Portal:Poland

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

German soldiers dismantling a Polish border checkpoint

The Polish September Campaign was the conquest of Poland by the armies of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and a small contingent of Slovak forces during World War II. The campaign began on 1 September 1939 following a German-staged attack in Gleiwitz (Gliwice). This military operation, which saw the first use of Blitzkrieg tactics, marked the start of World War II in Europe as the invasion led Poland's allies, including the United Kingdom and France, to declare war on Germany on 3 September. On 17 September, the Soviet Red Army invaded the eastern regions of Poland. The Soviets were acting in coöperation with Germany, realizing the secret protocol of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact which envisaged division of Central Europe into Nazi and Soviet spheres of influence. The campaign ended on 6 October 1939 with Germany and the Soviet Union occupying the entirety of Poland. (Full article...)

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Hugo Steinhaus

Hugo Steinhaus (1887–1972) was a professor of mathematics at the University of Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine), where he helped establish what became known as the Lwów School of Mathematics. He is credited with "discovering" Stefan Banach, a prodigy autodidact. Together they contributed to functional analysis by developing the uniform boundedness principle, also known as the Banach-Steinhaus theorem. After World War II, Steinhaus played an important role in establishing a mathematics department at the Wrocław University. Author of around 170 scientific articles and books, Steinhaus left a legacy in several branches of mathematics, including functional analysis, mathematical logic, geometry, and trigonometry. He is also considered a pioneer in game theory and probability theory. (Full article...)

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Kraków's Grand Square (Rynek Główny)

Kraków, situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland, dating back to the 7th century. As Poland's capital city from 1038 to 1596, Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish scientific, cultural and artistic life, and it remains the spiritual heart of Poland. It is a major tourist attraction whose landmarks include the Main Market Square with St. Mary's Basilica and the Cloth Hall (pictured), the Royal Castle and cathedral on the Wawel Hill, and the medieval St Florian's Gate with the Barbican along the Royal Coronation Route. (Full article...)

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Did you know – show different entries

... that two-year-old Ruth Schwarz was rescued from the Sambor Ghetto by Alojzy Plewa, one of many Poles recognized as Righteous Among the Nations (both pictured)?
... that the Majdanek concentration camp trial was the longest Nazi war crimes trial in history, spanning over 30 years?
... that the unsolved shooting death of Henryk Siwiak, a Polish immigrant, is officially the only homicide that occurred in New York on the day of the September 11 attacks?
... that in a Polish study, the silver stretch spider ate an average of 3.7 mosquitoes per day in early June?

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Poland now

Recent events

On 1 June, Karol Nawrocki (endorsed by Law and Justice, pictured), narrowly won the run-off vote in the presidential election
On 18 May, Warsaw mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski (Civic Coalition) narrowly led the first round of the presidential election.
On 16 May, Jadwiga Rappé, a Polish contralto opera singer, died at the age of 73.
On 27 March, Poland suspended the right to claim asylum by people who cross the border from Belarus.

Ongoing

Constitutional crisis • Belarus–EU border crisis • Ukrainian refugee crisis • Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union

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

Children's Day, 1 June
Pentecost, 8 June
Corpus Christi (procession pictured), 19 June

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Warta Mouth National Park

Credit: Alexander Savin

The Warta Mouth National Park (Park Narodowy Ujście Warty) is the youngest of Poland's 23 national parks. It was created in 2001 along the lowest stretch of the Warta river, up to its confluence with the Oder, which marks the Polish–German border. The ground here is swampy and muddy, which makes it a haven for birds.