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.

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Christmas in Poland

A szopka krakowska (example pictured left) is a nativity scene traditionally constructed in Kraków during the Christmas season. Its distinctive feature is the use of architectural details of Kraków's historical landmarks as a backdrop for the nativity of Jesus.

Christmas carol singing has long been a popular tradition in Poland. The oldest known Polish carols date back to the 15th century. Among the most beloved (recordings listed right) are the lulling "Lulajże, Jezuniu" ("Sleep, Little Jesus"), the joyful "Dzisiaj w Betlejem" ("Tonight in Bethlehem"), and the majestic "Bóg się rodzi" ("God is Born").

Media related to Polish Christmas carols at Wikimedia Commons

Lulajże, Jezuniu

Dzisiaj w Betlejem

Bóg się rodzi

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From Polish history – show another

Katyn memorial

The Katyn massacre was a mass execution of Polish citizens by the order of Soviet authorities in 1940. About 8,000 of those killed were reserve officers taken prisoner during the 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland, but the dead also included many civilians who had been arrested for being "intelligence agents and gendarmes, spies and saboteurs, former landowners, factory owners and officials". Since Poland's conscription system required every unexempted university graduate to become a reserve officer, the Soviets were thus able to round up much of the ethnic Polish, Jewish, Ukrainian, Georgian and Belarusian intelligentsia of Polish citizenship. The 1943 discovery of mass graves at Katyn Forest by Nazi German forces precipitated a rupture of diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the Polish government-in-exile in London. The Soviet Union continued to deny responsibility for the massacres until 1990. Although the Russian government acknowledged that the NKVD had in fact committed the massacres, it does not consider them a war crime or an act of genocide, as this would have necessitated the prosecution of surviving perpetrators. (Full article...)

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Jan Karol Chodkiewicz

Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (c. 1560–1621) was one of the most prominent military commanders of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth of his era. He became a field hetman of Lithuania in 1601 and advanced to the post of grand hetman in 1605. He played a major role in the Wallachian campaign of 1599–1600, the Polish–Swedish War of 1600–11, the Polish-Muscovite War of 1605–18, and the Polish–Ottoman War of 1620–21. His most famous victory was the Battle of Kircholm (now Salaspils, Latvia) in 1605, in which he dealt a major defeat to a Swedish army three times the size of his own. He died on the front lines during the siege of the Khotyn Fortress, a few days before the Ottomans lifted the siege and agreed to negotiate. (Full article...)

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The Spodek multipurpose sports arena at night

Katowice, located on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers in the Silesian Highlands, is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship. With 312,201 inhabitants, it is the largest city of the Upper Silesian Industry Area and the principal scientific, cultural, industrial, business and transport center of the region. Before World War II, Katowice was the seat of the Silesian Sejm, the legislature of the Silesian Voivodeship. The multipurpose arena complex known as Spodek, or "Saucer" (pictured), is the city's most recognizable landmark. (Full article...)

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Did you know – show different entries

... that Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein (logo pictured) was the largest manufacturing company in Poland before its factory was destroyed by the Germans during World War II?
... that World War II resistance fighter Jerzy Zakulski, who rescued a Jewish mother and child from the Kraków Ghetto, was executed by Poland after the war?
... that Father Józef Kowalski, an Auschwitz prisoner, was one of 108 Polish Martyrs beatified in front of 600,000 people by Pope John Paul II?
... that the village of Borzęcin was first mentioned in historical documents by the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz in his Liber beneficiorum?

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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 December 2024
(statutory public holidays in bold)

Saint Nicholas Day, 6 December
Christmas (baubles pictured), 25–26 December

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Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci

Credit: Leonardo da Vinci

Lady with an Ermine is an oil-on-wood painting by Leonardo da Vinci from ca. 1490. One of only four female portraits by Leonardo, its subject is identified as Cecilia Gallerani, a 16-year-old mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. The painting was acquired in 1798 by Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, a Polish aristocrat, and now belongs to the National Museum in Kraków.