The Promised Land
Surrey Life|November 2017

ONE word sums up the Polish city of Lodz for me and that’s ‘reinvention’. From its magnificent street art and Hollywood-style walk of fame to its Jewish heritage and gradual emergence as a cultural powerhouse, there’s a story of triumph and transformation to be uncovered around every corner.

Rebecca Younger
The Promised Land

While the scars of Poland’s involvement in the Second World War are still evident on the outskirts of the city (the Lidtzmannstadt Ghetto, which over 200,000 Jews passed through on route to Auswitz, is here), Lodz is undergoing a period of change – one that is turning the grey days of post-war Poland into a celebration of industrial and cultural heritage.

Lodz (pronounced ‘woodge’) is nicknamed the Manchester of Poland, not just because it is the country’s third largest city (after Warsaw and Krakow) but also because of its industrial links and because, well, it’s pretty hipster.

Happily marrying the latter two is Vienna House Andel’s Lodge, a magnificent red brick building, which proudly sits at the entrance to Manufaktura, Poland’s largest shopping and cultural centre.

The hotel was formerly one of the Lodz’s biggest cotton-making factories, owned by textile magnet Izrael Poznanski,(the building features in the 1974 Andrzej Wajda film Promised Land) and is vast. It can take a good five to 10 minutes to get from reception to your room, depending on where it is in the 277-bed hotel, but the quirky stencils on the walls, many of which depict those who worked on the hotel’s restoration (although there are some famous characters in their too; see if you can spot Barrack Obama by the lifts), make it worth the stroll. As do the rooms, which with their warehouse-style windows, quirky layouts and abstract colour schemes feel like mini-art galleries.

Denne historien er fra November 2017-utgaven av Surrey Life.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra November 2017-utgaven av Surrey Life.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA SURREY LIFESe alt
The House That Rocks
Surrey Life

The House That Rocks

Transforming an impressive, seven-bedroom Victorian property in Dorking wasn’t without its challenges, but the result is a stunning family home that has had the interiors world raving

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2020
REMEDY FOR SUCCESS
Surrey Life

REMEDY FOR SUCCESS

Surrey’s Tracy Borman discusses the return of her heroine healer in the final book of her best-selling fictional trilogy

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
Love Celia
Surrey Life

Love Celia

Actress Celia Imrie has travelled the world for work and leisure but wherever she goes there is a part of her which is forever Surrey

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
EXHIBITION OF THE MONTH
Surrey Life

EXHIBITION OF THE MONTH

Art & Action: Making Change in Victorian Britain at Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village in Compton focuses on the Victorian roots of art activism

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2020
Electric dreams
Surrey Life

Electric dreams

The Range Rover plug-in hybrid brings silent electric motoring to this iconic luxury car

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2020
THE OPEN ROAD
Surrey Life

THE OPEN ROAD

Chris Pickering rounds up some of the best drives in Surrey

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
TOWN AND COUNTRY: Oxted & Limpsfield
Surrey Life

TOWN AND COUNTRY: Oxted & Limpsfield

With the North Downs looming nearby and glorious countryside surrounding it, Oxted is a town with real “escape from London” appeal and character, while nearby Limpsfield has a superb village vibe with its own community-run pub

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2020
Artist to the stars
Surrey Life

Artist to the stars

Known as ‘The Face of Modern British Impressionism’, Mickleham-based Sherree Valentine Daines is celebrating four decades at the forefront of her field

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2020
A RIGHT ROYAL WELCOME
Surrey Life

A RIGHT ROYAL WELCOME

The Signet Collection’s inaugural hotel project is a reimagining of a former royal guest house, situated directly opposite Hampton Court Palace

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2020
TOWN AND COUNTRY: Godalming & Hascombe
Surrey Life

TOWN AND COUNTRY: Godalming & Hascombe

On the banks of the River Wey, Godalming is a watercolour pretty town surrounded by pristine countryside and in-demand rural villages, such as Hascombe

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2020