Portal:Poland

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Welcome to the Poland Portal — Witaj w Portalu o Polsce

Cityscape of Kraków, Poland's former capital

Poland is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic to the southwest, Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, Lithuania to the northeast, and the Baltic Sea and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast to the north. It is an ancient nation whose history as a state began near the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century when it united with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to form the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements in the late 18th century, Russia, Prussia and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. It regained independence as the Second Polish Republic in the aftermath of World War I only to lose it again when it was occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. The nation lost over six million citizens in the war, following which it emerged as the communist Polish People's Republic under strong Soviet influence within the Eastern Bloc. A westward border shift followed by forced population transfers after the war turned a once multiethnic country into a mostly homogeneous nation state. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union called Solidarity (Solidarność) that over time became a political force which by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A shock therapy program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe. With its transformation to a democratic, market-oriented country completed, Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, but has experienced a constitutional crisis and democratic backsliding since 2015.

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From Polish history – show another

Swiderian tanged points

The Stone Age in what is now Poland lasted about 500,000 years and involved three different human species: Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. Stone Age cultures ranged from early human groups with primitive tools to advanced agricultural societies, which used sophisticated stone tools, built fortified settlements and developed copper metallurgy. As elsewhere in Europe, the Stone Age human cultures went through the stages known as the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic, each bringing new refinements of the stone tool making techniques. The Paleolithic human activities were intermittent because of the recurring periods of glaciation. A general climate warming and the resulting increase in ecologic diversity was characteristic of the Mesolithic (9,000-8,000 BCE). The Neolithic brought the first settled agricultural communities whose founders migrated from the Danube River area starting ca. 5,500 BCE. Later the native post-Mesolithic populations also adopted and further developed the agricultural way of life (4,400–2,000 BCE). (Full article...)

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Juliusz Słowacki Theatre

Credit: Jan Mehlich

A nocturnal view of the Juliusz Słowacki Theater in Kraków. It was designed by Jan Zawiejski in an eclectic style reminscent of the Palais Garnier in Paris, but incorporates typically Cracovian motifs such as the mascarons which adorn the attic. The theater, named after Romanticist poet Juliusz Słowacki, was the site of premiere productions of Stanisław Wyspiański's dramas. Among its actors were Helena Modjeska and Ludwik Solski.

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... that Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz (pictured), the City President of Kraków, obtained Emperor Franz Joseph's approval for saving the royal Wawel Castle from further decay by proposing to make it an imperial residence in Poland's former capital?
... that Polish Jewish resistance fighter Vladka Meed was a primary source for the 2001 television movie Uprising?
... that the Christmas Midnight Mass is known in Polish as pasterka, or "shepherds' mass"?

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Tadeusz Kościuszko

Thaddeus Kosciuszko (Tadeusz Kościuszko; 1746–1817) was a military engineer who became a national hero of Poland and the United States. Having completed his studies in Warsaw and Paris, he worked as a private tutor, but had to flee Poland after a failed elopement with one of his students. Upon learning of the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Kosciuszko travelled to America in 1776 and joined the rebel cause as a colonel in the Continental Army. Serving under General Horatio Gates, he worked on the defences at Ticonderoga and Saratoga. In 1778, he helped design and supervised the construction of the garrisons at West Point. Back in Poland, Kosciuszko commanded a division of the Polish army in the Polish–Russian War of 1792, which resulted in the Second Partition of Poland. Two years later, he led an unsuccessful uprising against Russia until he was wounded and captured by Russian forces in the Battle of Maciejowice. The defeat resulted in the Third Partition, which ended the existence of Poland as an independent state. Kosciuszko was a firm believer in human rights, standing up for the freedom of all people, from Polish serfs to black slaves in America. He bequeathed the pay received for his service in the American Revolution to his friend, Thomas Jefferson, asking him to spend the money on freeing and educating slaves, including Jefferson's own; the will was never executed. (Full article...)

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Szczecin as seen from the Oder River

Szczecin is one of Poland's largest seaports, located at the mouth of the Oder River where it empties into the Szczecin Lagoon. It is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, a region in the northwestern part of the country. Founded by the Slavs in the 8th century, it passed into German, Danish and Swedish hands during the course of history. In 1720, following the Great Northern War, Sweden ceded Stettin, as it was then known, to Prussia. Nine years later it became the birthplace of Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, better known as Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. After the city's destruction during World War II and subsequent expulsion of its German population, Szczecin was rebuilt and resettled with Poles and Ukrainians. Its major industries include shipbuilding, metallurgy, fishing and beer making. (Full article...)

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Poland now

Recent events

Poland at the 2024 Summer Olympics:
- On 28 July, Klaudia Zwolińska (pictured) won a silver medal in kayak slalom.
On 9 July, Jerzy Stuhr, a prominent theatre and film actor and director, died at the age of 77.
On 9 June, the ruling Civic Coalition won the European Parliament election in Poland.
On 8 June, Polish tennis player Iga Świątek won the 2024 French Open, her fifth Grand Slam singles title.