Lodz

(to be pr-nounced: woodge). other names (german): lodtsch, litzmannstadt. nickname: the boat city.
poland’s second largest city. population 850’000. located in the very centre of poland.

known for the festival of dialogue of four cultures. however, today lodz is (i dare to say) a polish monoculture. in its industrial past days, large german, jewish, and presumably russian communities were present in lodz, luckily (or not) leaving surprisingly little, if anything, in lodz mentality and folklore.

lodz is to be -ssociated with art, both on its underground and highest levels. many gifted people, ranging from brilliant film-makers (kieslowski, wajda) to superb deejays (chiefly drum’n’b-ss, but also house, and electro are very lodz beats) live or have some roots in here.

a grim, postindustrial climate of lodz’s inner city areas is not a myth, yet it actually creates the place’s unique atmosphere. in the midst of these h-ll-on-earth areas shines the bliss of piotrkowska street, the city’s beautiful thoroughfare and social life centre, surely another wonder of the world.

outside its run-down, older central areas, lodz is a socialist version of heaven, with huge parks and colourful blocks of flats. contrary to typical newcomer’s fears, the crime rate is relatively low here.
lodz is cool. hey, at least, it’s not warsaw…
lodz is dull for those who dislike discovering.
(to be pr-nounced: woodge, polish original spelling: łódź). other names: (german) lodtsch, litzmannstadt, (ukrainian and russian) лодзь, lodz, (yiddish) לאדזש, lodzh.
nickname: the boat city.

poland’s third largest city with a population of about 750’000 (2010). a relatively young city which for some unknown reason sometimes tries to build it’s ident-ty as a mecca for historical monument lovers. the city has indeed few fantastic examples of 19th and early 20th century industrial and bourgeois architecture.

lodz, city of fallen textile industry is currently looking for it’s new ident-ty. it is defined somewhere between multicultural (not anymore, historical fact), academic (indeed), sports center (not really), business center (possible in future), and finally, most recently and supposedly most accurately a center of creative industries (art, design, fashion…).

the city is suffering from problems like poverty, urban disintegration of central areas, dirt, lack of common dedication to aesthetics and order (recognizable in disharmonious decoration and furnishing of all city areas), deficiencies in infrastructure, deficiencies in the citizen’s sense of security.

the green / urban landscape of the city together with all of its resources mentioned above makes it a great challenge and a wonder playground for all kinds of entrepreneurs and creative souls, social workers and representatives of civil society.
would you in lodz?

would you in łódź?