Poland

Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Russia (in the form of the Kaliningrad Oblast exclave) and Lithuania to the north. It also shares a maritime border with Denmark and Sweden. The total area of Poland is 312,683 sq km (120,728 sq mi) making it the 69th largest country in the world with population over 38.5 million people concentrated mainly in large cities, including the historical capital of Poland, Kraków, and the present capital, Warsaw.

The first Polish state was born in 966, within territory very similar to the present boundaries of Poland. Poland became a kingdom in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by uniting to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth collapsed in 1795, and the Poles were without a state for 123 years. Poland regained its independence in 1918 after World War I but lost it again in World War II, emerging several years later as a communist country within the Eastern Bloc under control of the former Soviet Union. In 1989 communist rule was overthrown and Poland became what is informally known as the "Third Polish Republic". Today, as the 6th most populated member state of the European Union, Poland is a liberal democracy made up of sixteen voivodeships (Polish: województwo). Poland is also a member of NATO, the United Nations, and the World Trade Organization.

History

From Homo erectus and then during the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages and throughout the Late Antiquity, the lands of present day Poland were populated by many different peoples, often known archeologically, but of uncertain ethnicity or linguistic affiliation. Celtic, Germanic and Baltic peoples were among the prominent groups. The most famous archeological finding is the Biskupin fortified settlement on the lake, of the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, by some past researchers erroneously considered to be a proto-Slavic development.

Poland began to form into a recognizable unitary and territorial entity around the middle of the 10th century under the Piast dynasty. Poland's first historically documented ruler, Mieszko I, was baptized in 966, adopting Catholic Christianity as the nation's new official religion, to which the bulk of the population converted in the course of the next century. In the 12th century Poland fragmented into several smaller states, which were later ravaged by the Mongol armies of the Golden Horde in 1241, 1259 and 1287. In 1320 Władysław I became the King of a reunified Poland. His son, Casimir III, repaired the Polish economy, constructed new castles, and won the war against the Ruthenian duchy (Lviv (Lwów) became a Polish city).
A shock therapy programme during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe. Despite a temporary slump in social and economic standards, there were numerous improvements in other human rights, such as free speech, a functioning democracy and the like. Poland was the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 GDP levels. In 1991 Poland became a member of the Visegrad Group and joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance in 1999 along with the Czech Republic and Hungary. Poles then voted to join the European Union in a referendum in June 2003, with Poland becoming a full member on May 1, 2004

Politics

Poland is a liberal democracy. Its current constitution dates from 1997. The government structure centres on the Council of Ministers, led by a prime minister. The current prime minister of Poland is Jarosław Kaczyński. The president appoints the cabinet according to the proposals of the prime minister, typically from the majority coalition in the bicameral judicial lower house (the Sejm). The president, elected by popular vote every five years, serves as the head of state. The current president is Lech Kaczyński, the twin brother of Jarosław Kaczyński.

Geography

The Polish landscape consists almost entirely of the North European Plain, with an average height of 173 m (568 ft). The Sudetes (including the Karkonosze) and the Carpathian Mountains (including the Tatra mountains) form the southern border. This is also where one finds Poland's highest point, Rysy, at 2,499 m (8,199 ft). Several large rivers cross the plains, i.e., the Vistula (Wisła), Oder (Odra), Warta and the (Western) Bug. Poland also contains over 9,300 lakes, predominantly in the northern part of the country. Masuria (Mazury Lake District) forms the largest and most-visited lake district in Poland. Remnants of the ancient forests are present: see list of forests in Poland, i.e. Białowieża Forest. Poland enjoys a temperate climate, with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters and mild summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms.

Economy

Since the fall of communism, Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of liberalising the economy and today stands out as one of the most successful and open examples of the transition from a partially state-directed economy to a primarily privately owned market economy.
Products Poland produces include clothes, electronics, cars (including luxury car Leopard), buses (Autosan, Jelcz SA, Solaris, Solbus), helicopters (PZL Świdnik), transport equipment, locomotives, planes (PZL Mielec), ships, military engineering (including tanks, SPAAG systems), medicines (Polpharma, Polfa, etc), food, chemical products etc.

Culture

Polish culture has a rich thousand-year history influenced by both west and east. Today, we can see these influences in Polish architecture, folklore, and art. Poland is the birthplace of many world famous people, including Pope John Paul II (Polish: Papież Jan Paweł II), Marie Skłodowska Curie (Polish: Maria Skłodowska-Curie), Casimir Pulaski (Polish: Kazimierz Pułaski), Nicolaus Copernicus (Polish: Mikołaj Kopernik), and many more.