Łódź (l

j), city (1993 est. pop. 842,300), capital of Łódzkie prov., central Poland. The second largest city of Poland and an important industrial center, Łódź is the center of the Polish textile industry. Other important manufactures include chemicals and radios. Chartered in 1423, the city passed to Prussia in 1793 and to Russia in 1815. It reverted to Poland in 1919. The first textile mills were established in the city c.1830, but the industry grew only after 1870. The city was also the center of the Polish labor and socialist movements. In World War II it was incorporated into Germany, renamed Litzmannstadt, and subjected to ruthless Germanization. The city has a university (founded in 1945).

Lódz

City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 793,217), central Poland. Located southwest of Warsaw, it was a village in the 14th century and gained municipal rights in 1798. The Russian-ruled Congress Kingdom of Poland established it as a centre of the textile industry in 1820, and by the late 19th century it was Poland's leader in the production of cotton textiles. It was occupied by the Germans during World Wars I and II. It is now a cultural centre and Poland's second largest city.