Film Museum in Łódź (Scheibler Palace)

The Film Museum in Łódź (say "WOODGE") is the only museum in Poland dedicated to the technology, art and culture of cinema. It occupies the 19th-century palace of textile magnate Karol Scheibler, on the edge of the Księży Młyn industrial estate. Inside you will find vintage projectors and cameras, posters, film sets, puppets from beloved Polish cartoons and opulent interiors that starred in Andrzej Wajda's "The Promised Land." For film fans, it is a must in a UNESCO City of Film.

Why Łódź and film belong together

Łódź, in central Poland about 130 km southwest of Warsaw (roughly 1.5 hours by direct train), is home to the famous National Film School, whose graduates include Roman Polański and Krzysztof Kieślowski. The museum grew out of a film department founded in 1976 and became independent in 1986, when it moved into the Scheibler palace. Its collection now holds more than 90,000 items, including about a thousand films and the archives of directors such as Andrzej Wajda.

What to see

• Palace interiors on the ground floor: dining room, smoking room, ballroom, study, winter garden and grand staircase. Filmmakers used them as ready-made sets, most famously for "The Promised Land."
• "Film Łódź": the permanent exhibition on how a city of factory workers became the capital of Poland's film industry after World War II.
• "A Palace Full of Fairy Tales": original puppets and drawings from Polish animated classics such as Colargol, the Moomins and Bolek and Lolek.
• The Kaiser Panorama: Poland's only original stereoscopic peep-show machine, plus magic lanterns and a mutoscope.
• Until December 31, 2026: the anniversary exhibition "40 Treasures for the Museum's 40th Birthday."

Practical tips and accessibility

The palace was once a family home, but the museum works hard on access. Exhibitions spread over four floors linked by an elevator and stairs, with stair lifts to some rooms. You can borrow a wheelchair free of charge at the ticket desk, and folding stools are available by the cloakroom. There are three accessible restrooms and one disabled parking space at the gate. Note that the underpass from the nearest public transport stop has an elevator that is often out of order, and the area around the building is paved with cobbles. Assistance dogs are welcome.

Statues of the cartoon cats Filemon and Bonifacy greet you at the entrance, and an art-house cinema, Kinematograf, operates in the building.

Opening hours and tickets (as of October 2026)

• Wednesday–Friday: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
• Saturday–Sunday: 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
• Monday–Tuesday: closed. Tickets are sold until 45 minutes before closing. No separate winter hours are announced.

Admission is 28 PLN (Polish złoty), reduced 18 PLN; children under 7 enter free, and Wednesdays are free for everyone. An audio guide costs 10 PLN. A combined ticket with the "Kino Polonia" exhibition at EC1 costs 45 PLN. Plan 1.5 to 2 hours.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, especially if you love cinema or are traveling with kids. Afterwards, explore the Księży Młyn workers' estate next door, Źródliska Park behind the palace and the Herbst Palace Museum a few hundred meters away. Piotrkowska Street, the main promenade, is about 1 km west.