How I spent a Saturday in Łodz, Poland: Part 1 - Manufaktura & Poznański's Palace
After paying my respects at the Radegast Station Holocaust Monument, I called a Bolt to bring me back to the city center. My plan was to work my way north to south, then back up to the train station for my ride home.
Perhaps the best known sight in modern day Łodz, Manufaktura sits at the northern edge of old town, just west of Park Śledzia. I just learned through its Wikipedia entry that 2026 is its 20th birthday. You should check that link out for the full story. An impressive example of urban redevelopment and civic pride.
My Bolt dropped me off at the modern entrance over on the west side of the complex. Maybe he was trolling me. Maybe that's the best and easiest drop off point. So my first view of Manufaktura was pretty generic.
Pop inside and you have the standard scenes from a modern mall set virtually anywhere on Planet Earth.
Leroy Merlin, which seems to be a French answer to Home Depot, with outlets across Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Brazil, and, yes, Poland
Some sort of pop-up pet expo, best I could tell. Spotted a handful of folks happily walking their dogs in the mall before I came upon this and put 2+2 together.
Smart looking shops with names I'd never heard of
Eventually made my way out to the eastern side, where you see more of the traditional character.
First restaurant I spotted, The Mexican, made me smile
The plaza is a public gathering and event space used throughout the year, albeit not on this grey mid-April Saturday. However you can see its potential.
Fun ferris wheel and carousel for family enterntainment at the other end. Surely more popular during better weather. But I can say that both the pretzel and doughnut kiosks were doing solid business when I passed by again later in the day.
I strolled the park briefly. Nice. But I'd come back through here a little later.
Since I was in the vicinity I did a quick fly by a couple of hotels ...
And then it was time to visit Izrael Poznański's Palace, which now houses the Museum of the City of Łodz. First thing that got my attention was the coat check system. You head over to these smart lockers, drop your stuff, take the key with you, and that's it. No extra charge.
As far as 19th century residential palaces go, I suppose it was pretty nice.
Liked the billiards room
The phone is what caught my eye originally. Now I also see a manual pencil sharpener?
Strong mantle. VERY strong winter coat.
Nice view through the gardens over toward his factory complex
I spent about 30 minutes cruising through the residence and took a couple dozen more photos. You get the idea. Then you can progress to a lower level with more of Łodz's general history.
Worth a visit, no doubt. If I was spending more time in Łodz I would have spent more time with the city-focused exhibit. But I got a flavor of it and moved on to the next stage of my Saturday in Łodz.
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