The Manufaktura is a big commercial and recreational complex in
Lodz City in Poland. It is the largest in
Poland and one of the biggest in Europe commercial and recreational centers, covering the area of 270 000 square meters (nearly 3000 000 square feet).
The internal square within the Manufaktura takes up more than 30 000 square meters (more than 300 000 square feet) and is over one and half times larger than the Old Market Square in Poznan. The internal square of Manufaktura offers many attractions for people of all ages. The centre hosts a number of artistic events, as well as sports events, such as ice skating in the winter and beach volleyball during the summer time. There is an inside tram line in the internal square of Manufaktura. These trams also go around the city and pick up passengers travelling to the Manufaktura. The fountain inside the internal square of the Manufaktura is nearly 550 feet long (180 meters) and it is probably the longest one in Europe.
The Manufaktura is located in old and big textile factory of Izrael Poznański.
The Manufaktura is a combination of the future and the past, it is, so far, the biggest refurbished object in Europe. There are more than 220 boutiques and 30 shops, two hypermarkets and 60 restaurants and cafes.
The Manufaktura has become a very popular place, especially for children and tourists from abroad. It ia alive until late night.
In the postindustrial buildings apart from shops, you can find: bowling alley, a fitness club, a disco, the "Little Theatre", as well as Cinema City multiplex with 14 cinema halls and the 3D cinema IMAX - the only one in Lodz City.
The Manufactura also invites to the Musuem of the Factory, Museum of History of the City of Lodz and the Modern Art Museum "ms2".
The Aquarium in Manufaktura containsan exhibition of 32 water reservoirs representing the aqueous basins of the world from nearly every part of the globe, including a fragment of flooded Amazon forest and some lakes of Africa.
The Manufaktura was officially opened on 17 th May 2006.