Portal:Poland
Welcome to the Poland Portal — Witaj w Portalu o Polsce
Poland is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; 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 under the rule of the populist Law and Justice party since 2015.
From Polish history –
Selected image –
Did you know –
- ... that the Polish Art Nouveau sculptor Konstanty Laszczka (pictured) produced symbolic bronze statues of female nudes overwhelmed with sadness?
- ... that the assumption of modern historians that Elisabeth of Greater Poland is a daughter of Elisabeth of Hungary is based on them sharing the same name and both coming from Hungary?
- ... that the Zamojski Academy, the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in Poland, was founded in 1594 at Zamość by Royal Chancellor Jan Zamoyski?
- ... that the Nicolaus Copernicus Monument erected in 1853 at Thorn in Prussia (now Toruń, Poland), his home town, bears a Latin inscription drawn up by Alexander von Humboldt?
You can help!
Selected biography –
Selected location –
Poland now
Recent events
- On 21 February, President of the United States of America, Joe Biden (pictured), delivered a speech at the Royal Castle, Warsaw, ahead of the one year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- On 12 December, Gen. Mirosław Hermaszewski, the only Polish cosmonaut to reach outer space, died at the age of 81.
- On 15 November, during a massive Russian shelling of targets throughout Ukraine, one missile fell on Polish territory, killing two people in Przewodów near the Ukrainian border.
- On 14 November, Jerzy Połomski, a popular actor and pop singer, died at the age of 89.
- On 3 October, Jerzy Urban, a scandalizing anti-clerical journalist who had served as press secretary for the Communist government in the 1980s, died at the age of 89.
Ongoing
Constitutional crisis • Belarus–EU border crisis • Ukrainian refugee crisis
Holidays and observances in March 2023
(statutory public holidays in bold)
- Women's Day (bouquet of roses and carnations pictured), 8 March
Subcategories
Topics
Related portals
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Germany | Czech Republic | Slovakia | Ukraine | Belarus | Lithuania | Russia |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Europe | Catholicism | Islam | World War II | Communism | European Union |
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Wikipedias in the languages of Poland
![]() |
Kaszëbskô Wikipedijô Kashubian Wikipedia |
![]() |
Polska Wikipedia Polish Wikipedia |
![]() |
Ślůnsko Wikipedyjo Silesian Wikipedia |
![]() |
Wymysiöeryś Wikipedyj Vilamovian Wikipedia Incubator |
Беларуская • Česky • Deutsch • Հայերեն • Lietuvių • Romani • Русский • Slovenčina • Українська • ייִדיש