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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Elizabeth of Bosnia as imagined by Sándor Liezen-Mayer

Elizabeth of Bosnia (Elżbieta Bośniaczka; ca. 1339–1387) was a queen consort of Hungary and Poland. A daughter of the ban of Bosnia, Stephen II of the House of Kotromanić, she married King Louis the Great of Hungary in 1353. As queen consort, she was overshadowed by her domineering mother-in-law, Elizabeth of Poland, daughter of King Vladislaus the Elbow-high of Poland. She gave birth to their first child, Catherine, 17 years after the marriage, shortly after Louis acquired the crown of Poland, where she was sent to govern as a regent. When Louis died in 1382, their elder surviving daughter, Mary, ascended the throne of Hungary, with Elizabeth as a regent. Unable to retain control over Poland, Elizabeth secured the Polish throne for her youngest daughter, Hedwig. During her regency in Hungary, the queen mother was faced with several rebellions led by Croatian noblemen who wished to take advantage of Mary's insecure reign, before being murdered in the turmoil. (Full article...)

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Poznań town hall

Poznań is the fifth largest city in Poland and one of the nation's oldest. In the early years of Poland's history, it was the seat of Polish rulers, some of whom are buried in the Poznań Cathedral. Located on the Warta river in west-central Poland, it is now the capital of Greater Poland and an important centre of education, industry, and trade, hosting regular international trade fairs. With high GDP per capita and low unemployment, it is Poland's most prosperous city after Warsaw. The city's most important cultural event is the annual Malta Theatre Festival. (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

On 27 October, the discovery of a previously unknown waltz in A minor (manuscript pictured) attributed to Frédéric Chopin, found at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, was announced.
On 14 September, southwestern Poland was hit by severe floods 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 November 2024
(statutory public holidays in bold)

All Saints' Day (grave lanterns pictured), 1 November
Independence Day, 11 November

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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.