It all began on 18 September 1820, erstwhile the politician of the Kingdom of Poland, Józef Zajączek, announced an order which allowed the creation of mill settlements in government cities intended for alleged factorymen (suckers, weavers, ordermakers). specified a decree created conditions for the improvement of the textile manufacture in the territory of the Kingdom of Poland.
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The boat was perfect for locating a dresser settlement within its limits. This consisted of many factors, i.e. a convenient geographical location ensuring the abundance of surface water for technological purposes; easy access to building materials (wood from close forests and bricks from many bricks); location on the commercial process (Łęczyca – Piotrków). The above advantages made it possible, based on the order of 1820 on 30 January 1821, for the Government Commission of interior Affairs and Police to licence the creation of an industrial settlement in Łódź at the request of Rajmund Rembieliński – president of the Mazowieckie state Commission.
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Soon the first weavers from Grünberg (Prussy) began to arrive in the city, and in just six months, there were already a twelve of them in Łódź. The conditions under which fresh settlers were accepted seem encouraging. Anyone who proved his weaving skills before the mayor of the city and decided to settle within its limits, received a 3-mural game and material essential to build a house, as well as money loans. All this made Łódź rapidly grow into a crucial mill settlement.. You're most likely wondering why the Germans came to Łódź so many times. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the continental blockade imposed by Napoleon on England and inexpensive textile materials from Manchester and the surrounding areas flooded Europe. The German weavers could not dispose of their goods and the ghost of hunger looked into their eyes. However, Romanov empires suffered from chronic deficiency of textiles. Only Moscow and its surroundings were rich in weaving workshops. And that wasn't enough. The boat became for the Germans das Gelobte Land, Promised Land.
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The Łódź, called Polish Manchester, became the largest textile manufacture centre in the Kingdom of Poland and the second after Moscow textile center in the Russian Empire. Łódź's improvement followed the pace known only to North American centres. The formation of the mill settlement in Łódź was part of the modernization program undertaken by the authorities of the Kingdom of Poland before the November Uprising. The further improvement of the city corresponded to the far-reaching economical concepts of Ksawery Franciszek Drucki – Lubecki, who rightly intended to base the economy of the Congressional Kingdom on the absorbent Russian market. The Congressional Kingdom was much more developed than the remainder of the Russian Empire. After the November uprising, erstwhile marketplace conditions changed, although a crucial part of the legislature fell economically, Łódź, thanks to its specialization in cotton production, has distanced the another textile production centres over respective years.
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Many factors determined the stormy improvement of the Łódź industry: customs policy and the absorbent Russian market, import of modern technology from the West, expansion of railways, and after appropriation of peasants in 1864 – inexpensive labour force. A multicultural town centre with a circumstantial urban layout was created with distinctly separate districts, like magnate jurisdictions, around palace and mill complexes. In the city, there was an ubiquitous contrast between wealth and misery, which did not miss the Łódź cemeteries. Modern urban infrastructure, specified as electrical trams, functioned in the absence of sewage. The city's image was preserved by Władysław Reymont in the promised land.
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The boat experienced its ups and downs. I remember Piotrkowska from the 1970s and 80s, the large matches of Widzew with Bońek, Żmuda, Młynarczyk and Smolarek, erstwhile they fought both Manchesters, Juventus, Liverpool as equals... Club , Under Sevens , on the Pietryna , where it was always crowded and bustling , crazy Juvenalia , erstwhile we powerfully stood up riding with Piotrek and Zbyszek a tram , and the motorist dared not refuse ... present I have mixed impressions. Excellent Manufacture , a beautiful secession of part of Pietrzyna , beautiful though possibly besides pompous mill Railway Station. But the full quarters of Łódź in collapse. besides bad, due to the fact that even though I've seen so many cities, it's frequently devastated, ruined city in my heart. due to the fact that it's my childhood, my youth, and a large part of the male age. And you don't forget that, it stays....
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Now in, 2024, I'm not in Łódź and I miss you so much... miss you...
Bogdan Tomaszewski
