Lodz

Lodz, pronounced Woodge, located in the center of Poland, 135 Kilometer South West of Warsaw, the city is claimed to be the Hollywood of Poland. It has a population of around 800,000 people. Lodz means boat in Polish.

The city has an unusual layout due to the remodeling of the city in 1820; it was built as an Industrial Center with wide streets and green spaces in a grid formation. At that time, 80% or the population was German and Jewish, the city was known as the "Promised Land" by the immigrants coming here to seek their fortune. The cities industry having been built around textiles.

Łodz is the center of the Polish film industry before 1968 the vibrant Polish film industry thrived from the 1930s onward. In 1968, there was a purge by the communist government in which most directors and producers lost their jobs. The government felt that too many liberties had been taken.

The photo at the top left of the page is Manufacturer, a 17th Century textile mill that has been reclaimed and refurbished and is now a popular shopping and entertainment complex.

Today there is a small but active Polish film industry mainly making films for the domestic market. Television still shows some of the films made in the 50s, 60s and 70s, which tended to be comedy films, always using partly actors and the public. These films though dated are very interesting to me giving an idea of the pressures and culture during the communist era.

The city is not really a tourist city, the one area of interest is what is called the "longest commercial street in the world" Piotrkowska Street, (ulica Piotrkowska), this is five kilometers long and is now pedestrianised. The one similarity to Hollywood is the names engraved into the pavement of the pedestrianised area. Whilst originally this accolade was reserved for well-known film stars, now for a payment anyone can have their name immortalized, the great, the good and the corrupt.

The street itself does have many shops and a few cafes' but many of the shops are not what would be considered of a high standard and better shopping can be had in other major cities. I would recommend the maximum of a one-day stay in Łodz; you would have the flavor of the city by the end of that day, unless you have an interest in film history, in which case the National Film School may be worth a visit. The photo below is of part of Petrowska Street.

If you have the option to go to Hollywood or Hollywoodge, I suggest you choose the former.

Interesting Facts

The City was one of the only Polish Cities left standing at the end of World War II the other being Krakow.

The city had the first steam-powered factory in Europe.

Roman Polanski was educated at the film school in the 50's.

Max Factor of cosmetics fame was born in the city.