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

Monument to Polish soldiers in Crostwitz near Bautzen

The Battle of Bautzen was one of the last battles on the Eastern Front of World War II. It took place on the extreme southern flank of the Spremberg-Torgau Offensive, seeing days of pitched street fighting between forces of the Polish Second Army together with elements of the Soviet 52nd Army and 5th Guards Army on one side and remnants of the German 4th Panzer and 17th Armies on the other. Part of Marshal Ivan Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front push toward Berlin, the battle was fought in the town of Bautzen and its environs along the Bautzen–Niesky line. Major combat took place from 21 to 26 April 1945, but isolated engagements continued until 30 April. The Polish Second Army under General Karol Świerczewski suffered heavy losses, but with the aid of Soviet reinforcements prevented the German forces from breaking through to their rear. According to one historian, the Battle of Bautzen was one of the Polish Army's bloodiest. Both sides claimed victory and modern views as to who won the battle remain contradictory. After the fall of communism, Polish historians became critical of Świerczewski's command, blaming the near destruction of the Polish force on his incompetence and desire to capture Dresden. (Full article...)

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Hugo Steinhaus

Hugo Steinhaus (1887–1972) was a professor of mathematics at the University of Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine), where he helped establish what became known as the Lwów School of Mathematics. He is credited with "discovering" Stefan Banach, a prodigy autodidact. Together they contributed to functional analysis by developing the uniform boundedness principle, also known as the Banach-Steinhaus theorem. After World War II, Steinhaus played an important role in establishing a mathematics department at the Wrocław University. Author of around 170 scientific articles and books, Steinhaus left a legacy in several branches of mathematics, including functional analysis, mathematical logic, geometry, and trigonometry. He is also considered a pioneer in game theory and probability theory. (Full article...)

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Old Town Hall of Toruń by night

Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in northern Poland. Known in German as Thorn, it was founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1233 and ceded to the Kingdom of Poland under the terms of a treaty signed here in 1466. Seven years later, it became the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus. Today, Toruń is the seat of the legislature (sejmik) of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, forming with the city of Bydgoszcz, its western neighbor, the Bydgoszcz-Toruń metropolitan area. With its medieval spatial layout preserved almost intact and with many brick Gothic buildings, including the town hall, churches and burgher houses, Toruń is a popular tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also famous for its traditional gingerbread flavored with honey and spices. (Full article...)

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Did you know – show different entries

... that the fossil crane fly Elephantomyia pulchella (pictured) was redescribed by Polish paleoentomologist Iwona Kania of the University of Rzeszów?
... that the writer Maria Dąbrowska reported to the Polish authorities that Poles in Bosnia and Herzegovina lived better than villagers in Poland?
... that Vietnamese people in Poland, significantly composed of illegal immigrants, are one of the country's largest ethnic minorities?
... that one of the founders of CD Projekt, publisher of The Witcher video game series, used to peddle cracked copies of PC games in a Warsaw marketplace?

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Poland now

Recent events

Poland won 23 medals, including eight gold, at the 2024 Summer Paralympics, ranking 16th in the medal table.
- On 7 September, Karolina Pęk won a gold medal in table tennis, while Renata Śliwińska won a silver medal in shot put.
- On 6 September, Barbara Bieganowska-Zając (pictured) and Karolina Kucharczyk won gold medals in 1500-metre run and long jump, respectively, while Maciej Lepiato and Michał Dąbrowski won bronze medals in high jump and wheelchair fencing.
- 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 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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Zalipie, Lesser Poland Voivodeship

Credit: Jakub Hałun

The village of Zalipie, near the town of Dąbrowa Tarnowska in southeastern Poland, is known for its tradition of local women decorating their houses, farm buildings and other structures with brightly-colored floral motifs.