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

Soviet military parade in Lviv, 1939

The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation that started without a formal declaration of war on 17 September 1939, during the early stages of World War II, sixteen days after the beginning of the Nazi German attack on Poland. It ended in a decisive victory for the Soviet Union's Red Army. The Soviets acted on the basis of their alliance with Nazi Germany; on 1 September, the Germans invaded Poland from the west and, on 17 September, the Soviet Army invaded from the east. The Red Army quickly achieved its targets, vastly outnumbering Polish resistance, already reeling from the German blows. The Soviet government annexed half of the Polish territory now under its control and in November declared that the 13.5 million Polish citizens who lived there were now Soviet citizens. The Soviets quelled opposition by arrests, deportations and executions. (Full article...)

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Casimir Pulaski

Casimir Pulaski (Kazimierz Pułaski; 1745–1779) was a Polish military commander who has been called "the father of American cavalry". He was one of the leading military commanders of the Bar Confederation, fighting against Russian domination of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. When this uprising failed, he was driven into exile and following Benjamin Franklin's endorsement he migrated to North America to aid the cause of the American Revolution. He distinguished himself throughout the revolutionary war, most notably when he saved George Washington's life, and when he created the Pulaski Cavalry Legion and reformed the American cavalry. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Savannah, while leading a daring charge against British forces. Pulaski has been remembered as a hero fighting for freedom both in Poland and in America and is one of few people to be awarded honorary citizenship of the United States. Pulaski Day is observed on October 11 as a U.S. federal holiday and on the first Monday of March as a state holiday in Illinois. (Full article...)

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Swoboda Lock on the Augustów Canal

The Augustów Canal is a summit-level canal which links the Biebrza River in northeastern Poland with the Neman River in Belarus. At over 100 km long, it comprises 18 locks (example pictured) and 22 sluice gates. Ever since the canal was built in 1823−1839 to provide a navigable waterway from the "Congress" Kingdom of Poland to the Baltic Sea bypassing Prussia, it has been described by experts as a technological marvel. It uses a post-glacial channel depression, forming the chain of Augustów Lakes, and the river valleys of the Biebrza, Netta, Czarna Hańcza, and Neman, which made it possible to perfectly integrate the canal with the surrounding elements of the natural environment. Although the project was never finalized, the completed part of the Augustów Canal remained an inland waterway of local significance used for commercial shipping to and from the Vistula and Neman Rivers until rendered obsolete by the regional railway network. (Full article...)

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Did you know – show different entries

... that scholars are not sure who is portrayed in Rembrandt's painting A Polish Nobleman (pictured)?
... that the Old City of Zamość, one of the World Heritage Sites in Poland, is recognized as an "outstanding example of a Renaissance planned town"?
... that the German libretto of Boris Blacher's last opera, Yvonne, Prinzessin von Burgund was based on a Polish play by Witold Gombrowicz?
... that a photograph of the execution of Jews near Ivanhorod, Ukraine, by members of the SS Einsatzgruppe was intercepted by the Polish resistance in 1942?

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Poland now

Recent events

On 6 December, Stanisław Tym (pictured), 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.
On 14 September, southwestern Poland was hit by severe floods caused by heavy rains brought by Storm Boris.

Ongoing
Constitutional crisis • Belarus–EU border crisis • Ukrainian refugee crisis • Polish presidency of the Council of the EU

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

New Year, 1 January
Three Kings' Day (carolers pictured), 6 January

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A Polish Nobleman by Rembrandt

Credit: Rembrandt van Rijn

A Polish Nobleman is a widely accepted title of the portrait of a middle-aged man of uncertain identity, dressed in the garb of a Polish nobleman, painted by the Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn in 1637. The subject is depicted with a thick moustache, wearing a high fur cap and a reddish brown mantle with a broad fur collar, and holding a baton with a golden knob in his right hand. Gold chains studded with precious stones are wrapped around both his cap and collar, while a large pear-shaped pearl earring drops from his right ear.