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 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.
From Polish history –
Selected image –
Did you know –
- ... that St. Francis' Church (pictured) in the Old Town of Kraków displays an exact replica of the Shroud of Turin, blessed by Pope John Paul II in 2003?
- ... that the Thorn Castle (now in Toruń), one of the first castles of the Teutonic Knights, was demolished by rebellious burghers a century or so after its construction, at the beginning of the Thirteen Years' War?
- ... that one of the unofficial mottos of Poland, "God, Honor, Fatherland", likely originated from the Napoleonic motto of the Order of the Legion of Honor ?
- ... that the National Rifle Factory, a major firearms producer in interwar Poland, also designed its own weaponry, including an anti-tank rifle?
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Selected biography –
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Poland now
Recent events
- Poland at the 2024 Summer Olympics:
- On 2 August, Iga Świątek (pictured) won a bronze medal in tennis.
- On 31 July, Poland won a bronze medal in men's quadruple sculls.
- On 28 July, Klaudia Zwolińska won a silver medal in kayak slalom.
- On 1 August, Russian–Spanish journalist Pablo González Yagüe, arrested in Poland on espionage charges and held in pre-trial detention for 886 days, was released as part of a multinational prisoner exchange.
- On 9 July, Jerzy Stuhr, a prominent theatre and film actor and director, died at the age of 77.
Ongoing
Constitutional crisis • Belarus–EU border crisis • Ukrainian refugee crisis • Polish farmers' protests
Holidays and observances in August 2024
(statutory public holidays in bold)
- Assumption Day and Polish Armed Forces Day (military aircraft pictured), 15 April
- Solidarity and Freedom Day, 31 August
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Belarus | Czech Republic | Germany | Lithuania | Russia | Slovakia | Ukraine |
Europe | Catholicism | Communism | European Union |
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Kaszëbskô Wikipedijô Kashubian Wikipedia |
Polska Wikipedia Polish Wikipedia |
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Wymysiöeryś Wikipedyj Vilamovian Wikipedia Incubator |
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Well, that’s interesting to know that Psilotum nudum are known as whisk ferns. Psilotum nudum is the commoner species of the two. While the P. flaccidum is a rare species and is found in the tropical islands. Both the species are usually epiphytic in habit and grow upon tree ferns. These species may also be terrestrial and grow in humus or in the crevices of the rocks.
View the detailed Guide of Psilotum nudum: Detailed Study Of Psilotum Nudum (Whisk Fern), Classification, Anatomy, Reproduction