Historic Sites
Open
a grand tenement on Piotrkowska 258/260, home since 1996 to the European Institute, with stained-glass doors
Historic Sites
Open
an 1895-1896 eclectic mansion for a dyer, its facade blends Baroque, rococo and Empire motifs
Historic Sites
a neo-Renaissance seat of the Łódź Archdiocese from 1922-1924, viewable only from the outside
Historic Sites
Open
an 1909 palace on Piotrkowska, split into two independent wings for two factory-owner brothers
Historic Sites
Open
an eclectic residence of an iron founder from 1896-1898 on Piotrkowska, now home to the Polish Academy of Sciences
Historic Sites
Open
a manufacturer's grand 1910 palace with a portico, now home to the European Institute
Historic Sites
a neo-Renaissance Scheibler family residence on Piotrkowska, rebuilt in the 1890s, now a university building
Historic Sites
a 1903-1904 factory-owner's villa, now the Łódź University of Technology rectorate, rebuilt after a 2016 fire
Historic Sites
a classicist building from 1828-1829, one of Łódź's oldest surviving industrial structures
Historic Sites
an Italian Renaissance-style villa completed in 1894 for manufacturer Ludwik Grohman
Osiedle-Katedralna is a stretch of Piotrkowska Street and its surroundings, where industrialists built themselves palaces instead of factories - within a few hundred meters there are five of them, plus villas and tenement houses of their families and associates. Historic sites in Osiedle-Katedralna are mainly the residential architecture of Łódź industrialists from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, today mostly home to institutions.
Closest to the center stands the Ewald Kern Palace, an eclectic residence of a cast-iron founder from 1896-1898, today home to a branch of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Further along Piotrkowska Street, three palaces stand close to one another: the August Haertig Palace, a small palace of a dyer from 1895-1896 combining motifs of Baroque, Rococo and Empire style, the Robert Schweikert Palace from 1910, today home to the European Institute, and the Scheibler Palace, a neo-Renaissance residence of one of the wealthiest families in Łódź, today part of the University of Technology. The Palace of the Steinert Brothers, Karol and Emil, from 1909, has a unique layout - it was divided into two independent segments, one for each of the industrialist brothers.
The Bishop's Palace, a neo-Renaissance seat of the Łódź Archdiocese from 1922-1924, is the only site on this list viewed exclusively from the outside - it is still an active church seat, not a museum.
The Henryk Birnbaum Tenement House at Piotrkowska 258/260, home to the European Institute since 1996, has a distinctive stained-glass entrance door. The Reinhold Richter Villa from 1903-1904, today the rectorate of the Łódź University of Technology, has an irregular form and underwent reconstruction after a fire in 2016. The Grohman Villa in Italian Renaissance style, built until 1894 for the industrialist Ludwik Grohman, and the Tytus Kopisch Bleachery from 1828-1829, one of the oldest industrial buildings in Łódź, complete the list.
All the sites lie practically on one street and its side streets, so a walk from the Ewald Kern Palace to the Grohman Villa takes an hour and a half to two hours. Most of the palaces today house institutions - the facades are always visible, the interiors only during open days.
How many factory-owner palaces stand on Piotrkowska Street in Osiedle-Katedralna?
Five: Kern, Haertig, Schweikert, Scheibler and the Steinert brothers, all close to one another.
Which historic site in Osiedle-Katedralna is the oldest?
The Tytus Kopisch Bleachery from 1828-1829, one of the oldest surviving industrial buildings in Łódź.
Where in this part of Łódź is the seat of the Łódź Archdiocese?
In the Bishop's Palace, a neo-Renaissance building from 1922-1924.
More factory-owner palaces and tenement houses across the region are shown on the historic sites in the Łódź region page, and the atmosphere of the neighboring part of the city on the atmospheric places in Śródmieście page. The full list of attractions in Łódź is on the attractions in Łódź page.
