Portal:Poland

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 Charles X Gustav of Sweden in a skirmish with Polish Tartars at the battle of Warsaw, 1656

The Second Northern War was fought between 1655 and 1660 by Sweden against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russia, Brandenburg-Prussia, the Habsburg Monarchy, and Denmark–Norway. In 1655, Charles X Gustav of Sweden invaded and occupied western Poland, the eastern part of which was already in Russian hands. The rapid Swedish advance became known in Poland as the Swedish Deluge. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania became a Swedish fief, Polish-Lithuanian regular armies surrendered, and King John Casimir of Poland fled to Silesia. Charles Gustav found allies in Frederick William of Brandenburg, whom he granted full sovereignty in the Polish fief of Ducal Prussia, and in George II of Transylvania, whom he promised the Polish throne. With the help of Polish Catholic guerillas of the Tyszowce Confederation, as well as Leopold I Habsburg, and Frederick William, who changed sides in return for the Polish recognition of his claim to Prussia, John Casimir was able to regain ground in 1656 and by the following year much of the fighting had moved to the Danish theater. Polish losses from the Swedish occupation, including a 40-percent drop in population, complete destruction of Warsaw and scores of other Polish towns, as well as plunder of the nation's riches and cultural artefacts, remained unmatched until World War II. (Full article...)

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Jan Dekert

Jan Dekert (1738–1790) was one of the most prominent merchants in Warsaw and a political activist advocating more rights for the burghers in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, while opposing Jewish competitors. As the representative of Warsaw, he was elected member of the Sejms of 1784 and 1786, and the Great Sejm of 1788–1892. He was a mayor of Warsaw from 1789 to 1790, in which capacity he organized the Black Procession, a demonstration of burghers who delivered a petition to the king on 2 December 1789. This was a major step towards the adoption of the Free Royal Cities Act enfranchising burghers, one of the reforms of the Great Sejm, which was eventually incorporated into the Constitution of May 3, 1791. (Full article...)

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Silesian Planetarium in Chorzów

Chorzów is a city on the Rawa River in Upper Silesia and part of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, Poland's largest conurbation. Originally called Königshütte in German and Królewska Huta in Polish (both meaning "Royal Iron Works"), it was renamed Chorzów after a merger with a village of that name in 1934. Chorzów used to be one of the most important cities of the Upper Silesian Industrial Region with extensive industry in coal mining, steel, chemistry, manufacturing, and energy sectors. As heavy-industry establishments were either closed or scaled down, or restructured and modernized, the city has been evolving towards service economy. Chorzów is nationally famous for its Silesian Central Park, complete with amusement grounds, a cable line railway, a zoo, a sports stadium, and the largest and oldest planetarium in Poland (pictured). (Full article...)

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Did you know – show different entries

... that Zofia Posmysz (pictured), Auschwitz inmate No. 7566, wrote an audio play based on her memories, which formed the basis for her 1962 novel Passenger, a 1963 film, and a 1968 opera?
... that the announcement of the reopening of the Embassy of Poland in Manila coincided with Poland's decision to expand its economic involvement in Asia?
... that Polish mountain climber Tomasz Mackiewicz went missing on January 27 during his seventh attempt to reach the summit of the 8,126-metre (26,660 ft) high Nanga Parbat in Pakistan?
... that Monica Gardner's life was shaped by finding out that Bonnie Prince Charlie's mother was Polish?
... that, during The Holocaust in German-occupied Poland, Cypora Zonszajn could not live without her closest family and returned to the Siedlce Ghetto to perish along with them?

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Poland now

Recent events

On 27 March, Poland suspended the right to claim asylum by people who cross the border from Belarus (border fence pictured).
On 18 February, Marian Turski, a historian, journalist and Holocaust survivor, died at the age of 98.
On 6 December, Stanisław Tym, a prominent comedian and satirist, died at the age of 87.
On 27 October, the discovery of a previously unknown waltz in A minor attributed to Frédéric Chopin, found at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, was announced.

Ongoing

Constitutional crisis • Belarus–EU border crisis • Ukrainian refugee crisis • Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Upcoming

Presidential election on 18 May 2025

Holidays and observances in April 2025
(statutory public holidays in bold)

April Fool's Day, 1 April
Easter (Easter eggs pictured), 20 April
Easter Monday, 21 April

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Polish Air Force

Credit: Łukasz Golowanow, Maciej Hypś, Konflikty.pl

Yak-18 is a Soviet-made two-seat military trainer aircraft designed by Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev. This plane bears the white-and-red Air Force checkerboard, a national marking indicating that it belongs to the Polish Air Force. Yak-18 planes were used in Poland for military training purposes throughout the 1950s. This photograph was taken at the International Air Picnic in Góraszka near Warsaw.