The Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska) is one of the largest countries in Central Europe, bordering Russia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany. Its northern frontier on the Baltic Sea gives it easy access to Scandinavian and North Sea ports. Poland`s shape is roughly square, measuring 400-440 miles across.

The capital, Warsaw, is situated in the center of the country. Poland`s surface area of 120,727 sq. miles ranks eighth in Europe. The country lies almost entirely on the North European Plain and is a land of gentle relief, rarely rising above 350 feet except along the southern border with the Sudety and Carpathian mountain ranges. Rysy is the highest mountain peak, 8200 feet above sea level.

Approximately one-fifth of the land is maintained as pasture and meadows. About 27% of the total area is covered by forest. The longest rivers which cross the country northward are the Vistula (667 miles in length) in the center, and the Odra (530 miles) which flows along Poland`s western border

History - An Outline

Modern man appeared in the regions of present Poland about 40,000 years B.C., while the records of the Slav tribes are to be found in ancient sources written in the 6th century A.D. In the 7th century A.D. the first defence settlements were built: Krakow (Cracow) was the most significant one in the basin of the Vistula River. The beginning of the Polish state goes back to the 10th century when the Piast Dynasty contributed to its development and prosperity, which lasted also throughout the Middle Ages. Then in the reign of the monarchs from the Jagellonian Dynasty (15th, and 16th century in particular) Polish culture enjoyed its golden age: numerous grand residences, castles and palaces constructed then still amaze and fascinate the visitors: The Wawel Castle and Pieskowa Skala in the surroundings of Krakow (Cracow) are fine examples of then architecture. During the Renaissance tremendous advances in the sciences led to such discoveries as Copernicus' theory of the Universe.

Krakow (Cracow) was the capital of Poland from the 11th to the beginning of the 17th century when Warszawa (Warsaw) rose to that status; however, coronation ceremonies and royal burials were still held in Krakow (Cracow). In the 17th century Poland experienced long-lasting and devastating wars with Sweden, Russia and Turkey, which caused serious damage to Polish culture and brought enormous destruction to many valuable monuments. By the end of the 18th century Poland had grown so weak that it suffered three partitions among its neighbours: Russia, Prussia and Austria, disappearing from the map of Europe for more than one hundred years. During that difficult period the Polish nation retained a strong national identity, which manifested itself in several heroic uprisings of the 19th century (each of them was crushed) and art and literature which expressed patriotic thought.

After the World War I Poland regained independence, but for merely 21 years, as it was the first country to be invaded by Hitler's army in 1939. The Nazi occupation of Poland resulted not only in ruthless destruction and plundering of the whole country, but also in unprecedented atrocities of concentration camps of which Auschwitz is the best known example. Millions of Poles, Jews and people belonging to other nations lost their lives in concentration camps, mass executions and in combat. After the World War II Poland became dependant on the Soviet Union. The collapse of communism in 1989 brought about sweeping reforms in both the political system and economy. Poland established closer relations with the whole world and opened up its market to Western Europe.

The Poles who are most famous abroad are: the Pope John Paul II, Lech Walesa, the Solidarity activist, two winners of the Literary Nobel Prize: Czeslaw Milosz and Wislawa Szymborska (both live in Krakow (Cracow)), Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the first Prime Minister after the breakthrough of 1989, and Leszek Balcerowicz, an eminent economist who introduced most of the reforms.