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

Polish–Lithuanian military men, 1588-1632, as painted by Jan Matejko

The military of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, commanded by Crown and Lithuanian hetmans, was a successful force during the first century of the Commonwealth's existence (beginning with the Union of Lublin in 1569). Its most unique formation was the heavy cavalry in the form of the Polish winged hussars. Polish forces were engaged in numerous conflicts in the south (against the Ottoman Empire), the east (against the Russian Empire), and the north (against Sweden), as well as in internal conflicts, such as Cossack uprisings. Around the middle of the 17th century, the Commonwealth army became plagued by insufficient funds and found itself increasingly hard-pressed to defend the country from the growing armies of its neighbors. The Commonwealth Navy, on the other hand, never played a major role in the military structure, and ceased to exist in the 17th century. (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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Centennial Square in Sosnowiec

Sosnowiec is a city located in the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, although, historically and culturally, it is part of the Dąbrowskie Basin (Zagłębie Dąbrowskie). Thanks to rich natural resources and a strategic location on the border of Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian empires, the village of Sosnowiec grew rapidly during the 19th century and was granted a town charter in 1902. Another period of vigorous development occurred in the 1970s, when Edward Gierek, a native of Sosnowiec, served as first secretary of the communist Polish United Workers' Party. On the city's centennial in 2002, the city center (pictured) was thoroughly rebuilt and modernized. Some coal mines and steel mills continue to operate in Sosnowiec as trade and service sectors are expanding. (Full article...)

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Did you know – show different entries

... that one of the critical or endangered ecoregions in Poland is home to the wisent (pictured), the heaviest wild land animal in Europe?
... that Rebbetzin Vichna Kaplan, the prize pupil of Sarah Schenirer and founder of the first Bais Yaakov high school in America, was initially rejected from joining Schenirer's teachers seminary in Kraków?
... that August Agbola O'Browne was the only black participant in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944?
... that the Italian-Polish film September Eleven 1683 used over 10,000 extras and 3,000 horses in its battle scenes?

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Poland now

Recent events

Poland won 23 medals, including eight gold, at the 2024 Summer Paralympics, ranking 16th in the medal table.
- On 7 September, Karolina Pęk won a gold medal in table tennis, while Renata Śliwińska won a silver medal in shot put.
- On 6 September, Barbara Bieganowska-Zając (pictured) and Karolina Kucharczyk won gold medals in 1500-metre run and long jump, respectively, while Maciej Lepiato and Michał Dąbrowski won bronze medals in high jump and wheelchair fencing.
- On 5 September, Rafał Czuper and Dorota Bucław won gold and bronze medals, respectively, in table tennis, while Rafał Wilk won a bronze medal in cycling.
On 18 August, Polish cyclist Katarzyna Niewiadoma 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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Polish Air Force

Credit: Łukasz Golowanow, Maciej Hypś, Konflikty.pl

Yak-18 is a Soviet-made two-seat military trainer aircraft designed by Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev. This plane bears the white-and-red Air Force checkerboard, a national marking indicating that it belongs to the Polish Air Force. Yak-18 planes were used in Poland for military training purposes throughout the 1950s. This photograph was taken at the International Air Picnic in Góraszka near Warsaw.