- For other uses, see Poland (disambiguation).
The Republic of Poland, a country in Central Europe, lies
between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and Russia (in the form of the Kaliningrad Oblast exclave) to the north. The Polish state
is over 1,000 years old. In the XVIth century, under the Jagiellonian dynasty,
Poland was one of the richest and most powerful states in Europe. On May 3, 1791 the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania ratified a
constitution, being the first written
constitution of Europe. Soon after Poland ceased to exist for 123 years, upon being partitioned by its neighbours Russia, Austria and Prussia. Poland regained independence
in 1918. In 1989 the first partially free elections in Poland's post World War
II history concluded the Solidarity movement's struggle for freedom and
resulted in the defeat of Poland's communist rulers. In 1999 Poland joined
NATO and in 2004 became a member of the European Union.
Name
Poland's official name in Polish is Rzeczpospolita Polska. The names of the country, Polska, and of the
nationality, the Poles, are of Slavic origin. A
common opinion holds that the name Polska comes from the Slavic Polanie tribe who established the Polish state in
the 10th century (Greater Poland). Their name may derive from the
Slavic word pole (field), or it may come from the tribal name Goplanie - people living around Lake Gopło - the cradle of Poland mentioned as
Goplanie having 400 strongholds circa 845 (Bavarian
Geographer). Conventional etymology of the ethnic name of the Poles relates it more widely to the Polish Polanie, "dwellers of the field"; pol, "field", analogous to Russian polyî,
"open land", from Indo-European pelč-, "flat" + -anie, "inhabitants", analogous to Latin -anus, "originating
from". In old Latin chronicles the terms terra Poloniae (land of Poland) or
Regnum Poloniae (kingdom of Poland) appear.
Parallel to this terminology, another one, Lechia, came into use, thought to
derive from the tribe name Lędzianie. It gave rise to an alternative name for "Pole": Lęch,
Lęchowie in Old Church Slavonic, Lechia,
Lechites in Latin, Lach in Ruthenian, Lyakh in Russian, as
well as to old German Lechien, Hungarian Lengyelorszag, Lengyel, Lithuanian Lenkija, lenkas and Turkish
Lechistan
See: The name 'Poland' translated into
other languages (in Wiktionary)
History
Main article: History of Poland
The Polish nation started to form into a recognisable unitary territorial entity around the middle of the 10th century under the Piast dynasty. In
12th century Poland was fragmented into several smaller states, which were
later ravaged by the Mongol armies of Golden Horde in 1241. Under the Jagiellon dynasty Poland forged an alliance with Poland's neighbor Lithuania. A golden age occurred in the 16th century during its union (Lublin Union) with Lithuania in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The citizens of Poland took pride in their ancient freedoms
and parliamentary system, though the Szlachta monopolised the benefits thereof. Since that time Poles have regarded freedom as their most important value. Poles often call themselves the Nation of the free people.
In mid-17th century a rebellion of Cossacks led by Bohdan Chmielnicki ushered in the turbulent time of The Deluge (potop). Numerous wars against Ottoman Empire, Russia, Sweden, Transylvania and Brandenburg-Prussia ultimately came to an end in 1699.
During the following 80 years, the waning of the central government and deadlock of the institutions weakened the nation, leading
to dependency on Russia. The Enlightenment in Poland fostered a growing national movement to repair the state, resulting in the first
written constitution in Europe, in 1791 (May Constitution of Poland).
The process of reforms ceased with the partitions of Poland
between Russia, Prussia, and Austria in 1772, 1793 and 1795; these ultimately completely dissolved Poland. Poles resented
their shrinking freedoms and several times rebelled against their oppressors ( see List of Polish Uprisings). After the Napoleonic wars a reconstituted Polish state, the Duchy of Warsaw, ruled by the
Russian tsar as a Congress
Kingdom, possessed a liberal constitution. However, the Russian tsars soon reduced Polish freedoms and Russia eventually
de facto annexed the country. Later in the 19th century,
Austrian-ruled Galicia became the oasis of
Polish freedom. During World War I all the Allies agreed on the restitution of Poland that United States President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed in point 13 of his Fourteen Points. Shortly after the surrender of Germany in
November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic. A new threat, Soviet aggression, arose in the 1919
(Polish-Soviet War), but Poland succeeded in defending its
independence.
The Second Polish Republic lasted until the start of World War II when
Germany and the Soviet Union
invaded and split the Polish territory between
them from (September 28, 1939).
Poland was completely unprepared for the swiftness and ferocity of the attacks because of a failure to modernize her military.
The Poles fought valiantly, but their mounted cavalry was no match for mechanized armored cavalry and air power. Poland suffered
greatly in this period (see General Government). Of all the
countries involved in the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of its citizens: over 6 million perished, half of them Polish
Jews. Poland's borders shifted westwards; pushing the eastern border to the Curzon line and the western border to the Oder-Neisse line. After the shift Poland emerged smaller by 76 000 km˛ or by 20% of its pre-war size. The
shifting of borders also involved the migration of millions of people – Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, Jews. Eventually,
Poland became, for the first time in history, an ethnically unified country. The Soviet Union occupation brought a new communist government to Poland, analogously to much of the rest of the Eastern Blok. In
1948 a turn towards Stalinism brought in
the beginning of the next period of totalitarian rule. The People's Republic of Poland was officially proclaimed in 1952. In 1956 the régime became more liberal, freeing many people from prison
and expanding some personal freedoms. Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the
independent trade union, "Solidarity", which over time became a political force. It eroded the dominance of the Communist Party; by 1989 it had triumphed in parliamentary elections, and Lech
Wałęsa a Solidarity candidate eventually won 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. Despite the regression in levels of social and economic human rights standards, numerous improvements in other human rights standards occurred (free speech, functioning democracy and the like). Poland was the first among
post-communist countries to regain pre-1989 GDP levels.
Poland joined the NATO alliance in 1999. Following a
massive advertising campaign by the government in favour of joining the European Union, Polish voters voted yes to the EU in a referendum in June 2003. Poland joined the
European Union on 1 May 2004.
Politics
Main articles: Politics of Poland, Foreign relations of Poland, Military of Poland
Poland is a democratic republic. Its current constitution dates from 1997. The government structure centres on the
Council of Ministers, led by a prime minister.
The president appoints the cabinet according to the
proposals of the prime minister, typically from the majority coalition in the bicameral legislature's lower house (the
Sejm). The president, elected by popular vote every 5 years, serves as the head of state. The current president is Aleksander Kwasniewski.
Poland voters elect a two house parliament (National Assembly, Polish Zgromadzenie Narodowe), consisting of a 460 member lower house
Sejm and a 100 member Senate (Senat). Sejm is elected under a proportional representation electoral system similar
to that used in other parliamentary political systems while the Senate is elected under a comparatively rare first past the post
bloc voting. With the exception of ethnic minority parties, only political parties receiving at least 5% of the total
national vote can enter Sejm.
The judicial branch plays a minor role in decision-making. Its major
institutions include the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy) (judges appointed by the president of the republic on the
recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period), and the Constitutional Tribunal
(Trybunał Konstytucyjny) (judges chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms). The Sejm (on approval of the Polish Senate)
appoints the Ombudsman or the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection (Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich) for a five-year term.
The Ombudsman has the duty of guarding the observance and implementation of the rights and liberties of the human being and of
the citizen, the law and principles of community life and social justice.
Voivodships
Main article: Voivodships of Poland
Poland is sub-divided for administrative purposes into 16 administrative regions known as voivodships (województwa,
singular - województwo):
Geography
Main article: Geography of Poland
The Polish landscape consists almost entirely of the lowlands of the North European Plain, at an average height of 173 metres, though the Sudetes (including the Karkonosze) and the Carpathian Mountains (including the Tatra mountains, where one also finds Poland's highest point, Rysy, at 2,499 m.) form the southern border. Several large rivers cross the plains, for instance the Vistula (Wisła), Oder
(Odra), Warta the (Western) Bug. Poland also contains over 9,300 lakes, predominantly in the north of the country. Masuria (Mazury) forms the largest and most-visited lake district in Poland. Remains of the ancient
forests survive: see list of forests in Poland.
Poland enjoys a temperate climate, with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation and mild summers with frequent
showers and thunder showers.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Poland
Since its return to democracy, Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of
liberalising the economy and today stands out as one of the most
successful and open examples of the transition from communism to a market economy.
The privatisation of small and medium state-owned companies and a
liberal law on establishing new firms have allowed for the rapid development of an aggressive private sector, but without any
development of consumer rights organisations. Restructuring and
privatisation of "sensitive sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railroads, and energy) has begun. The biggest privatisations so
far were a sale of Telekomunikacja Polska, a national telecom to France Telecom (2000) and an issue of 30% shares of the biggest
Polish bank, PKO BP, on the Polish stockmarket (2004).
Poland has a large agricultural sector of private farms, that can be
leading producer of food in the European Union. Challenges remain,
especially under-investment. Structural reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger-than-expected fiscal pressures. Warsaw leads the
region of Central Europe in foreign investment and allegedly needs a
continued large inflow. GDP growth had been strong and
steady from 1993 to 2000 with only a short slowdown
from 2001 to 2002. The prospect of closer integration
with the European Union has put the economy back on track, with growth of 3.7% annually (as of 2003), a rise from 1.4% annually in 2002. In 2004 GDP growth is expected to exceed 5% (Q1, 2004 - 6.9%).
Annual growth rates for following quarters:
- Q1 2003 - 2.2%
- Q2 2003 - 3.8%
- Q3 2003 - 3.9%
- Q4 2003 - 4.7%
- Q1 2004 - 6.9%
- Q2 2004 - 6.1%
- Q3 2004 - 4.8%
- Q4 2004 - 3.9%
Although the Polish economy is currently undergoing an economic boom there are many challenges ahead. The most notable task on
the horizon is the preparation of the economy (through continuing deep structural reforms) to allow the Poland to meet the strict
economic criteria for entry into the European Single Currency. There is much speculation as
to just when Poland might be ready to join the Eurozone, although the best guess
estimates put the entry date somewhere between 2009 and 2013.
Transportation
Main articles: Roads and
Expressways in Poland, Transportation in
Poland, Communications in Poland
Poland has a poorly developed infrastructure of roads, expressways, highways, waterways, and railroads by Western European
standards. Total length of Railways in Poland is 23,420 km. The total length of Highways/Expressways in Poland is 364,656 km.
There are a total of 9,283,000 registered passenger automobiles in Poland, as well as 1,762,000 registered trucks and busses
(2000).
Poland has 8 major airports, a total of 122 airports and airfields, as well as 3 heliports. The total length of navigable
rivers and canals is 3,812 km. The merchant marine of Poland consists
of 114 ships, with additional 100 ships being registered outside the country. Poland's principal ports and harbours are Gdańsk, Gdynia, Kołobrzeg, Szczecin, Świnoujście, Ustka, Warsaw, and Wrocław.
Telecommunication and IT
Sub-articles: Software development in
Poland At the beginning of the 21st century Poland is faced with a number of challenges of social and technological
background. Proper processes in the national economy, competitive position of Poland on global markets, efficient and effective
management of companies and improvements in their economic sustainability, they all depend largely on the quality of
telecommunication and information systems in terms of technical and operational usability. Poland is willing to become actively
involved in bringing the information era benefits to come true. We understand that this will not be possible without efficient,
high quality and well-developed information infrastructure in place, which will be managed by sophisticated telecommunication,
information and electronic processes.
In Poland, the share of telecom sector in GDP generation is 4.4% (end of 2000 figure), when compared to 2.5% in 1996.
Nevertheless, despite high expenditures for telecom infrastructure (the coverage increased from 78 users per 1000 inhabitants in
1989 to 282 in 2000) the infrastructure is still underdeveloped. All indicators describing the status of telecom infrastructure,
such as number of users/Internet users per 1000 inhabitants, average traffic per line, average cost of connection, average cost
of Internet connection, rank Poland well behind European averages and even behind many of former COMECON countries. Dynamic
development of mobile telecom only in part compensates for the regional backlog in stationary telecom infrastructure. Density of
stationary network in Poland vary greatly from region to region, with rural areas lagging behind. The truth is that adequate
infrastructure for sophisticated telecom services would significantly improve prospects to attract local and foreign investors to
the regions.
Tourism and holidays
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Poland
Poland formerly played host to many languages, cultures and religions. However, the outcome of World War II and the following shift westwards to the area between the Curzon line and the Oder-Neisse line gave
Poland an appearance of homogeneity. 36,983,700 people, or 96.74% of today's population considers itself Polish (Census 2002),
471,500 (1.23%) declared another nationality. 774,900 people (2.03%) didn't declare any nationality. The officially recognized
ethnic minorities include: Germans, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Jews and Belarusians. The Polish language, a member of the West Slavic branch of the Slavic languages, functions as the official language of Poland. Most Poles adhere to the Roman Catholic faith, though only 75% count as practising Catholics. The rest
of the population consists mainly of Eastern Orthodox and Protestant religious minorities.
Culture
Main article: Culture
of Poland
Other articles related to culture include:
International rankings
External links
Governmental websites
- The Official Poland's portal (http://www.poland.gov.pl/?command=languages/do_choose&language_id=en)
- Tourist information
portal (http://www.poland-tourism.pl/)
- KPRM (http://www.kprm.gov.pl/english/index.html) - Official prime ministerial site
- Prezydent (http://www.president.pl/x.node?id=479) - Official presidential site
- Sejm (http://www.sejm.gov.pl/english.html) - Official site of the Sejm
- Senat (http://www.senat.gov.pl/indexe.htm)
- Official site of the Senate
- Sąd
Najwyższy (http://www.sn.pl/english/index.html) - Official site of the
Supreme Court
- Trybunał Konstytucyjny (http://www.trybunal.gov.pl/eng/index.htm) - Official site of the Constitutional Tribunal
- Constitution of Poland (http://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/kon1.htm)
English-language websites on Poland
The most popular Polish web-portals
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