There was a time when there was very little to see in Łódź’s Old Town Square. Especially compared to the Old Town squares of other Polish cities, this one was grey, barren and not especially old with Stalin-era's finest buildings that went up right after the war.

But no longer! The site has been revitalized in 2024 with new shrubs and greenery, benches, tons of trees and even shopping shelters that can provide some shade and areas for merchants. 


It's still not at the level of the Old Towns in Warsaw or Kraków (Warsaw's, too, is not actually, technically "old") but it's certainly a step in the right direction, and one that brings more greenery and pedestrian-friendly space to the area. 

History 

Before the war this was the heart of what was a thriving Jewish community, and in its heyday was home to a timber town hall and a small lake on the southern end. Houses of sturdier material were added in the 19th century, and in the 20th century the western front was occupied by market stalls designed by the eminent architect of the time, Marconi, and the square was deemed sufficiently upmarket for one of Izrael Poznański’s sons to take up quarters there. When WWII broke out it formed the very southern edge of the ghetto, and a wooden bridge was added over ul. Nowomiejska to link the square with the western side of the ghetto.

Following the war the communists decided to get rid of the old buildings and demolished everything in the sight. The architect in charge of the project was Ryszard Karlowicz, and he was under orders to follow the ideals of Socialist Realism – a severe artistic style pegged to strict guidelines from a Soviet masterplan. He didn’t disappoint, coming up with a network of uniform looking streets with a simple classicist form that were designed to honour both patriotic and socialist ideals. The square was later topped off in 1964 with a statue of commie agitator Julian Marchlewski, though that fell victim to the iconoclastic fury that erupted once the communists were booted out. Instead, today you’ll find a memorial stone in its place, added in 1998 to mark the 575th anniversary of the first recorded mention of Łódź.