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

The Renaissance town hall of Zamość

The history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1648 covers a period of Poland's rise and expansion, before it was subjected to devastating wars in the middle of the 17th century. The Union of Lublin of 1569 established the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a federal state replacing the previous dynastic union of the two nations. The Commonwealth was run by the nobility, through a system of a central parliament and local assemblies, under elected kings. It was a period of Poland's great power, civilizational advancement and prosperity. The Commonwealth had become an influential player in Europe, spreading the Western culture eastward. The Warsaw Confederation of 1573 was the culmination of religious toleration that was unique in Europe, but the Catholic Church soon embarked on an ideological counter-offensive, while the Union of Brest split the Eastern Christians within the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth fought mostly successful wars with Russia, Sweden and the Ottoman Empire, but it gradually became a playground of internal conflicts, in which kings, powerful magnates and factions of nobility were the main actors. (Full article...)

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Pope John Paul II

John Paul II (1920–2005) served as pope of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 1978 until his death almost 27 years later. Born Karol Wojtyła in the Polish town of Wadowice, he served as archbishop of Kraków before becoming one of the longest-serving popes and one of the most-travelled world leaders in history. Continuing the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and professing the philosophy of Christian humanism, John Paul II taught about the importance of family and respect for human life and dignity. He criticised materialist ideologies and is widely seen as having been instrumental in ending communism in his native Poland and eventually in all of Eastern Europe. The pope also mended the Catholic Church's relations with other denominations and religions. As part of his emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified or canonized a record number of people, and was himself canonized in 2014. (Full article...)

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A wisent in the Białowieża Forest

The Białowieża Forest, an ancient woodland straddling the Polish-Belarusian border, is one of the last and largest remaining parts of the immense primeval forest which once spread across the European Plain. It is home to the wisent (pictured), elk, wild boars, konik horses, and other animals. Its name, Puszcza Białowieska in Polish and Belavezhskaya Pushcha in Belarusian, comes from the village of Białowieża located in the forest. Historically it belonged to Polish kings and, later, Russian emperors who used it as royal hunting grounds or food reserve for the army. It has been protected since 1538 when King Sigismund I instituted death penalty for poaching the wisent. Today parts of the forest on both sides of the border are protected as national parks, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Biosphere Reserve. (Full article...)

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Did you know – show different entries

... that Polish girls (pictured) get wet and spanked on Easter Monday, but have their revenge on the following day?
... that a series of mostly pagan uprisings in the 1030s threw the fledgling Kingdom of Poland into chaos?
... that Grand Duke Leszek the White and a number of other Polish Piast dukes were ambushed in their baths during the 13th-century Gąsawa massacre?
... that Frédéric Chopin, Juliusz Słowacki, and Napoleon III were all in love with Maria Wodzińska?

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Poland now

Recent events

Poland at the 2024 Summer Paralympics:
- On 4 September, Patryk Chojnowski and Natalia Partyka won gold and bronze medals, respectively, in table tennis, while Łukasz Ciszek won a silver medal in archery and Zbigniew Maciejewski won a bronze medal in cycling.
- On 3 September, Lucyna Kornobys won a silver medal in shot put, Marek Dobrowolski won a bronze medal in shooting, while Michał Dąbrowski and Kinga Dróżdż won a silver medal each in wheelchair fencing.
- On 1 September, Patryk Chojnowski and Piotr Grudzień won a gold medal in table tennis.
On 18 August, Polish cyclist Katarzyna Niewiadoma (pictured) won the 2024 Tour de France Femmes.
Poland won 10 medals, including one gold, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, ranking 42nd in the medal table.

Ongoing
Constitutional crisis • Belarus–EU border crisis • Ukrainian refugee crisis

Holidays and observances in September 2024
(statutory public holidays in bold)

Harvest festivals (wreath pictured)
Polish Underground State Day, 27 September

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Krzyżtopór

Credit: Kroton

Walls of the elliptical inner courtyard of the imposing fortified palace of Krzyżtopór in Ujazd, south-eastern Poland. Constructed by Krzysztof Ossoliński in 1644, the Baroque palace boasted such modern amenities as dumbwaiters, running water, heating and ventilation systems, and possibly even a ceiling aquarium with exotic fish, but suffered extensive damage during the Swedish occupation in 1655 and was ultimately reduced to ruin by the Russians in 1770.