PolandBy: Ana Rivera

Come and visit.

CustomsCustoms, 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.

CulturesAt 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.

ReligionsRoman Catholic 89.8% (about

75% practicing)Eastern Orthodox 1.3%Protestant 0.3%other 0.3%unspecified 8.3%

LandmarksRoyal Castle In Warsaw

The Royal Castle in Warsaw (Polish: Zamek Królewski 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 – WarsawThe Palace of Culture and Science, in Warsaw

is the tallest building in Poland, the eighth tallest building in the European Union.

Sigismund's Column – WarsawSigismund's Column erected in 1644, is one

of Warsaw's most famous landmarks and one of the oldest secular monuments in northern Europe. The column and statue commemorate King Sigismund III Vasa, who in 1596 had moved Poland's capital from Kraków to Warsaw.

Tourist attractionsWilanow Palace – Warsaw

Wilanów Palace 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 – WarsawThe Baths Park, or Royal Baths is the

largest park in Warsaw, Poland, occupying 76 hectares of the city center.

Warsaw Palace ŁazienkiThe Łazienki Palace (Water Palace) is a

Neoclassical palace in Warsaw's Royal Baths Park.

Wawel Royal PalaceWawel Royal 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.

LanguagesThe 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: GermanBelarusianUkrainian LithuaniaRussianKashubiaFrenchEnglish

history Graet Poland was founded in 966 by Mieszko I. 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.

History Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz 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)

FactsCapital: WarsawClimate: cold, cloudy, severe

winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers.

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Fotos

Linkshttp://

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