Poznanski Factory

Poland, Łódż (pronounce 'Woodge'), Poznanski factory, a textile mill, august 2005.

In its glory days, the Poznanski firm employed 7000 workers and had its own railway station. It benefited from the fact that at the time, Lodz was part of Russia, a large market to sell its products. In WWII, the factory was taken over by the Germans, after the war it was nationalized by the communist regime and in 1991 it was declared bankrupt; it had already been struggling in the 1980s though.
When I was there, the factory was getting ready for a renovation; now it houses a shopping mall, museum, restaurants and the tourist office. The former owner's quarters are on the other end and look like this: