This publication relates the history of the tenement at 3 Uniwersytecka St. in Łódź, originally designed as a place of residence for the teachers of the Merchant Assembly School (Polish: Szkoła Zgromadzenia Kupców) of the city of Łódź (1898-1939). Since 1945 it has been a university building. It used to house the flats of the founding professors of Łódź University (including Professor Tadeusz Kotarbiński’s – the first rector of the University of Łódź) as well as science departments. Until the early 1990s, private and public space coexisted here, which made it a place with a special and unique atmosphere. The Scholars’ House is also interesting when viewing the transformation of Łódź University, as it reflected the ups and downs of the university itself during the time of the Polish People’s Republic. The book presents the story of the tenement at 3 Uniwersytecka St. and the complicated lives of its residents in postwar Poland. It also describes the difficulties of forming an academic environment in Łódź – a working-class city with no scholarly traditions. |