Central Poland comprises two voivodeships situated in the heart of the country, the Łódź and the Mazovia Voivodeships. The largest city in the region is Warsaw, which is the capital of Poland and one of the most buoyant cities in Central and Eastern Europe. The second largest city in Central Poland is Łódź, which can boast long textile industry traditions.
Strategic location in the middle of the country
The greatest assets of the region are its strategic location along a trade route connecting Western Europe and Eastern Europe, and the Warsaw Chopin Airport, which is the largest airport in Poland and among the largest ones in Central Europe. Central Poland is characterised by a high level of development in fields such as science, research & development, creative industries, and medicine and pharmacy. What is more, there are as many as five special economic zones here.
Apart from the textile industry, another buoyant branch of industry in Łódź and its vicinity is the power industry – in Bełchatów, there is a brown coal mine supplying coal to the local power plant, which is the largest coal power plant in the world. An increasingly important branch of economy is the production of household appliances – this is where the largest European industrial cluster specialising in this field operates.
Modern Museums in Warsaw
What can tourists expect of Central Poland? In Warsaw, it is worth visiting the Old Town, which, although devastated by nearly 90% during the Second World War, was reconstructed faithfully enough to gain recognition from UNESCO. Tradition and modernity are combined in multi-media museums, such as the Fryderyk Chopin Museum, the Copernicus Science Centre and the Warsaw Uprising Museum. Near Warsaw, in Modlin, in turn, tourists can admire the world’s largest fortress.
Łódź – capital of creative industries
Łódź is, above all, the capital of Polish cinematography thanks to the world-famous National Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre. After the transformation period, which was difficult for the city, it seems that its authorities have found a way to revive this metropolitan area by attracting creative industries and modern art, e.g. in Piotrkowska Street. Noteworthy is also the largest cultural and shopping centre in Poland, Manufaktura, with its impressive design. The grey bleak apartment houses, in turn, have been assigned for fabulous murals, which has attracted the leading representatives of street art from all over the world. It is also worth going outside Łódź – in the nearby Uniejów, you can relax in the first Polish spa making use of geo-thermal water.
