WEH Kanton

WEH Kanton © 2009
Thu, 8 Jan 2009 09:55:48 +0800
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Łódź

?�d? - city emblem

?�d?

With a population of almost 800,000, Łódz is Poland's second largest city. For centuries just a small farming settlement, in the early 19th century it rapidly grew into a major centre of the textile industry. Soon dubbed "a promised land", the city attracted thousands of merchants, industrialists and architects, predominantly Germans and Jews (before the Second World War they accounted for half of Lódz's inhabitants). The world's biggest textile factories sprouted up here, as did opulent villas, mansions and town houses - now making up the city's finest examples of period architecture. Characteristic of this urban development were the factory complexes comprising the owner's residence, factory halls and family houses for the workers. Prosperity ended abruptly when the First World War broke out. The Germans who occupied the city closed down most of the factories and then took away or destroyed the machines. After the War production was gradually renewed in some mills, but they never regained their former grandeur. The golden years of industrial Łódz were gone.

What has remained is ulica Piotrkowska, believed to be Europe's longest shopping street (4 km of continuous buildings). This is also the city's most famous street and there are tourists who come to Łódz to see only Piotrkowska. It is lined with exclusive shops and eye-catching residences that once belonged or were financed by affluent businessmen. The last few years have seen a renaissance of the Piotrkowska. It has come to serve as the city's main precinct (Lódz is unique in that it has no clearly defined Old City), a venue for concerts, sporting events, street performances, and happenings. It also boasts the biggest concentration of pubs, nightclubs and restaurants in Poland, especially in the stretch between Pasaz Schillera and ulica Moniuszki, where almost every house and gateway has a few of them. The area is locally known as the "Bermuda Triangle" as you can easily disappear here for at least a good few hours. Łódz is also the centre of the Polish film industry. It has an excellent film school whose graduates include many renowned directors such as Krzysztof Kieslowski, Andrzej Wajda, and Roman Polanski. Part of ulica Piotrkowska has been turned into a Walk of Fame with brass stars honouring such celebrities as Jerzy Hoffmann, Agnieszka Holland, Jan Machulski, Andrzej Seweryn and many others.