About Lodz

Łódź (pronounced woodge and meaning boat, despite being landlocked and without a major river) is a surprising city and still undiscovered for many.” The flat, green “Manchester of Poland” (so called for its manufacturing heritage) is doing a fine job of reinventing itself, and its regeneration from crumbling post-Soviet backwater to modern European city is celebrated whenever possible “says the Guardians.

• Promised Land

Ideally located in the central part of Poland  predestines to be called a meeting center. The history goes back only six centuries, and the most important period and  the last two centuries determined character of the city- was the very dynamic development from a small settlement to an industrial center often referred to as the mythical “Promised Land”.

• A multicultural melting pot

Until the Second World War, Łódź was famous as a multicultural center with a working-class character. Numerous textile factories and the Jewish community gave the city its identity. Traces of this cultural melting pot are still visible today at every step.

It was here that the great fortunes of factory owners were born and the tragedies of poor working-class families took place. Scenery like from a movie.

• HollyŁódź

After the war, Polish cinematography developed in the world-famous school. It is due to the great importance in the development of the 10th Muse that in 2017 Łódź was admitted to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as the City of Film. For music lovers, Łódź will remain the birthplace of the legendary pianist Artur Rubinstein.

• City of meetings and modern architecture

Nowadays, this post-industrial city focuses on its development, contemporary art and architecture. Creativity has become a permanent part of the development of the modern face of the city. For over a dozen years, Łódź has been changing its face by revitalizing wide stretches of the historic part, giving post-industrial buildings a new life in the form of hotels, galleries and residential spaces.

For local authorities and entrepreneurs, the meetings and events industry has become one of the driving forces, thanks to which an extremely efficient Convention Bureau was created, focused on the wide promotion of the agglomeration.

The potential is evidenced by, among others planned international events such as European Universities Games 2022 or Expo Horticultural 2024. At the beginning of 2021, Łódź was added to the list of places that must be visited during this year by The Guardian.

Hotels

Łódź currently has over 30 categorized hotels. Almost half of them are run as part of large international chains. In Łódź, we can find hotel brands such as:

• Holiday Inn ****;
• Novotel Centrum ****;
• modern Puro ****;
• elegant hotels Ambasador Premium **** and Ambasador Centrum ****;
• Qubus ***;
• Campanile ***;
• Ibis**.

Particularly noteworthy is Doubletree by Hilton, which was established on the site of the former Feature Film Studio, where the pearls of Polish cinema were created in the 20th century. DoubleTree by Hilton has one of the largest conference and exhibition potentials in Łódź: 5,000 sq m, 12 conference rooms, 4 congress and concert halls and a cinema room.

Many post-industrial or historic buildings have been revitalized in the city, intended for hotels. The most interesting in terms of history and design are:

• Andel’s – a facility in the former spinning mill of Izrael Poznański, which has won numerous awards and earned Guests’ recognition. In addition to the historic decor, the hotel is distinguished by an original interior which is a unique combination of colors and forms, design and materials. The hotel is located in a building that is part of the Manufaktura complex – one of the largest shopping, service and entertainment centers in Europe.
• In the historic, revitalized buildings of the former cigarette factory there is the Tobaco *** hotel,
• In the building where the first permanent cinema in Poland was built, we will now find the Old “Kino” Cinema Residence Hotel ***. The hotel interiors are inspired by the most famous films with Łódź roots, e.g. “Promised Land” or Career by Nikodem Dyzma and world productions such as: The Godfather, Titanic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
• In nearby town- Pabianice- another hotel deserving attention – Fabryka Wełny – is located. It is a place where history meets modern design, relaxation with art, and a raw industrial atmosphere with elegance and comfort. The hotel is located in a revitalized building of a 19th-century factory. Brick walls and discreet elements of the old decor still remind of the history of the place and give it a unique, post-industrial atmosphere.

Conference venues

Łódź is an ideal place to organize an event or conference. It boasts a long list of ideal locations of various kinds.

Traditional conference and congress centers are Expo Łódź and Bionanopark with extensive facilities for conference rooms and exhibition space.

We recommend Łódź as the perfect place to organize a conference in a post-industrial atmosphere. The city presents a wide range of revitalized factories and post-industrial buildings. The most important ones include:

• Incubator in Fabryka Sztuki – a modernized part of the complex of 19th century red brick factories in Księży Młyn in the center of Łódź. Modern interiors coexist with over 100-year-old floors, cast-iron columns and original windows. The heart of the building is a glazed courtyard between two buildings. On almost seven thousand square meters, conference, exhibition and multi-functional halls, rooms for business meetings, a stage, and a club and café were built.
• ARTkombinat – the Monopolis scene is another artistic combination. An ideal place for a performance, concert, cabaret performance, but also training, lectures and workshops of all types. ArtKombinat is a combination of countless technical possibilities with an industrial atmosphere. In 2020, the facility received the Real Estate Oscar in the international MIPIM Awards competition.
• The revitalized and extended eastern complex of EC1 performs cultural, artistic and social functions. Located in the buildings of the former municipal power plant EC1 has already hosted such renowned events as Promised Land Art Festival or Light Move Festival. The EC1 complex offers events that allow you to spend your free time wisely and inspiringly. The Planetarium has been opened in the EC1 East building – the most modern in Poland and one of that kind in Europe. After only eight months of operation, they were visited by over 100,000 viewers, in 2016 the Planetarium took first place in the plebiscite “7 new wonders of Poland”, organized by the National Geographic Traveler monthly. In the western part of the EC1 complex, Poland’s largest Science and Technology Center with a spherical 3D cinema is located.

Recommended buildings of a similar nature also include:

• The Factory Museum, which is located in Manufaktura – the former empire of Izrael Poznański, today a retail and leisure area redeveloped in the mid-2000s. Manufaktura’s museums, stores and play areas (in summer its central area is an artificial beach, in winter an ice rink) are geared towards families. Another place recommended by The Guardians.
• The foundry is located in the hall of the former Józef John Iron Foundry. The decor of the Foundry fully reflects the spirit of post-industrial Łódź. Thanks to the brick and raw finish from 1866, we can feel the history of this place and city

For those who value classic arrangements, we recommend the building of the Museum of the City of Łódź, which is located in one of the most impressive buildings in the city, the former Palace of Izrael Kalmanowicz Poznański – a merchant and manufacturer, one of the most powerful industrialists in Łódź, the creator of the Poznań family fortune. The construction of a palace, often compared to the Louvre in Paris, served the Lodz industrial bourgeoisie to achieve prestige. Since 1975, part of the residence of the Poznański family has been the seat of the Museum of the City of Łódź. Historical interiors provide a unique opportunity to feel the atmosphere of local factory owners through the experience of residential architecture from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. They will be an ideal place for the location of elegant events: conferences, banquets, dinners or classical music concerts.

Keeping in line with elegant, palace like atmosphere we also recommend:

• The Herbst Palace Museum, a branch of the Art Museum in Łódź, which is one of the most beautiful factory residences in Poland. The museum offers the following spaces for rent: a ballroom, a palace garden and a winter garden.
• Pomorska 21 – The restored building of the House of Credit Society, located in the very center of Łódź, offers one of the most beautiful interiors on the post-industrial map of Łódź. Re-arranged space is the  perfect venue for weddings as well as corporate meetings, fairs, seminars, conferences, exhibitions, concerts and promotional meetings.

Łódź Convention Bureau will be your substantive support for organizing events in Łódź.

Local cuisine and restaurants

The traditional food of Łódź is a mixture of four cuisines: Jewish, Russian, German and Polish, it was these four nations who jointly built Łódź during its industrial development in the 19th century. It is divided into two trends: the Łódź “bida”- modest and poor meals kitchen served in the homes of factory employees through seasonal dishes from rural cottages to the sophisticated delights from factory owners’ tables.

• The Kingdom of soup

  The city’s flagship dish is the famous zalewajka (potato soup with bacon and marjoram). In addition, well-known soups include: brine, kapłonek (known also as wodzianka), a simple soup cooked on stale bread, garlic and fat. Moreover, fruit soups were amongst very famous.

• Tradition on plate

 The tables in Lodz are often filled with the famous pork cracklings, iron dumplings also known as gray, goose pipki, kugiel (the most famous from Podbórz), dumplings filled with strawberries served with young cabbage (this is the famous ‘baluty’ dish) and tatarczuchy, i.e. pancakes made of buckwheat flour with water, milk and yeast. Very often the second courses were accompanied by traditional Lodz cabbage with peas.

• Jewish influences

Due to the large number of Jews in Łódź, we can talk about traditional dishes, such as the forgotten potato cake, or kugel. In addition to traditional Jewish dishes that fit into the cuisine of Łódź, we can include knišes, holiszkesz, i.e. cabbage rolls, and Jewish carp. A famous dessert of the Łódź region is challah with butter, żulik with butter or carrot cake / gingerbread.

• Lodz gastronomy

 The gastronomic offer of the city is very wide, from sophisticated, modern cuisine inspired by the history of Łódź to a simple bistro with traditional dishes. Many restaurants are located in post-industrial buildings, combining austerity of structures with modern design. Farina Bianco restaurant is one of the largest restaurants in Poland (400 seats), perfectly suited to the organization of events. In post-industrial interiors we will find modern culinary studios. Undoubtedly, a place where we can find a wide culinary offer, as well as entertainment in the form of bars and pubs, is Piotrkowska Street, the main artery of the city, the longest and most famous street in Poland.

Top attractions

Lodz offers list of monuments and tourist attractions that delight visitors.

• Piotrkowska Street

The longest promenade and one of the most recognizable streets in Poland. The undisputed heart of the city that is vibrant with life all year round. The attention of tourists is attracted by numerous shops, restaurants, clubs and cafes. At Piotrkowska, we can admire beautiful tenement houses from the period of the greatest development of Łódź. In recent years, several courtyards adjacent to Piotrkowska Street have been revitalized, thus creating an interesting space for the development of culture and leisure.

• Manufaktura

A revitalized post-factory complex from the 19th century, transformed in 2006 into a cultural and entertainment center with a commercial function. The place is filled with restaurants, shops and attractions. There are three museums in Manufaktura, a cinema, a theater and a bowling alley. There is a hotel in the premises of one of the largest spinning mills of 19th century Łódź. The facility is considered to be one of the best examples of revitalization not only in Europe, but also in the world.

• Factory Museum

Located on the premises of Manufaktura, where we will learn through multimedia presentations how the self-sufficient district was created, what its development looked like, the technique of fabric production and the daily life of workers. All the guides show around in period costumes to highlight spirit of the times.

• The STREET-ART trail

The walls of over 170 buildings in the center of Łódź are covered with large-scale murals. They form the Poland’s largest urban street art gallery. Created by artists from all over the world. Łódź is also filled with art installations. The largest of them is the “Birth of the Day” yard at  no 4 Więckowskiego ST and Pasaż Róży at no 3 Piotrkowska St – the yard is entirely covered with thousands of pieces of broken mirrors arranged in the shapes of hundreds of roses. At 165 Piotrkowska Street, you can also find the Unicorn Monument.

• EC1

Former power plant from the beginning of the 20th century, now transformed into a modern Science and Technology Center ( CNiT), where, thanks to the permanent exhibition “Energy Conversion”, you can see how a coal power plant works. Additionally, in the Center there are paths “Micro and macroworld” and “Development of knowledge and civilization”. In addition to CNiT, EC1 is also a  home to one of the most modern Planetariums in Poland, the Spherical Cinema, the National Center for Film Culture and the Center for Comics and Interactive Narration.

• The Cinematography Museum

Sheibler’s Palace, the first residence of this kind to be built in Łódź. Since 1986, the Palace has hosted the Museum of Cinematography, in which the most valuable element in the collection is the photoplastic from the beginning of the 20th century by August Fuhrmann, the inventor of the device. The Fotoplastykon is one of only a few preserved in the entire world. The palace is also one of the most frequently filmed facilities, with nearly 30 feature films, series and theatrical performances being made here, not counting etudes made by students at the Film School located nearby.

• Survivors’ Park

Survivor’s Park with the Monument to Poles Saving Jews and “trees of memory” planted by Jews who survived the Litzmannstadt Ghetto.

Incentive Travel Idea in Lodz

• The street art route in Lodz is an inspiration for all kinds of activities and workshops. Specialized agencies and foundations offer workshops based on street art in Łódź.
• Field games – an extremely attractive form of spending time will be field games in the form of fiction, reaching to the factory roots of Łódź, but also the most famous films related to the city or motifs from crime novels.
• City games using new technologies, each team receives a tablet with a city map and marked places, after reaching certain point questions or tasks are activated. Answers can be in the form of test, special task, or uploading taken photos. After the game, it’s time to summarize the statistics and indicate the best groups
• Culinary activities – the multicultural nature of Łódź is extremely noticeable in the gastronomy of the city, hence the ideal proposition will be all kinds of culinary activities: among the most interesting offers, field games based on the most famous dishes such as: zalewajka ( soup), culinary workshops, tasting dinners. For those who like sweets – workshops in the chocolate atelier.
• Historic tram party ride – a ride on a historic party tram – the historic Düwag GT8N Party Tram is equipped with a sound system and LED lighting inside. Fitted with tabels& setas and also sofas for disposal of the Guests. Sit and Relax, or dance whilst strolling through the city along the lines of the Łódź public transport. Pre-prepared catering can be eaten on the tram.

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