ERIH meets in Łódź, Poland

The 20th edition of the annual conference of the European Route of Industrial Heritage - ERIH, a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe, will be held on 23-25 ​​October this year in the city of Łódź. This event is hosted in Poland for only the second time in its history.

- Post-industrial heritage is an element of our city's DNA and our most important marketing distinguishing feature - says Hanna Zdanowska, Mayor of the City of Łódź - 200 years of the history of industrial Łódź have left us with magnificent architectural monuments made of red, unplastered brick, which today, fuelled by the energy of its residents, have been given a completely new life. Once giants of textile production, they now operate as museums, hotels, cultural institutions or entertainment and trade centres, presenting their rich offer to both residents and the increasining numer of tourists visiting Łódź. Due to the fact that as a city we have preserved this heritage and used it in such a comprehensive way, combining various functions, we were awarded in 2021 with the prestigious title of Best of the World by National Geogrpahic Traveler in the Sustainable Development category. This is a source of great pride for us and an important indication that the difficult path we have taken is the right one to achieve success for Łódź.

This year's conference is devoted to the challenges facing post-industrial facilities operating in the field of culture and tourism in the context of their care for the ecosystem, as well as the requirements of sustainable development.

- Industrialization is one of the most important factors responsible for the climate crisis. From today's perspective, especially in the opinion of many representatives of the young generation, the negative effects on the climate and environment exceed those from the industrial revolution era. This sets new goals and tasks in terms of communication and interpretation for all those dealing with the industrial heritage. At the same time, "sustainable development", once primarily a fashionable slogan, should now be a permanent task and a basic prerequisite for all actions. What does all this mean for industrial heritage facilities? How can the main concepts of sustainable development be divided into feasible local or regional solutions? What can facilities achieve with their often limited staff and resources? What are the opportunities or obstacles? Is a historical locomotive no longer powered by hard coal still an authentic monument? How can visitors, employees and partners be engaged in the process of change? What contribution can industrial heritage facilities make as high-quality educational centres for sustainable development? These are the questions we will jointly seek answers to when meeting in Łódź – says Dr. Adam Hajduga, Vice President of ERIH.

During the three days of the event, nearly 100 participants from several European countries will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with presentations of best practices, work together during workshops, and learn about the industrial heritage of Łódź, visiting, among others, the Central Textile Museum, Manufaktura Complex, Księży Młyn (Priest Mill Complex) and Monopolis. The main part of the event will take place in EC 1 - City of Culture. This institution is a co-organiser of the conference. Its organisation is also supported by the Łódź Tourist Organisation and Lodz Convention Bureau.

I am glad that the main part of the conference will take place in the post-industrial space of the oldest municipal heat and power plant in Łódź, EC1 - says its deputy director, Rafał Syska. - For our cultural institution, focused on increasing competences in the field of technology, science, cinema, video games and comics, the heritage of EC1 is an essential building block for all activities aimed at the future and development. Hence, on 25 October we open a new exhibition "EC1 Łódź. City from the New", in which we will show the revitalization processes - both architectural and social - using our institution as the example. And during the ERIH conference, we will organize an audiovisual panel, debating the presence of film techniques in post-industrial spaces. We are not only a city with an impressive tissue of post-factory architecture, but also a UNESCO Creative City of Film, and we constantly combine both of these heritages.

The European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) is co-created by post-industrial sites from 28 European countries. The route includes over 2,300 sites, and the association itself has over 400 members. The most important sites on the ERIH route are over 100 so-called “Anchor Points”. These are milestones of European industrial heritage, sites of particular historical significance for the industrial revolution, while offering visitors high-quality experiences. Among them, 12 are located in Poland, including 3 in Łódź. These are the Central Textile Museum, EC 1 – City of Culture Complex and Manufaktura Complex. No other European city has as many as 3 Anchor Points. In 2019, ERIH obtained the certification of the Cultural Route of the Council of Europe, which was confirmed by recertification in June 2023.

ERIH Conference 2024