Lodz, Poland, a large industrial city 75 mi/120 km southwest of Warsaw, is undergoing a revitalization—many of its older buildings (the opulent palaces of textile-mill magnates) have been restored, and many new business and residential complexes have been built.
Stroll down Piotrkowska Street to see the renovated Secession-style buildings. However, the city still has strong ties to its past; the factory owned by Oscar Schindler, whose story was told in Schindler's List (the book and the film), is located in Lodz. It's not open for tours, but you can see its elaborate iron gates. Opposite the Poznanski Palace (which houses the Historical Museum of Lodz) is the former Jewish ghetto, now a park.
Lodz is also an important cultural center. The city (jokingly called "Hollylodz") is home to Poland's film school and the country's best modern-art museum and orchestra. Visit nearby Piotrkow Trybunalski, a medieval town to the southeast, which was the site of many religious diets and synods in the late Middle Ages. Stroll the streets of the small town, stopping by Bernadine's Monastery and Bykowscy Palace.
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