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

King Vladislaus IV at the Smolensk Fortress

The Smolensk War was a conflict fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia over the border city of Smolensk (now in Russia). Following King Sigismund III's death in 1632, Russia invaded Poland with the aim of liberating the city it had lost during the Time of Troubles 14 years earlier. Initially, small military engagements produced mixed results for both sides. A year-long siege with heavy artillery laid to Smolensk by Mikhail Shein was broken by Polish relief forces, including the Winged Hussars, led by Hetman Krzysztof Radziwiłł in 1633. The war ended with the Treaty of Polyanovka in 1634 which left Smolensk in Polish hands for the next 20 years. By the terms of the treaty, Russia paid Poland 20,000 rubles in gold as war indemnity, but Polish King Vladislaus IV had to renounce his claim to the Russian throne. Shein, the hapless Russian commander, was executed for treason. (Full article...)

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Lech Wałęsa

Lech Wałęsa (born 1943) is a Polish trade-union and human-rights activist and politician. Soon after beginning to work as an electrician at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, he became involved in trade union movement. For this he was persecuted by the Polish communist government, fired, and arrested several times. In August 1980, he was instrumental in negotiating the Gdańsk Agreement between striking workers and the government, and co-founded Solidarity, the first trade union in the Soviet Bloc that was independent from the state. He was interned after martial law was imposed and Solidarity was outlawed in 1981, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983. Upon release he participated in the 1989 Round Table talks that led to a semi-free parliamentary election and to a Solidarity-led government. He went on to become the first popularly elected president of Poland in 1990. As head of state, he presided over Poland's transformation from a communist to a democratic and market-oriented state, but his domestic popularity waned. His role in Polish politics diminished after he lost the 1995 presidential election. (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 kiełbasa szynkowa (pictured) is a Polish ham sausage?
... that one of the reasons for the Partitions of Poland was the thousands of Russian peasants escaping from serfdom to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth?
... that Zahava Burack survived the Holocaust by hiding in a crawlspace beneath the home of a sympathetic Polish family for two and a half years?
... that the toxic nature of the fools webcap was discovered only after 102 people in Bydgoszcz were poisoned in 1952?
... that The Old Axolotl, an experimental electronic novel by Jacek Dukaj presenting a post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk vision of Earth, incorporates hypertext and 3D-printable models of its characters?

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Poland now

Recent events

On 14 September, southwestern Poland was hit by severe floods (flooded Kłodzko pictured) caused by heavy rains brought by Storm Boris.
Poland won 23 medals, including eight gold, at the 2024 Summer Paralympics, ranking 16th in the medal table.
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 October 2024
(statutory public holidays in bold)

Teachers' Day, 14 October
Pope John Paul II Day (bust pictured), 16 October

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Warta Mouth National Park

Credit: Alexander Savin

The Warta Mouth National Park (Park Narodowy Ujście Warty) is the youngest of Poland's 23 national parks. It was created in 2001 along the lowest stretch of the Warta river, up to its confluence with the Oder, which marks the Polish–German border. The ground here is swampy and muddy, which makes it a haven for birds.