The "Ksiezy Mlyn" Residence

Opening hours: Mondays and Tuesdays, 10am-5pm; Wednesdays, Fridays, noon-5pm; Thursdays, noon-7pm; Saturdays and Sundays, 11am-4pm.

The "Ksiezy Mlyn" is a residential and manufacturing assembly, a piece of architecture typical of the nineteenth century lodz and not be found anywhere else. Designed by Hilary Majewski and built in the years 1870-9 for the wealthy industrialist Edward Herbst, the assembly includes a neo-Renaissance villa, an adjacent Ball Room, a greenhouse, a maintenance building, and a stables with a coach house. The Lodz Museumof Art took over the "Ksiezy Mlyn" in 1976 and had it restored. Completed in 1990, the restoration project won the Europa Nostra prize awarded by an international committee for saving the cultural heritage. Following the restoration the "Ksiezy Mlyn" now houses an exhibition of interiors of Lodz industrialists' residence in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The ground floor features the reconstructed ceremonial rooms, including the master of the house's study; the neo-rococo Mirror Room; the Oriental Room exhibiting Oriental decorative arts; the Flower Room; the Hunting Room; the Grand Dining Room; and the Ball Room. The first floor is taken by the living quarters, including the mistress of the house's suite consisting of her wardrobe, bedroom and boudoir; the master's suite consisting of his bedroom, drawing room and library; grandmother's and daughter's rooms; and a guest room. The rooms have the original wood panelling and richly ornamented stoves, dating back to the times of the first owners. The interiors have been furnished with stylish, late nineteenth and early twentieth century furniture and decorative items, and adorned with precious paintings by Polish artists. The "Ksiezy Mlyn" Residence is also a venue of exhibitions of prints and drawings from the holdings of the Museum of Art.