Scheibler Palace

At number 266 on Piotrkowska, near the cathedral, stands a substantial Neo-Renaissance residence associated with the Scheibler family, manufacturers who built one of Łódź's largest cotton industry empires. It is a different building from the palace at plac Zwycięstwa, though both residences share the same name.

From the Fessler House to the Scheibler Residence

The plot at this address was originally intended, as early as 1825, for a municipal inn for travellers, but the prospective investor fled to Germany during the November Uprising and the plot stood empty for many years. The original building on this plot, erected in 1843 by dyer Karol Gebhardt - reportedly the finest residential building in Łódź at the time - was built to a design attributed to Ludwik Bethier and Stanisław Baliński. In 1880, Karol Scheibler purchased the property from the heirs of Leonard Fessler.

In the first half of the 1890s, the family, then operating as the Joint-Stock Company of Cotton Manufactures of Karol Scheibler, expanded the front building. Preserved building documents from 1891 and 1894 concern the construction of a new section of the residential house and a summer hall at number 268.

Neo-Renaissance Form

The building's present form, eclectic with pseudo-Baroque elements, was given by renovations carried out under the supervision of architects Hilary Majewski and Franciszek Chełmiński. The palace was entered in the register of monuments under number A/81 by decision of 20 January 1971.

From Family Firm to Technical University

Until 1921, the building remained the property of the Scheibler company, then returned to private ownership. From 1956, it has housed the Łódź University of Technology. Until 2022, the Faculty of Organisation and Management operated here, and the building remains part of the university's premises.

Piotrkowska at the Cathedral

The building stands near Saint Matthew's Church.

A few dozen metres further stands the palace of brothers Karol and Emil Steinert, and in the same direction, closer to number 260, you can see the townhouse of Henryk Birnbaum.

A little further, on a side street, operates the Museum of the Łódź Archdiocese.

Practical Information

• Address: Piotrkowska Street 266, Łódź.
• Access: by tram or bus to stops at plac Katedralny [Cathedral Square], then on foot along Piotrkowska.
• What to expect: the building is used by the university and is viewed from the street.