Grohman's Barrels

On Księży Młyn [a historic district], on Targowa Street, stands a brick entrance gate with two white columns on either side. Łódź residents have long called it Grohman's Barrels, although the columns actually represent thread spools rather than barrels.

Gate of the Grohman factory

The gate was built in 1896 as an entrance to the factory of Ludwik Grohman on Księży Młyn. The investor in the construction was Henryk Grohman, and the project in Neo-Gothic style, made of unfaced red brick, was executed by Franciszek Chełmiński, the city architect of Łódź at that time.

Columns masquerading as barrels

The architect designed the distinctive white columns flanking the gate as thread spools, alluding to the textile industry in which the Grohman enterprise operated. Over time, Łódź residents began to mistakenly call them barrels, and this name stuck.

Architectural details

At the base of the gate, rectangular wooden doors have been preserved, which once led to the weaving mill, and on either side symmetrical windows with Art Nouveau grilles. Above the higher arcade once stood a toothed gable and an iron eagle sculpture with outstretched wings, executed in Art Nouveau style. The sculpture disappeared after 1950.

From factory to economic zone

In the interwar period, the gate led to the works of the United Textile Mills of K. Scheibler and L. Grohman, one of the largest enterprises in Europe at that time. After the Second World War, following the nationalisation of industry, the Cotton Industry Works Uniontex operated behind the gate. The gate was entered in the register of monuments in 1960, in 2008 it was renovated and withdrawn from use as a passageway. The entire former factory complex was adapted for the needs of the Łódź Special Economic Zone.

Surroundings

Several hundred metres further on, among the former workers' houses of the factory estate, lies Księży Młyn with the Art Nouveau Grohman Villa. A little further stands the palace of the manufacturing family, today known as Herbst Palace Museum.

Practical information

• Address: Targowa Street, Księży Młyn, Łódź
• Getting there: trams and buses serving the area of Przędzalna and Tymienieckiego Streets, approximately 15–20 minutes walk from the centre of Piotrkowska
• What to expect: a historic gate viewed from the outside, the area behind it belongs to the economic zone