Old Town

Piotrków Trybunalski is second biggest city in the Łódź Voivodeship of Poland with around 80,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of Piotrków County and it's almost 800 years old. The city was portrayed in the movie Jacob the Liar starring Robin Williams.

Understand

According to tradition – not confirmed by historical sources – Piotrków was founded by Piotr Wlostowic, a powerful 12th century magnate from Silesia. The name of the city comes from the name Peter translated into Polish (Piotr), in a diminutive form (Piotrek). The town has been known in Yiddish as פּעטריקעװ or Petrikev, in German as Petrikau, and in Russian as Петроков or Petrokov.

At first a market town and a place of the princes' tribunals (in the 13th and 15th centuries), Piotrków became an administrative centre (the capital of the district since 1418), and in the later centuries it also became an important political centre in Poland. While the importance of Piotrków in the political life of the country had contributed to its development in the 16th century, the city declined in the 17th and 18th centuries, due to fires, epidemics, wars against Sweden, and finally the Partitions of Poland.

Piotrków had the first ghetto for Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland, built as early as October 1939. Approximately 25,000 people from Piotrków and the nearby towns and villages were imprisoned there. 22,000 were sent to the Treblinka extermination camp, while 3,000 were imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps.

Get in

By plane

Łódź Władysław Reymont Airport (LCJ ^IATA) is nearest international airport (about 50 km), but better choice is the largest Polish Warsaw Frédéric Chopin Airport (WAW ^IATA) (about 160 km).

By train

• 1 Piotrków Trybunalski Railway Station is a terminal station for domestic trains. There are great (but slow) train links from all major Polish cities.

The schedule of trains in Poland [1]

By car

Piotrków is located in junction of roads:

• road A1; E75 Gdańsk - Łódź - Piotrków Trybunalski - Częstochowa - Katowice
• road 8; E67 from state border with Lithuania in Budzisko through Warsaw - Piotrków - Wrocław and finally to state border with Czech Republic in Kudowa-Zdrój.
• road  12 from state border with Germany in Łęknica through Leszno - Kalisz - Piotrków - Radom - Lublin and state border with Ukraine in Beredyszcze

By bus

Because of its location at a junction of major roads Piotrków Trybunalski is well connected to almost all major cities in Poland by the PKS lines. From Warsaw or Katowice you can get to Piotrków Trybunalski by the Polski Express. There are some international lines like Eurolines too.

Get around

Public transport is operated by MZK Piotrków Trybunalski. The descriptions on bus stops are in Polish only. See the Polish phrasebook if you feel uncomfortable. The schedules are here

Taxis are another option, and they are quite cheap for a Westerner. However, you should make sure that there is a taxi sign atop the cab and that the driver has a permit. Best way is to use one of Taxi companies (phone numbers):

• Radio Taxi Pilica - 9625
• Radio Taxi Plus - 9623

See

Great Synagogue

• Trybunalski Square, located about 1 km east from the train station. Is the old market square, with antique tenement houses
• 1 Royal Castle (Zamek Królewski), plac Zamkowy 4 (nearby the Trybunalski Square (about 300 m east)), ☏ +44 6465272. Tu-Su: 10:00—17:00, M closed. This Gothic-Renaissance structure was built in the 16th century and turned into a museum in 1919. Especially in the 14th and 15th century the castle played an important role in Polish national history.  
• 2 Great Synagogue (Wielka Synagoga), Jerozolimska 29. Now a library. 
• Orthodox Church on Słowackiego street about 200 m east from train station
• Court of Law on Słowackiego street about 300 m east from train station

For more information visit the "Tourist Information Point" called "Informacja Turystyczna" on Czarnieckiego Square 10, 44 732 36 63 (next to Trybunalski Square)

Do

Cinemas

• Helios Cinema, ul. Słowackiego 123, ☏ +48 44 715 91 55. Movie selection contains the latest American hits with Polish subtitles. (updated Sep 2017)

Buy

• The main commercial street in Piotrków Trybunalski is Słowackiego Street

Shopping mall:

• Focus Mall, Juliusza Słowackiego 123, ☏ +48 44 715 90 00, FocusPT@apsysgroup.pl. M-Sa 09:00 - 21:00, Su 10:00 - 21:00. (updated Sep 2017)

Other places for small shopping:

• 1 Echo, al. Sikorskiego. M-Sa 9:00—21:00, Su 10:00—19:00. Shopping mall 
• Carrefour. Supermarket, and gallery of (about 20) small shops 
• Kaufland - supermarket on Lodzka street, with small gallery of shops (about 8)
• Stadium Market - big open air market located on Dmowskiego street, every Saturday you can buy here everything from vegetables, over clothes to live pets

Eat

Budget

• Da Grasso, ul. Wojska Polskiego 38 (corner of Torunska), ☏ +48 44 649 57 60, dagrasso@dagrasso.pl. M-Th 11:00—23:00, F Sa 11:00—01:00, Su 12:00—22:00. Their big pizza is more than enough for 2 hungry people. 15-25 zł. 
• Tina, ul. 3go Maja 20 or ul. Matejki 5, ☏ +48 44 647 23 64, +48 44 732 69 00. M-F 11:00—23:00, Sa 11:00—00:00, Su 12:00—22:00. 15-25 zł. 

Mid-range

• Randez-vous, ul. Słowackiego 14, ☏ +48 44 649 04 44. 20-50 zł. 
• Altamira, ul. Dmowskiego 38, ☏ +48 44 733 91 51. 20-50 zł. 
• Dworek pod Debami, ul. Skrajna dz.46, ☏ +48 44 732 38 25. 20-50 zł. 

Splurge

• Staromiejska, Trybunalski Square 4, ☏ +48 44 649 70 53. 50-100 zł. 
• Ormianin, Trybunalski Square 10, ☏ +48 44 647 69 63. 50-100 zł. 

Sleep

Budget

• Hotel Piocel, ul. Dworska 6a, ☏ +48 44 646 80 32. 30 zł per night. 

Mid-range

• Agat, Wojska Polskiego 118, ☏ +48 44 646 28 49, biuro@hotelagat.pl. 
• Best Western (formerly Trybunalski), Grota Roweckiego 5 (Nearby train station), ☏ +48 44 647 87 12, hotel@trybunalskie.pl. (updated Sep 2017)
• Mercure, ul. Armii Krajowej 22c, 97-300 Piotrków Trybunalski, ☏ +48 44 684 00 00, H9077@accor.com. (updated Sep 2017)
• Staromiejski, Rynek Trybunalski 1, 97-300 Piotrków Trybunalski, ☏ +48 44 615 58 56, recepcja@hotelstaromiejski.com.pl. (updated Sep 2017)

Go next

• Bełchatów
• Łódź