Poland (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (), is a country located in Central Europe. It is bordered by 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. Poland shares a maritime border with Denmark in the Baltic Sea. The country has been a member state of the European Union since May 1 2004.

The Polish state was formed more than 1,000 years ago under the Piast dynasty, and reached its golden age near the end of the 16th century under the Jagiellonian dynasty, when Poland was one of the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful countries in Europe. In 1791 the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth adopted the Constitution of May 3, Europe's first modern codified constitution, and the second in the world after the Constitution of the United States. Soon afterwards, the country ceased to exist after being partitioned by its neighbours Russia, Austria, and Prussia. It regained independence in 1918 in the aftermath of the First World War as the Second Polish Republic. Following the Second World War it became a communist satellite state of the Soviet Union known as the People's Republic of Poland. In 1989 the first partially-free elections in Poland's post-World War II history concluded the Solidarity (Solidarność) movement's struggle for freedom and resulted in the defeat of Poland's communist rulers. The current Third Polish Republic was established, followed a few years later by the drafting of a new constitution in 1997. In 1999 Poland acceded to NATO, and in 2004 it joined the European Union.

Officially the country is known as Republic of Poland, in Polish Rzeczpospolita polska#Adjective. The word Rzeczpospolita is the historic name that has been used continuously since the 16th century during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was an elective monarchy. The term Rzeczpospolita can mean "commonwealth" or also "republic", whereas the Polish translation for the English term "republic" is republika. During communist rule from 1952 to 1989 the country's official name was the People's Republic of Poland (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa), which was the only break in the historical official designation.

More on [ Poland ]

Poland News latest RSS headlines - Big News Network.com

German president to visit India February 2010
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:30:02 -0500
Berlin, Dec 15 (DPA) German President Horst Koehler is to make an official visit to India and South Korea in February 2010, his office in Berlin announced Tuesday.
Polanski film to premiere in Berlin
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:19:33 -0500
A new movie by French-Polish director Roman Polanski, who is currently under house arrest in Switzerland, will receive its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February. US prosecutors have ...
OrthoWorx Urges Warsaw's Inclusion on High-Speed Rail Corridor Connecting Chicago and Cleveland
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:33:01 -0500
WARSAW, Ind., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- OrthoWorx, the newly formed industry, community and education initiative to advance and support the orthopedics device sector in Kosciusko County, is working to c...
Implications for Future Relations between the European Union and the United States
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:11:08 -0500
December 15, 2009 My name is Sally McNamara. I am Senior Policy Analyst for European Affairs at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own, and should not be construed a...
Polish forces detain Chechen refugees protesting camp conditions
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:35:33 -0500
Polish forces detained Chechen refugees seeking to cross into Germany on their way to protest against conditions at Polish refugee camps where they live.
Poland bans symbols of communism
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:32:29 -0500
Displaying communist symbols, such as the Soviet flag during this 2007 protest against delaying the opening of a museum exhibit on the Auschwitz death camp, has been criminalised under Polish law.

Poland News

Polish shipyard workers burn tires
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:48:14 -0000
Polish shipyard workers burn tires and shout slogans as they demand that the government protect their jobs, in Warsaw, Poland.
Europe marks 150th birthday of Esperanto creator
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:23:40 -0000
Pomoj and pantalono _ Esperanto for apples and trousers _ went on sale in some Warsaw shops Tuesday as Europe marked 150 years since the birth of the creator of the international language.
Synexus Poland Celebrates Success Of First 'Importance Of Clinical...
Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:36:46 -0000
Main Category: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials Also Included In: Conferences Article Date: 14 Dec 2009 - 5:00 PST Synexus in Poland organised the first 'Importance of Clinical Trials in Medical Practice' conference last week, in conjunction with Wroclaw Medical University.
Foreign murder and rape suspects on the run in Britain
Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:35:51 -0000
Dangerous foreign criminals wanted in their home countries for alleged murder, rape and kidnapping are on the run in Britain, Scotland Yard has revealed.
METALLICA, SLAYER, ANTHRAX, MASTODON Confirmed For Poland's SONISPHERE Festival
Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:23:54 -0000
METALLICA 's official web site has been updated with the following message: "We are now entering the June portion of the 'random tour announcement' derby and today's installment is one that is particularly exciting for us as we are proud to tell you that we will again be headlining the Sonisphere festival, now embarking upon its second year in ...
Poland on The Status of The Armed Forces of The United States of America
Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:16:11 -0000
We are pleased to announce that Under Secretary of State Ellen Tauscher and Polish Under Secretary of Defense Stanislaw Komorowski signed the "Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Poland on the Status of the Armed Forces of the United States of America in the Territory of the ...

Subscribe to Poland RSS feed