Poland

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Rzeczpospolita Polska

(In Detail) (In Detail)
Anthem: Polish: Mazurek Dąbrowskiego (Translation: "Dąbrowski's Mazurka")'1
Official language	Polish2
Capital	Warsaw
Largest City	Warsaw
President	Lech Kaczyński
Prime Minister	Donald Tusk
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 69th 312,685 km² 2.6%
Population  - Total (2006)  - Density	Ranked 32nd 38,536,869 123.5/km²
GDP  - Total (2003)  - GDP/head	Ranked 23rd $443.9 billion $11,623
Christianized  - Date	Mieszko I AD 966
Independence  -Regained	966-1795 November 11 1918
Currency	złoty (PLN)
Time zone  - in summer	CET (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2)
National anthem	Mazurek Dąbrowskiego
Internet TLD	.pl
Calling Code	48
1 See also unofficial national mottos of Poland. 2 Belarusian, Cassubian, German, and Ukrainian are used in five communal offices. They are, however, not considered to be official languages.

Poland (Polish: Polska) is officially called the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska). It is a country in Central Europe ^[1] bordered by Germany to the west (along Oder and Lusatian Neisse), the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania, and Russia (in the form of the Kaliningrad Oblast exclave) to the north. It also shares a water border with Denmark and Sweden in the Baltic Sea. The total land area of Poland is about 312,685 km^{2 [2]} (120,728 mi²). This makes Poland the 69th largest country ^[3] in the world with population over 38.5 million people. The Poles live mainly in large cities, including present capital, Warsaw (Polish: Warszawa), Łódź and the second capital of Poland (first was Gniezno), Cracow (Polish: Kraków), and

First time Poland was official papers in 966. In 1569, Poland formed a long lasting union with Lithuania called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth collapsed in 1795 and the Poles were without a country for 123 years. Poland regained its independence in 1918 after World War I but lost it again in World War II. Several years later, Poland became a communist country within the Eastern Bloc under control of the former Soviet Union.

In 1989, Poland broke its communist chains and became a liberal democracy. Since May 1, 2004, Poland is the 6th most populated member state of the European Union. Poland is also a member of NATO, the United Nations, and the World Trade Organization.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Before Piasts 1.2 Piast and Jegiellon dynasties 1.3 Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to II Republic of Poland 1.4 World War II 1.5 Post-war 2 Geography 3 Urban demographics 4 Transportation 5 Voivodeships 6 People 7 Famous people 8 References 9 Other websites

[change] History

[change] Before Piasts

First founded in polish land sign of human was did 500.000 years ago. The Bronze Age started around 2400-2300 BC. The Iron Age started around 750-700 BC. Then on polish lands was Lusatian culture. About year 400 BC there lived Celtic and Germanic tribes. Those people had trade contacts with Roman Empire. With time, to polish lands came Slavs. The part of those Slavs, later called "western", stayed there to today and started to create new countries. The most powerful was country of Polans and country of Vistulans. At last, polish country and nation was created under Polans rule.

[change] Piast and Jegiellon dynasties

Poland began to form into a country around the middle of the 10th century in the Piast dynasty. In 966, Prince Mieszko I got himself and the whole Polish nation Christianized. Next ruler was Boleslaw I of Poland (called Brave). He conquered many lands and he became first King of Poland. Casimir I of Poland called Restorer (rebuilder) moved polish capitol from robbed by Bohemians Gniezno to Kraków. In the 12th century Poland broke into some smaller states after dead Suke or Poland Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1138 and show his testament. Those states were later attacked by Mongol armies in 1241, what slowed action of united Poland. In 1320 Władysław I became the King of the repaired Poland. His son Casimir III the Great repaired the Polish economy, built new castles and won the war against the Ruthenian dukedom. In addition, Poland became a haven for emigrating people. A large number of Jewish people also moved into Poland during that time. The Black Death, which affected many parts of Europe from 1347 to 1351, did not come to Poland.^[3]

After dead of last Piast on polish throne, Casimir III, ruled started Louis I of Hungary and his daughter Jadwiga of Poland. She got married with Lithuanian prince Jogaila. That event started new dynasty in polish throne: Jagiellon dynasty. Under the Jagiellon dynasty, Poland made an alliance with its neighbour Lithuania.

[change] Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to II Republic of Poland

In the 17th century Sweden attacked almost all of Poland (this was called “the Deluge”). Many wars against the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Cossacks, Transylvania and Brandenburg-Prussia ended in 1699. During the following 80 years, the government and nationed were weaker, making Poland dependent on Russia. Russian tsars took advantage of this by offering money to traitors, who would block new ideas and solutions. Russia, Prussia, and Austria broke Poland into three pieces in 1772, 1793 and 1795, which dissolved the country. Before second broke, in 1791 was made Constitution called "Constitution of 3 May". Polish people did not like the new kings, and often rebelled (two big rebels in 1830^[4] and 1863^[5]). Napoleon made another Polish state, “the Duchy of Warsaw”, but after the Napoleonic wars, Poland was split again by the countries at the Congress of Vienna. The eastern part was ruled by the Russian tsar. During World War I all the Allies agreed to save Poland. Soon after the surrender of Germany in November 1918, Poland became the Second Polish Republic (II Rzeczpospolita Polska). It got its freedom after several military conflicts; the largest was in 1919-1921 Polish-Soviet War.

[change] World War II

On September 1, 1939, World War II started when Nazi Germany attacked Poland, and the Soviet Union attacked on September 17. Warsaw was defeated on September 28, and Poland was split up into two pieces, one half owned by Nazi Germany, the other by the Soviet Union (border like between Poland and Soviet Union after 1945, but not the same). The eastern part of the German zone was turned into the German Government area. Out of all the countries that were in the war, Poland lost the highest amount of its people, in which more than 6 million died, including half of them which were Polish Jews. Most of the deaths were related to the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews including other people were killed. Poland also gave the most troops, after the US, the British and the Soviets, to ultimately defeat Nazi Germany. At the war's end, Poland's borders were moved west, pushing the east border to the Curzon line^[6]. The west border was moved to the Oder-Neisse line. The new Poland became 20% smaller by 77,500 square kilometeres (29,900 sq mi). The shift forced millions of Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, and Jews to move.

[change] Post-war

After these events Poland became a communist country under the Soviet Union rule. It was from then on, called People's Republic of Poland. There are still many Polish in the neighbouring countries Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania (those countries was then part of Soviet Union), as well as in other countries. The most Poles outside of Poland are in the United States, especially in Chicago.

In 1989 Solidarity - a trade union led by Lech Wałęsa - helped defeat the communist government in Poland. After that event, Lech Wałęsa got Noble Prize. During the early 1990s the country turned its economy into one of the most solid in Central Europe. There were many improvements in human rights, such as freedom of speech, democracy, etc. In 1991 Poland became a member of the Visegrad Group and joined NATO in 1999 also with the Czech Republic and Hungary. Polish voters then voted to join the European Union in a vote in June 2003. The country joined the EU on May 1, 2004.

[change] Geography

Poland’s territory covers across five geographical regions. In the northwest is the Baltic seacoast, which starts from the Bay of Pomerania, and ends at the Gulf of Gdansk. This coast is marked by several spits, coastal lakes (former bays that have been cut off from the sea), and dunes. The largely straight coastline is curved inwards by the Szczecin Lagoon, the Bay of Puck, and the Vistula Lagoon. The center and parts of the north lie inside the Northern European Lowlands. Rising gently above these lowlands is a geographical region making up the four hilly districts of moraines and moraine-dammed lakes that formed during and after the Pleistocene ice age. These lake districts are the Pomeranian Lake District, the Greater Polish Lake District, the Kashubian Lake District, and the Masurian Lake District. The Masurian Lake District is the largest of the four and covers much of northeastern Poland. The lake districts form part of the Baltic Ridge, a series of moraine belts along the southern shore of the Baltic Sea. South of the Northern European Lowlands lie the regions of Silesia and Masovia, which are marked by broad ice-age river valleys. Farther south lies the Polish mountain region, including the Sudetes, the Cracow-Częstochowa Upland, the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, and the Carpathian Mountains, including the Beskids. The highest part of the Carpathians is the Tatra Mountains, along Poland’s southern border.

The major historical regions of Poland include Pomerania, Greater Poland, Silesia, Lesser Poland, Masovia, Warmia, Masuria, and Podlachia.

For detailed view see: Poland Topo Map on-line

[change] Urban demographics

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

	Agglomeration or conurbation	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	Podlasie	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

[change] Transportation

• Rail: Poland's railways are one of the larger railways in the European Union, with 23,420 kilometres (14,552 miles) of network (1998). Access to track has been opened up to competition[1] as required by the EU. Fixing of the network, bringing important routes into the same standard as western European railway networks, is going very slowly, and long maintenance times have brought speed restrictions on many other lines. Line closing and the withdrawing of feeder services like those that took place in the UK under the 'Beeching Axe' have gone faster since 2000.
• Road: By Western European standards, Poland has a poor state of roads/highways. The Government has a program to improve the standard of many important national highways by 2013. The total length of expressways/highways is 364,657 kilometres (226,587 mi). There are 9,283,000 registered passenger cars, as well as 1,762,000 registered trucks and buses (2000).
• Air: Poland has ten major airports (from biggest to smallest: Warsaw, Kraków, Katowice, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Poznań, Szczecin, Rzeszów, Bydgoszcz and Łódź), a total of 123 airports and airfields, and also three helicopter airports. The amount of passengers at Polish airports has grown quickly since 1991.
• Marine: The total length of good rivers and canals for transport is 3,812 kilometres (2,369 mi). The merchant marine is made of 114 ships, with an extra 100 ships registered outside the country. The main ports and harbours are: Port of Gdańsk, Port of Gdynia, Port of Szczecin, Port of Świnoujście, Port of Ustka, Port of Kolobrzeg, Gliwice, Warsaw, Wrocław.

[change] Voivodeships

Poland is made of sixteen regions known as voivodeships (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 called voivodeship sejmiks.

The sixteen voivodeships that make up Poland are further divided into powiaty (singular powiat), second-level units of administration, which are about the same as to a county, district or prefecture in 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 Podlasie Podlaskie Białystok Pomerania Pomorskie Gdańsk Silesia Śląskie Katowice Subcarpathia Podkarpackie Rzeszów Swietokrzyskie Świętokrzyskie Kielce Warmia-Masuria Warmińsko-Mazurskie Olsztyn West Pomerania Zachodniopomorskie Szczecin

[change] People

In the past, Poland was inhabited by people from different nations and of different religions (mainly Catholics, Orthodox and Judaism). This changed after 1939, because of the Nazi Holocaust which killed many Polish Jews. After World War II, the country was changed into a communist country, by the Warsaw Pact which included most eastern European countries, including Russia.

Today 36,983,700 people, or 96.74% of the population call themselves Polish (Census 2002), while 471,500 people (1.23%)claimed another nationality. 774,900 people (2.03%) didn't declare any nationality. Nathionalites or an ethnic groups in Poland are Silesians, Germans (most in the former Opole Voivodeship), Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Russians, Jews and Belarusians. The Polish language is part of the West Slavic section of the Slavic languages. It is also the official language of Poland. English and German are the most common second languages studied and spoken.

In the past few years, Poland's population has gone down because of an increase in emigration and 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 on the 2002 figure of 38,230,080. Since Poland's accession to the European Union, a large number of Polish people have moved to work in Western European countries like the United Kingdom and Ireland. Some organizations state people have left because of high unemployment (10.5%) and better opportunities for work somewhere else. In April 2007, the Polish population of the United Kingdom had risen to about 300,000 people and estimates predict about 65,000 Polish people living in Ireland. However, in recent years strong growth of Polish economy and increasing value of Polish currency (PLN) makes many Polish immigrants to go back home. In 2007 number of people leaving the country was lower than people who are coming back. Poland become 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 the United States.

[change] Famous people

• Lech Walesa, leader of "Solidarność" ("Solidarity"), he helped defeat the communist government in Poland and USSR influence in Central and Eastern Europe.
• Fryderyk Chopin, a music composer.
• Pope John Paul II (earlier Karol Wojtyła). Before he became Pope, he was a Bishop in Kraków.
• Nicolaus Copernicus, an astronomer who showed that the Earth moves around the Sun.
• Tadeusz Kościuszko, an army commander who fought for USA's and Poland's independence.
• Maria Skłodowska-Curie discovered Radium and Polonium.
• Stanisław Lem, a science fiction writer.

[change] References

[change] Other websites

• Tourist information portal
• Poland.gov.pl - Polish national portal
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Poland at the World Factbook
• Background Note: Poland
• WorldFlicks in Poland: photos and interesting places on Google Maps

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