Aleksandrów Łódzki
Aleksandrów Łódzki (; ) is a town in Łódź Voivodeship that is part of Łódź agglomeration. According to data from 2020, the town has a population of 21,754. History. The village was founded in 1816 by Rafał Bratoszewski. In 1820, Rajmund Rembieliński called Aleksandrów "one of the better towns in Poland". Bernard von Schuttenbach was the author of the town planning project. In order to gain sympathy of the government, Bratoszewski called the town after the then ruling Russian Emperor Alexander I Romanov. This resulted in Aleksandrów gaining the city rights in 1822. After Bratoszewski died in 1824, the Kossowski  family took over the town. After 1832, the town began to fall back economically overwhelmed by the nearby towns of Pabianice, Zgierz and Łódź. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, many knitting companies were founded in Aleksandrów, so it is called the cradle of the Polish stocking industry and also gained the nickname "Sock-city" among the citizens. This trade is still the main one today. In 1910, the town gained a tram connection with Łódź, which was discontinued in 1991. From the beginning, Aleksandrów was a town of three cultures and three religions. There were Protestant  descendants of German knitters, Jews who were in trade and, of course, Catholic Poles who mainly worked as craftsmen and in factories. Until 1945, the wealthiest and most numerous ethnic group were Germans. The Jewish population in 1900 was 1,673. For the Jewish, Aleksandrów was an important religious centre - the seat of Hasidic Tzadikim of the Alexander dynasty founded by Rabbi Yechiel Dancyger (1828–1894). It was also where Rabbi Chanokh Heynekh HaKohen Levin, the second Rebbe of the Ger Hasidim held court until his death in Aleksandrów in 1870. In 1869, during the partitions of Poland, Aleksandrów lost its city  rights lasting for more than 60 years. These rights were regained in 1924 in the newly reborn Poland. Currently, it is the seat of the Aleksandrów Łódzki county. In September 2006, the first International Convention of Aleksandrów citizens was held. Industry. Currently, there are 2,623 registered companies in Aleksandrów. The textile industry constitutes 38% of the economy, trade - 24%, vehicle mechanics and transport - 5%, and other - 33%. Tourism. The most notable and oldest monuments of Aleksandrów are: Other monuments: