Poland

1. Poland By: Ana Rivera Come and visit.

2. Customs • Customs, traditions and mores display a diverse mix of the East and the West - a colorful cohabitation of the vibrant Eastern ornamental style and the somber Islamic influence.  • Polish traditions through the year include holidays, customs, superstitions, rituals, and celebrations. Some are firmly rooted in the the national religion, Catholicism; others stem from pagan rites of seasons. In many cases, visitors to Poland can participate or learn more about these traditions.

3. Cultures • At present, more than 98 percent of the people are Poles, with small groups of Ukrainians, Belorussians, Germans, Slovaks and Lithuanians.  •  The Polish population is largely urban centric with 60% of the population living in cities. • Poland's national culture emerged as a synthesis of Latin and Byzantine influences and was further engendered by the numerous European occupations, throughout its history.

4. Religions • Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing) • Eastern Orthodox 1.3% • Protestant 0.3% • other 0.3% • unspecified 8.3%

5. Landmarks • Royal Castle In Warsaw • The Royal Castle in Warsaw (Polish: ZamekKrólewski w Warszawie), that today serves as a Museum and is subordinated to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, was the official residence of the Polish monarchs.  • Palace Of Culture And Science – Warsaw • The Palace of Culture and Science, in Warsaw is the tallest building in Poland, the eighth tallest building in the European Union. • Sigismund'sColumn– Warsaw • Sigismund'sColumnerectedin 1644, isone of Warsaw'smostfamouslandmarks and one of theoldest secular monuments in northernEurope. Thecolumn and statuecommemorate King Sigismund III Vasa, who in 1596 had moved Poland's capital fromKrakówtoWarsaw.

6. Touristattractions • WilanowPalace – Warsaw • WilanówPalace is a royal palace located in the Wilanów district, Warsaw. Wilanów Palace survived the time of Poland's partitions and both World War. • Park Royal Baths– Warsaw • TheBaths Park, or Royal Bathsisthelargestpark in Warsaw, Poland, occupying 76 hectares of thecity center. • WarsawPalaceŁazienki • TheŁazienkiPalace (WaterPalace) is a Neoclassicalpalace in Warsaw's Royal Baths Park. • Wawel Royal Palace • WawelRoyal Castle on the Hill: Perhaps the best known tourist attraction and historical monument in the city, a symbol of Krakow. The castle itself is simply wonderful, carefully restored and turned into a giant museum.

7. Languages • The official language is Polish. • Polish has the second largest number of speakers among Slavic languages after Russian. It is the main representative of the Lecithin branch of the West Slavic languages. The Polish language originated in the areas of present-day Poland from several local Western Slavic dialects, most notably those spoken in Greater Poland and Lesser Poland. • They also speak: • German • Belarusian • Ukrainian • Lithuania • Russian • Kashubia • French • English

8. history • Graet Poland was founded in 966 by MieszkoI. • The tribes of southern Poland then formed Little Poland. In 1047. • Poland merged with Lithuania by royal marriage in 1386. • The Polish-Lithuanian state reached the peak of its power between the 14th and 16th centuries, scoring military successes against the Knights of the Teutonic Order, the Russians, and the Ottoman Turks. • Lack of a strong monarchy enabled Russia, Prussia, and Austria to carry out a first partition of the country in 1772, a second in 1792, and a third in 1795. • For more than a century thereafter, there was no Polish state, just Austrian, Prussian, and Russian sectors, but the Poles never ceased their efforts to regain their independence. • The Polish people revolted against foreign dominance throughout the 19th century. • Poland was formally reconstituted in Nov. 1918. • Despite a ten-year nonaggression pact signed in 1934, Hitler attacked Poland on Sept. 1, 1939. • Soviet troops invaded from the east on Sept. 17, and on Sept. 28, a German-Soviet agreement divided Poland between the USSR and Germany.

9. History • WladyslawRaczkiewicz formed a government-in-exile in France, which moved to London after France's defeat in 1940. • All of Poland was occupied by Germany after the Nazi attack on the USSR in June 1941. • Nazi Germany's occupation policy in Poland was designed to eradicate Polish culture through mass executions and to exterminate the country's large Jewish minority. • The Polish government-in-exile was replaced with the Communist-dominated Polish Committee of National Liberation by the Soviet Union in 1944. • Moving to Lublin after that city's liberation, it proclaimed itself the Provisional Government of Poland • Some former members of the Polish government in London joined with the Lublin government to form the Polish Government of National Unity, which Britain and the U.S. recognized. • On Aug. 2, 1945, in Berlin, President Harry S. Truman, Joseph Stalin, and Prime Minister Clement Attlee of Britain established a new de facto western frontier for Poland along the Oder and Neisse rivers. (The border was finally agreed to by West Germany in a nonaggression pact signed on Dec. 7, 1970.) • On Aug. 16, 1945, the USSR and Poland signed a treaty delimiting the Soviet-Polish border. Under these agreements, Poland was shifted westward. • In the east, it lost 69,860 sq mi (180,934 sq km); in the west, it gained (subject to final peace conference approval) 38,986 sq mi (100,973 sq km)

10. Facts • Capital: Warsaw • Climate: cold, cloudy, severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers. • Flag:

11. Fotos

12. Links • http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/poland.html • http://www.directbooking.ro/landmarks-in-poland.aspx • http://www.infoplease.com/country/poland.html?pageno=1 • http://www.polandforvisitors.com/travel_poland/culture