Quick Facts About Poland
- Official name: Republic of Poland
- Independence date: November 11, 1918 – The end of World War I which restored Poland’s sovereignty
- Member of the EU?: Yes
- Capital: Warsaw
- Currency: The Zloty (Euro may be accepted too)
- Power Adapter: Type C or Type F
- Population: 37 million (2024 est.)
- Yearly tourist visits: 40 million (2023 est.)
- Best known for: History, beautiful towns
A very short history of Poland:
Before the Middle Ages, Poland consisted of a variety of Germanic and Slavic people groups, though after the Great Migration mostly Slavs were left. Poland itself was established by Duke Mieszko I sometime before 963, but true statehood is generally traced to 966 when he converted to Christianity in what has become known as the “baptism of Poland.” The next few centuries were riddled with instability and wars, including the first Mongol invasion of Poland in 1240, a significant defeat for the Polish army. After a period of fragmentation, the Kingdom of Poland was restored and expanded in the mid-1300s before the dynastic line died out and a brief union with Hungary was formed. After 12 years, Queen Jadwiga, daughter of King Louis I of Hungary, became Queen of Poland and initiated a new dynasty.
Queen Jadwiga married Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania, ushering in the era of the Polish-Lithuanian union. At it’s peak during the late 1600s the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth controlled most of modern day Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic countries, and parts of Russia making it one of the largest political entities in Europe at the time. However, following nearly a century of different wars and invasions by major powers such as Russia and Austria, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was partitioned and Poland ceased to be an independent state after 1795.
Most of the 19th Century was spent under Russian control, and major resentment of Russian rule grew during this period thanks to increasingly repressive policies to “Russianize” the area. Much of World War I on the Eastern Front was fought in Poland, thus the country was particularly devastated as battles raged and control ocellated between the Russians and Germans. The Treaty of Versailles reestablished an independent Polish state in 1919, though war immediately erupted between Poland and the Soviet Union under Lenin. In the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921), the Poles scored a major victory in the Battle of Warsaw, reversing Soviet gains and eventually leading to a Polish advance through modern Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine. The Treaty of Riga in 1921 codified the Polish-Soviet borders and gave Poland much of it’s former territory during the Commonwealth period, though it left Lithuanians and Ukrainians without a nation of their own and gave rise to some anti-Polish sentiment in the interwar period.
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, initiating World War II in Europe. On September 17, the Soviets invaded Poland from the East as had been preplanned with Germany, and Polish defenses quickly collapsed despite a valiant effort. Germany and the Soviet Union thus divided and occupied Poland, though Germany then crossed the Soviets and invaded Soviet territory in the summer of 1941. During the War, Poland was home to some of the worst atrocities imaginable and Poles suffered greatly. Both the Germans and the Soviets considered the Poles inferior, and both committed unspeakable crimes on the Polish population from the Holocaust to massacres of civilians and captured prisoners of war.
Peace in 1945 reasserted Polish independence, though the Soviets quickly installed a Communist government that oppressed the Polish population until the rise of the Solidarity Movement and the defeat of communism at the polls in 1989. Since 1989 Poland has had a democratic government and has increasingly aligned with the European Union.
Check out our 10 day trip to Poland to help you plan your next trip!
