Poland

Republic of Poland Rzeczpospolita Polska(Polish)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem:"Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" ( "Poland Is Not Yet Lost" )
Location ofPoland(dark green) – on theEuropean continent(green & dark grey) – in theEuropean Union(green) — [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Warsaw 52°13′N21°02′E
Official language	Polish
Ethnic groups (2021)	98.84%Polish 96.28% only Polish 2.56% Polish and others 1.13% onlynon-Polish 0.03% unknown
Religion (2021)	72.4% Christianity 71.3%Catholicism 1.1% other Christian 6.9%no religion 0.1%other 20.6% unanswered
Demonym(s)	Polish Pole
Government	Unitary parliamentary republic
•President	Andrzej Duda
•Prime Minister	Donald Tusk
Legislature	Parliament
•Upper house	Senate
•Lower house	Sejm
Formation
•Duchy of Poland	c.960
•Christianization	966
•Kingdom of Poland	18 April 1025
•Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	1 July 1569
•Partitions of Poland	24 October 1795
•Second Republic	11 November 1918
•Government-in-exile	17 September 1939
•People's Republic	22 July 1944
•Third Republic	31 December 1989
Area
• Total	312,696 km2(120,733 sq mi)(69th)
• Water (%)	1.48 (2015)
Population
• 2024 census	36,620,970(38th)
• Density	122/km2(316.0/sq mi) (75th)
GDP(PPP)	2024 estimate
• Total	$1.801 trillion(20th)
• Per capita	$49,060(39th)
GDP(nominal)	2024 estimate
• Total	$844.623 billion(21st)
• Per capita	$23,014(45th)
Gini(2022)	26.3 low
HDI(2022)	0.881 very high·36th
Currency	Złoty(PLN)
Time zone	UTC+1(CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2(CEST)
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy (CE)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+48
ISO 3166 code	PL
Internet TLD	.pl[a]
Also.eu, shared with other European Union member states.

Polandis a country in the eastern region ofCentral Europe.Its official name isRepublic of Poland.It is on the east ofGermany(alongOderandLusatian Neisse). TheCzech RepublicandSlovakiaare to the south,UkraineandBelarusto the east, and theBaltic Sea,Lithuania,and theRussianexclaveKaliningradto the north. The total land area of Poland is about 312,679 km²(120,728 mi²), slightly larger than Oman. This makes Poland the 77th largest countryin the world with over 38.5 million people. Most Polish people live in large cities, including the capital,Warsaw(Polish:Warszawa),Łódź,Cracow(Polish:Kraków), the second capital of Poland (first wasGniezno),Szczecin,Gdańsk,WrocławandPoznań.

The word "Poland" was written officially for the first time in 966. In 1569, Poland formed a strong union with Lithuania called thePolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.At some point in its history, it was the largeststatein Europe and became very influential. Eventually, after a slow decline, the Commonwealthcollapsedin 1795. Poland regained itsindependencein 1918 afterWorld War I.In 1921, Poland defeated Soviet Russia in thePolish-Soviet Warthat started in1919.

However, Poland lost independence again not long after the beginning ofWorld War II,after suffering a defeat by both theUSSRandNazi Germany.Although the government collapsed, the Polish people fought on by forming the largest and most effective resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Europe. It is most notable for disrupting German supply lines to the Eastern Front of WWII, providing military intelligence to theBritish,and for saving moreJewishlives in theHolocaustthan any otherAlliedorganization or government. After the war, Poland regained "independence" and became acommunist countrywithin theEastern Bloc.The new government was appointed byJoseph Stalinand was under the control of theSoviet Union.

In 1989, Poland ceased being a communist country and became aliberal democracy.Its change of government was the first in a series of events that led to the states of Eastern and Central Europe regaining theirindependenceand the fall of the USSR in 1991. After thedemocratic consolidation,Poland joined theEuropean Unionon 1 May 2004. Poland is also a member ofNATO,theUnited Nations,and theWorld Trade Organization.

History

See the main article:History of Poland

Early history

Slavic tribes 600-800

The first sign of humans in Polish lands was 500,000 years ago. TheBronze Agestarted around 2400-2300BC.TheIron Agestarted around 750-700BC.At that time the Polish lands were under the influence of theLusatian culture.About 400 BCCelticandGermanictribes lived there. Those people had trade contacts with theRoman Empire.

Over time,Slavscame to Polish lands. Some of those Slavs, now commonly referred to as Western Slavs (though in reality a diverse group of tribes with shared ethnic and cultural features), stayed there and started to create new nations. The most powerful tribe was called thePolans,who united all of the other Slavic tribes living there, and this is where the name "Poland" comes from.

Piast and Jagiellon dynasties

Poland 960-992

Boleslaw I of Poland

Poland began to form a country around the middle of the10th centuryin thePiast dynasty.In 966, PrinceMieszko Ibecame aChristian,and so the Polish people also became Christians. The next king wasBolesław I of Poland(called Bolesław the Brave). He conquered many lands and he became the first King of Poland.Casimir I of Polandchanged the Polish capital fromGnieznotoKraków.In the 12th century, Poland broke into some smallerstatesafter the death of KingBolesław III Wrymouthin 1138 because of hiswill.Those states were later attacked byMongolarmies in 1241, which slowed down the unification of the small states into the big country of Poland. This happened eighty years later, in 1320 whenWładysław Ibecame the King of United Poland. His sonCasimir IIIthe Great reformed the Polish economy, built new castles, and won the war against theRuthenian Dukedom.Many peopleemigratedto Poland, becoming a haven for emigrants. ManyJewishpeople also moved into Poland during that time. TheBlack Death,which affected many parts ofEuropefrom 1347 to 1351, did not come to Poland.

After the death of the last Piast on the Polish throne,Casimir III,Louis I of Hungaryand his daughterJadwiga of Polandbegan their rule. She married theLithuanianprinceJogaila.Their marriage started a new dynasty in Poland: theJagiellon dynasty.Under theJagiellon dynasty,Poland made an alliance with its neighborLithuania.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to Second Republic of Poland

Polish-Lithuanian Union when it was largest 1618-1655

In the 17th centurySwedenattacked almost all of Poland (this was called “the Deluge” ). Many wars against theOttoman Empire,Russia,Cossacks,TransylvaniaandBrandenburg-Prussiaended in 1699. For the next 80 years, the government and the nation were weak, making Poland dependent on Russia. Russiantsarstook advantage of this by offering money to dishonest members of the Polishgovernment,who would block new ideas and solutions.Russia,Prussia,andAustriabroke Poland into three pieces in 1772, 1793 and 1795, which dissolved the country. Before the second split, aConstitutioncalled "The Constitution of 3 May"was made in 1791.

Napoleonmade another Polish state, “theDuchy of Warsaw”,but after theNapoleonic wars,Poland was split again by the countries at theCongress of Vienna.The eastern part was ruled by the Russian tsar. The Polish people did not like the new kings, and often rebelled (two bigrebellionsin 1830and 1863). DuringWorld War Iall theAlliesagreed to save Poland. Soon after thesurrender of Germanyin November 1918, Poland became theSecond Polish Republic(II Rzeczpospolita Polska). It got its freedom after several military conflicts; the largest was the 1919-1921Polish-Soviet War.

World War II

Poland 1922-1939

On September 1, 1939,World War IIstarted whenNazi Germanyattacked Poland.TheSoviet Unionattacked Poland on September 17, 1939.Warsawwas defeated on September 28, 1939. Poland was split into two pieces, one half owned by Nazi Germany, the other by the Soviet Union. More than 6 million Polish people died, and half of these people wereJewish.Most of these deaths were part of theHolocaust,in which 6 million Jews and1.5poles were killed. At the war's end, Poland's borders were moved west, pushing the eastern border to theCurzon line.The western border was moved to theOder-Neisse line.The new Poland became 20% smaller by 77,500 square kilometers (29,900 sq mi). The shift forced millions of Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, and Jews to move.

Polish People's Republic to Third Polish Republic

Poland's current boundaries were made after 1945. The grey areas went from Poland to the Soviet Union. The red areas from Germany to Poland.

After these events, Poland gradually became acommunistcountry. It was supposedly an independent country, but in reality, the new government was appointed byJoseph Stalinand was also under the control of theSoviet Union.The country was then renamed thePeople's Republic of Poland.There are many Poles in the neighboring countriesUkraine,Belarus,and Lithuania (these three countries were part of the Soviet Union until 1991), as well as in other countries. Most Poles outside of Poland are in the United States, especially inChicago.Germany and theUnited Kingdomare also home to a large Polish diaspora. The most recent mass emigration of Poles to western countries began after 1989.

In 1989Solidarity- atrade unionled byLech Wałęsa- helped defeat the communist government in Poland. Even before that event, Lech Wałęsa was given aNobel Prizefor leading the first non-communist trade union fighting for democracy in theCommunist Block.When Communism ended in Poland there were many improvements in human rights, such asfreedom of speech,democracy,etc. In 1991 Poland became a member of theVisegrad Groupand joinedNATOin 1999 along with theCzech RepublicandHungary.Polish voters then voted to join theEuropean Unionin a vote in June 2003. The country joined theEUon May 1, 2004.

Currently, the Prime Minister isMateusz Morawiecki.On 10 April 2010 the PresidentLech Kaczyńskidied in a government plane crash inSmolenskinRussia.The president is elected directly by the citizens for a five-yearterm.The Prime Minister is appointed by the President and confirmed by the "Sejm". The Sejm is the lower chamber of Parliamentlegislaturefor the country. It has 460 deputieselectedevery four years.

Geography

Physical land features of Poland

Poland's territory is aplainreaching from theBaltic Seain the north to theCarpathian Mountainsin the south. Within that plain, the land varies from east to west.

The Polish Baltic coast is mostly smooth but has naturalharborsin theGdańsk-Gdyniaregion andSzczecinin the far northwest. This coast has severalspits,dunes,and coastal lakes. Coast lakes are formerbaysthat have been cut off from the sea. These areas are sometimes called lagoons.Szczecin Lagoonis on the western border withGermany.TheVistula Lagoonis on the eastern border withKaliningrad,province ofRussia.The longest river in Poland, theVistulariver, empties into theVistula Lagoonand also directly into theBaltic Sea.

The northeastern region is densely wooded, sparsely populated, and lacks agricultural and industrial resources. The geographical region has four hillydistrictsofmorainesand lakes created by moraines. These formed during and after thePleistoceneice age.The Masurian Lake District is the largest of the four districts and covers much of northeastern Poland.

Poland has many lakes. In Europe, onlyFinlandhas more lakes. The largest lakes areŚniardwyandMamry.In addition to the lake districts in the north, there are also many mountain lakes in theTatras mountains.

South of the northeastern region is the regions ofSilesiaandMasovia,which are marked by the broad ice-age rivervalleys.The Silesia region has many resources and people.Coalis abundant. Lower Silesia has largecoppermining.Masovian Plainis in central Poland. It is in the valleys of three large rivers:Vistula,BugandNarew.

Further south is the Polish mountain region. These mountains include theSudetesand theCarpathian Mountains.The highest part of the Carpathians is the Tatra mountains which is along Poland’s southern border. The tallest mountain in Poland,Rysyat 2,503 m (8,210 ft), is in theHigh Tatras.

Climate

Poland has acontinental climate.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Poland was 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) on 29 July 1921 in Prószków. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Poland was −41.0 °C (−41.8 °F) on 11 January 1940 in Siedlce.

Top 5 warmest days

Rank	Temperature	Date	Location
1.	40.2 °C (104.4 °F)	29 July 1921	Prószków
2.	38.4 °C (101.1 °F)	19 June 2022	Słubice
3.	38.2 °C (100.8 °F)	26 July 2019	Radzyń
4.	37.6 °C (99.7 °F)	20 July 2022	Wrocław
5.	37.3 °C (99.1 °F)	1 August 2020, 13 July 2010	Kikoły, Hajnowka

Administrative divisions

Poland is made of sixteenregionsknown asvoivodeships(województwa,singular -województwo). They are basically created from the country's historical regions, whereas those of the past two decades (till 1998) had been focused on and named for separate cities. The new units range in areas from under 10,000 km²(Opole Voivodeship) to over 35,000 km²(Masovian Voivodeship). Voivodeships are controlled by voivod governments, and their legislatures are calledvoivodeship sejmiks.

The sixteen voivodeships that make up Poland are further divided intopowiaty(singularpowiat), second-level units ofadministration,which are about the same as to acounty,districtorprefecturein other countries.

Voivodeship Capital city or cities in Polish Kuyavia-Pomerania Kujawsko-Pomorskie Bydgoszcz/Toruń Greater Poland Wielkopolskie Poznań Lesser Poland Małopolskie Kraków Łódź Łódzkie Łódź Lower Silesia Dolnośląskie Wrocław Lublin Lubelskie Lublin Lubusz Lubuskie Gorzów Wielkopolski/Zielona Góra Masovia Mazowieckie Warsaw(National Capital) Opole Opolskie Opole Podlaskie Podlaskie Białystok Pomerania Pomorskie Gdańsk Silesia Śląskie Katowice Subcarpathia Podkarpackie Rzeszów Swietokrzyskie Świętokrzyskie Kielce Warmia-Masuria Warmińsko-Mazurskie Olsztyn West Pomerania Zachodniopomorskie Szczecin

Literature

Henryk Sienkiewicz,famous Polish novelist

Almost no Polish literature remains beforeChristianisationin the10th century.Polish literature was written in theLatin languageduring theMiddle Ages.ThePolish languagewas accepted as equal to Latin after theRenaissancefor literature.

Jan Kochanowskiwas a leading poet ofEuropean Renaissanceliterature in the16th century.Other great Polish poets includeAdam Mickiewiczwho wrotePan Tadeuszepic in 1834.

Several Polish novelists have won the Nobel prize.Henryk Sienkiewiczwon in 1905 dramatized versions of beginnings of Christianity (Quo Vadis).Władysław Reymontwon a Nobel prize in 1924. He wrote the novelChłopi,recently filmed.Olga Tokarczuk2018. Two Polish poets won Nobel prizes as well. One isCzesław Miłosz(1980) and the secondWisława Szymborska(1996).

Stanisław Lemis a famousscience fictionauthor in the modern era. HisSolarisnovel was made twice into a featurefilm.

People

See the main article:Poles

Frederic Chopin,famous Polish composer and pianist

In the past, Poland was inhabited by people from different nations and of different religions (mainlyCatholics,OrthodoxandJudaism). This changed after 1939, because of theNaziHolocaustwhich killed many Polish Jews. AfterWorld War II,the country was changed into acommunistcountry, by theWarsaw Pactwhich included most central European countries and RussiaRussia.

Today 38,038,000 people live in Poland (2011). In 2002 96.74% of the population call themselves Polish, while 471,500 people (1.23%) claimed another nationality. 774,900 people (2.03%) did not declare any nationality. Nationalities, orethnic groupsin Poland areSilesians,Germans(most in the formerOpole Voivodeship),Ukrainians,Lithuanians,Russians,Jews,RomaandBelarusians.ThePolish languageis part of theWest Slavicsection of theSlavic languages.It is also theofficial languageof Poland.EnglishandGermanare the most common second languages studied and spoken.

Marie Curie,famous Polish chemist and two time Nobel Prize winner

In the past few years, Poland's population has gone down because of an increase inemigrationand a sharp drop in the birth rate. In 2006, the census office estimated the total population of Poland at 38,536,869, a very small rise from the 2002 figure of 38,230,080. Since Poland's accession to theEuropean Union,many Polish people have moved to work in Western European countries like theUnited Kingdomand theRepublic of Ireland.Some organizations state people have left because of highunemployment(10.5%) and better opportunities for work somewhere else. In April 2007, the Polish population of theUnited Kingdomhad risen to about 300,000 people and estimates predict about 65,000 Polish people living in theRepublic of Ireland.However, in recent years strong growth of the Polish economy and the increasing value of Polish currency (PLN) makes many Polish immigrants go back home. In 2007, the number of people leaving the country was lower than people who are coming back. Poland became an attractive place to work for people from other countries (mainly Ukraine).

A Polish minority is still present in neighboring countries of Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania, as well as in other countries. The largest number of ethnic Poles outside of the country can be found in theUnited States.

Famous people

• Fryderyk Chopin,a music composer.
• Joseph Conrad,born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, an acclaimed author who however wrote in English.
• Nicolaus Copernicus,anastronomerwho showed that theEarthmoves around theSun.
• Maria Skłodowska-Curiediscoveredradiumandpolonium.
• Franciszek Kamieński,discoveredmycorrhiza.
• Tadeusz Kościuszko,an army commander who fought forUSA's and Poland's independence.
• Robert Kubica,aF1driver.
• Stanisław Lem,ascience fictionwriter.
• Adam Małysz,a ski-jumper.
• Adam Mickiewicz,apoet
• Pope John Paul II(earlier Karol Wojtyła). Before he became Pope, he was aBishopinKraków.
• Agnieszka Radwańska,female tennis player
• Władysław Reymont,anovelist
• Henryk Sienkiewicz,a novelist
• Kamil Stoch,a ski jumper
• Wisława Szymborska,awriter
• Andrzej Wajda,afilm director
• Lech Wałęsa,leader of "Solidarność" ( "Solidarity" ), he helped defeat the communist government in Poland andUSSRinfluence in Central and Eastern Europe
• Robert Lewandowski,a football player
• Czesław Miłosz,apoet
• Jan Matejko,apainter

Urban demographics

Warsaw

Kraków

Poznań

Wrocław

Łódź

Gdańsk

Szczecin

Katowice

See the main article:List of cities and towns in Poland

The lists below show the population count of Poland's largest cities based on 2005 estimates.

	Agglomerationorconurbation	Voivodeship	Inhabitants (Estimated, 2005)
1	Katowice(USIA)	Silesia	3,487,000
2	Warsaw(Warszawa)	Masovia	2,679,000
3	Kraków	Lesser Poland	1,400,000
4	Łódź	Łódź	1,300,000
5	Tricity	Pomerania	1,100,000
6	Poznań	Greater Poland	1,000,000

	City	Voivodeship	Inhabitants May 20, 2002	Inhabitants December 31, 2004
1	Warsaw(Warszawa)	Masovia	1,671,670	1,692,854
2	Łódź	Łódź	789,318	774,004
3	Kraków	Lesser Poland	758,544	757,430
4	Wrocław	Lower Silesia	640,367	636,268
5	Poznań	Greater Poland	578,886	570,778
6	Gdańsk	Pomerania	461,334	459,072
7	Szczecin	Western Pomerania	415,399	411,900
8	Bydgoszcz	Kuyavia-Pomerania	373,804	368,235
9	Lublin	Lublin	357,110	355,998
10	Katowice	Silesia	327,222	319,904
11	Białystok	Podlaskie	291,383	292,150
12	Gdynia	Pomerania	253,458	253,324
13	Częstochowa	Silesia	251,436	248,032
14	Sosnowiec	Silesia	232,622	228,192
15	Radom	Masovia	229,699	227,613
16	Kielce	Świętokrzyskie	212,429	209,455
17	Toruń	Kuyavia-Pomerania	211,243	208,278
18	Gliwice	Silesia	203,814	200,361
19	Zabrze	Silesia	195,293	192,546
20	Bytom	Silesia	193,546	189,535
21	Bielsko-Biała	Silesia	178,028	176,987
22	Olsztyn	Warmia-Masuria	173,102	174,550
23	Rzeszów	Subcarpathia	160,376	159,020
24	Ruda Śląska	Silesia	150,595	147,403
25	Rybnik	Silesia	142,731	141,755
26	Tychy	Silesia	132,816	131,547
27	Dąbrowa Górnicza	Silesia	132,236	130,789
28	Opole	Opole	129,946	128,864
29	Płock	Masovia	128,361	127,841
30	Elbląg	Warmia-Masuria	128,134	127,655
31	Wałbrzych	Lower Silesia	130,268	127,566
32	Gorzów Wielkopolski	Lubusz	125,914	125,578
33	Włocławek	Kuyavia-Pomerania	121,229	120,369
34	Tarnów	Lesser Poland	119,913	118,267
35	Zielona Góra	Lubusz	118,293	118,516
36	Chorzów	Silesia	117,430	115,241
37	Kalisz	Greater Poland	109,498	108,792
38	Koszalin	Western Pomerania	108,709	107,773
39	Legnica	Lower Silesia	107,100	106,143
40	Słupsk	Pomerania	100,376	99,827
41	Grudziądz	Kuyavia-Pomerania	99,943	98,757
42	Jaworzno	Silesia	98,780	96,600

Related pages

• List of rivers of Poland
• Poland at the Olympics
• Poland national football team

Other websites

• Tourist information portal
• Poland.gov.pl - Polish national portalArchived2008-10-29 at theWayback Machine
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Poland at the World FactbookArchived2019-08-18 at theWayback Machine
• Background Note: Poland
• WorldFlicks in Poland: photos and interesting places on Google MapsArchived2008-05-03 at theWayback Machine