8 things you need to know about Poland (part I)

Whether you’re interested in Poland or not, I believe that everyone should have some basic knowledge about one of the most important countries in Europe like e.g. the fact that it’s a member of the UE. To make it easier for you to follow my blog, I’ll start with some general information about Poland.

1.      The official name of Poland is the Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska).

2.      The name ‘Poland’ derives from the name of the tribe Polans (Polanie, pole - field) that inhabited the western part of Poland in X or XI century. The name actually means ‘people living in open fields’ and thus Poland means simply ‘land of fields’.

3.      The first official ruler was Mieszko I (House of Piast), the first official king was elected after his death, in 992 – Bolesław I the Brave (Bolesław I Chrobry). Mieszko I is the one who adopted Christianity in 966, but the Kingdom of Poland was founded shortly after in 1025. In 1922, Gabriel Narutowicz became Poland’s first democratically elected president and in 1989 Nobel Peace Prize-winner Lech Wałęsa that was the leader of the Solidarity movement, became the first noncommunist president of Poland. 

4.      The very first Polish constitution adopted on May 3^rd 1791 was the first codified national constitution of this kind in Europe and second-oldest in the world, after the U.S. Constitution (adopted in 1789). Today May 3^rd in a national holiday that commemorates that event.

5.      The Polish flag has two equal horizontal stripes of equal width – the upper one is white and the lower one red. Actually the Polish constitution define these colors as national ones. Surprisingly, the polish flag can be easily confused with flags of Monaco and Indonesia, which are red (the upper stripe) and white. The colors correspond with the Polish emblem, which is a white, crowned eagle with a golden beak and talons on the red background. What’s more, the Polish Flag Day is celebrated on May 2^nd.

6.      Polish national anthem is Mazurek Dąbrowskiego. The anthem is also known by its original title Song of the Polish Legions in Italy (Pieśń Legionów Polskich we Włoszech), however it is very often called Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła (Poland has not perished yet), which is the first line of the song. It was written in 1797 by Józef Wybicki, shortly after our country lost its independence in a series of partitions by Austria, Russia, Prussia. The anthem was composed in Italy (in Reggio nell' Emilia, town between Parma and Modena), where Polish troops were fighting at the side of Napoleon.

7.      In 1795, after third partition of Poland conducted by the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and Habsburg Austria, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth sovereignty was eliminated until 1918 (the end of the World War I). So basically our country ceased to exist for precisely 123 years.

8.      The most important national holidays is the Independence Day celebrated on November 11^th. It commemorates  the event from 1918 when  Poland declared itself a republic and independent of Russia after 123 years of partition. You probably have no idea that public celebration of that holiday was forbidden by a Communist government from 1939 to 1989.

You might also want to read part II or top reasons to visit Poland.