PASTOR'S MILL - ŁÓDŹ MIASTO FILMU UNESCO EC1 film kultura

Anyone who visits Lodz will sooner or later come across Pastor's Mill, a development unique in scale, built in the 1870s for workers at the factory of the cotton king Karol Scheibler. Brick houses with accompanying gardens stretch in three rows, and a tree-lined avenue led directly to the main entrance of the then factory. The development was part of the empire of the factory owner, who, in addition to his immensely profitable factories and his own residences, also built a hospital, school, stores and even a fire station. The self-sufficient Pastor's Mill was a kind of town within a town. Today, thanks to ongoing intensive restoration work, the site has become one of Lodz’s biggest tourist attractions. Walking along the cobblestone streets, you can successfully transport yourself to the reality of the late 19th century.

“The Promised Land”

directed by Andrzej Wajda, 1974

We can see Pastor’s Mill in Wajda’s film several times. In one of the workers’ houses lives Zośka Malinowska (Grażyna Michalska), one of the spinners who, seduced by Kessler (Zbigniew Zapasiewicz), returns after an all-night orgy taking place at his residence. Dressed in a colourful outfit, she squats on the steps in front of the entrance and, fearing her mother’s reaction, tries to wipe the makeup off her face. It is not to much use, as Zośka is thrown out of the house by her.

Also, one of the last parts of the film was shot at this location. A suspenseful scene of a clash between striking workers and armed tsarist soldiers unfolds in front of the school building. A worker running with a piece of red cloth is killed by a bullet.

Read more about the film here.

“Fever”

directed by Agnieszka Holland, 1981

In the film adaptation of Andrew Strug’s novel, the working-class district appears twice. The first time is when Wojtek (Adam Ferency), who is looking for contact with the labour party, accompanied by two tsarist spies – Wartki and Czarny (Paweł Nowisz, Krzysztof Zaleski), travels in a horse-drawn carriage along Pastor’s Mill Street to reach the party headquarters. In fact, the provocateurs are taking him straight to the police station.

The second time we can see the same route is in a scene in which the unruly anarchist Gryziak (Bogusław Linda) leads Wartki holding him at gunpoint to detonate a bomb at the aforementioned police station.

PASTOR’S MILL

See what films have been shot in Łódź:

IDA

THE PROMISED LAND

PETER AND THE WOLF

COLD WAR

See popular film locations:

UNIVERSITY OF MUSIC IN LODZ

OLD TOWN PARK

FILM SCHOOL IN LODZ

BOOK ART MUSEUM