Portal:Poland
Welcome to the Poland Portal — Witaj w Portalu o Polsce
![Coat of arms of Poland](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Herb_Polski.svg/160px-Herb_Polski.svg.png)
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 biography –
Selected location –
Did you know –
- ... that kiełbasa szynkowa (pictured) is a Polish ham sausage?
- ... that one of the reasons for the Partitions of Poland was the thousands of Russian peasants escaping from serfdom to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth?
- ... that Zahava Burack survived the Holocaust by hiding in a crawlspace beneath the home of a sympathetic Polish family for two and a half years?
- ... that the toxic nature of the fools webcap was discovered only after 102 people in Bydgoszcz were poisoned in 1952?
- ... that The Old Axolotl, an experimental electronic novel by Jacek Dukaj presenting a post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk vision of Earth, incorporates hypertext and 3D-printable models of its characters?
Poland now
Recent events
- Poland won 23 medals, including eight gold, at the 2024 Summer Paralympics, ranking 16th in the medal table.
- On 7 September, Karolina Pęk won a gold medal in table tennis, while Renata Śliwińska won a silver medal in shot put.
- On 6 September, Barbara Bieganowska-Zając (pictured) and Karolina Kucharczyk won gold medals in 1500-metre run and long jump, respectively, while Maciej Lepiato and Michał Dąbrowski won bronze medals in high jump and wheelchair fencing.
- On 5 September, Rafał Czuper and Dorota Bucław won gold and bronze medals, respectively, in table tennis, while Rafał Wilk won a bronze medal in cycling.
- On 18 August, Polish cyclist Katarzyna Niewiadoma won the 2024 Tour de France Femmes.
- Poland won 10 medals, including one gold, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, ranking 42nd in the medal table.
Ongoing
Constitutional crisis • Belarus–EU border crisis • Ukrainian refugee crisis
Holidays and observances in September 2024
(statutory public holidays in bold)
- Harvest festivals (wreath pictured)
- Polish Underground State Day, 27 September
Selected image –
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Wikipedias in the languages of Poland
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Kaszëbskô Wikipedijô Kashubian Wikipedia |
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Polska Wikipedia Polish Wikipedia |
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Ślůnsko Wikipedyjo Silesian Wikipedia |
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Wymysiöeryś Wikipedyj Vilamovian Wikipedia Incubator |
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