Primary School no.310, Warsaw

Michał Mistrzyk and Józef IzbickiClass VI c

Contents:

• Geography- Topographical features, borders

• History- from antiquity to this day

• Culture – music, thetre

• The symbols of Poland

• The administration of Poland

• Information of Poland

Topographical features• Topographical features• Poland is a relatively low-lying country. 91.3 percent of its territory

lies below 300 m above sea level. The highest point is Mt Rysy in the Tatras (2499 m), while the lowest point is located west of the village of Raczki Elbląskie (1.8 m below sea level). The highest-lying settlement is Gubałówka (today part of the municipality of Zakopane; 1125 m), the lowest-lying settlement is Żółwiniec (1.3 m below sea level). There are three main mountain ranges in Poland: the Carpathians, the Sudetan Mountains, and the Góry Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross Mountains). The longest rivers are the Vistula (1047 km), Oder (854 km), Warta (808 km), Bug (772 km), Narew (484 km), San (443 km), Noteć (388 km), Pilica (319 km), Wi eprz (303 km) and the Bóbr (272 km). Poland has some 9,300 lakes with surface areas over 1 ha; they make up 1 percent of the country's territory. The largest is Lake Śniardwy (11,383 ha) in the Masurian Lake District, and the deepest is Lake Hańcza (108.5 m) north of Suwałki.

Moutain Rysy – the largest moutain in Poland

Borders Over the centuries, Poland's territory has changed many times, but it has always comprised

the basins of the Warta and Vistula Rivers, and the lands between the Carpathians and the Baltic Sea. In the 16th-18th centuries the country's area was as much as 1 million sq km. Before the Partitions it was about 733,000 sq km. Partitioned and annexed by Russia, Prussia and Austria, in 1795 Poland disappeared from the map of Europe for the next 123 years. On the restoration of independence in 1918 it covered 388,000 sq km. Today's territory of Poland was determined after the Second World War by the victorious powers, Great Britain, the USA, and the Soviet Union, as a result of the peace conferences at Yalta and Potsdam. Poland lost some 20 percent of its prewar territory. Its borders were moved north, to the Baltic coastline, Varmia and Masuria; and west, to the River Oder and the Lusatian Neisse River. In the east, the new border now ran along the Bug River. Poland gained some 100,000 sq km in the north and west (Varmia and Masuria, the Pomeranian Lake District, Ziemia Lubuska Lower Silesia and part of Upper Silesia), at the same time losing about 78,000 sq km of its territories in the east and north-east (the Vilnian region, Polessie, Volhynia and Podolia). As a result of those dramatic shifts, the current territory of Poland is more or less the same as it was a thousand years ago.The country has a roughly circular shape with a characteristic narrow spit of land, the Hel Peninsula, jutting out 34 km into the Baltic Sea, with an average breadth of just 500 m. Poland's geometrical centre lies some 20 km north-east of Łódź. The maximum north-to-south and west-to-east distances are 649 km and 689 km respectively. The northernmost point is Cape Rozewie (54o50'N), the southernmost is Mt Opolonek in the Bieszczady Mountains (49o00'N); the easternmost is the River Bug near Strzyżów, and the westernmost is the River Oder near Cedynia (14o08'E). In summer days are longer in the north by about an hour than in the south; and shorter by an hour in winter. Poland lies in the Central European time zone, with East European time operating in summer.To the west, Poland has a border of 467 km with Germany, to the south with the Czech Republic (790 km) and Slovakia (541 km); to the east and north-east with Ukraine (529 km), Belarus (416 km), Lithuania (103 km) and Russia (210 km). The total length of Poland's land and sea borders is 3,496km.

History• Proto-Slavonic origins

The earliest signs of human activity in the basins of the Vistula and Oder date back to about 100 thousand BC. Neanderthal hunters crossed  the area, especially present-day southern Poland. The earliest settlements of Homo Sapiens in Poland go back to the Mesolithic Age (8 thousand - 5.5 thousand BC). These settlements were established by migrant peoples belonging to the Danubian Basin Culture. With time (partly due to incursions by warrior tribes from Asia), the inhabitants of the present-day territories of Poland began to organise themselves into larger social groups and establish fortified strongholds. An example of this type of construction can be found in Biskupin (8th century BC), an island settlement surrounded by palisades, which had a population of around 1,000 -1,200 people.Later, from the 6th century BC onwards, Poland became the target of raids by Scythian and Sarmatian tribes from the east, and Celtic and Germanic tribes from the west. Often the invaders would assimilate with the indigenous inhabitants and settle in the conquered territories. Alongside the destruction, these invasions  also brought the achievements of the civilised world and encouraged trade - the earliest traces of the "Amber Road", a trade route linking the Baltic Sea with Rome and the Mediterranean basin, date back to the 5th century BC.

Culture, theatre• Alongside the many types and variants of dramatic theatre whose basis is

literature, there are in Poland forms for which the most important means of expression are not words, e.g. art theatre, musical theatre, theatre of movement). Ever greater popularity is being gained by theatres employing puppets, figures, or shadows; there is even a theatre of drawing as well as a theatre of fire and paper. Alongside the established institutions possessing centuries-old traditions and teams of seasoned professionals, there are amateur theatres and travelling groups with little finance or equipment springing up all over the country. This variety and authentic commitment by so many people provides the best evidence that theatre is still a lively and inspirational experience in Poland. Further proof may be seen in the degree of audience interest, particularly among the young, seeking own" theatres and creating a unique atmosphere around them. It may be seen in the expansion of festival life and respected theatre magazines, e.g. "Dialog", which has, for years, presented the latest achievements in world dramaturgy. In common with other European countries, the most widespread form in Poland is dramatic theatre, based on the existence of relatively stable artistic groups. In spite of the changes in recent years, this is still above all a theatre of directors, who decide on the form of the performance and the appearance of individual scenes. In this group, the most representative is the National Theatre in Warsaw. The core of its repertoire consists of the most cherished Polish and foreign dramas, with which directors conduct their individual dialogues, asking these classic pieces the questions tormenting modern-day Poles.

Culture, music • Polish classical music was shaped, in large measure, by the Romantic tradition. Its creator

was Fryderyk Chopin (1810- 1849), many of whose works linked the Romantic idiom with Polish folk music. This tradition was continued by Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1852), the composer of national operas and numerous of songs. The Chopin tradition has also entrenched itself in Polish piano playing. Great piano virtuosi, such as Józef Hoffmann, Artur Rubinstein or Ignacy Jan Paderewski, have played Chopin with particular pleasure.

• During the interwar period, international competitions were brought to life, including one of the world's oldest, the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition (a renowned violin virtuoso) in Poznań (since 1935), or the Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw (since 1927), in which Dmitri Shostakovich, Janusz Olejniczak and Krystian Zimerman, among others, made their debut. In the field of composition, the leading light of the period was Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937), the creator of emotional music, often including folk colourings

• Equally quickly appeared revolutionary aesthetic ideas related to sonorism, which is the technique of creating music based solely on sound colour. The pioneer of sonorism was Krzysztof Penderecki (1933), who pointed a completely new developmental direction in European contemporary music. Penderecki's avant-gardism was shocking - he used, without scruple, sounds from the interface between art and life - rustles, knocking, the wail of saws or the clatter of typewriters (Fluorescence).

• Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994), on the other hand, concentrated on questions of perfection of form and refinement of sound. His music is multi-layered, internally rich and varied, displaying the discrete charm of constellations of sound, at the same time not without dramatic interest (the 3rd and 4th Symphonies or Piano Concerto).

• Wojciech Kilar (1932) also belonged to the peak of the avant-garde, although today he is better known for his film music (see p.39); the composer of orchestral pieces such as: Riff 62 (1962), Generique (1963) and Diphtongos (1964). Among the most popular of his works from that time is the symphonic poem Krzesany (1974), an expression of Kilar's fascination with minimal music, characterised by a parsimony of form and content. This piece has led a fruitful life and is still very much enjoyed by both performers and listeners.

The president of Poland

Born in Warsaw in 1949. Studied law at Warsaw University. In 1971, he moved to Sopot to work as a scholar at the University of Gdańsk. In 1980 he took a doctor’s degree in labor law, and in 1990 he was awarded a post-doctoral degree.

In 1977, he began to work for the Interventions Office of the Worker Defense Committee. A year later be became involved in the activity of Independent Trade Unions. In August 1980 he was nominated as an adviser of the Gdańsk Inter-plant Strike Committee. He was also a delegate to the First National Congress of the „Solidarność” Trade Union. Interned during the martial law. When released from internment, he returned to trade union activities. He was a member of the underground Solidarity authorities.

In December 1988, became a member of the Civic Committee with Lech Wałęsa. He took part in the Round Table Talks in the team focused on trade union pluralism. In 1990, he was nominated as the Union’s first deputy chairman involved in the running of the Solidarity Trade Union. He was elected senator in the June 1989 election, and two years later a parliamentary deputy representing the Center Civic Alliance Party. In 1991, he was appointed as the head of the National Security Office at the President’s Chancellery. A year later, in1992, he was nominated as the president of the Supreme Chamber of Control (NIK) and he continued to hold that office until 1995.

In June 2000, Lech Kaczyński was nominated as the Minister of Justice by Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek. He soon became the most popular member of the cabinet.In April 2001, he was elected as the head the National Committee of the Law and Justice VParty (PiS) to be elected the party’s president in spring 2001. After the September 2001 parliamentary election he returned to the parliament as the party’s deputy. In autumn 2002 he was elected Warsaw’s mayor with a big advantage over his opponents. He started his term in office by declaring a war against corruption – the so-called „Warsaw connections” - and by restoring law and order. In March 2005 he officially declared his intention to run as a presidential candidate.

Elected President of the Republic of Poland on October 23, he assumed the office on December 23, 2005 by taking an oath before the National Assembly.Lech Kaczyński’s wife, Maria, is an economist. His daughter Marta graduated from the Department of Law atGdańsk University. She is married to Piotr, and in 2003 she gave birth to her daughter, Ewa.Mr. and Mrs. Kaczyński are fond of animals. They have two dogs and two cats.

The coat of Poland

The White Eagle emblem originated when Poland’s legendary founder Lech saw a white eagle’s nest. When he looked at the bird, a ray of sunshine from the re d setting sun fell on its wings, so they appeared tipped with gold, the rest of the eagle was pure white. He was delighted and decided to settle there and placed the eagle on his emblem. He also named the place Gniezdno (currently Gniezno) from the Polish word gniazdo (nest).

The national anthem of Poland1.Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła,Kiedy my żyjemy.Co nam obca przemoc wzięła,Szablą odbierzemy.Ref:Marsz, marsz, Dąbrowski,Z ziemi włoskiej do Polski.Za twoim przewodemZłączym się z narodem.2.Przejdziem Wisłę, Przejdziem Wartę,Będziem Polakami.Dał nam przykład Bonaparte,Jak zwyciężać mamy.Ref:Marsz, marsz...3.Jak Czarniecki do PoznaniaPo szwedzkim zaborze,Dla ojczyzny ratowaniaWrócim się przez morze.Ref:Marsz, marsz...4.Już tam ojciec do swej BasiMówi zapłakany -Słuchaj jeno, pono nasiBiją w tarabany.Ref:Marsz, marsz...

The flag of Poland

The national colors of Poland are white and red. If displayed horizontally, the white is on top, if vertically – on the left. The colors, which are of heldaric origin and have a history dating back to 1831, are one of three constitutional symbols of the Republic of Poland, along with the coat of arms, the White Eagle and the national anthem, Mazurek Dąbrowskiego. The Polish Flag is a rectangular piece of cloth in the national colors, with or without the Polish coat of arms on the white stripe. Polish Flag Day is celebrated on May 2.

Warsaw- the capital

Warsaw is nice city in the centre of Poland. In 1596king Sigmund III Waza replace the capital from Cracow to Warsaw. This decision acelerate progress Mazovia and Warsaw. On II World War Warsaw was destrucion. Warsaw people reconstruct Warsaw after war. Today Warsaw is the biggest city in Poland.Population of Warsaw elevate 1, 700 000 people http://www.um.warszawa.pl/

The historical monuments of Warsaw in the picture

The summary slide

Poland is the big Europe Country. In the course of age Poland changed his border but Polish people save identity. Today Poland is count country in EU. Polish opinion is count in Europe and World.

In 2012 Poland and Ukraine organise Europe Championship in football.

This is future.

The End