The Lodz reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004
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Lodz

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Łódź (read: WOO-dzh) is the second largest city (population 1,055,000 in 2002) of Poland, located in the centre of the country. It is the capital of the Łódź Voivodship.

 ŁÃƒÂ³dź
Flag of ŁÃƒÂ³dź
CoA of ŁÃƒÂ³dź
(Flag of ŁÃƒÂ³dź) (Coat of Arms of ŁÃƒÂ³dź)
Motto: Ex navicula navis (Big boat out of a small one)
City location
Capital of the ŁÃƒÂ³dź Voivodship
Municipal government Rada miejska w Łodzi
Mayor President Jerzy Kropiwnicki
Area 294 km²
Latitude
Longitude 		51º 45´
19º 28´
Population
 - total 2003
 - population density>density
1 017 300
/km²
Magdeburg law>City rights before 1332
1423
Area code ++ 48 42
Car registration marks LU, LL, LB
Twin towns Barreiro, Chemnitz, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Lyon, Minsk, Murcia, Odessa, Örebro, Puebla, Rustavi, Stuttgart, Tampere, Tel-Aviv, Tianjin, Wilno
Municipal Website

Table of contents
1 History
2 Economy
3 Education
4 Politics
5 Sports
6 See also:

History

Agricultural ŁÃƒÂ³dź

The first written source mentioning ŁÃƒÂ³dź is a document giving the village of Łodzia to the bishops of Wrocław in 1332. In 1423 king Władysław Jagiełło granted the village of ŁÃƒÂ³dź with city rights. Since then until 18th century the town was but a small settlement on a trade route from Masovia to Silesia. In 16th century the town had less than 800 inhabitants, mostly working on the nearby grain farms.

After the partitions of Poland ŁÃƒÂ³dź came under Prussian administration and was renamed to Lodsch in 1793. In 1798 the town was nationalized and lost its status as a town of the bishops of Kuyavia. In 1806 it joined Duchy of Warsaw and in 1815 was given to the Russian-controlled Congress Poland.

Industrial ŁÃƒÂ³dź

In 1820 Stanisław Staszic started a campaign of turning the small town into a modern centre of industry. Constant influx of workers, businessmen and craftsmen from all over the continent turned ŁÃƒÂ³dź into the main textile-productons centre of the whole Russian Empire. The first cotton mill was started in 1825, and 14 years later the first steam-powered factory in both Poland and Russia was opened.

The immigrants were coming to the Promised Land (Polish Ziemia obiecana, the term being a city nick-name) from all over Europe. Mostly from Southern Germany and Bohemia, but also from countries as far as Portugal, England, France or Ireland. However, the city population was composed mostly of three groups that constituted the city's development the most: Poles, Germans and the Jews.

In 1850 Russia abolished a customs border between the Congress Poland and Russia proper so the industry in ŁÃƒÂ³dź could develop freely with a huge Russian market at a close distance. Soon the city became the second largest city of the Congress Poland. In 1865 the first railroad line was opened (to Koluszki) and soon the city became linked to Warsaw and Białystok. In the 1823-1873 period, the city's population doubled every ten years. The years 1870-1890 marked the period of most intense industrial development in the city's history. 


ŁÃƒÂ³dź soon became a major centre of the socialist movement. In 1892 a huge strike paralyzed most of the factories. During the 1905 Revolution more than 300 workers were killed by the Tsarist police. Despite the great crisis preceding the World War I, the city grew constantly until 1914. On that year it was one of the most densely populated industrial cities in the world (13 280 people per sq. kilometre).

In 1915 the city came under German occupation, but in November 1918 was liberated by the local population who disarmed the German troops. In the effect of World War I, ŁÃƒÂ³dź lost approximately 40% of its' inhabitants, mostly due to draft, diseases and the fact that after 1918 a huge part of the German population moved back to Germany. 


After 1918






Polish 1931 census

City of ŁÃƒÂ³dź - population (according to language criterion)

Total 604 470 

  • Poles 315 622 (52,21%) 

  • Jews 202 497 (33,49%)

  • Germans 86 351 (14,28%)



 



In 1922 ŁÃƒÂ³dź became the capital of the ŁÃƒÂ³dź Voivodship, but the period of fast growth was over. The Great Crisis and the Customs War with Germany closed western markets to Polish textiles while the Bolshevik Revolution and the Civil War in Russia put an end to the most profitable trade with the East. The city became a scene of a series of huge workers' protests and riots in the interbellum.


World War II

During the Polish September Campaign ŁÃƒÂ³dź was defended by the forces of the ŁÃƒÂ³dź Army of gen. Juliusz Rómmel. However, the city was captured by the Wehrmacht on September 8. The city was annexed to Reichsgau Wartheland under a new name of Litzmannstadt after the German general Karl Litzmann who was killed after capturing the city during World War I.  Many Łódź Germans refused to sign Volksliste and become Volksdeutsche, instead being deported to the General Government. Soon a Jewish ghetto was set up in the city and was populated with more than 300 000 Jews from the ŁÃƒÂ³dź area. Only approximately 900 people survived its' liquidation in August 1944. Several concentration camps and death camps were set up in the city vicinity for the non-Jewish inhabitants of the regions, among them the infamous Radogoszcz prison and the several minor camps for the Roma people and Polish children. 

Until the end of the war ŁÃƒÂ³dź lost approximately 420 000 of its' pre-war inhabitants: 300 000 Jews and approximately 120 000 Poles. In January 1945 most of the German population fled the city for fear of the Red Army. The city also suffered tremendous losses due to German policy of requisition of all factories and machines and transporting them to Germany. Despite relatively small losses due to aerial bombardement and the fighting, ŁÃƒÂ³dź has lost most of its' infrastructure. The city was liberated by the Soviets on January 18, 1945.


After 1945

In early 1945 ŁÃƒÂ³dź had less than 300 000 inhabitants. However, soon the number became to grow and the city was populated with refugees from Warsaw and territories annexed by the Soviet Union. Until 1948 the city was a de facto capital of Poland since Warsaw has been totally destroyed during and after the Warsaw uprising and most of the government and country administration resided in ŁÃƒÂ³dź. There were even plans of moving the capital there permanently, but the idea was abolished and in 1948 the reconstruction of Warsaw started. 

After World War II, under the Polish Communist regime, many industrialist families lost their fortunes when the authorities nationalised all private companies. The city was once again turned to a major centre of industry. After the period of economic transition in the country during the 1990s most of them were privatised again, but were in such a desolate state that few survived in the new capitalist reality.


ŁÃƒÂ³dź today

The city is home to the University of Łódź (Uniwersytet Łódzki).



Historical population

1793: 190

1806: 767

1830: 4,300

1850: 15,800

1880: 77,600

1905: 343,900

1925: 538,600

1990: 850,000

2002: 1,055,000


Famous people from ŁÃƒÂ³dź

This is a list of famous people born or working in ŁÃƒÂ³dź.




Economy

to be written


Education


Politics


Lódź constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from łÃƒÂ³dź constituency


Municipal politics

to be written yet




Sports


Widzew ŁÃƒÂ³dź, Polish football club


See also:






 Poland 



 Voivodships of Poland


 Greater Poland | Kuyavia-Pomerania | Lesser Poland | Lodz | Lower Silesia | Lublin | Lubusz | Masovia | Opole | Podlachia | Pomerania Swietokrzyskie | Silesia | Subcarpathia | Warmia and Masuria | West Pomerania


 Principal cities


 Warsaw | ŁÃƒÂ³dź | Kraków | Wrocław | Poznań | Gdańsk | Szczecin | Bydgoszcz | Lublin | Katowice | Białystok | Częstochowa | Gdynia | Toruń Radom | Kielce | Rzeszów | Olsztyn