Poland’s Wild Card: How Łódź Went From Forgotten Factory Town To Edgy Art Mecca (And It’s About To Be Your New Obsession) 

Scouring Google Maps is how most of my travel experiences are set in motion – I’ll spend hours pinching in and out of the pale green fields and winding grey tracks illuminated on my phone’s screen in search of little-visited towns, places, or landmarks. While in Berlin and looking for a place to go for a week or two to read and write, I was skimming past the better-known Polish cities of Poznań and Wrocław when a place called Łódź caught my eye – mostly, I’ll be honest, because of its intriguing name.

After a quick search online, my desire to visit the city grew when I realised it’s a hub for some seriously impressive street art murals – one of my all-time favourite travel vices. I immediately booked a studio flat in the heart of the city and a Flixbus ticket to get me there. I arrived at Łódź’s bus station after a six-hour journey from Berlin, learning along the way from a local that the city’s name is, in fact, pronounced “woodge”. There’s not an ‘L’ sound in sight (or earshot for that matter). 

On first glance, Łódź might not seem like the most picturesque of city breaks – all dilapidated red-brick factory buildings and pastel-coloured Communist-era tenement blocks – but I soon learned to appreciate its quiet beauty. For my first few days there, the sky remained milky grey, muting all colours through a wet mist, resulting in a surreal yet comforting atmosphere that I enjoyed immensely. By day, I sought out the murals that had drawn me here, while reading up on the city’s tumultuous past come evening.

Łódź was once a thriving industrial town known for factories and mills, some of which still pepper its landscape, and many of which boomed thanks to the tireless work of local women textile workers and weavers (now credited as the unsung heroes of the city). However, following World War II, the city quickly fell into extreme poverty and disrepair. Everything the residents of the city had worked so hard to create was obliterated, as local industries were crushed due to the social and economic decline that came after the war. This hardship lasted well into the 1990s and, for a long time, Łódź remained a mere shadow of its former self, earning the nickname ‘the Detroit of Poland’ due to its comparisons with the American city that had been hit with a similar economic crisis. 

Thankfully, though, art became Łódź’s saviour. Over the past few years, new museums, cinemas and modern art galleries, such as Miejska Galeria Sztuki, Cinema City Manufaktora and Odlot Gallery, have opened up, doing much to champion Polish artists. It’s something that my friend Dagmara Bandura, who works in the creative scene and whose family lives in Łódź, is delighted to see. Acknowledging how the city is “fast becoming a world-class hub for art, culture and music”, she credits Lodz’s “dynamic transformation” to the “resilient nature” of the city’s residents, “those who have remained with the city through good times and hardships.”

It’s these passionate residents, including talented street artists and muralists, who are using the alchemy of paint and art to revive the once dark delirium of the metropolis, transforming it with their striking designs and creative messages. More than 170 of these large-scale paintings now adorn the city’s streets, from artworks that celebrate the connection of humanity and the erasure of borders and segregation to playful celebrations of nature. I was first struck by the skill of a hyper-realistic painting of Michelangelo’s David by contemporary Polish artist Karolina Treler, hidden in an apartment block courtyard. I was transfixed by these murals, and continued to seek out more, taking long strolls each day to find a modern-day Virgin Mary shawled in a blue robe of foliage by Paulina Nawrot and a vast monochromatic painting of the Greek God Atlas holding the heavens on his shoulders.  

My favourite of all the street art in Łódź, aside from the neons (I’ll get to those shortly), is a delightfully colourful mural titled Plantacja Kakao (Cacao Plantation) by Paulina Kwietniewska. The colossal painting depicts line-illustrated Nigerian cacao farmers caring for and plucking cacao pods in mood-boosting shades of dusky pink, mustard yellow and green, with the aim of drawing attention to the murky world of ethical chocolate production, highlighting the urgent need for truly sustainable cacao. Its creator, Paulina Kwietniewska, who studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, hopes the piece will “inspire the city to become even more multicultural”.

This desire to inspire and create is also helping to revive some of the city’s most treasured spectacles, as evidenced in the many retro neon signs I noticed dotted around town. The mid-1950s saw a surge of neon signs popping up outside shops, as the use of advertising signs on storefronts was permitted. The lengthy Piotrkowska Street played home to many of these signs – it was positively aglow during the late 1950s. While many have long since burnt out, as is the lifespan of neons, the city’s glowing past is slowly being brought back to life with cash injections by passionate locals, who are paying out of their own pockets to give a new lease of life to these old and beautifully photogenic signs. Similarly, new neons are also being commissioned by art funds, including a bright blue seagull with moving wings that sits atop a chimney of a defunct weaving accessories factory, as well as a sandglass-shaped installation featuring a quote by the award-winning Polish writer Dorota Masłowska.  

As my days seeking art in Poland’s forgotten city tumbled into one other, Łódź’s “beautiful winter light” – as described by the late film director David Lynch – revealed itself, the sky morphing from a dull, matte grey to a cloudless expanse of blue, making the murals and neons even more alluring. With its unapologetically rugged industrial aesthetic, the city has a distinctly Lynchian atmosphere – so it’s no wonder the man himself was lured there, even using Łódź as backdrops in his films and photography. (If it’s good enough for David...)

Witnessing the grit, spirit, determination and art of Łódź is a pure tonic to the staggering rise of inauthentic fast tourism, a welcome break from ultra-polished destinations and shiny, ‘made-for-Instagram’ perfection. After a few days here, I couldn’t be more captivated by the quiet, unpolished beauty of Łódź: the city is proof of how culture can thrive from the ashes of broken dreams. We all have much to learn from its quiet metamorphosis.

5 Must-Visit Spots in Łódź to Complete Your Stay

FIND INSPIRATION AT... MS2 Gallery. Housed in a converted factory building, MS2 is the place to get acquainted with some of Poland’s most exciting contemporary artists, including Natalia LL, a controversial performance artist who was way before her time. The modern art space has both permanent and rotating exhibitions, and sits in close proximity to its sister gallery, MS1, where works from the 20th century are displayed. 

SNACK ON... Doughnuts from Gorąca Paczkarnia F-Wiatrak. If you think you’ve eaten great doughnuts, think again. This simple food truck-esque cabin on the grounds of Manufaktura (a pedestrianised sprawl of converted factories housing restaurants and shops) sells all manner of exciting seasonal flavoured doughnuts, from rhubarb and lavender to fresh raspberry and apple crumble. 

BE DAZZLED BY... Rosa’s Passage. Brought to life by Joanna Rajkowska, who painstakingly covered every inch of an unassuming passageway with mirrored fragments, Rosa’s Passage is a free-to-visit mosaic art installation just off Piotrkowska Street. Be sure to visit both during the day and as the sun is setting to witness differing displays that are truly mesmerising.  

DINE LIKE A LOCAL AT... Len i Bawełna. No visit to Poland is complete without dining on a plate of pierogi. Try a modern spin with Len i Bawełna’s homemade dumplings stuffed with goose or wild boar, and topped off with burnt butter sauce or local cranberry jam.

UNWIND IN... Vienna House. As one of the only upscale hotels in Lodz, Vienna House is worth a visit even if you’re not staying since it houses a relaxing spa and an industrial-style swimming pool that’s open to non-guests with a day pass. The hotel’s corridors, communal spaces, and bedrooms are decked out with over 100 pieces of local art, including sculpture, photography, and drawings that honour the history and culture of the city.