Central Museum of Textiles

Housed in industrialist Ludwik Geyer’s unique White Factory, the Central Museum of Textiles tells the story of Łódź through the prism of fabric production, and one of the largest collections of tapestries and fashion in the world, as well as a fascinating look at the technology of textiles.

Central Museum of Textiles

Effectively two museums in one, this sprawling look at the industry that once made the city rich is accompanied by the quaint City Culture Park in the space behind. Both are worth visiting the southern end of Piotrkowska to visit. Similar to the Film Museum, the Central Museum of Textiles filters the history of one industry through the specific lens of Łódź itself. So, we see how the textiles industry grew up here (and why) but also the impact this had on the fashion and culture of the city, and even its architecture. You’ll also get a solid grounding in the technology and processes of making textiles. It’s a big museum!

If you’re looking for a guided tour of Łódź, this 3-hour city tour includes the White Factory, now home to the Central Museum of Textiles. The tour includes a number of the key landmarks, delivered by an excellent guide. You can book a place via GetYourGuide.

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What To See In Central Museum of Textiles

As mentioned above, this is a big museum – especially if you add the City Culture Park, so it’s worth taking a moment to plan your approach. Rather than being exhaustive, you may want to pick and choose. There were points of interest in the main ground floor exhibit, for example, but I was happy to move through it quite quickly.

You can see the walkthrough below but, basically, the museum is broken down as follows: there is usually a temporary display of some impressive textiles upstairs in Building D, as well as regular demonstrations of textiles machines next door. You’ll also find a temporary exhibition and some industrial machinery in the Boiler Room.

The museum proper starts in the main building of the White Factory with the exploration of the principles of textiles making and the development of machines to do the work. The first floor looks at the city itself in relation to its industrial past, which is pretty interesting. Each of these floors are long factory spaces. The second floor explores Polish fashion and is a riot of colour and great design. Personally I would concentrate my efforts here but your interests may be different. And, finally, there is another space on the top floor for temporary exhibitions.

Be sure to split your time with a rest and something to eat. You can use the bistro on site or bring your own food. There are places to sit around the site. You can also leave the grounds but there aren’t too many other options in the area. There’s also a nice park right next door.

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What To Expect When Visiting Central Museum of Textiles

The museum has an open-plan layout with a number of possible ways to move through. You should be given a map when you buy a ticket. I was advised to leave the ticket office and follow an exterior path around to the back of the site. You’ll see the Marcus Bistro straight ahead. Follow the path to the left. The Łódź City Culture Park is to the right and the two entrances to Building D are on the left. The nearest door leads to some toilets, the cloakroom, and a staircase leading to a temporary exhibition. Look for the white pillars that say ‘entrance / wejście’.

I’ll walk through some of the highlights in the following sections:

Experimental tapestry

Temporary Exhibition: The Work that Textile Does

Drop your things off at the cloakroom and make your way to the large loft-style temporary exhibition space on the first floor. When I visited, there was a display telling the extraordinary creative story of textiles, which also had a lot to say about the history of Poland.

Live demonstration of textiles technology

Machines in Motion

Come back out into the open and go in through the second door (marked outside with ‘machines / maszyny’). You’ll find yourself in a factory room full of huge weaving machines and some gorgeous colourful fabrics. There are demonstrations of the looms every 30 minutes. These are in Polish but you’ll get a sense of how the process works, as well as the noise and particles of cotton dust in the air. Imagine a huge factory full of this!

The boiler room

Boiler Room

Exit via the other side of the demonstration hall and you’ll find yourself in a large courtyard. There are shady places to sit. Straight ahead you’ll see the entrance to Building K, which contains a big, moody steam engine, and a small temporary exhibition. There was some videos in Polish when I visited.

Pre-industrial wooden loom

CITY-FASHION-MACHINE: Raw Materials

Continue through Building K and you’ll find yourself on the ground floor of the main exhibition proper. There is a large factory space on each floor, based around a different aspect of fabric production.

In and around an exhaustive collection of fabric technology, the ground floor explains the basics of textile production, from the raw materials, through the molecular science, to changing conditions in the factory. This was the least engaging part of the museum for me, though there are interactive displays and some truly psychedelic fabrics on display.

Period model of plac Wolności

CITY-FASHION-MACHINE: Changing Łódź

The first floor explores the development of Łódź itself through the rise of its industrial power. There are lots of maps and photos in this atmospheric space and I particularly liked the displays showing how specific local landmarks had changed over time. This is a great exhibit to enhance your appreciation of the city architecture, and you’ll start to notice details on buildings having seen them here.

The fashion exhibition

CITY-FASHION-MACHINE: Fashion

For me, the second floor was the best of all. Here, the end product of textile production is explored in the riotous history of Polish fashion. The exhibition metaphorically evokes Piotrkowska Street as a shopping destination and we get to learn about the brands and key shops, as well as adjunct industries like advertising. This is a bright and colourful room, and a testament to Poland’s fantastic design legacy.

The Polish Killim exhibition

Temporary Exhibition: The Polish Killim

Finally, on the top floor, is another temporary exhibition space. This was a display of killim tapestry-woven rugs, with some dazzling and inventive designs. If there is a particularly interesting display when you visit, you might consider starting at the top of the building and working your way down.

Main entrance

How To Visit Central Museum of Textiles

The Central Museum of Textiles is on the southern end of ul. Piotrkowska and is served by the Piotrkowska – Czerwona bus and tram stop. The 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 7, and 11 trams are the most convenient. Use this official Łódź timetable to plan your journey. Alternatively, it is a 23-minute walk from Piotrkowska Centrum. Look for a white building. The entrance is directly on the left-hand side of Piotrkowska, as you are walking south. You’ll see the sign for ‘Centralne Muzeum Włókiennictwa w Łodzi’ above the door.

Central Museum of Textiles address: ul. Piotrkowska 282, Łódź 93-034 Poland

The museum is open as follows:

• Monday / Tuesday: Closed
• Wednesday: 12noon-5pm
• Thursday-Saturday: 12noon-7pm
• Sunday: 12noon-5pm

Last entry to the museum is 30 minutes before closing.

It’s possible to buy a range of different tickets, depending on which permanent and temporary exhibitions you wish to see. However, a 39zł ticket will give you access to everything (26zł reduced) and a joint ticket for the Central Museum of Textiles and neighbouring Łódź City Culture Park costs 58zł (38zł reduced). Disabled visitors can see the permanent exhibitions for 5zł. See the price list for details.

Entry to the permanent exhibitions is free on Wednesday.

All times and prices are subject to change, and opening hours may be different during public holidays. Be sure to check the official Central Museum of Textiles website for the latest information.

Tickets are available at the ticket office at Piotrkowska 282 or in advance online (Polish only).

The Building D temporary exhibition is up these stairs!

Tips For Visiting Central Museum of Textiles

• Expect to spend 2-3 hours, depending on your interest in the various areas of focus. Add time if you’re also going to visit the Łódź City Culture Park.
• For me, some of the most interesting material in this museum was towards the end. So be judicial and poke your head in and see what interests you. Don’t be afraid to skip the hall of machines on the ground floor, for example, if you find the fashion on the second floor more engaging.
• You will need to show your ticket before entering any new floor or part of the museum, so keep it handy!
• Guided tours are available but these are only in Polish.
• The museum has a cloakroom on the ground floor in Building D at the back of the main Textiles Museum – look for the word Szatnia. There are no lockers.
• As usual, photography is allowed, without flash or tripod use.
• Kids might enjoy the machine demonstrations and should like Łódź City Culture Park, but they might find the rest of the museum a bit boring.
• The museum buildings are fairly wheelchair friendly and each floor has a lift. However, there are no accessibilities features on the website to help you plan your visit in advance. There are places to sit on each landing but no seating within the exhibition spaces at all.
• I also found the galleries a bit too warm, so wear layers you can remove.
• The Marco’s Bistro can be accessed via the ‘cast-iron’ yard, outdoors on the southern-most tip of the museum site. This is a quality Italian restaurant with a nice outdoor dining area.
• There is no dedicated gift shop, but a small amount of books are available near the cash desk.
• You can pay with cards or cash.
• Toilets are easily accessed in different parts of the museum.