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 soldiers of the 3rd Lithuanian Infantry Regiment in 1792

The Polish–Russian War of 1792 was fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian Empire, which ostensibly came to the aid of the Targowica Confederation, a group of conservative Polish nobles opposed to the Constitution of 3 May 1791. The war took place in two theaters: northern, in Lithuania, and southern, in Ukraine. In both, the Polish forces retreated before the numerically superior Russian forces, though they offered significantly more resistance in the south, thanks to the effective leadership of Polish commanders – Prince Józef Poniatowski and General Tadeusz Kościuszko. During the three-month-long struggle several battles were fought, but neither side scored a decisive victory. The largest success of the Polish forces was the defeat of one of the Russian formations at the Battle of Zieleńce on 18 June. The Order of Virtuti Militari ("For Military Valour"), Poland's highest military award to this day, was established to celebrate this victory. The war ended when King Stanislaus Augustus of Poland, seeking a diplomatic solution, asked for a ceasefire with the Russians and joined the Targowica Confederation, as demanded by Russia. The war resulted in the abrogation of the constitution and in the Second Partition of Poland. (Full article...)

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Paweł Jasienica, born Leon Lech Beynar (1909–1970), was a Polish historian, journalist and soldier. During World War II, Beynar fought in the Polish Army, and later in the Home Army resistance. Near the end of the war, he was also working with the anti-Soviet resistance, which later led to him taking up a new name to hide from the communist government of the People's Republic of Poland. He was associated with the Tygodnik Powszechny Catholic weekly and several other newspapers and magazines. He is best known for his books about pre-partition Poland, which played an important role in popularizing Polish history among several generations of readers. Jasienica became an outspoken critic of the communist censorship, and as a notable dissident, he was persecuted by the government. He was subject to invigilation by security services, and his second wife was in fact a communist secret police agent. Jasienica's books were banned during a brief period prior to his death. (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 mechanical billy goats (pictured) butting heads atop the mid-16th century Poznań city hall attract hundreds of spectators daily?
... that Jan Matuszyński, who earned medical degrees in Tübingen and Paris, died of tuberculosis in the arms of Frédéric Chopin and George Sand?
... that the delay of planned restoration of the ruined Katowice historic train station, which attained monument status in 1975, has led to public protests?
... that SMS Schleswig-Holstein, one of the five Deutschland-class battleships, fired the first shots of World War II during the Battle of Westerplatte?

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Poland now

Recent events

Poland at the 2024 Summer Paralympics:
- On 6 September, Barbara Bieganowska-Zając (pictured) won a gold medal in 1500-metre run, while Maciej Lepiato and Michał Dąbrowski won bronze medals in high jump and wheelchair fencing, respectively.
- 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 4 September, Patryk Chojnowski and Natalia Partyka won gold and silver medals, respectively, in table tennis, while Łukasz Ciszek won a silver medal in archery and Zbigniew Maciejewski 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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Selected image – show another

St. Alexander's Church, Warsaw

Credit: Detroit Publishing Co.

A photochrom, dated to ca. 1890–1900, of St. Alexander's Church in Warsaw. The church was destroyed during World War II and then rebuilt on a smaller scale.