Rzeczpospolita Polska
Republic of Poland
Poland’s history as a state began near the middle of the 10th century. By the mid-16th century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ruled a vast tract of land in Central and Eastern Europe. During the 18th century, internal disorders weakened the nation, and in a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland among themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union “Solidarity” that over time became a political force with over 10 million members. Free elections in 1989 and 1990 won Solidarity control of the parliament and the presidency, bringing the communist era to a close. A “shock therapy” program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004. With its transformation to a democratic, market-oriented country largely completed and with large investments in defense, energy, and other infrastructure, Poland is an increasingly active member of Euro-Atlantic organizations.
Tourism Information...
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The Best of Poland...
Poland's Most Popular Sights...
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Here is a list of some of the most interesting and visited places. Cities or areas listed will always have more than just one thing see and do. With the popular cities or areas we list some of the best known, which should go on everyone’s, must see list when they visit. |
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Country Information...
| Capital | Warsaw |
| Largest City | Warsaw |
| Government | Parliamentary Republic |
| Currency | Złoty (PLN) |
| Area | 312,685km² Water 3.07% ranked 70th |
| Population | 38,523,261 (July 2016 est.) ranked 35th |
| Language | Polish (official) 98.2%, Silesian 1.4%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.3% note: data represents the language spoken at home; shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census; Poland ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 2009 recognizing Kashub as a regional language, Czech, Hebrew, Yiddish, Belarusian, Lithuanian, German, Armenian, Russian, Slovak, and Ukrainian as national minority languages, and Karaim, Lemko, Romani (Polska Roma and Bergitka Roma), and Tatar as ethnic minority languages (2011 est.) |
| Ethnic Groups | Polish 96.9%, Silesian 1.1%, German 0.2%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 1.7% note: represents ethnicity declared first (2011 est.) |
| Religion | Catholic 87.2% (includes Roman Catholic 86.9% and Greek Catholic, Armenian Catholic, and Byzantine-Slavic Catholic .3%), Orthodox 1.3% (almost all are Polish Autocephalous Orthodox), Protestant 0.4% (mainly Augsburg Evangelical and Pentacostal), other 0.4% (includes Jehovah’s Witness, Buddhist, Hare Krishna, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Muslim, Jewish, Mormon), unspecified 10.8% (2012 est.) |
| Electricity | 230V, 50Hz (European plug) |
| Country code | +48 |
| Emergencies | dial 112 |
| Internet TLD | .pl |
| Time Zone | UTC+1 |
| Drives on the | Right |
| Anthem | Mazurek Dąbrowskiego “Poland Is Not Yet Lost” |
| President | Andrzej Duda |
| Prime Minister | Beata Szydło |
Holidays and Observances in Poland in 2020
| Date | Name | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 | Wednesday | New Year’s Day | National holiday |
| Jan 6 | Monday | Epiphany | National holiday |
| Feb 14 | Friday | Valentine’s Day | Observance |
| Mar 20 | Friday | March Equinox | Season |
| Apr 10 | Friday | Good Friday | Observance |
| Apr 11 | Saturday | Holy Saturday | Observance |
| Apr 12 | Sunday | Easter Sunday | National holiday |
| Apr 13 | Monday | Easter Monday | National holiday |
| May 1 | Friday | Labor Day / May Day | National holiday |
| May 2 | Saturday | Day of the Flag | Observance |
| May 3 | Sunday | Constitution Day | National holiday |
| May 26 | Tuesday | Mother’s Day | Observance |
| May 31 | Sunday | Whit Sunday | National holiday |
| Jun 11 | Thursday | Corpus Christi | National holiday |
| Jun 20 | Saturday | June Solstice | Season |
| Jun 23 | Tuesday | Father’s Day | Observance |
| Aug 15 | Saturday | Assumption of Mary | National holiday |
| Sep 22 | Tuesday | September Equinox | Season |
| Nov 1 | Sunday | All Saints’ Day | National holiday |
| Nov 11 | Wednesday | Independence Day | National holiday |
| Dec 21 | Monday | December Solstice | Season |
| Dec 24 | Thursday | Christmas Eve | Observance |
| Dec 25 | Friday | Christmas Day | National holiday |
| Dec 26 | Saturday | Second Day of Christmas | National holiday |
| Dec 31 | Thursday | New Year’s Eve | Observance |