Tucked behind the Central Museum of Textiles is a unique open-air museum dedicated to the wooden architecture that dominated the streets of Łódź in its early years. Until roughly 1830 almost every structure built was wooden, and many of those were created to house the influx of workers needed for the city’s booming manufacturers (often the homes included workshops where tradespeople like weavers could work). Wood fell out of favour in the 1860s and 1870s as more homes began to be built out of brick, and their numbers continued to dwindle as many wood buildings were destroyed during World War II. Today the museum features several examples of the era’s architecture, including a church, a summer villa, a one-story house for workers, a wooden tram stop and several craftsmen houses. The museum is arranged along two “streets” that include lamps and street signs to add to the authenticity. The two standouts are the elaborate villa, which was moved to the site from Ruda Pabianicka (a village that was absorbed by Lodz) and the church, which was erected between 1846-1848 and moved from Nowosolna (also a village that became part of Lodz). A great place to begin your tour – which is self-guided – is at the weaver’s house, which has been fully kitted out with period furniture and accessories down to the chamber pot beneath the bed, and offers English descriptions of what life was like for the city’s labourers.  

Admission free.