MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF LODZ

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MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF LODZ

• A PALACE OF THE PROMISED LAND

Beata Kaminska
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ISRAEL KALMANOWICZ POZNANSKI'S PALACE

• The most attractive industrialists residence in
  Lódz, named the Lodz Louvre. The effort of many
  architects, designers and artists resulted in the
  present shape of the building, which is much more
  decorative and comfortable than others in Lodz.
  The first owner of this Palace was Israel
  Kalmanowicz Poznanski the richest Jew in Lodz
  in the 19th century. The palace is functionally
  connected with a huge cotton production plant
  (now Manufaktura a big shopping mall), a
  housing estate for workers and other accompanying
  buildings. Now the palace houses the Museum of
  the City Lodz.

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INTERIOR

• The Palace is filled with fine, stately
  interiors. In the decor you can find secession
  elements together with historic forms and also
  contemporary motifs. Many interesting art and
  historical exhibitions take place here.

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INTERIOR- a big hall and staircase

• A big hall and a staircase lead to the first
  floor, which is enclosed by a gallery heading to
  main rooms...

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INTERIOR- a dining room

• The dining room is the biggest and most beautiful
  room in the palace. Here, the owner used to
  celebrate family occasions, and it definitely was
  designed to make an impression on the guests.
  The room is very long and high, which makes it
  appear monumental. On the ceiling there are very
  beautiful stucco works. Allegorical compositions
  show the fortune and power of the owner. In the
  friezes you can see ancient human shapes, the
  motifs of ancient art, an oak wainscot with the
  inbuilt sideboard and a gas fireplace,
  allegorical carvings, garlands of fruit and very
  interesting and symbolical paintings of Samuel
  Hirszenberg. In the dining room you see
  authentic furniture with monograms "P" which
  belonged to Poznanskis family.

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INTERIOR- art salons

• The dining room is connected with reception rooms
  in which you can see furniture, dishes, and
  musical instruments, all of which have come from
  houses of the rich bourgeoisie from the19th
  century. In these rooms you can admire old
  jewellery and paintings of Lodz artists from the
  19th century, for example Maurycy Trebacz, Leon
  Hirszenberg or Leopold Pilichowski . When
  Poznanski's family lived in the palace, there was
  a small gallery situated in the salons, where
  guests had meetings and could have coffee or tea
  after dinner.

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INTERIOR- a ballroom

• Near the reception rooms there is the ballroom in
  the Empire style, very often named a mirror-room.
  The walls are decorated with lamps, mirrors and
  baroque ornaments. A square shape chamber is
  enlighted balconies, oval and big windows. It is
  a place of a lot of music concerts, conferences
  and scientific meetings.

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INTERIOR- a room of Poznanski

• In the palace you can visit a room of Poznanski.
  In this exhibition you can see an authentic desk
  of Poznanski, his armchair with the monogram, a
  stand -clock and his portrait, painted by
  Stanislaw Heyman in 1891. On the desk there are
  office accessories for example a telephone
  receiver, books, an inkstand, a knife for
  newspapers and newspapers which come from the
  19th century. On the wall there are old photos of
  the palace and factory and members of Poznanski's
  family. In this room you can see the family tree
  of Poznanski.

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INTERIOR- a bedroom

• In the living part of the palace visitors can see
  the bedroom equipped with genuine furniture and
  sleeping accessories, which come from the 19th
  century, for example a chiffonier, a
  night-dress, bed-clothes and ...a chamber-pot.
  This room is connected with the wardrobe (a
  dressing table), where the inhabitants got
  changed and had a bath. Here you can admire a
  very beautiful toilet-table and mahogany
  panelling with secessionist ornamentation. These
  two rooms are joined by a very interesting
  wardrobe which has two entrances... It could be
  for lovers!

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INTERIOR- palace rooms

• In the next room there is typical furniture,
  which comes from rich bourgeoisie houses sofas,
  tables, furniture in Ludwik XV style, chairs and
  paintings. During the conservation works a
  genuine polychrome on the walls was discovered.

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INTERIOR- a man room
Near the dining room there is a small room named
"a man room" or "an acard room"- called once-"a
card"-from ornaments crowning the caps of
columns, making once game room destined for
guests and trade contracting parties. It was a
place of meetings for men. Here they drank coffee
or alcohol, talked about business or played
billiards or cards.
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EXHIBITIONS

• Now in the man room is presented the exhibition
  devoted to Wladyslaw Stanislaw Reymont, the
  Polish writer. This exhibition opens the series
  of permanent exhibitions dedicated to famous
  people who were connected by their activity or
  place of birth with Lodz. It's a Pantheon of
  Famous Citizens of the City of Lodz.

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EXHIBITIONS

• In the museum (in the old living part of the
  palace) you can visit very interesting
  exhibitions dedicated to Julian Tuwim, the writer
  and poet.

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EXHIBITIONS

• Jerzy Kosinski, a writer

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EXHIBITIONS

• Aleksander Tansman, a musical composer

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EXHIBITIONS

• Jan Karski, a soldier, diplomat, scholar and
  famous politician who was born in Lodz

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EXHIBITIONS

• Marek Edelman and Alina Margolis Edelman,
  doctors, social workers and activists

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EXHIBITIONS

• The most interesting exhibition is the Music
  Gallery devoted to Arthur Rubinstein, the famous
  pianist. There are a lot of photographs, his
  personal things, awards and documents.

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EXHIBITIONS

• The Palace Gallery is used to present of
  temporary exhibitions of modern or historical
  paintings, graphics and photographs. For example,
  in 1999 the exhibition of a collection of
  Wojciech Fibak took place, while later graphics
  of Salvador Dali, Ernst and Miro were presented.

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EXHIBITIONS

• The Gallery of Polish Paintings- the biggest art
  exhibition in Lodz, only in our museum can you
  admire paintings, graphics and sculptures created
  by famous polish artists (for example Jacek
  Malczewski, Ksawery Dunikowski and Gustaw
  Gwozdecki)

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REST IN THE PALACE

• After seeing the museum you can rest in the
  Palace Garden or in the Retro Cafe drinking a
  delicious coffee or eating a mouth-watering cake

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YOU ARE WELCOME!