The Biedermann’s Palace
Visiting the palace and park complex of the Lodz industrialist Alfred Biedermann at Franciszkańska 1/5 in Lodz, which was reopened to the public last year after many years, is undoubtedly one of the biggest attractions of this year's Lodz Night of Museums. The organisers from the University of Lodz have prepared a number of attractions. Visitors will be able to see the park, the interiors of the palace, including the richly decorated ballroom (now the ‘fireplace Room’) and the dining room (now the cradle room), exhibitions related to the history of the University of Lodz and an exhibition in the former coach house (currently the university's Wozownia 1/5 Gallery). You will also be able to see the priceless collection of Andrzej Różycki, an artist, photographer, filmmaker, art theoretician and collector, located at the palace. Additionally, that evening you will be able to meet the Powszechny Theatre team and listen to classical music.
Programme of the Night of Museums at the Biedermann’s Palace
- Meeting with the creators of the play "The Biedermann Family" at the Powszechny Theatre in Lodz will take place on 17 May from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Representatives of the theatre and the creators of the play will take part in the event. Participants will learn both the theatrical and historical perspectives of the story of the Biedermann family, whose dramatic fate during World War II became the inspiration for the creation of the play. The meeting will be accompanied by an exhibition presenting photos from the play "The Biedermann Family". Admission to the event is free.
- Guided tours of the Palace will take place between 5:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Every full hour (5:00 p.m.; 6:00 p.m.; 7:00 p.m.) and at 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. there will be guided tours in groups of approx. 40 people. Tour time is approx. 40 minutes. During the guided tour of the palace interiors, you will hear many interesting stories about the Biedermann family and the University of Lodz. Entry will be possible only by registration via a special form (the form will be available between 12-16 may of the current year).
- Visiting the Palace independently will be possible between 11:00 PM and midnight – using mobile applications (with QR codes) providing information in Polish and English. Admission is freen. Note! Due to the historic flooring, it is not possible to visit the palace with baby strollers. You can take interior photos free of charge, only for private purposes. Publishing photos and recordings presenting the interior of the palace requires the consent of the University of Lodz.
- "Klasycznie u Biedermannów" [Classically at Biedermann's] is a concert of young artists (Fireplace Room in the palace from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.), who will perform pieces by masters of classical music. The concert is co-organised by the FocusOn Foundation. Admission to the event is free (There is a limited number of seats).
- The "Nie mam nic na zawsze" [I have nothing forever] exhibition by students of the Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts Lódź (at the former coach house – currently the University of Lodz Wozownia 1/5 Gallery) will be open from 4:00 p.m. to midnight. Admission to the event is free.
- The exhibitions "Photosophical Archive of Andrzej Różycki" in the basement of the Palace (entrance from the fountain) will be available from 5:00 p.m. to midnight. Admission is free. The exhibitions present objects from Andrzej Różycki's folk and vernacular collection, which are part of the resources of the Photosophical Archive, as well as exhibitions by artists collaborating with the Archive. In his artistic work, since the 1960s, Różycki has co-created key trends in Polish neo-avant-garde art related to photography, medialism and conceptualism. At the same time, he spent over five decades expanding his unique collection of naive art, vernacular, rural and religious culture. The exhibition will highlight threads connecting these two, seemingly distant, areas of Różycki's activity, and the concept of photosophy, combining philosophy, photography, the idea of light and the mechanics of image creation, will be explained. Admission is free and does not require registration.
Geological Museum (Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz)
This year's Night of Museums at the Jan Ziomek Geological Museum at Kopcińskiego 31 will be held under the motto: "Radioactivity of minerals, rocks and fossils". We have invited scientists who deal with radioactivity on a daily basis to help organise it:
- dr hab. Magdalena Długosz-Lisiecka, Head of the Laboratory of Isotopic Methods LMI-Izotop, Interdepartmental Institute of Radiation Technology, Lodz University of Technology
- Dr Łukasz Albiniak, Head of the Nuclear Radiation and Dosimetry Laboratory at the Department of Nuclear Physics and Radiation Safety, Faculty of Physics and Applied Informatics, University of Lodz.
During the Night of Museums, you will be able to check the geological specimens you brought, as well as various other objects that we suspect of radiation, such as vases made of uranium glass, old compasses/watches with glow-in-the-dark hands or dials. Specialists will not only reveal radiation using UV light but will also measure the dose rate using scintillation counters and indicate specific radioactive isotopes from which the radiation comes based on spectral analysis. Owners of such objects will be instructed on how to handle them safely. Measurements using counters, a spectrometer and consultations with specialists will be carried out between 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Additionally, dr hab. Magdalena Długosz-Lisiecka will deliver two lectures (in Polish):
- 7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.– Radioactive properties of minerals and rocks.
- 8:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. – Radioactivity of fossils – causes, diversity, fears and hopes.
Visits to the museum and participation in measurements and lectures will take place on 17 May, during the Night of Museums, without prior registration. The museum will be open from 6:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., without division into groups of visitors.
Natural History Museum of the University of Lodz
At the Natural History Museum of the University of Lodz at Kilińskiego 101 (Sienkiewicz Park) you will be able to see, among other things, a collection of birds, mammals, insects and shells, as well as fossils. Among the exhibits, there is also a rich collection of skeletons, including a complete skeleton of a cave bear and bones of a mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, and even a sauropod and a mosasaur. The Museum contains dioramas presenting the fauna of Africa, the Palearctic, the Antarctic and the Antarctic, as well as dioramas containing models of animals from the Cambrian, Devonian and Jurassic periods.
During the Night of Museums, you will also be able to see a temporary exhibition entitled "Bestiary". It presents the works of students from the Enamel Workshop of the Jewellery Institute at the Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts Łódź. The richness of the collections of the Natural History Museum has become an inspiration to create a collection of jewellery objects by students who – by interpreting existing specimens – transfer them to the world of their imagination. The exhibition, like in medieval bestiaries, mixes illusion with science, fantasy with reality.
The Museum opening hours on 17 May 2025 during the Night of Museums: 6:00 p.m.–1:00 a.m. (last admission 12:30 a.m.).
Feel free to join us!
Source and edit: Press Office, University of Lodz