Poland’s full of ‘well I never’ facts, and there’s no better way to impress a hot date than by telling them about Europe’s largest desert (close to Katowice), or the street in Warsaw named after Winnie the Poo. Think that’s weird, then how about the trail of gnomes in Wrocław or the gothic pyramid up in the town of Rapa. It comes as no surprise that Łódź also comes with its share of must-know facts. Piotrkowska is the source of a couple of them, being the home to Europe’s largest mural, as well as being ranked as Europe’s longest pedestrian highway. Size counts in Łódź and the city is also home to Europe’s largest cemetery, Europe’s biggest urban park (Łagiewnicki) and the worlds largest Gillette factory. The oldest language school for foreigners can be found at Łódź university; they’ve been teaching the likes of you Polish since 1952, while a trip to the botanical garden will leave you in no doubt that it’s the largest in the country. Don’t go yet, there’s plenty more facts to digest. Łódź experienced the fastest population rise in the world its population doubling to over 100,000 during a six year span between 1872 and 1878. It’s also got the longest tram link in Europe, with 34 kilometres of track connecting Chocianowice to Ozorków. Finally, Łódź haters should make haste and pick up John Birmingham’s Axis of Time trilogy. The Australian scribe loathes the city so much his book has Łódź as the first city to get nuked by the those pesky Russkies.