Portal:Poland
Welcome to the Poland Portal — Witaj w Portalu o Polsce

Poland is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast to the north. It is an ancient nation whose history as a state began near the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century when it united with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to form the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements in the late 18th century, Russia, Prussia and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. It regained independence as the Second Polish Republic in the aftermath of World War I only to lose it again when it was occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. The nation lost over six million citizens in the war, following which it emerged as the communist Polish People's Republic under strong Soviet influence within the Eastern Bloc. A westward border shift followed by forced population transfers after the war turned a once multiethnic country into a mostly homogeneous nation state. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union called Solidarity (Solidarność) that over time became a political force which by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A shock therapy program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe. With its transformation to a democratic, market-oriented country completed, Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, but has experienced a constitutional crisis and democratic backsliding under the rule of the populist Law and Justice party since 2015.
From Polish history –

Selected image –

Did you know –
- ... that the Kraków Fire of 1850 (pictured) destroyed approximately 10% of the city?
- ... that in January 2013, the cybercrime Virut botnet was partially taken down by NASK, the Polish domain registrar?
- ... that some 80,000 Poles have been waiting for over sixty years for compensation for the immovable property lost to the Soviet Union in lands east of the Bug River?
- ... that Filipinki was the first Polish all-girl vocal group?
You can help!
|
|
![]() |
Selected biography –

Selected location –

Poland now
Recent events
- On 15 October, the ruling Law and Justice party won the parliamentary election, but failed to retain a majority in the Sejm, while a nationwide referendum on a variety of topics failed due to a widespread boycott.
- On 30 September, Grzegorz Ryś (pictured), Archbishop of Łódź, was elevated to cardinalate.
- On 16 September, Poland won the 2023 Men's European Volleyball Championship.
- On 14 September, Piotr Wawrzyk, dismissed from his post of Deputy Foreign Minister amid a cash-for-visa scandal, was hospitalized after a suicide attempt.
- On 9 September, Green Border, a drama film directed by Agnieszka Holland about the ongoing migrant crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border, won the Special Jury Prize at the 80th Venice International Film Festival.
Ongoing
Constitutional crisis • Belarus–EU border crisis • Ukrainian refugee crisis
Holidays and observances in October 2023
(statutory public holidays in bold)
- Teachers' Day, 14 October
- Pope John Paul II Day (bust pictured), 16 October
Subcategories

Topics
Related portals
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Germany | Czech Republic | Slovakia | Ukraine | Belarus | Lithuania | Russia |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Europe | Catholicism | World War II | Communism | European Union |
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Wikipedias in the languages of Poland
![]() |
Kaszëbskô Wikipedijô Kashubian Wikipedia |
![]() |
Polska Wikipedia Polish Wikipedia |
![]() |
Ślůnsko Wikipedyjo Silesian Wikipedia |
![]() |
Wymysiöeryś Wikipedyj Vilamovian Wikipedia Incubator |
Беларуская • Česky • Deutsch • Հայերեն • Lietuvių • Romani • Русский • Slovenčina • Українська • ייִדיש
-
List of all portalsList of all portals
-
The arts portal
-
Biography portal
-
Current events portal
-
Geography portal
-
History portal
-
Mathematics portal
-
Science portal
-
Society portal
-
Technology portal
-
Random portalRandom portal
-
WikiProject PortalsWikiProject Portals