Henryk Birnbaum Tenement House

At numbers 258 and 260 on Piotrkowska, on the pedestrianised street, stands an imposing tenement house associated with industrialist Henryk Birnbaum. The Neo-Renaissance façade with eclectic and Baroque elements is among the most ornate on this section of the street.

From the Röder family to Birnbaum

Earlier owners of the plots that make up today's property included the Pippel, Lehmann, Wagner, Sturm and Röder families. The first owner of both connected properties was Karol Röder, who ran a small roller factory for finishing in the courtyard.

In the second half of the 1890s the entire property passed into the hands of Henryk Birnbaum, and at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries his factory buildings also operated here.

Construction and architect

The southern part of the front building was erected in the early 1890s, when the property already belonged to Birnbaum, according to a design by Gustaw Landau-Gutenteger. In the 1888 building design the architect made a mistake: the entrance gate is drawn on the wrong, left side of the façade, instead of the right side, where it was actually built.

Successive joint-stock companies

In the first decade of the 20th century the property was owned in turn by the Joint-Stock Company "Henryk Birnbaum", then the Joint-Stock Company "Dąbrówka", and subsequently the Joint-Stock Company "Piotrkowska Manufaktura". The building was entered in the heritage register under number A/339/1-3 by decision of 19 October 1993.

European Institute and preserved details

Since 1996 the tenement house has housed the European Institute, and following renovation completed in 2005, with partial reconstruction while preserving original details, the institution's Training and Conference Centre operates here. The interior retains stained-glass doors bearing a portrait of Alcide De Gasperi, former Prime Minister of Italy.

Along the Piotrkowska walk

On the other side of the street stands the palace of brothers Karol and Emil Steinert.

Several dozen metres further you can see the Scheibler palace, and towards the cathedral stands the basilica-cathedral of Saint Stanisław Kostka.

On a side street there is also the Museum of the Łódź Archdiocese.

Practical information

• Address: Piotrkowska Street 258/260, Łódź.
• Getting there: by tram or bus to stops at Plac Katedralny, then on foot along the pedestrian street.
• What to expect: a building housing an educational institution; the façade can be viewed from the street.