Pałac Karola Poznańskiego / Akademia Muzyczna im. Grażyny i Kiejstuta Bacewiczów

The palace at ulica Gdańska 32 in Śródmieście has belonged to music education since 1945. It is home to the Akademia Muzyczna im. Grażyny i Kiejstuta Bacewiczów, a public higher education institution training instrumentalists, vocalists and composers. The building itself predates the academy by four decades and has its own history reaching back to the early twentieth century.

Pałac Karola Poznańskiego

The building on Gdańska was erected in 1904 according to a design by architect Adolf Zeligson. It was created as a residence for Karol Poznański, son of Izrael Poznański, one of Łódź's manufacturers. To this day it retains its representative palatial character, although for decades it has served educational purposes rather than residential ones.

From conservatoire to academy

The institution was founded on 18 April 1945 as Państwowe Konserwatorium Muzyki [State Music Conservatoire]. It gained academy status in 1982, and seventeen years later, in 1999, took the name of composers Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz, under which it operates today.

The war years in the same building

During the German occupation, the palace served as Städtische Musikschule Litzmannstadt, a municipal music school operating within the Łódź ghetto. This is a fragment of the building's history before the present academy came into being.

Campus expansion in the twenty-first century

The academy campus has grown over the past two decades with buildings beyond the palace itself. In October 2013, a modern concert hall opened in the EC1 Łódź - Miasto Kultury complex, and in 2014–2015 an educational complex was completed featuring a library, lecture halls and a chamber hall.

The same EC1 complex is also home to the Planetarium EC1, so concert participants can take the opportunity to visit a sky show in the same location.

Practical information

• Address: ulica Gdańska 32, Śródmieście, Łódź
• Getting there: trams 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 14, 15, 16, 20 and 21, parking available near ulica Piotrkowska
• What to expect: a historic palace from 1904, seat of a music academy, no fixed visiting hours for casual visitors, visits should be arranged in advance directly with the academy