Museum of Art in Łódź (ms1, ms2 and Herbst Palace)

The Museum of Art in Łódź (Muzeum Sztuki, say "WOODGE") holds one of the oldest avant-garde art collections in the world and is a must for anyone interested in modern art in Poland. It operates across three branches: ms1 in a neo-Renaissance factory owner's palace, ms2 in a former spinning mill at Manufaktura, and the Herbst Palace Museum in the Księży Młyn district. The collection ranges from Strzemiński and Kobro to Léger, Arp, Max Ernst and Joseph Beuys.

Where it is and how to get there

Łódź is Poland's third-largest city, in the center of the country, about 130 km southwest of Warsaw. Direct trains from Warsaw reach Łódź Fabryczna station in roughly an hour and a half. ms1 is in the city center, a few minutes' walk from Piotrkowska Street, the main promenade; note that its entrance is at Gdańska 43. ms2 is inside the Manufaktura complex at Ogrodowa 19, with large parking lots. The Herbst Palace is at Przędzalniana 72, next to the Film Museum. Trams and city bikes are the easiest way to get between branches.

A museum built by artists

The museum dates its beginning to April 13, 1930. Its core is the collection of the "a.r." group: between 1929 and 1932, painter Władysław Strzemiński, sculptor Katarzyna Kobro, painter Henryk Stażewski and poets Jan Brzękowski and Julian Przyboś persuaded artists across Europe to donate their works. That is how pieces by Hans Arp, Theo van Doesburg, Fernand Léger, Kurt Schwitters and Max Ernst ended up in an industrial city in central Poland. The public first saw them in 1931.

After World War II, the museum moved to the Maurycy Poznański Palace (from 1948), where Strzemiński designed the famous Neoplastic Room. Director Ryszard Stanisławski (1966–1991) built an international collection that includes Roman Opałka's counted paintings and British pop art, and in 1981 Joseph Beuys donated about 300 works as a gesture of solidarity with Poland. ms2 opened in 2008, and the restored Herbst Palace followed in 2013.

What to see

• ms2: since October 2025, the new permanent exhibition "Ways of Seeing. The Collection of the Museum of Art in Łódź," a story of 20th and 21st-century art and of the museum itself. If you only have time for one branch, choose this one.
• ms1: temporary exhibitions in palace rooms. From October 9, 2026 to March 14, 2027 it hosts a retrospective of British digital art pioneer Suzanne Treister. Strzemiński's Neoplastic Room survives in the building; check before your visit whether it is open.
• "Gifts of Friendship": nearly 150 works donated in 2024–2026 by almost 100 artists from dozens of countries, shown in ms1 and ms2.
• Herbst Palace Museum: a factory owner's villa with period interiors and the museum's collection of older art.

How much time do you need?

Allow 1.5 to 2 hours for ms2, about an hour for ms1 and another hour for the Herbst Palace. A two-day pass covering all three branches is the best value if you want to see everything. The museum runs regular guided tours; some opening events include artist-led tours in English.

Opening hours and tickets (as of October 2026)

• ms1 and ms2: Tuesday–Wednesday 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Thursday noon–6 p.m., Friday noon–8 p.m., Saturday–Sunday noon–6 p.m.; closed Mondays. Ticket desks close 30 minutes earlier.
• Herbst Palace: Tuesday 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Wednesday 11 a.m.–5 p.m., Thursday noon–7 p.m., Friday–Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
• No separate winter hours are announced.

Prices are in Polish złoty (PLN): an exhibition at ms1 or ms2 costs 20 PLN (reduced 10 PLN); visitors aged 8 to 26 pay 1 PLN for the permanent exhibition at ms2; the two-day pass costs 50 PLN (reduced 25 PLN). Admission is free every Friday, and children under 8 always enter free.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes. A collection assembled by the artists themselves as early as 1929–1932 is a rarity anywhere in Europe. Go on a Friday afternoon for free entry and late opening, then walk to the Poznański Palace and Manufaktura next to ms2.