 | McLae´s guide to Poland |  |
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Poland Internet country code: International telephone prefix: +  Roman Polan'ski Poland is a country located in Central Europe, between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania, and Russia (in the form of the Kaliningrad Oblast exclave) to the north. Poland shares a maritime border with Denmark in the Baltic Sea. Poland has been a member state of the European Union since May 1, 2004. The Polish state was formed over 1,000 years ago under the Piast dynasty, and reached its golden age near the end of the 16th century under the Jagiellonian dynasty, when Poland was one of the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful countries in Europe. In 1791 the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth adopted the Constitution of May 3, Europe's first modern codified constitution, and the second in the world after the Constitution of the United States. Soon afterwards, the country ceased to exist after being partitioned by its neighbours Russia, Austria, and Prussia. It regained independence in 1918 in the aftermath of the First World War as the Second Polish Republic. Following the Second World War it became a communist satellite state of the Soviet Union known as the People's Republic of Poland. In 1989 the first partially-free elections in Poland's post-World War II history concluded the Solidarity (Solidarnos'c') movement's struggle for freedom and resulted in the defeat of Poland's communist rulers. The current Third Polish Republic was established, followed a few years later by the drafting of a new constitution in 1997. In 1999 Poland acceded to NATO, and in 2004 it joined the European Union. Officially the country is known as Republic of Poland, in Polish Rzeczpospolita Polska. The word Rzeczpospolita is the historic name that has been used continuously since the 16th century during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was an elective monarchy. The term Rzeczpospolita can mean "commonwealth" or also "republic", whereas the Polish translation for the English term "republic" is republika. During communist rule from 1952 to 1989 the country's official name was the People's Republic of Poland (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa), which was the only break in the historical official designation. Countryside: The countryside throughout Poland is lovely and relatively unspoilt. Poland has variety of regions with beautiful landscapes and small-scale organic and traditional farms. Travellers can choose different types of activities such as bird watching, cycling or horseback riding. Culturally you can sight-see at many churches, museums, ceramic and traditional basket-making workshops, castle ruins, rural centres and many more. A journey through the Polish countryside gives you a pefect opportunity to enjoy and absorb local knowledge on its landscape and people. Language: The official language of Poland is Polish. Non-Polish speakers will find that most of the younger generation (35 and under), speak, or at least understand, English reasonably well. Since English is taught at a very young age (some start as early as 4 years old), only Poles who grow up in isolated towns or communities will not be given English lessons. Older Poles, however, especially those outside the main cities, will speak little or no English at all. Visitors will find that there is no rhyme or reason to the foreign languages that Poles speak; some speak French, English, German, Russian or Ukranian -- this all depends on their education, the location of the city, and the history of individual families. Since Poland's borders have changed radically in the last 100 years (notably with Russian/Ukraine and Germany), you'll find that many Poles have had to relocate great distances, and these individual histories often determine what foreign language older Poles will be able to speak and/or understand. A few phrases go a long way in Poland. Contrary to other tourist cities, like Paris, where natives will often scoff at how bad a foreigner's use of the native language is, Polish people generally love it when foreigns learn Polish, even if it's only a few phrases. Younger Poles, however, will jump at the chance to practice their English as well. Polish is very difficult language for native English-speakers to learn, although knowledge of Latin will help tremendously. It is notoriously difficult because of its unrelenting strings of consonants in words (like the city Szczecin). It's best to get a pronounciation guide or phrasebook well in advance -- if you go in cold, you won't be able to read anything properly. Eatting and Drinking: It is no longer difficult to avoid meat, with many restaurants offering at least one vegetarian dish. If you want to eat cheaply, you should visit [bar mleczny] (milk bar). Bar mleczny is a typically Polish kind of a fast food restaurant. It was invented by the communist authorities of Poland in mid-1960s as a means to offer cheap meals to people working in companies that had no official canteen. Its name originates from the fact that until late 1980s the meals served there were mostly dairy-made and vegetarian (especialy during the martial law period of the beginning of the 1980s, when meat was rationed). Poland is on a border of European "vodka" and "beer culture". Poles enjoy alcoholic drinks at least as much as other Europeans. You can buy beer, vodka and wine. Although Poland is known as the birth place of vodka, local beer seems to have much more appeal to many Poles. Another traditional alcoholic beverage is mead. Officially, in order to buy alcohol one should be over 18 years old and certificate self with a valid ID or passport. . Vodka Beer Although not well known internationally, Poland traditionally sports some of the best pilsner-type lagers worldwide. The most common brands include: Wine Poland does make only little own quality wines around Zielona Gora, the Southeast and in the Beskids. You usually can by them only at the places, where they are produced or at wine festivals, like in Zielona Gora. As for imported wine, apart from the usual old and new world standards, there is usually a choice of decent table wines from Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania or Moldavia available. History: 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 country'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. In 1320 W?adys?aw I became the King of the reunified Poland. His son Kazimierz Wielki repaired the Polish economy, built new castles and won the war against the Ruthenian dukedom (Lwów became a Polish City). The Black Death which affected most parts of Europe from 1347 to 1351 did not come to Poland. Under the Jagiellon dynasty, Poland forged an alliance with its neighbour Lithuania. A golden age occurred in the 16th century during its union (Lublin Union) with Lithuania in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The citizens of Poland took pride in their ancient freedoms and Sejm parliamentary system, although the szlachta monopolised most of the benefits as most of the population since the middle of the fourteenth century were serfs. Landowners gained almost unlimited ownership over serfs. Since that time Poles have regarded freedom as their most important value. Poles often call themselves the nation of the free people. In the mid-17th century a Swedish invasion rolled through the country in the turbulent time known as "The Deluge" (potop). Numerous wars against the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Cossacks, Transylvania and Brandenburg-Prussia ultimately came to an end in 1699. During the following 80 years, the waning of the central government and deadlock of the institutions weakened the nation, leading to anarchistic tendencies and a growing dependency on Russia. In Polish Democracy every member of parliament was able to break any work or project by shouting 'Liberum Veto' during the session. Russian tsars took advantage of this unique political vulnerability by offering money to Parliamentary traitors, who in turn would consistently and subversively block necessary reforms and new solutions. The Enlightenment in Poland fostered a growing national movement to repair the state, resulting in what is claimed to be the first modern written constitution in Europe, the Constitution of May 3 in 1791. The process of reforms ceased with the threepartitions of Poland between Russia, Prussia, and Austria in 1772, 1793 and 1795 which ultimately dissolved the country. Poles resented their shrinking freedoms and several times rebelled against their oppressors (see List of Polish Uprisings). Napoleon recreated a Polish state, the Duchy of Warsaw, but after the Napoleonic wars, Poland was split again by the Allies at the Congress of Vienna. The eastern part was ruled by the Russian tsar as a Congress Kingdom, and possessed a liberal constitution. However, the tsars soon reduced Polish freedoms and Russia eventually de facto annexed the country. Later in the 19th century, Austrian-ruled Galicia became the oasis of Polish freedom. During World War I all the Allies agreed on the restitution 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 was established after a series of military conflicts, like the 1919-1921 Polish-Soviet War. The 1926 May Coup of Józef Pi?sudski turned the Second Polish Republic into Sanacja that lasted until the start of World War II on September 1, 1939 when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland. Warsaw capitulated on September 28, 1939 and was split up into two zones, one occupied by Nazi Germany the other by the Soviet Union. The eastern part of the German occupied zone was transformed into the General Government area, and the western part (the areas that belonged to Germany before World War I) was simply incorporated to the German Reich. Of all the countries involved in the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of its citizens: over 6 million perished, half of them Polish Jews. Poland also made the 4th largest troops contributions after the US, the British and the Soviets to combat the Germans. At its conclusion, Poland's borders were shifted westwards, pushing the eastern border to the Curzon line. On the other hand, the western border of Poland was moved to the Oder-Neisse line. After the shift, Poland emerged 20% smaller by 77,500 square kilometres (29,900 sq mi); although the important cities of Gdan'sk (Danzig), Szczecin (Stettin) and Wroc?aw (Breslau) were all incorporated into its post-war borders. The shift forced the migration of millions of people – Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, Jews. As a result of these events, Poland became, for the first time in 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 article for the population numbers). The largest number of ethnic Poles outside of the country can be found in the United States. 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 brought in the beginning of the next period of totalitarian rule. The People's Republic of Poland (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa) was officially proclaimed in 1952. In 1956 the régime became more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. In 1970 the government was changed. It was a time when the economy was more modern, and the government had large credits. Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union, "Solidarity" ("Solidarnos'c'" in Polish), which over time became a political force. It eroded the dominance of the Communist Party; by 1989 it had triumphed in parliamentary elections, and Lech Wa?e;sa, a Solidarity candidate, eventually won the presidency in 1990. The Solidarity movement greatly contributed to the soon-following collapse of Communism all over Eastern Europe. A shock therapy program 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 (free speech, functioning democracy and the like). Poland was the first post-communist country to regain pre-1989 GDP levels. Poland joined the NATO alliance in 1999 along with the Czech Republic and Hungary. Polish voters then said yes to the EU in a referendum in June 2003. Poland joined the European Union on May 1, 2004. |
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