Fairytale Łódź Trail

It all started with a refusal: the committee of Łódź's Walk of Fame would not give a star to Miś Uszatek (Floppy-Eared Teddy) because – as its chairman Jan Machulski reportedly put it – it was a waste of money on "some teddy bear". Instead of a star came a statue, and then an entire trail. "Łódź Bajkowa" (Fairytale Łódź) is a family route around the city following bronze sculptures of characters from films and series made by the Se-ma-for animation studio, which have been appearing on Łódź streets and in its parks since 2009.

History: from a children's letter to a trail

The campaign for an Uszatek statue was launched by Radio Łódź, and pupils from Primary School No. 70 wrote a letter to the mayor. Permission was granted, but for a fountain – a design featuring Uszatek and his friends was prepared in 2007 by sculptors Magdalena Walczak and Marcin Mielczarek. Residents, however, objected to the chosen site in a passage off Piotrkowska Street. City official Piotr Trzankowski then proposed a trail modelled on Wrocław's dwarfs, promoting Łódź's film heritage. The first statue – Miś Uszatek at Piotrkowska 87 – was unveiled on 24 October 2009.

Characters on the trail

Today the trail has 11 sculptures, each about 1.5 m tall:

• Miś Uszatek (2009) – Piotrkowska 87, the trail's figurehead.
• Pik-Pok the little penguin (2010).
• The cats Filemon and Bonifacy (June 2011).
• Piotruś and his dog from The Magic Pencil.
• Plastuś – in Sienkiewicz Park.
• The Three Bears.
• Ćwirek the sparrow.
• Maurycy and Hawranek.
• Ferdinand the Magnificent (September 2015) – outside the entrance to Galeria Łódzka; the first statue on the trail funded by a private investor.
• Colargol the bear – on the green at the corner of Sienkiewicza and Traugutta streets.
• Moomin.

The first eight sculptures were created in 2009–2013 with city money, with the last four of them co-financed by the European Union – almost PLN 517,000 of the PLN 608,000 cost. The original plan called for as many as 17 characters.

Badge, coin and app

Collect at least seven stamps from points along the trail and you can earn the PTTK "Łódź Bajkowa" hiking badge. With the first statue, a local token coin called the "Łódka" ducat featuring Uszatek went into circulation, followed on 15 October 2010 by one with Pik-Pok. In 2025 the figures joined the "Małe Legendy" (Little Legends) app, previously known for its city game on the streets of Wrocław.

Tripto tip

Start with Uszatek on Piotrkowska and pick up the free children's trail guide from the Łódź Tourism Organisation. The sculptures are spread across the city centre, so allow 2–3 hours for the whole route or split it into two shorter walks combined with Piotrkowska Street, Sienkiewicz Park and Galeria Łódzka. The trail is free and open all year round.