LODZ

miasto-wojewdztwo (city province), capital of Ldz wojewdztwo (province), central Poland. It lies on the northwestern edge of the Ldz Highlands, on the watershed of the Vistula and Oder rivers, 81 miles (130 km) southwest of Warsaw. Ldz is mentioned in 14th-century records as a village and acquired municipal rights in 1798, but it remained an insignificant settlement that had only 799 inhabitants by 1820. That year the Congress Kingdom of Poland decided to make it a centre for the textile industry and invited foreign weavers and artisans to settle there. Congress Poland was ruled by Russia, and after customs barriers between Russia and Congress Poland were lifted in 1850, a great market for Ldz's manufactures opened up in the Russian Empire. By the end of the 19th century Ldz had become the leading centre in Poland for the production of cotton textiles. Its other industries included the processing of wool, silk, jute, hemp, and leather and the manufacture of clothing, metals, chemicals, and paper. The town's rapid expansion resulted in a population of 500,000 inhabitants by 1913. When Ldz became part of newly independent Poland after World War I, it lost its large Russian market. The city survived German occupation during World War II with relatively little damage, and its textile mills and other plants were reactivated after 1945. Ldz is still the nation's second largest city and remains a major centre of Poland's textile industry, producing a large portion of the nation's cotton goods as well as processing wool, silk, and artificial fibres. Because it did not develop extensively until the late 19th century, Ldz has a modern industrial appearance and very few distinguished or attractive buildings. During its rapid territorial expansion Ldz absorbed nearby villages and suburbs, giving the city an unplanned and somewhat chaotic layout; some districts are a maze of factories, apartment blocks, former mansions of factory owners, and workers' cottages. Ldz is an important railway junction on the Warsaw-Wroclaw rail line and has an airport. A notable educational centre, Ldz contains institutions of higher education and several museums, music centres, and theatres. Ldz is also the centre of the Polish film industry and of a flourishing art community. Pop. (1994 est.) 833,700.