From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Łowicz [ˈwɔvit͡ʂ] is a town in central Poland with 30,383 inhabitants (2004). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999); previously, it was in Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975-1998). Together with a nearby station of Bednary, Łowicz is a major rail junction of central Poland, where the line from Warsaw splits into two directions - towards Poznan, and Lodz. Also, the station Łowicz Main is connected through a secondary-importance line with Skierniewice.
Łowicz was a residence of Polish primates. When they were regents of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the town became a temporary "capital" of Poland during interregnum. As a result, it has a bishop and a basilica despite its small size. The ruins of a former bishop's castle can be found on the outskirts and the town has an important ethnographic museum and skansen with traditional houses. Napoleon Bonaparte is believed to have stayed in a house on the main square and the town was at the centre of the largest battle of the German invasion of Poland, the Battle of the Bzura River.
Near the town is the first welded road bridge in the world built across the river Słudwia Maurzyce in 1929. It was designed by Stefan Bryła of the Warsaw University of Technology in 1927. [1]
The town also has Muzeum w Łowiczu (Museum in Lowicz) exhibiting Polish art and historical artifacts from the region. An open air 17-hectare site outside of town displays a collection of historical structures depicting traditional Polish village life. [2]
It has a football team, Pelikan, who languish in the lower divisions of the Polish leagues.
[edit] Twin towns
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 52°07′N 19°56′E / 52.117°N 19.933°E / 52.117; 19.933
Poland
Cheektowaga, New York, USA
Colditz, Germany
Lubliniec, Poland
Montoire-sur-le-Loir, France
Šalčininkai, Lithuania
