Poland

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Rzeczpospolita Polska Republic of Poland
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: none1
Anthem: Mazurek Dąbrowskiego  (Polish) Dąbrowski's Mazurka
Location of  Poland  (orange) – on the European continent  (camel & white) – in the European Union  (camel)  —  [Legend]
Capital (and largest city)		Warsaw 3) 52°13′N 21°02′E
Official languages		Polish2
Government		Parliamentary republic
-	President	Lech Kaczyński
-	Prime minister	Jarosław Kaczyński
Formation
-	Christianisation4	966
-	Redeclared	November 11, 1918
Accession to EU		May 1, 2004
Area
-	Total	312,6833 km² (69th) 120,728 sq mi
-	Water (%)	3.07
Population
-	2006 estimate	38,122,000 (31st)
-	2002 census	38,530,080
-	Density	122 /km² (83rd) 319.9 /sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2006 estimate
-	Total	$546.543 billion (23rd)
-	Per capita	$14,400 (48th)
Gini? (2002)		34.5 (medium)
HDI (2004)		0.862 (high) (37th)
Currency		Złoty (PLN)
Time zone		CET (UTC+1)
-	Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Internet TLD		.pl5
Calling code		+48
1 See, however, Unofficial mottos of Poland. 2 Although not official languages, Kashubian, Lithuanian and German are used in fifteen communal offices. 3 The total area of Poland according to the administrative division, as given by the Central Statistical Office,[1] amounts to 312,683 km²: land area (311 889 km²) and part of internal waters (794 km²) cut by the coast line. The area of Poland's territory, including all internal waters and the territorial sea, is 322 575 km². 4 The adoption of Christianity in Poland is seen by many Poles, regardless of their religious affiliation, as one of the most significant national historical events; the new religion was used to unify the tribes in the region. 5 Also .eu, as Poland is a member of the European Union.

Poland (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a country in Central Europe^[2] bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine and Belarus to the east; and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. It also shares a maritime border with Denmark and Sweden. The total area of Poland is 312,683 sq km^[1] (120,728 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world. Poland's population is over 38.5 million people, concentrated mainly in large cities such as the historical capital Kraków and the present capital Warsaw.

The first Polish state was created 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. Poland regained its independence in 1918 after World War I but lost it again in World War II, occupied by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union, 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 European Union, NATO, the United Nations, OECD and the World Trade Organization.

[edit] History

Main article: History of Poland

[edit] Prehistory

Throughout Late Antiquity, the lands of present day Poland were populated by many different cultures, known from archeological research, but many still of uncertain ethnicity or linguistic affiliation. Slavic, Celtic, Germanic and Baltic peoples were among the prominent groups. The most famous archeological finding from Poland's prehistory is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age.

[edit] Piast dynasty

Poland in 1025

Poland began to form into a recognizable unitary and territorial entity around the middle of the tenth 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 centuries. In the twelfth 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, is remembered as one of the greatest Polish kings.

Poland was also a centre of migration of peoples and the Jewish community began to settle and flourish in Poland during this era (see History of the Jews in Poland). The Black Death which affected most parts of Europe from 1347 to 1351 did not reach Poland.^[3]

[edit] Jagiellon dynasty

Under the Jagiellon dynasty, Poland forged an alliance with its neighbour, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A golden age ensued during the sixteenth century after the Union of Lublin which gave birth to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The szlachta (nobility) of Poland, far more numerous than in Western European countries, took pride in their freedoms and parliamentary system.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at its greatest extent.

[edit] End of the golden age and partition of Poland

In the mid-seventeenth century, a Swedish invasion ("The Deluge") and Cossack's Chmielnicki Uprising which ravaged the country marked the end of the golden age. Numerous wars against Russia coupled government inefficiency caused by the Liberum Veto, a right which had allowed any member of the parliament to dissolve it and to veto any legislation it had passed, marked the steady deterioration of the Commonwealth from a European power into a near-anarchy controlled by its neighbours. The reforms, particularly those of the Great Sejm, which passing of the Constitution of May 3, 1791, second modern constitution of the world, were thwarted with the three partitions of Poland (1772, 1793, and 1795) which ended with Poland's being erased from the map and its territories being divided between Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

Poles would resent their fate and would several times rebell against the partitioners, particularly in the eighteenth century. In 1807 Napoleon recreated a Polish state, the Duchy of Warsaw, but after the Napoleonic wars, Poland was again divided in 1815 by the victorious Allies at the Congress of Vienna. The eastern portion was ruled by the Russian Czar as a Congress Kingdom, and possessed a liberal constitution. However, the Czars soon reduced Polish freedoms and Russia eventually de facto annexed the country. Later in the nineteenth century, Austrian-ruled Galicia, particularly the Free City of Kraków, became a center of Polish cultural life.

[edit] Reconstitution of Poland

During World War I, all the Allies agreed on the reconstitution of Poland that United States President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed in Point 13 of his Fourteen Points. Shortly after the surrender of Germany in November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic (II Rzeczpospolita Polska). It reaffirmed its independence after a series of military conflicts, the most notable being the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921) when Poland inflicted a crushing deafeat on the Red Army.

Poland between 1922 and 1938.

The 1926 May Coup of Józef Piłsudski turned the reins of the Second Polish Republic over to the Sanacja movement.

[edit] World War II

Main article: History of Poland (1939-1945)

The Sanacja movement controlled Poland until the start of World War II in 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded on September 1 and the Soviet Union followed on September 17. Warsaw capitulated on September 28, 1939. As agreed in the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, Poland was split into two zones, one occupied by Germany while the eastern provinces fell under the control of the Soviet Union.

Of all the countries involved in the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of its citizens: over six million perished, half of them Polish Jews. Poland made the fourth-largest troop contribution to the Allied war effort, after the Americans, the British and the Soviets. At the war's conclusion, Poland's borders were shifted westwards, pushing the eastern border to the Curzon line. Meanwhile, the western border was moved to the Oder-Neisse line. The new Poland emerged 20% smaller by 77,500 square kilometres (29,900 sq mi). The shift forced the migration of millions of people, most of whom were Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, and Jews.

[edit] Postwar Communist Poland

Main article: History of Poland (1945-1989)

At the end of World War II, the pink territories were transferred from Poland to the Soviet Union, and the yellow territories from Germany to Poland.

The Soviet Union instituted a new Communist government in Poland, analogous to much of the rest of the Eastern Bloc. Military alignment within the Warsaw Pact throughout the Cold War was also part of this change. In 1948, a turn towards Stalinism signalled the beginning of a new period of totalitarian rule. The People's Republic of Poland (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa) was officially proclaimed in 1952. In 1956, the régime of Władysław Gomułka became temporarily more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. Similar situation repeated itself in the 1970s under Edward Gierek, but most of the time persecution of communist opposition persisted.

[edit] Solidarity and the fall of communism

Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" ("Solidarność"), which over time became a political force. It eroded the dominance of the Communist Party and by 1989 had triumphed in parliamentary elections. Lech Wałęsa, a Solidarity candidate, eventually won the presidency in 1990. The Solidarity movement heralded the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe.

[edit] Economic growth

A shock therapy programme of Leszek Balcerowicz during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into a robust market economy. Despite temporary slumps in social and economic standards, Poland was the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 GDP levels. Most visibly, there were numerous improvements in other human rights, such as free speech. 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.

[edit] Politics

Jarosław Kaczyński

Main article: Politics of Poland

Main article: Foreign relations of Poland

Poland is a liberal democracy, with a President as a Head of State, whose current constitution dates from 1997. The government structure centres on the Council of Ministers, led by a prime minister. The current prime minister 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 is electing by popular vote every five years. The current president is Lech Kaczyński, the prime minister Jarosław Kaczyński's identical twin brother.

Polish voters elect a bicameral parliament consisting of a 460-member lower house Sejm and a 100-member Senate (Senat). The Sejm is elected under proportional representation according to the d'Hondt method, a method similar to that used in many parliamentary political systems. The Senate, on the other hand, is elected under a rare plurality bloc voting method where several candidates with the highest support are elected from each constituency. With the exception of ethnic minority parties, only candidates of political parties receiving at least 5% of the total national vote can enter the Sejm. When sitting in joint session, members of the Sejm and Senate form the National Assembly (the Zgromadzenie Narodowe). The National Assembly is formed on three occasions: when a new President takes the oath of office; when an indictment against the President of the Republic is brought to the State Tribunal (Trybunał Stanu); and when a President's permanent incapacity to exercise their duties due to the state of their health is declared. To date, only the first instance has occurred.

The judicial branch plays an important role in decision-making. Its major institutions include the Supreme Court of Poland (Sąd Najwyższy); the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny); the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland (Trybunał Konstytucyjny); and the State Tribunal of Poland (Trybunał Stanu). On the approval of the Senate, the Sejm also appoints the Ombudsman or the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection (Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich) for a five-year term. The Ombudsman has the duty of guarding the observance and implementation of the rights and liberties of Polish citizens and residents, of the law and of principles of community life and social justice.

[edit] Geography

Poland

[edit] Landscape

For a detailed view, see Poland Topo Map on-line

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 Poland's highest point is found: Rysy, at 2,499 m (8,199 ft).

Several large rivers cross the plains: the Vistula (Wisła), Oder (Polish:Odra), Warta and the (Western) Bug rivers. 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 ancient forests, such as Białowieża Forest, still exist.

Poland enjoys a temperate climate, with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters and mild summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms.

[edit] Principal cities

Izrael Poznański's factory in Łódź.

Wrocław.

Old Market square in Poznań.

Katowice, capital of the Upper Silesian Industry Area.

See also: List of cities in Poland

See also: Gazetteer of Polish towns and settlements

[edit] Administrative divisions

Kraków, Wawel castle by night.

Bydgoszcz.

The Trinitarian Tower and the Cathedral in Lublin.

Toruń.

Administrative map of Poland.

Poland is subdivided into sixteen administrative regions known as voivodeships (województwa, singular województwo): Voivodeship Capital city or cities Polish Kuyavia-Pomerania Kujawsko-Pomorskie Bydgoszcz / Toruń Greater Poland Wielkopolskie Poznań Lesser Poland Małopolskie Kraków Łódź Łódzkie Łódź Lower Silesia Dolnośląskie Wrocław Lublin Lubelskie Lublin Lubusz Lubuskie Gorzów Wielkopolski / Zielona Góra Masovia Mazowieckie Warsaw Opole Opolskie Opole Podlasie Podlaskie Białystok Pomerania Pomorskie Gdańsk Silesia Śląskie Katowice Subcarpathia Podkarpackie Rzeszów Swietokrzyskie Świętokrzyskie Kielce Warmia-Masuria Warmińsko-Mazurskie Olsztyn West Pomerania Zachodniopomorskie Szczecin

In turn, the voivodeships are divided into powiaty ("counties", singular powiat) and then gminy ("communes", singular gmina).

Near Katowice, Silesia: Błędów Desert - the only desert in Poland.

[edit] Economy

Gdańsk old town.

Warsaw at night.

Katowice at night.

The marina at Gdynia.

Lanckorona.

Żnin, a medieval town.

Mikołajki, in the Masuria lake area.

Sand dunes at the Baltic coast in Słowiński National Park.

"Morasko Meteorite" nature reserve, Poznań.

A hundred złoty note.

Since the fall of communism, Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of liberalising the economy and today stands out as a successful example of the transition from a state-directed economy to a primarily privately owned market economy.

The privatisation of small and medium state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms have allowed the development of an aggressive private sector. As a consequence, consumer rights organisations have also appeared. Restructuring and privatisation of "sensitive sectors" such as coal, steel, railways, and energy has been continuing since 1990. Between 2007 and 2010, the government plans to float twenty public companies on the Polish stock market, including parts of the coal industry. To date (2007), the biggest privatisations have been the sale of the national telecoms firm Telekomunikacja Polska to France Telecom in 2000, and an issue of 30% of the shares in Poland's largest bank, PKO Bank Polski, on the Polish stockmarket in 2004.

Poland has a large number of private farms in its agricultural sector, with the potential to become a leading producer of food in the European Union. However, problems remain, especially under-investment. Structural reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger-than-expected fiscal pressures. Warsaw leads Central Europe in foreign investment^{[citation needed]} and needs a continued large inflow. GDP growth had been strong and steady from 1993 to 2000 with only a short slowdown from 2001 to 2002. The prospect of closer integration with the European Union has put the economy back on track, with growth of 3.7% annually in 2003, a rise from 1.4% annually in 2002. In 2004, GDP growth equaled 5.4%, in 2005 3.3% and in 2006 5.8%. For 2007, the government has set a target for GDP growth at 6.5 to 7.0%.

The long standing head of the National Bank of Poland, Leszek Balcerowicz, was replaced by Sławomir Skrzypek in January 2007. At first the markets reacted sceptically and fell, but since then have stabilized and then risen sharply.

Recent annual growth rates by quarters have been:

Although the Polish economy is currently undergoing economic development, there are many challenges ahead. The most notable task on the horizon is the preparation of the economy (through continuing deep structural reforms) to allow Poland to meet the strict economic criteria for entry into the European Single Currency (Euro). There is much speculation as to just when Poland might be allowed to join the Eurozone, although the best guess estimates put the entry date somewhere between 2009 and 2013^{[citation needed]}. For now, Poland is preparing to make the Euro its official currency (though it has not joined the ERM yet), and the Złoty may eventually be replaced by Euro in the Polish economy.

Since joining the European Union, many young Polish people have left their country to work in other EU countries (particularly Ireland and the UK) because of high unemployment, which is the highest in the EU (12.8% in December 2006).^[4]

Products Poland produces include clothes, electronics, cars (such as luxury Leopard car), 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), food, chemical products and others.

[edit] Science, technology and education

For a more detailed treatment of this topic, see the subarticles Polish science and technology and Education in Poland.

[edit] Education

The education of Polish society was a goal of rulers as early as the 12th century. The library catalogue of the Cathedral Chapter of Kraków dating back to 1110 shows that already in the early 12th century Polish intellectuals had access to the European literature. In 1364, in Kraków, the Jagiellonian University, founded by King Casimir III, became one of Europe's great early universities. In 1773 King Stanisław August Poniatowski established his Commission on National Education (Komisja Edukacji Narodowej), the world's first state ministry of education.

[edit] Current situation

Today, Poland has more than a hundred tertiary education institutions; traditional universities to be found in its major cities of Gdańsk, Bydgoszcz, Katowice, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Białystok, Olsztyn, Poznań, Rzeszów, Toruń, Warsaw, Wrocław and Zielona Góra as well as technical, medical, economic institutions elsewhere, employing around 61,000 workers. There are also around 300 research and development institutes, with about 10,000 more researchers. In total, there are around 91,000 scientists in Poland today.

According to a recent report by the European Commission, Poland ranks 21st on the list of EU states in the area of innovation. Conditions for knowledge creation are worsening, particularly because of a decline in business research and development, from 0.28% of GDP in 1998 to 0.16% in 2003. Public R&D expenditures were 0.43% of GDP in 2003. The share of university R&D funded by the business sector has also declined, indicating that firms have not turned to outsourcing research to make up for declining R&D expenditures. Because of the very low levels of R&D, the process of transition of Poland to a knowledge economy is slow. For more info, see Innovation performance factsheet.

[edit] Telecommunication and IT

For a more detailed treatment of this topic, see the subarticles Communications in Poland and Software development in Poland.

The share of the telecom sector in the GDP is 4.4% (end of 2000 figure), compared to 2.5% in 1996. Nevertheless, despite high expenditures for telecom infrastructure (the coverage increased from 78 users per 1000 inhabitants in 1989 to 282 in 2000) the coverage mobile cellular is 850 users per 1000 people (2006)

• Telephones - mobile cellular: 32.5 million (Raport Telecom Team 2006)
• Telephones - main lines in use: 12.5 million (Raport Telecom Team 2005)

[edit] Transportation

• Rail: Poland's railways constitute one of the larger railway systems in the European Union, with 23,420 km (14,552 miles) of network as of 1998). Access to track has been opened up to competition [3] as required by the EU. However, delays by successive governments in reforming the state railway company, PKP [4], combined with the imposition of severe budgetary constraints, have caused a major crisis. Refurbishment of the network, bringing key routes into line with the standards on western European railway networks, is proceeding very slowly, and serious arrears of maintenance have resulted in the imposition of speed restrictions on many other lines. Line closures and withdrawal of feeder services similar to those that took place in the UK under the 'Beeching Axe' have accelerated since 2000.
• Road: by Western European standards, Poland has a relatively poor infrastructure of expressways/highways. The Government has undertaken a programme to improve the standard of a number of significant national highways by 2013. The total length of expressways/highways is 364,657 km (226,587 miles). There are a total of 9,283,000 registered passenger automobiles, as well as 1,762,000 registered trucks and buses (2000).
• Air: Poland has ten major airports (in decreasing order of traffic: Warsaw, Kraków, Katowice, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Poznań, Szczecin, Rzeszów, Bydgoszcz and Łódź), a total of 123 airports and airfields, as well as three heliports. The number of passengers at Polish airports has consistently increased since 1991.
• Marine: the total length of navigable rivers and canals is 3,812 km (2,369 miles). The Polish merchant marine consists of 114 ships, with an additional 100 ships registered outside the country. The principal ports and harbours are: Port of Gdańsk, Port of Gdynia, Port of Szczecin, Port of Świnoujście, Port of Ustka, Port of Kolobrzeg, Gliwice, Warsaw, Wrocław.

[edit] Demographics

Poland formerly played host to many languages, cultures, and religions. There was a particularly rich Jewish life in Poland prior to the Nazi Holocaust when Poland's Jewish population, estimated at 3 million, was decimated to about 300,000 survivors. The outcomes of World War II, particularly the westwards shift of Poland's borders to the area between the Curzon line and the Oder-Neisse line coupled with World War II evacuation and expulsion gave Poland an appearance of homogeneity. As a result, Poland became, for the first time in its multicultural history, an ethnically unified country.

A Polish minority is still present in neighbouring countries of Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania, as well as in other countries (see Poles for population numbers). The largest number of ethnic Poles outside of the country can be found in the United States.

Today 36,983,700 people, or 96.74% of the population considers itself Polish (Census 2002), 471,500 (1.23%) declared another nationality. 774,900 people (2.03%) didn't declare any nationality. The officially recognized ethnic minorities include: Germans (most in the Opole Voivodeship), Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Jews and Belarusians. The Polish language, a member of the West Slavic branch of the Slavic languages, functions as the official language of Poland.

Similar changes have affected the religion in Poland. Since the Second World War, most Polish citizens adhere to the Roman Catholic faith, 89.8% are Catholic (according to church baptism statistics) with 75% counting as practising Catholics. The rest of the population consists mainly of Eastern Orthodox (about 509 500), Jehovah's Witnesses (about 123 034) and various Protestant (about 86 880 in the largest Evangelical-Augsburg Church and about as many in smaller churches) religious minorities. [5]

In recent years Poland's population has stopped increasing because of an increase in emigration and a sharp drop in the birth rate. In 2006 the census office estimated the total population of Poland at 38,536,869, a slight rise on the 2002 figure of 38,230,080. Since Poland's accession to the European Union, a significant number of Polish people have moved to work in West European countries like the United Kingdom and Ireland. Some organisations have estimated that 1 million people have left, primarily due to high unemployment (14.7%) and better opportunities for work abroad.

[edit] Culture

Polish architecture: Rynek Główny in Kraków. St. Mary's Basilica (left), Sukiennice (centre), Town Hall Tower (right).

Polish culture has a rich thousand-year history influenced by both West and East. Today, these influences are evident 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), Kazimierz Pułaski (Polish: Kazimierz Pułaski), Tadeusz Kościuszko, Nicolaus Copernicus (Polish: Mikołaj Kopernik), and others.

The unique character of Polish art always reflected world trends. Famous Polish painter, Jan Matejko, included many significant historical events in his paintings. Polish literature dates back to 1100s^[5] and includes many famous poets and writers such as Jan Kochanowski, Adam Mickiewicz, Henryk Sienkiewicz (1905 Nobel Prize winner), Bolesław Prus, Władysław Reymont (1924 Nobel Prize winner), Juliusz Słowacki, Witold Gombrowicz, Czesław Miłosz (1980 Nobel Prize winner), Wisława Szymborska (1996 Nobel Prize winner), Stanisław Lem, Ryszard Kapuściński. Many world renowned Polish movie directors include Academy Awards winners Roman Polański, Andrzej Wajda, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Janusz Kamiński, Krzysztof Kieślowski. The traditional Polish music composers include world famous pianist Frederic Chopin (Polish: Fryderyk Chopin)^[6] as well as Krzysztof Penderecki, Karol Szymanowski, and others.

Polish art: Stańczyk, by Jan Matejko.

Many popular styles of modern music in Poland include pop music, rock music, pop-rock music, punk, hardcore, disco music, house music, R&B, hip-hop, rap, jazz, to name a few. Famous modern singers, musicians and bands from Poland include Edyta Górniak or Ich Troje.

Known meals from Polish cuisine include Polish sausage (Polish: kiełbasa), red beet soup (Polish: barszcz), duck blood soup (Polish: czernina), Polish dumplings (Polish: pierogi), cabbage rolls (Polish: gołąbki), Polish pork chops (Polish: kotlety schabowe), Polish traditional stew (Polish: bigos), various potato dishes, a fast food sandwich zapiekanka, and many more. Traditional Polish desserts include Polish doughnuts (Polish: pączki), Polish gingerbread (Polish: pierniki) and others.

[edit] International rankings

Traditional Polish dessert:
Polish gingerbread (Polish: pierniki) from Toruń.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Poland Portal

[edit] External links

Find more information on Poland by searching Wikipedia's sister projects
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[edit] Governmental institutions

• Sejm - Sejm - lower chamber of the Parliament
• Senat - Senate - upper chamber of the Parliament
• Prezydent - President of the Republic of Poland
• KPRM - Prime Minister's Office
• Sąd Najwyższy - Supreme Court

[edit] English-language websites on Poland

• poland.gov.pl - the governmental page about Poland for international visitors
• Polish National Tourist Office (poland-tourism.pl, a part of pot.gov.pl)
• Poland at the World Factbook
• 500 travel pics from Poland
• Poland travel guide from Wikitravel

Geographic locale

v • d • e Countries of Europe Albania · Andorra · Armenia2 · Austria · Azerbaijan1 · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus2 · Czech Republic · Denmark3 · Estonia · Finland · France3 · Georgia1 · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Kazakhstan1 · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands3 · Norway3 · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia1 · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain3 · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey1 · Ukraine · United Kingdom3 (England · Northern Ireland · Scotland · Wales) · Vatican City 1 Has majority of its territory in Asia.  2 Entirely in Asia but having socio-political connections with Europe.  3 Has dependencies or similar territories outside Europe. v • d • e Baltic Region Baltic States: Estonia • Latvia • Lithuania Baltic countries: Denmark • Finland • Germany • Poland • Russia • Sweden v • d • e Slavic-speaking nations West Slavic:  Czech Republic •  Poland •  Slovakia South Slavic:  Bosnia and Herzegovina •  Bulgaria •  Croatia •  Republic of Macedonia •  Montenegro •  Serbia •  Slovenia East Slavic:  Belarus •  Russia •  Ukraine

International organisations

v • d • e European Union Austria • Belgium • Bulgaria • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Malta • Netherlands • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • United Kingdom v • d • e  North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Belgium · Bulgaria · Canada · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · France · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Italy · Latvia · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Turkey · United Kingdom · United States Candidate countries: Albania · Croatia · Republic of Macedonia (as former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia[6]) v • d • e Council of Europe Albania • Andorra • Armenia • Austria • Azerbaijan • Belgium • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Bulgaria • Croatia • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Georgia • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Iceland • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Liechtenstein • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Malta • Moldova • Monaco • Netherlands • Norway • Poland • Portugal • Republic of Macedonia ("the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia") • Romania • Russia • San Marino • Serbia • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • Turkey • Ukraine • United Kingdom v • d • e World Trade Organization (WTO) Albania • Angola • Antigua and Barbuda • Argentina • Armenia • Australia • Bahrain, Kingdom of • Bangladesh • Barbados • Belize • Benin • Bolivia • Botswana • Brazil • Brunei Darussalam • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cambodia • Cameroon • Canada • Central African Republic • Chad • Chile • China • Colombia • Congo • Costa Rica • Cote d'Ivoire • Croatia • Cuba • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Djibouti • Dominica • Dominican Republic • Ecuador • Egypt • El Salvador • European Communities1 • Fiji • Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) • Gabon • The Gambia • Georgia • Ghana • Grenada • Guatemala • Guinea • Guinea Bissau • Guyana • Haiti • Honduras • Hong Kong, China • Iceland • India • Indonesia • Israel • Jamaica • Japan • Jordan • Kenya • Korea, Republic of • Kuwait • Kyrgyz Republic • Lesotho • Liechtenstein • Macao, China • Madagascar • Malawi • Malaysia • Maldives • Mali • Mauritania • Mauritius • Mexico • Moldova • Mongolia • Morocco • Mozambique • Myanmar • Namibia • Nepal • New Zealand • Nicaragua • Niger • Nigeria • Norway • Oman • Pakistan • Panama • Papua New Guinea • Paraguay • Peru • Philippines • Qatar • Rwanda • Saint Kitts and Nevis • Saint Lucia • Saint Vincent & the Grenadines • Saudi Arabia • Senegal • Sierra Leone • Singapore • Solomon Islands • South Africa • Sri Lanka • Suriname • Swaziland • Switzerland • Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu • Tanzania • Thailand • Togo • Trinidad and Tobago • Tunisia • Turkey • Uganda • United Arab Emirates • United States of America • Uruguay • Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) • Vietnam • Zambia • Zimbabwe 1 All twenty-seven member states of the European Union are also members of the WTO in their own right: Austria • Belgium • Bulgaria • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Malta • Netherlands (— For the Kingdom in Europe and for the Netherlands Antilles) • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • United Kingdom v • d • e Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Australia • Austria • Belgium • Canada • Czech Republic • Denmark • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Iceland • Ireland • Italy • Japan • South Korea • Luxembourg • Mexico • Netherlands • New Zealand • Norway • Poland • Portugal • Slovakia • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • Turkey • United Kingdom • United States v • d • e Visegrád Group Czech Republic • Hungary • Poland • Slovakia v • d • e Weimar Triangle France · Germany · Poland v • d • e Francophonie Members: Albania • Andorra • Belgium • Benin • Bulgaria • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cambodia • Cameroon • Canada • Canada New Brunswick • Canada Quebec • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Cyprus* • Comoros • Congo • Congo, Democratic Republic of • Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti • Dominica • Egypt • Equatorial Guinea • Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia • France • French Guiana • Gabon • Ghana* • Greece • Guadeloupe • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Haiti • Laos • Luxembourg • Lebanon • Madagascar • Mali • Martinique • Mauritania • Mauritius • Moldova • Monaco • Morocco • Niger • Romania • Rwanda • Saint Lucia • São Tomé and Príncipe • Senegal • Seychelles • Saint Pierre and Miquelon • Switzerland • Togo • Tunisia • Vanuatu • Vietnam Observers: Armenia • Austria • Croatia • Czech Republic • Georgia • Hungary • Lithuania • Mozambique • Poland • Serbia • Slovakia • Slovenia • Ukraine *Associate member