 Jews were still alive by 1945. Of the 223,000 Jews in Łódź before the invasion, 10,000 survived
the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
in other places. The Germans also created camps for
non-Jews Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jews, Jew". Other Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites, groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More ra ...
, including the
Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
deported from abroad, who were ultimately
murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
at
Chełmno Chełmno (; older en, Culm; formerly ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Due to its regional impor ...
, as well as a penal
forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
camp, four transit camps for Poles expelled from the city and region, and a racial research camp.


Contemporary times (1945–present)

Following the end of the Second World War, Łódź informally and temporarily took over the functions of Poland's capital, and most of the government and country administration resided in the city prior to Warsaw's reconstruction. Łódź also experienced an influx of refugees from eastern territories annexed by the Soviet Union; many migrated into its suburbs and occupied empty – formerly Jewish – properties. Under the
Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...
, the city's industry and private companies were
nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
. On 24 May 1945, the
University of Łódź The University of Łódź ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Łódzki'', Latin: ''Universitas Lodziensis'') is a public research university founded in 1945 in Łódź, Poland, as a continuation of three higher education institutions functioning in Łódź i ...
was inaugurated. On 8 March 1948, the
National Film School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2021 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repo ...
was opened, later becoming Poland's primary academy of drama and cinema. Post-war spatial and
urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
was conducted in accordance with the
Athens Charter The Athens Charter (french: Charte d'Athènes, Greek: Χάρτα των Αθηνών) was a 1933 document about urban planning published by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier. The work was based upon Le Corbusier’s '' Ville Radieuse'' (Radiant C ...
, where the population from the old core was relocated into new residential zones. However, as a result, the inner-city and historical areas fell in significance and degenerated into a
slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...
. A number of extensive
panel Panel may refer to: Arts and media Visual arts * Panel (comics), a single image in a comic book, comic strip or cartoon; also, a comic strip containing one such image *Panel painting, in art, either one element of a multi-element piece of art ...
block housing estates (including
Retkinia Retkinia is a panel block housing estate and district in the city of Łódź (Poland), located in the south-western part of the city. Formerly a suburban village, Retkinia was incorporated into Łódź in 1946. According to information provided by ...
, Teofilów, Widzew, Radogoszcz and Chojny) were constructed between 1960 and 1990, covering an area of almost and accommodating a large part of the populace. In mid-1981 Łódź became famous for its massive hunger demonstration of local mothers and their children. After the period of economic transition during the 1990s, most enterprises were again privatised.


Geography

Łódź covers an area of approximately and is located in the centre of Poland. The city lies in the
lowlands Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of p ...
of the Central European Plain, not exceeding 300 metres in elevation. Topographically, the Łódź region is generally characterised by a flat landscape, with only several highlands which do not exceed 50 metres above the terrain level. The soil is predominantly sandy (62%) followed by
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
(24%),
silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...
(8%), and organogenic formations (6%) from regional wetlands. The
forest cover Forest cover is the amount of forest that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/square miles). Around a third of the world's surface is covered with forest, with closed-canop ...
(equivalent to 4.2% of the whole country) is considerably low compared to other cities, regions, and provinces of Poland.


Climate

Łódź has a humid continental climate (''Dfb'' in the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
).


Districts

Łódź was previously subdivided into five boroughs (): Bałuty, Widzew, Śródmieście, Polesie, Górna. However, the city is now divided into 36 ('districts'): Bałuty-Centrum, Bałuty-Doły, Bałuty Zachodnie, Julianów-Marysin-Rogi, Łagiewniki, Radogoszcz, Teofilów-Wielkopolska, Osiedle Wzniesień Łódzkich, Chojny, Chojny-Dąbrowa, Górniak, Nad Nerem, Piastów-Kurak, Rokicie, Ruda, Wiskitno, Osiedle im. Józefa Montwiłła-Mireckiego, Karolew-Retkinia Wschód, Koziny, Lublinek-Pienista, Retkinia Zachód-Smulsko, Stare Polesie, Zdrowie-Mania, Złotno, Śródmieście-Wschód, Osiedle Katedralna, Andrzejów, Dolina Łódki, Mileszki, Nowosolna, Olechów-Janów, Stary Widzew, Stoki, Widzew-Wschód, Zarzew, and Osiedle nr 33.


Demographics

According to
Statistics Poland Statistics Poland (formerly known in English as the Central Statistical Office ( pl, Główny Urząd Statystyczny, popularly called GUS)) is Poland's chief government executive agency charged with collecting and publishing statistics related to th ...
(GUS), Łódź was inhabited by 672,185 people and had a
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
of 2,292 persons per square kilometre (5,940/sq mi), as of December 2020. Approximately 55.7 percent of inhabitants are of working age (18–64 years), which is a considerable decrease from 64.1 percent in 2010. An estimated 29.1 percent is of post-working age compared to 21.8 percent ten years earlier. In 2020, 54.39 percent (365,500) of all residents were women. Łódź has one of the highest feminisation rates among Poland's major cities, a legacy of the city's industrial past, when the textile factories attracted large numbers of female employees. At its peak in 1988 the population was around 854,000, however, the it has since declined due to low
fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
rates, outward migration and a lower life expectancy than in other parts of Poland. Łódź was the country's second largest city until 2007, when it lost its position to
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
. A major contributing factor was the abrupt transition from
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
to
market-based A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers are ...
economy after 1989 and the resulting economic crisis, but the economic growth which followed has not reversed the trend. Depopulation and ageing are a major impediments for the future development of the city, putting strain on social infrastructure and medical services. Historically, Łódź was multi-ethnic and its diverse population comprised migrants from other regions of
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. In 1839, approximately 78 percent (6,648) of the total population was
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
. In 1913, Łódź had a population of 506,100 people, of whom 251,700 (49.7%) were
Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
, 171,900 (34%) were
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, 75,000 (14.8%) were Germans, and 6,300 (1.3%) were
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
. According to the 1931 Polish census, the total population of 604,000 included 375,000 (59%) Poles, 192,000 (32%) Jews and 54,000 (9%) Germans. By 1939, the Jewish minority had grown to well over 200,000.


Places of interest

The most notable and recognizable landmark of the city is
Piotrkowska Street Piotrkowska Street ( pl, ulica Piotrkowska), the main artery of Łódź, Poland, is one of the longest commercial thoroughfares in Europe, with a length of around 4.2 km. It is one of the major tourist attractions of the city. It runs longitud ...
, which remains the high-street and main tourist attraction in the city, runs north to south for a little over . This makes it one of the longest commercial streets in the world. Most of the building façades, many of which date back to the 19th century, have been renovated. It is the site of most restaurants, bars and cafes in Łódź's city centre. Many neglected tenement houses throughout the entire city centre have been renovated in recent years as part of the ongoing revitalization project run by the local authorities. The best example of urban regeneration in Łódź is the
Manufaktura The Manufaktura is an arts centre, shopping mall, and leisure complex in Łódź, Poland. A major tourist asset of the city, it includes the largest public square in Łódź, which acts as a venue for cultural and sports events. (pp. 282-283) Th ...
complex, occupying a large area of a former cotton factory dating back to the nineteenth century. (p. 103). The site, which was the heart of Izrael Poznański's industrial empire, now hosts a shopping mall, numerous restaurants, 4-star hotel, multiplex cinema, factory museum, bowling and fitness facilities and a science exhibition centre. (p. 56). Opened in 2006, it quickly became a centre of cultural entertainment and shopping, as well as a recognizable city landmark attracting both domestic and foreign tourists. The city is also likely to receive a large boost in terms of tourism once the massive revitalization project of the city's downtown (worth 4 billion PLN) is completed.“4 Billion PLN for Revitalization of Downtown Łódź.”
lodzpost.com. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
The local government's efforts to transform the former industrial city into a thriving urban environment and tourist destination formed the basis for the city's failed bid to organise the 2022 International EXPO exhibition on the subject of urban renewal. Łódź has one of the best museums of modern art in Poland. has three branches, two of which (ms1 and ms2) display collections of 20th and 21st-century art. The newest addition to the museum, ms2 was opened in 2008 in the Manufaktura complex.Krakowiak, p. 88. The unique collection of the Museum is presented in an unconventional way: instead of a chronological lecture on the development of art, works of art representing various periods and movements are arranged into a story touching themes and motifs important for the contemporary public. The third branch of , located in one of the city's many industrial palaces, also has more traditional art on display, presenting works by European and Polish masters such as
Stanisław Wyspiański Stanisław Mateusz Ignacy Wyspiański (; 15 January 1869 – 28 November 1907) was a Polish playwright, painter and poet, as well as interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created a series of symbolic, national dramas within ...
and
Henryk Rodakowski Henryk Hipolit Rodakowski (; 1823–1894) was a Polish painter. Biography He came from a well-known family of lawyers. Continuing the family tradition between 1841 and 1845, he studied law in Vienna. Later he studied painting under Joseph Danha ...
. Among the 14 registered museums to be found in Łódź, there is the independent Book Art Museum, awarded the American Printing History Association's Institutional Award for 2015 for its outstanding contribution to the study, recording, preservation, and dissemination of printing history in Poland over the last 35 years. Other notable museums include the
Central Museum of Textiles Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa ...
with its open-air display of wooden architecture, the Cinematography Museum, located in Scheibler Palace, and the Museum of Independence Traditions, occupying the building of a historical Tsarist prison from the late 19th century. A more unusual establishment, the museum offers tourists a chance to visit the municipal sewer designed in the early years of the 20th century by the British engineer
William Heerlein Lindley Sir William Heerlein Lindley (30 January 1853, in Hamburg – 30 December 1917, in London) was a British civil engineer. __NOTOC__ One of three sons of the famous British engineer William Lindley, WH Lindley worked together with his fath ...
. Łódź also provides plenty of green spaces for recreation. Woodland areas cover 9.61% of the city, with parks taking up an additional 2.37% of the area of Łódź (as of 2014). Article first published online in 2014. ('Łagiewnicki Forest'), the largest forest within city limits, is referred to in scholarship as "the largest forested area within the administrative borders of any city in Europe." (p. 27) It has an area of 1,245 ha and is cut across by a number of hiking trails that traverse the hilly landscape on the western edge of Łódź Hills Landscape Park. A "natural complex which has remained nearly intact as oak-hornbeam and oak woodland," the forest is also rich in history, and its attractions include a
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
friary dating back to the early 18th century and two 17th-century wooden chapels. Out of a total of 44 parks in Łódź (as of 2014), 11 have historical status, the oldest of them dating back to the middle of the 19th century. The largest of these, Józef Piłsudski Park (), is located near the Łódź Zoo and the city's botanical garden, and together with them it comprises an extensive green complex known as serving the recreational needs of the city. Another notable park located in Łódź is the Józef Poniatowski Park. The Jewish Cemetery at Bracka Street, one of the largest of its kind in Europe, was established in 1892. After the
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in 1939, this cemetery became a part of Łódź's ''eastern territory'' known as the enclosed Łódź ghetto (''Ghetto Field''). Between 1940 and 1944, approximately 43,000 burials took place within the grounds of this rounded-up cemetery. In 1956, a monument by Muszko in memory of the victims of the
Łódź Ghetto The Łódź Ghetto or Litzmannstadt Ghetto (after the Nazi German name for Łódź) was a Nazi ghetto established by the German authorities for Polish Jews and Roma following the Invasion of Poland. It was the second-largest ghetto in all of Ge ...
was erected at the cemetery. It features a smooth obelisk, a menorah, and a broken oak tree with leaves stemming from the tree (symbolizing death, especially death at a young age). the cemetery has an area of . It contains approximately 180,000 graves, approximately 65,000 labelled tombstones, ohels and mausoleums. Many of these monuments have significant architectural value; 100 of these have been declared historical monuments and have been in various stages of restoration. The mausoleum of Izrael and Eleanora Poznański is perhaps the largest Jewish tombstone in the world and the only one decorated with mosaics.


Economy and infrastructure

Before 1990, the economy of Łódź was heavily reliant on the
textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...
, which had developed in the city in the nineteenth century owing to the abundance of rivers used to power the industry's fulling mills, bleaching plants and other machinery. Because of the growth in this industry, the city has sometimes been called the "Polish
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
" and the "
lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...
capital of Poland". As a result, Łódź grew from a population of 13,000 in 1840 to over 500,000 in 1913. By the time right before World War I Łódź had become one of the most densely populated industrial cities in the world, with 13,280 inhabitants per km2, and also one of the most polluted. The textile industry declined dramatically in 1990 and 1991, and no major textile company survives in Łódź today. However, countless small companies still provide a significant output of textiles, mostly for export. Łódź is no longer a significant industrial centre, but it has become a major hub for the business services sector in Poland owing to the availability of highly skilled workers and active cooperation between local universities and the business sector. The city benefits from its central location in Poland. A number of firms have located their logistics centres in the vicinity. Two motorways, A1 spanning from the north to the south of Poland, and A2 going from the east to the west, intersect northeast of the city. , the A2 is complete to Warsaw and the northern section of A1 is largely completed. With these connections, the advantages of the city's central location should increase even further. Work has also begun on upgrading the railway connection with Warsaw, which reduced the 2-hour travel time to make the journey 1.5 hours in 2009. As of 2018, travel time from Łódź to Warsaw is around 1.2 hours with the modern
Pesa SA Pesa (Pojazdy Szynowe Pesa Bydgoszcz) is a Polish company manufacturing railway vehicles based in Bydgoszcz. The name 'Pesa' derives from the initials PS which stand for ''Pojazdy Szynowe,'' 'railway vehicles' in Polish. Pesa is a successor ...
Dart trains. Recent years have seen many foreign companies opening and establishing their offices in Łódź. The Indian IT company
Infosys Infosys Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Ba ...
has one of its centres in the city. In January 2009
Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...
announced that it will shift production from its plant in
Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
, Ireland to its plant in Łódź, largely because the labour costs in Poland are a fraction of those in Ireland. The city's investor friendly policies have attracted 980
foreign investors Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing is ...
by January 2009. Foreign investment was one of the factors which decreased the
unemployment rate Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the referen ...
in Łódź to 6.5 percent in December 2008, from 20 percent four years earlier.


Transport

Łódź is situated near the geographical centre of Poland, only a short distance away from the motorway junction in
Stryków Stryków (german: 1943-45 Strickau) is a town in central Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, in Zgierz County. It has 3,428 inhabitants (2020). History Early history The first mention of Stryków was in 1387. Stryków was a village situated on the ...
where the two main north–south ( A1) and east–west ( A2) Polish transport corridors meet, which positions the city on two of the ten major trans-European routes: from
Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
to
Žilina Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Sl ...
and
Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
and from
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
to
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
via
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
. p. 66. It is also part of the New Silk Road, a regular cargo rail connection with the Chinese city of
Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
operating since 2013. Łódź is served by the national motorway network, an international airport, and long-distance and regional railways. It is at the centre of a
regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
and
commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
network operating from the city's various train stations. Bus and tram services are operated by a municipal public transport company. There are of bicycle routes throughout the city (as in January 2019). Major roads include: * A1: Gdańsk – Toruń – Łódź – Częstochowa – Cieszyn (national border) * A2: Świecko (national border) – Poznań – Łódź – Warszawa * S8: Wrocław – Sieradz – Łódź – Piotrków Trybunalski – Warszawa – Białystok * S14: Pabianice – Konstantynów Łódzki – Aleksandrów Łódzki – Zgierz * DK14: Łowicz – Stryków – Łódź – Zduńska Wola – Sieradz – Złoczew – Walichnowy * DK72: Konin – Turek – Poddębice – Łódź – Brzeziny – Rawa Mazowiecka * DK91: Gdańsk – Tczew – Toruń – Łódź – Piotrków Trybunalski – Radomsko – Częstochowa


Airport

The city has an international airport:
Łódź Władysław Reymont Airport Lodz Airport Central Poland , formerly known as ''Łódź-Lublinek Airport'', is a regional airport in central Poland, located approximately southwest of Łódź city center. Łódź ranked 8th among Polish airports in 2013 in passenger numbers ...
located from the city centre. Flights connect the city with destinations in Europe including Turkey. In 2014 the airport handled 253,772 passengers. It is the 8th largest airport in Poland.


Public Transport

The Municipal Transport Company – Łódź (Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacyjne – Łódź), owned by the Łódź City Government, is responsible for operating 58 bus routes and 19 tram lines.


Rail

Łódź has a number of long distance and local railway stations. There are two main stations in the city, but with no direct rail connection between them—a legacy of 19th-century railway network planning. Originally constructed in 1866, the centrally-located Łódź Fabryczna was a
terminus station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...
for a branch line of the Warsaw-Vienna railway, whereas Łódź Kaliska was built more than thirty years later on the central section of the Warsaw-Kalisz railway. For this reason most intercity train traffic goes to this day through Łódź Kaliska station, despite its relative distance from the city centre, and Łódź Fabryczna serves mainly as a terminal station for trains to
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
. The situation will be remedied in 2021 after the construction of a tunnel connecting the two, which is likely to make Łódź Poland's main railway hub. The tunnel will additionally serve Łódź Commuter Railway, providing a
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
system for the city, dubbed the Łódź Metro by the media and local authorities. Two new stations are to be constructed on the underground line, one serving the needs of the
Manufaktura The Manufaktura is an arts centre, shopping mall, and leisure complex in Łódź, Poland. A major tourist asset of the city, it includes the largest public square in Łódź, which acts as a venue for cultural and sports events. (pp. 282-283) Th ...
complex and the other located in the area of
Piotrkowska Street Piotrkowska Street ( pl, ulica Piotrkowska), the main artery of Łódź, Poland, is one of the longest commercial thoroughfares in Europe, with a length of around 4.2 km. It is one of the major tourist attractions of the city. It runs longitud ...
. In December 2016, a few years after the demolition of the old building of station, a new underground station was opened. It is considered to be the largest and most modern of all train stations in Poland and is designed to handle increased traffic after the construction of the tunnel. It also serves as a multimodal transport hub, featuring an underground intercity bus station, and is integrated with a new transport interchange serving taxis and local trams and buses. The construction of the new Łódź Fabryczna station was part of a broader project of
urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
known as
Nowe Centrum Łodzi Nowe (german: Neuenburg in Westpreußen, 1942-1945: ''Neuenburg (Weichsel)'') is a town in Świecie County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 6,270 inhabitants (2004). Geographical location Nowe is located approximately 75 kilome ...
(New Centre of Łódź). The third-largest train station in Łódź is Łódź Widzew. There are also many other stations and train stops in the city, many of which were upgraded as part of the Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna commuter rail project. The rail service, founded as part of a major regional rail upgrade and owned by
Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship (also known as Lodz Province, or by its Polish name ''Województwo łódzkie'' ) is a province-voivodeship in central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the Sieradz ...
, operates on routes to
Kutno Kutno is a city located in central Poland with 42,704 inhabitants (2021) and an area of . Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship since 1999, previously it was part of Płock Voivodeship (1975–1998) and it is now the capital of Kutno County. Dur ...
,
Sieradz Sieradz ( la, Siradia, yi, שעראַדז, שערעדז, שעריץ, german: 1941-45 Schieratz) is a city on the Warta river in central Poland with 40,891 inhabitants (2021). It is the seat of the Sieradz County, situated in the Łódź Voivodes ...
,
Skierniewice Skierniewice is a city in central Poland with 47,031 inhabitants (2021), situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), previously capital of Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Skierniewice County. The town is situat ...
,
Łowicz Łowicz is a town in central Poland with 27,896 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999); previously, it was in Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998). Together with a nearby station of Bednary, Łowicz is a ma ...
, and on selected days to
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, with plans for further expansion after the construction of the tunnel.


Education

Łódź is a thriving center of academic life. Currently Łódź hosts three major
state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...
universities, six higher education establishments operating for more than a half of the century, and a number of smaller schools of higher education. The tertiary institutions with the most students in Łódź include: *
University of Łódź The University of Łódź ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Łódzki'', Latin: ''Universitas Lodziensis'') is a public research university founded in 1945 in Łódź, Poland, as a continuation of three higher education institutions functioning in Łódź i ...
(''UŁ'' – ) * Lodz University of Technology (''PŁ'' – ) *
Medical University of Łódź The Medical University of Łódź was founded on October 1, 2002 as a merger of the Medical Academy of Łódź (founded January 1, 1950) and the Military Medical Academy of Łódź (founded July 1, 1958). It is the largest teaching hospital un ...
() *
National Film School in Łódź National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
() * Academy of Music in Łódź () *
Academy of Fine Arts In Łódź The Academy of Fine Art in Łódź is a public university in Łódź for artists. Created in 1945, it was one of seven academies of Fine Arts in Poland. The academy was renamed in honor of one of its founders, Władysław Strzemiński, in 1988. T ...
() In the 2018 general ranking of state-owned tertiary education institutions in Poland, the University of Łódź came 20th (6th place among universities) and Lodz University of Technology 12th (6th place among technical universities). The Medical University of Łódź was ranked 5th among Polish medical universities. Leading courses taught in Łódź include administration (3rd place), law (4th) and biology (4th).Perspektywy University Ranking 2018
Retrieved 7 July 2018.
There is also a number of private-owned institutions of higher learning in Łódź. The largest of these are the University of Social Sciences () and the University of Humanities and Economics in Łódź (). In the 2018 ranking of private universities in Poland the former was ranked 9th, and the latter 23rd.


National Film School in Łódź

The
Leon Schiller Leon Schiller or Leon Schiller de Schildenfeld (14 March 1887 – 25 March 1954) was a Polish theatre and film director, as well as critic and theatre theoretician. He also wrote theatre and radio screenplays and composed music. He was born in Kra ...
National Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź () is the most notable academy for future actors, directors, photographers, camera operators and TV staff in Poland. It was founded on 8 March 1948 and was initially planned to be moved to Warsaw as soon as the city was rebuilt following the
Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...
. However, in the end the school remained in Łódź and today is one of the best-known institutions of higher education in the city. At the end of the Second World War Łódź remained the only large Polish city besides Kraków which war had not destroyed. The creation of the
National Film School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2021 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repo ...
gave Łódź a role of greater importance from a cultural viewpoint, which before the war had belonged exclusively to Warsaw and Kraków. Early students of the School include the directors Andrzej Munk,
Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...
,
Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...
,
Kazimierz Karabasz Kazimierz Karabasz (; May 6, 1930 in Bydgoszcz, Poland – August 11, 2018) was a Polish documentary filmmaker.
(one of the founders of the so-called Black Series of Polish Documentary) and
Janusz Morgenstern Janusz "Kuba" Morgenstern (16 November 1922 – 6 September 2011) was a Polish film director and producer. Janusz Morgenstern was born in 1922 to a Jewish family in the town of Mikulińce, Poland (now Mykulyntsi, Ukraine), to Dawid Morgenstern ...
, who at the end of the 1950s became famous as one of the founders of the
Polish Film School Polish Film School ( pl, Polska Szkoła Filmowa) refers to an informal group of Polish film directors and screenplay writers active between 1956 and approximately 1963. Among the most prominent representatives of the school are Andrzej Wajda, And ...
of Cinematography.


Culture


Museums in Łódź

* Archaeological and Ethnographical Museum * Book Art Museum *
Central Museum of Textiles Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa ...
* City of Lodz History Museum * Film Museum * Herbst Palace Museum *
Muzeum Sztuki Muzeum () is a Prague Metro station providing the interchange between Lines A and C, and serving the National Museum. It is located at the top end of Wenceslas Square. The Line C station was opened on 9 May 1974, with the first section of ...
(Museum of Art) * Natural History Museum, University of Łódź * Muzeum Tradycji Niepodległościowych (Independence Traditions Museum) with three parts: ** Radegast train station ** Mausoleum and museum in Radogoszcz – Radogoszcz prison ** exhibition Kuźnia Romów (
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
forge) in former
Łódź Ghetto The Łódź Ghetto or Litzmannstadt Ghetto (after the Nazi German name for Łódź) was a Nazi ghetto established by the German authorities for Polish Jews and Roma following the Invasion of Poland. It was the second-largest ghetto in all of Ge ...
*
Se-ma-for Se-ma-for was a Polish List of animation studios, animation studio. Founded in Łódź, Poland in 1947, the company has created many animated cartoons and stop motion animations for young and older audiences. The name, meaning literally ''Se-ma-ph ...
museum of stop-motion film animation * The Centre for Science and Technology EC1 in former Łódź
power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...


Łódź in literature and cinema

Three major novels depict the development of industrial Łódź:
Władysław Reymont Władysław Stanisław Reymont (, born Rejment; 7 May 1867 – 5 December 1925) was a Polish novelist and the 1924 laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known work is the award-winning four-volume novel '' Chłopi'' (''The Peasant ...
's '' The Promised Land'' (1898),
Joseph Roth Moses Joseph Roth (2 September 1894 – 27 May 1939) was an Austrian journalist and novelist, best known for his family saga ''Radetzky March'' (1932), about the decline and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, his novel of Jewish life ''Job'' ( ...
's '' Hotel Savoy'' (1924) and
Israel Joshua Singer Israel Joshua Singer (Yiddish: ישראל יהושע זינגער ; November 30, 1893, Biłgoraj, Congress Poland — February 10, 1944 New York) was a Polish-Jewish novelist who wrote in Yiddish. Biography He was born Yisruel Yehoyshye Zinger ...
's ''
The Brothers Ashkenazi ''The Brothers Ashkenazi'' (1936) (Yiddish: ‏די ברידער אַשכּנזי‎ ''Di brider Ashkenazi'') is a novel by Israel Joshua Singer. Written in Yiddish, it first appeared serially in the Jewish daily Forward between 1934 and 1935, af ...
'' (1937). Roth's novel depicts the city on the eve of a workers' riot in 1919. Reymont's novel was made into a film by
Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...
in 1975. In the 1990 film ''
Europa Europa ''Europa Europa'' (german: Hitlerjunge Salomon, lit. "Hitler Youth Salomon") is a 1990 historical war drama film directed by Agnieszka Holland, and starring Marco Hofschneider, Julie Delpy, Hanns Zischler, and André Wilms. It is based on the 19 ...
'',
Solomon Perel Solomon Perel (also Shlomo Perel or Solly Perel; born 21 April 1925) is a German-born Israeli author and motivational speaker. He was born to a German-Jewish family and managed to escape persecution by the Nazis by masquerading as an ethnic Germa ...
's family flees pre-World War II Berlin and settles in Łódź.
Paweł Pawlikowski Paweł Aleksander Pawlikowski (; born 15 September 1957) is a Polish filmmaker. He garnered early praise for a string of documentaries in the 1990s and for his award-winning feature films of the 2000s, '' Last Resort'' (2000) and '' My Summer of ...
's film ''
Ida Ida or IDA may refer to: Astronomy * Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter *243 Ida, an asteroid *International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station Computing *Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a techn ...
'' was partially shot in Łódź. Łódź. Chava Rosenfarb’s Yiddish trilogy “The Tree of Life” (1972; English translation 1985) portrays life within the Łódź Ghetto.


Sport

The city has experience as a host for international sporting events such as the 2009 EuroBasket, the 2011 EuroBasket Women, the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship and the
2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 ...
, with the opening and final of the latter taking place at
Stadion Widzewa Stadion (Greek , Latin ''stadium'', nominative plural ''stadia'' in both Greek and Latin) may refer to: People * Christoph von Stadion (1478–1543), Prince-Bishop of Augsburg * Johann Philipp Stadion, Count von Warthausen (1763–1824), Austrian ...
. Łódź will also host the sixth edition of the
European Universities Games The European Universities Games (EUG) is an international multi-sport event, organized every two years for university athletes by the European University Sports Association (EUSA). The first edition was held in 2012 in Cordoba, Spain. On April 9, ...
in 2022. Under
communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
it was common for
clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...
to participate in many different sports for all ages and sexes. Many of these traditional clubs still survive today. Originally they were owned directly by a public body, but now they are independently operated by clubs or private companies. However they get public support through the cheap rent of land and other subsidies from the city. Some of their sections have gone professional and separated from the clubs as private companies. For example, Budowlani S.A is a private company that owns the only professional rugby team in Łódź, while Klub Sportowy Budowlani remains a community amateur club. *
Budowlani Łódź Budowlani Łódź (Klub Sportowy Budowlani Łódź) is a sports club based in Łódź, Poland. The club was founded in 1948. The club participates in many men's and women's sports. They are primarily known as a rugby club but also compete in vo ...
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
(six times Polish champions),
hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
,
wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
,
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
*
ŁKS Łódź ŁKS Łódź (''Łódzki Klub Sportowy Łódź''; ) is a Polish sports club based in Łódź. They are best known for their football club but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, athletics and in the past ice ...
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
(two times Polish champions),
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
(Polish champions 1953),
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
(two times Polish champions),
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
,
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
* SMS Łódź – association football, volleyball, basketball * KS Społem Łódź –
road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
and
track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...
* SKS Start Łódź – football, swimming *
Widzew Łódź RTS Widzew Łódź () is a Polish football club based in Łódź. The club was founded in 1910. Its official colours are red and white, hence their nicknames ''Czerwona Armia'' (Red Army) and ''Czerwono-biało-czerwoni'' (Red-white-reds). History ...
– association football (four time Polish champions, semi-finalists of the 1982–83 European Cup) In Ekstraklasa of Polish beach soccer Łódź have three professional clubs: Grembach, KP and .


Horticultural Expo 2029

Łódź bid for the Specialized Expo 2022/2023 but lost out to
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. Łódź was planned to host the ''Horticultural Expo'' in 2024. However, multiple Expo events were delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, a Horticultural Expo in Doha, Qatar from 2021/22 to 23/24 among them. As a result, the Horticultural Expo in Łódź has been rescheduled to 2029 to maintain a required time interval between them.


Notable residents

* Daniel Amit (1938–2007), Israeli physicist *
Yehuda Ashlag Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag (1885–1954) or Yehuda Leib Ha-Levi Ashlag ( he, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה לֵיבּ הַלֵּוִי אַשְׁלַג), also known as the Baal Ha-Sulam (Hebrew: , "Author of The Ladder") in reference to his magnum ...
(1885–1954), also known as the Baal Ha-Sulam, Rabbi *
Grażyna Bacewicz Grażyna Bacewicz Biernacka (; 5 February 1909 – 17 January 1969) was a Polish composer and violinist. She is the second Polish female composer to have achieved national and international recognition, the first being Maria Szymanowska in the ...
(1909–1969), composer *
Aleksander Bardini Aleksander Bardini (17 November 1913 – 30 July 1995) was a Polish theatre and opera director, actor, notable professor at the State Theatre School in Warsaw. He appeared in 30 films between 1937 and 1994. Selected filmography * '' Long Is ...
(1913–1995), theatre director and actor *
Andrzej Bartkowiak Andrzej Bartkowiak, A.S.C. (born 6 March 1950) is a Polish cinematographer and film director. Career In the early 1980s, Bartkowiak was cinematographer on three films that received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture: ''The Verdict'', ' ...
(born 1950), cameraman and film director *
Jurek Becker Jurek Becker (, probably 30 September 1937 – 14 March 1997) was a Polish-born German writer, screenwriter and East German dissident. His most famous novel is ''Jacob the Liar'', which has been made into two films. He lived in Łódź during Wo ...
(1937–1997), writer *
Sylwester Bednarek Sylwester Bednarek ( ; born 28 April 1989) is a Polish high jumper. He won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships and gold at the 2017 European Indoor Championships. Life and career Bednarek was born in Łódź. He finished fourth ...
(born 1989), high jumper *
Marek Belka Marek Marian Belka (; born 9 January 1952 in Lódź) is a Polish professor of economics and politician who has served as Prime Minister of Poland and Finance Minister of Poland in two governments. He is a former Director of the International Mo ...
(born 1952), politician, former Prime Minister, Finance Minister of Poland, member
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
*
Karolina Bielawska Karolina Bielawska (born 11 April 1999) is a Polish model, television presenter, and beauty queen who was crowned Miss World 2021. She became the second titleholder from Poland, the first one being Aneta Kręglicka who won the pageant in 1989. ...
(born 1999), model and
Miss World 2021 Miss World 2021 was the 70th edition of the Miss World pageant, held at the Coca-Cola Music Hall in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 16 March 2022. The coronation was originally scheduled to be held on 16 December 2021 at the José Miguel Agrelot Col ...
*
Kazimierz Brandys Kazimierz Brandys (27 October 1916 – 11 March 2000) was a Polish essayist and writer of film scripts. Biography Brandys was born in Łódź. He was the brother of the writer Marian Brandys and husband of the translator . He graduated in law f ...
(1916–2000), writer *
Artur Brauner Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; 1 August 1918 – 7 July 2019) was a German film producer and entrepreneur of Polish origin. He produced more than 300 films from 1946. Life and career He was born the oldest son of a Jewish family ...
(1918–2019), film producer * Edward Gustave Brisch (1901–1960), industrial coding and classification expert. He was the designer of the Brisch Classification, widely known and used in building and engineering. *
Jacob Bronowski Jacob Bronowski (18 January 1908 – 22 August 1974) was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He was known to friends and professional colleagues alike by the nickname Bruno. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to sc ...
(1908–1974), writer, mathematician, and Britain's leading academic TV figure of the 1970s. * Sabina Citron (born 1928), Holocaust survivor, activist, and author *
Bat-Sheva Dagan Bat-Sheva Dagan ( he, בת-שבע דגן) (born September 8, 1925) is a Polish-Israeli Holocaust survivor, educator, author, and speaker. Born in Łódź, Poland, she was incarcerated in a Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe, ghetto in Radom with her p ...
(born 1925), Holocaust survivor, teacher, psychologist, author * Karl Dedecius (1921–2016), translator *
Elizabeth Diller Elizabeth Diller, also known as Liz Diller, is an American architect and partner in Diller Scofidio + Renfro, which she co-founded in 1979. She is also an architecture professor at Princeton University. Life Elizabeth Diller was born in 1954 in ...
(born 1954), American architect * Karl Dominik (born 1980), China's first Chinese speaking Polish actor *
Marek Edelman Marek Edelman ( yi, מאַרעק עדעלמאַן, born either 1919 in Homel or 1922 in Warsaw – October 2, 2009 in Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish political and social activist and cardiologist. Edelman was the last surviving leader of the ...
(1919/1922–2009), Holocaust survivor, one of the leaders of the
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; pl, powstanie w getcie warszawskim; german: link=no, Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany's ...
,
Solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...
activist, Polish politician, human rights activist *
Jacob Eisner Jacob Eisner, also known as Jack Eisner (גיי'קוב (ג'ק) אייזנר; born December 18, 1947), is an Israeli former basketball player.
(born 1947), Israeli basketball player * Max Factor Sr. (1877–1938), businessman, founder of the
Max Factor Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, Inc. It was founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Maksymilian Faktorowicz. Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billion in 2017 dolla ...
cosmetics company *
Dov Freiberg Dov Freiberg (15 May 1927 – 1 March 2008) born Berek Freiberg, was a Holocaust survivor, writer, and witness at the Eichmann trial and the John Demjanjuk, Demjanjuk case. Freiberg was a prisoner at Sobibor extermination camp where he participate ...
(1927–2008),
Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...
and writer *
Magdalena Fręch Magdalena Fręch (; born 15 December 1997) is a Polish tennis player. She has won one singles title on the WTA Challenger Tour. She has also won five singles titles and four doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 25 July 2022, she reached her b ...
(born 1997), tennis player * Joseph Friedenson (1922–2013), Holocaust survivor and writer *
Piotr Fronczewski Piotr Fronczewski (born 8 June 1946 in Łódź, Poland), is a Polish actor and a cabaret and theatre singer. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most popular actors of his generation. Life and career He was born to a Polish mother, Bogna ...
(born 1946), Polish actor *
Maciej Golubiewski Maciej Benedykt Golubiewski (born May 7, 1976) is a Polish political scientist and diplomat. Between 2017 and 2019 he served as the Consul General at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York City. Biography Golubiewski was bor ...
(born 1976), Polish political scientist and diplomat, Consul General at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York City *
Marcin Gortat Marcin Janusz Gortat (; born February 17, 1984) is a Polish former professional basketball player. The , center is the son of boxer Janusz Gortat. He was drafted in the second round by the Phoenix Suns in the 2005 NBA draft and played for the O ...
(born 1984),
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
basketball player for the
Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...
*
Mendel Grossman Mordka Mendel Grossman was born on 27 June 1913 in Gorzkowice, Piotrków Governorate, Russian Empire (today Poland). He died on 30 April 1945, during the death marches. He was a photographer and worker in the Statistical Department of the Litzma ...
(1913–1945), Łódź ghetto photographer * Józef Hecht (1891–1951), engraver and printmaker *
Jerzy Janowicz Jerzy Filip Janowicz Jr. (; born 13 November 1990) is a Polish professional tennis player. Janowicz is best known for becoming the first Polish man to reach a major semifinal at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships. Noted for his very powerful serv ...
(born 1990), tennis player *
Josef Joffe Josef Joffe (born 15 March 1944) is a former publisher-editor of '' Die Zeit'', a weekly German newspaper. His second career has been in academia. Appointed Senior Fellow of Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies in 2007 (a ...
(born 1944), journalist *
Michał Kalecki Michał Kalecki (; 22 June 1899 – 18 April 1970) was a Polish Marxian economist. Over the course of his life, Kalecki worked at the London School of Economics, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford and Warsaw School of Economics ...
(1899–1970),
Marxian economist Marxian economics, or the Marxian school of economics, is a heterodox school of political economic thought. Its foundations can be traced back to Karl Marx's critique of political economy. However, unlike critics of political economy, Marxian ec ...
, "one of the most distinguished economists of the 20th century" * Roman Kantor (1912–1943), épée fencer, Nordic champion and Soviet champion; killed by the Nazis *
Jan Karski Jan Karski (24 June 1914 – 13 July 2000) was a Polish soldier, resistance-fighter, and diplomat during World War II. He is known for having acted as a courier in 1940–1943 to the Polish government-in-exile and to Poland's Western Allies ab ...
(1914–2000), diplomat and anti-nazi resistant *
Aharon Katzir Aharon Katzir (Aharon Katzir-Katchalsky) (September 15, 1914 – May 30, 1972) was an Israeli pioneer in the study of the electrochemistry of biopolymers. Biography Born 1914 in Łódź, Poland, he moved to Mandatory Palestine in 1925, where he ...
(1914–1972), Israeli pioneer in study of electrochemistry of biopolymers; killed in
Lod Airport Massacre The Lod Airport massacre"They were responsible for the Lod Airport massacre in Israel in 1972, which was committed on behalf of the PFLP." Jeffrey D. Simon, ''The Terrorist Trap: America's Experience with Terrorism'', Indiana University Press, ...
* Lea Koenig (born 1929), Israeli actress * Paul Klecki (1900–1973), conductor * Katarzyna Kobro (1898–1951), sculptor *
Tomasz Konieczny Tomasz Konieczny (; born 10 January 1972) is a Polish bass-baritone. Life and work He was born on 10 January 1972 in Łódź, Poland. He commenced his studies as an actor at the Film, TV and Theatre Academy in Łódź. Following this he studied ...
(born 1972), opera singer *
Jerzy Kosinski Jerzy is the Polish version of the masculine given name George. The most common nickname for Jerzy is Jurek (), which may also be used as an official first name. Occasionally the nickname Jerzyk may be used, which means "swift" in Polish. Peopl ...
(1933–1991), writer *
Jan Kowalewski Lt. Col. Jan Kowalewski (23 October 1892 – 31 October 1965) was a Polish cryptologist, intelligence officer, engineer, journalist, military commander, and creator and first head of the Polish Cipher Bureau. He recruited a large staff of crypto ...
(1892–1965), cryptologist who broke Soviet military codes, and ciphers during the Polish-Soviet War *
Karolina Kowalkiewicz Karolina Kowalkiewicz (born 15 October 1985) is a Polish mixed martial artist. She currently fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is the former KSW Women's Flyweight Champion. Mixed martial arts career Early career Kowalki ...
(born 1985),
UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
Strawweight Title challenger * Feliks W. Kres (born 1966), fantasy writer *
Anna Lewandowska Anna Lewandowska ( Stachurska; 7 September 1988) is a Polish karateka, personal trainer and entrepreneur. She is a multiple medalist in the World, European, and national Championships. She is the wife of footballer Robert Lewandowski. Early lif ...
(born 1988), karateka and nutrition expert *
Nathan Lewin Nathan Lewin (born January 31, 1936) is an American attorney who has argued many cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. Early life and education Lewin was born in Łódź, Poland. His grandfather, the chief rabbi of Rzeszow, wa ...
,
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
attorney *
Daniel Libeskind Daniel Libeskind (born May 12, 1946) is a Polish–American architect, artist, professor and set designer. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect. He is known for the design a ...
(born 1946), architect *
Tadeusz Miciński Tadeusz Miciński (9 November 1873, in Łódź – February 1918, in Cherykaw Raion, Belarus) was an influential Poland, Polish poet, gnostic and playwright, and was a forerunner of Expressionism and Surrealism. He is one of the writers of the You ...
(1873–1918), poet * Stanisław Mikulski (1929–2014), actor *
Ruth Minsky Sender Ruth Minsky Senderowicz (born 3 May 1926) is a Holocaust survivor. She has written three memoirs about her experience: '' The Cage'', ''To Life'' and ''Holocaust Lady''. Early life ''Rifkele Riva Minska'' was born in Łódź, Poland to Avromele ...
(born 1926), author and survivor *
Zew Wawa Morejno Zew Wawa Morejno ( he, הרב זאב מורינו, HaRav Zev Moreino; 28 February 1916 – 19 March 2011) was a Polish and American rabbi. He was the last rabbi of the communist People's Republic of Poland, in 1973 emigrating from Poland to the ...
(1916–2011),
Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...
*
Henry Morgentaler Henekh "Henry" Morgentaler, (March 19, 1923 – May 29, 2013), was a Polish-born Canadian physician and abortion rights advocate who fought numerous legal battles aimed at expanding abortion rights in Canada. As a Jewish youth during World War ...
(1923–2013), physician *
Konstantin Petrovich Nechaev Konstantin Petrovich Nechaev (russian: Константин Петрович Нечаев, pl, Konstantin Pietrowicz Nieczajew; 31 May 1883 – 5 February 1946) was an Imperial Russian Army officer and White movement leader, who commanded a larg ...
(1883–1946), White movement leader and mercenary commander in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
*
Zbigniew Nienacki Zbigniew Nienacki (January 1, 1929 in Łódź – September 23, 1994 in Morąg) was a pen name of Poland, Polish writer, Zbigniew Tomasz Nowicki. He was most known for his Pan Samochodzik (Mister Automobile) series. Biography His works consist ...
(1929–1994), writer *
Marek Olędzki Marek Olędzki (born 25 April 1951) is a Polish archaeologist who is Head of the Department of Prehistory at the University of Łódź. Biography Marek Olędzki was born in Łódź, Poland on 25 April 1951. Upon graduating from high school in Ł ...
(born 1951), archaeologist * Marian P. Opala (1921–2010), Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice * Adam Ostrowski (born 1980), better known as O.S.T.R., rapper * Adam Palma (born 1974), Polish-British guitarist and teacher *
Władysław Pasikowski Władysław Pasikowski (; born 14 June 1959 in Łódź, Poland) is a Polish film director and screenwriter. He made his debut film, Kroll, in 1991, which was honored with the Polish Film Festival prize for his debut and the Special Jury Prize. ...
(born 1959), film director *
Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...
(born 1933), cinema director, Oscar and Golden Palm winner * Piotr Pustelnik (born 1951), alpine and high-altitude climber, the 20th man to climb all 14 eight-thousanders. *
Ze'ev Raban Ze’ev Raban (22 September 1890 – 19 January 1970), born Wolf Rawicki (Ravitzki), was a leading painter, decorative artist, and industrial designer of the Bezalel school style, and was one of the founders of the Israeli art world. Biography ...
(1890–1970), Israeli painter and sculptor * Adolph Moses Radin (1848–1909), rabbi *
Damian Radowicz Damian Radowicz (born December 20, 1989, in Łódź) is a Polish people, Polish association football, footballer who plays for Sokół Aleksandrów Łódzki. Career Club In September 2010, he joined senior team of Widzew Łódź.
(born 1989), footballer *
Władysław Reymont Władysław Stanisław Reymont (, born Rejment; 7 May 1867 – 5 December 1925) was a Polish novelist and the 1924 laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known work is the award-winning four-volume novel '' Chłopi'' (''The Peasant ...
(1867–1925), writer,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winner *
Joseph Rotblat Sir Joseph Rotblat (4 November 1908 – 31 August 2005) was a Polish and British physicist. During World War II he worked on Tube Alloys and the Manhattan Project, but left the Los Alamos Laboratory on grounds of conscience after it became ...
(1908–2005), physicist,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winner *
Stefan Rozental Stefan Rozental (13 August 1903, Łódź – 2 August 1994, Copenhagen), was a Nuclear physics, nuclear physicist, specialising in quantum mechanics. Trapped outside Poland when World War I started, he and his parents ended up in Denmark and spent ...
(1903–1994), nuclear physicist *
Artur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish-American pianist.
(1887–1982), pianist *
Arnold Rutkowski Arnold Rutkowski is a Polish opera singer who has sung leading tenor roles both in his native country and abroad. He is best known for his performances as Don Josè in ''Carmen'', Rodolfo in ''La bohème'', Alfredo Germont in ''La traviata'', the ...
, opera singer *
Zbigniew Rybczyński Zbigniew Rybczyński (; born 27 January 1949) is a Polish filmmaker, director, cinematographer, screenwriter, creator of experimental animated films, and multimedia artist who has won numerous prestigious industry awards both in the United Sta ...
(born 1949), animator and Oscar winner *
Marek Saganowski Marek Mirosław Saganowski (; born 31 October 1978) is a Polish professional football manager and former player who played as a striker, currently in charge of II liga club Pogoń Siedlce. In a much-travelled career, he represented clubs in ...
(born 1978), football player *
Andrzej Sapkowski Andrzej Sapkowski (; born 21 June 1948) is a Polish fantasy writer, essayist, translator and a trained economist. He is best known for his six-volume series of books '' The Witcher'', which revolves around the eponymous "witcher," a monster-hun ...
(born 1948), fantasy writer * Carl Wilhelm Scheibler (1820–1881), one of the most important Łódź industrialists *
Euzebiusz Smolarek Euzebiusz "Ebi" Smolarek (; born 9 January 1981) is a Polish former professional footballer who is youth manager at Dutch club Feyenoord. He played primarily as a striker or winger, representing clubs in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Engla ...
(born 1981), football player *
Piotr Sobociński Piotr Sobociński (; 3 February 1958 – 26 March 2001) was a Polish cinematographer. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for '' Three Colours: Red'' in 1994. Sobociński was the son of Polish cinematographer Witol ...
(1958–2001), cinematographer *
Andrzej Sontag Andrzej Sontag (born 26 April 1952) is a retired triple jumper from Poland. He was born in Lublin and represented the club AZS Lublin. He won a bronze medal at the 1974 European Championships, and finished eighth at the 1976 European Ind ...
(born 1952),
track-and-field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...
athlete *
Natan Spigel Natan Spigel (also: Nathan, Szpigiel/Spiegel/Szpigel) (1892–1942) was a Jewish painter born in Poland.http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/lodz/noted.htm, Shtetlinks, Noted Citizens of Lodz, Szpigiel (SPIEGEL), Natan (1900-1943), Retrieved Februa ...
(1900–1942), painter *
Władysław Strzemiński Władysław Strzemiński (21 November 1893 – 26 December 1952) was a Polish avant-garde painter of international renown. Life and work Strzemiński was born in Minsk to an ethnic Polish family. In 1914, he graduated from the Military School o ...
(1893–1952), painter, Katarzyna Kobro's husband *
Borys Szyc Borys Michał Szyc-Michalak (; born Borys Michalak; 4 September 1978) is a Polish film and theatre actor and musician. Life and career He was born in Łódź, Poland. He graduated from High School No. 26 in Łódź. In 2001, he graduated from W ...
(born 1978), actor and musician *
Arthur Szyk Arthur Szyk (Polish: artur ʃɪk June 16, 1894 – September 13, 1951) was a Polish artist who worked primarily as a book illustration, book illustrator and political artist throughout his career. Arthur Szyk was born into a prosperous mi ...
(1894–1951), artist *
Adam Szymczyk Adam Szymczyk (Polish pronunciation: ; born in 1970 in Piotrków Trybunalski), is a Polish art critic and curator, writer and editor. He lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland. Between 2003–2014, he was the director and chief curator at Kunsth ...
(born 1970), art critic and curator * Aleksander Tansman (1897–1986), composer and pianist *
Jack Tramiel Jack Tramiel ( ; born Idek Trzmiel; December 13, 1928 – April 8, 2012) was an American businessman and Holocaust survivor, best known for founding Commodore International. The Commodore PET, VIC-20 and Commodore 64 are some home compute ...
(1928–2012), computer manufacturer, the founder of
Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...
*
Julian Tuwim Julian Tuwim (13 September 1894 – 27 December 1953), known also under the pseudonym "Oldlen" as a lyricist, was a Polish poet, born in Łódź, then part of the Russian Partition. He was educated in Łódź and in Warsaw where he studied la ...
(1894–1953), poet *
Andrzej Udalski Andrzej Jarosław Udalski (born 22 January 1957 in Łódź, Poland) is a Polish people, Polish astronomer and astrophysicist, and director of the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw. He is also head of the Department of Observat ...
(born 1957), astronomer and astrophysicist *
Miś Uszatek Miś Uszatek (''Floppy Bear'', literally ''Teddy Floppy-ear'') is a Polish character from the stop motion-animated TV series of the same name. He was created jointly by Polish writer Czesław Janczarski and cartoonist Zbigniew Rychlicki.
, cartoon character *
Michał Wiśniewski Michał Krystian Wiśniewski (born 9 September 1972 in Łódź) is a Polish pop vocalist, leader of the pop group Ich Troje,''Gazeta_Wyborcza''/ref>_who_sang_for_Poland_at_the_2003_Eurovision_Song_Contest.html" ;"title="Gazeta_Wyborcza''.html" ; ...
(born 1972), singer *
Paweł Zatorski Paweł Zatorski (born 21 June 1990) is a Polish professional volleyball player. He is a member of the Poland national team, a participant in the Olympic Games (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020), two–time World Champion (2014, 2018), 2012 World League win ...
(born 1990), volleyball player, double World Champion * Hanna Zdanowska (born 1959), politician, Mayor of Łódź *
Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm (born 15 April 1949, in Łódź, Poland), is a Polish-born U.S.-based writer and academic. She obtained her Ph.D in Humanistic studies at the Warsaw University. Her works include historical biographies,Dr Christoph ...
(born 1949), writer


International relations

Łódź is home to nine foreign consulates, all of which are Honorary. They are subordinate to the following states' main representation in Poland: French, Danish, German, Austrian, British, Belgian, Latvian, Hungarian and Moldavian.


Twin towns – sister cities

Łódź is twinned with: *
Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...
in Germany ''(since 1972)'' *
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
in Germany ''(since 1988)'' *
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
in France ''(since 1991)'' *
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
in Lithuania ''(since 1991)'' *
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
in Ukraine ''(since 1993)'' *
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
in Israel ''(since 1994)'' *
Rustavi Rustavi ( ka, რუსთავი ) is a city in the southeast of Georgia, in the region of Kvemo Kartli and southeast of capital Tbilisi. It has a population of 130,100 (2021), making it the fourth most populous city in Georgia. Its economy is ...
in Georgia ''(since 1995)'' *
Barreiro Barreiro may refer to: People * Bruno Barreiro (born 1965), American politician * Gustavo Barreiro (1959–2019), American politician * Manu Barreiro (born 1986), Spanish footballer Places * Barreiro, Portugal ** Barreiro Municipality, a mu ...
in Portugal ''(since 1996)'' *
Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
in Finland ''(since 1996)'' *
Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
in Mexico ''(since 1996)'' *
Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
in Spain ''(since 1999)'' *
Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...
in Sweden ''(since 2001)''''Vänorter'' 
orebro.se
*
Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
in Ukraine ''(since 2003)'' *
Denizli Denizli is an industrial city in the southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about . Denizli is located in the country's Aegean Region. ...
in Turkey ''(since 2005)'' *
Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
in Hungary ''(since 2008)'' *
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
in People's Republic of China ''(since 2014)'' *
Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
in People's Republic of China ''(since 2015)'' Łódź belongs also to the
Eurocities Eurocities is a network of large cities in Europe, established in 1986 by the mayors of six large cities: Barcelona, Birmingham, Frankfurt, Lyon, Milan and Rotterdam. Today, Eurocities members includes over 200 of Europe's major cities from 38 c ...
network. After the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, Łódź terminated the partnership with Russian cities
Ivanovo Ivanovo ( rus, Иваново, p=ɪˈvanəvə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Russia. It is the administrative center and largest city of Ivanovo Oblast, located northeast of Moscow and approximately from Yaroslavl, Vlad ...
and
Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
, and with
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
, the capital of
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
on 2 March 2022.


See also

* History of Łódź * Łódź Design Festival * International Festival of Comics and Games in Łódź


Explanatory notes


References


Inline citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Alan Adelson and Robert Lapides, ''Łódź Ghetto : A Community History Told in Diaries, Journals, and Documents'', Viking, 1989. * "A Stairwell in Lodz," Constance Cappel, 2004, Xlibris, (in English). * * "Lodz – The Last Ghetto in Poland," Michal Unger, Yad Vashem, 600 pages (in Hebrew) * Stefański, Krzysztof (2000). ''Gmachy użyteczności publicznej dawnej Łodzi'', Łódź 2000 . * Stefański, Krzysztof (2009). ''Ludzie którzy zbudowali Łódź Leksykon architektów i budowniczych miasta (do 1939 roku)'', Łódź 2009 . * *


External links

*
Public Transport Official Site

City map of Łódź



Łódź Special Economic Zone

Łódź-Lublinek Airport
*
''The Łódź Post''
English language newspaper

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Łódź Łódź, Cities and towns in Łódź Voivodeship City counties of Poland Holocaust locations in Poland Łódź Voivodeship (1919–1939) Magdeburg rights Piotrków Governorate Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust