Poland is a large country in Eastern Europe, bounded by Germany to the West, Russia & Lithuania to the North, Belarus & Ukraine to the East, and the Czech Republic & Slovakia to the South.
Poland has a sad history of occupation, starting in the late 18th century, when Austria, Prussia and Russia split the country up into three parts, wiping it off an administrative map of Europe for over 100 years. Poland would eventually regain its freedom as a nation after the end of World War I, in 1918. Less than 30 years later, Hitler and his Nazi’s invaded in 1939, occupying the country, and splitting it between Germany and Russia. Mass extermination of Polish Jews and citizens was carried out, with various concentration camps used throughout the land. The most famous of these was Auschwitz, the German name for the town of Oswiecim in Southern Poland, where more people were killed than in any other camp.
Poland is one of the larger countries in Europe, and is currently the ninth largest in Europe, and the seventh largest in the European Union.
Polish name: Polska
Capital and largest city: Warsaw
Cities: No distinction between City and Town
Counties/Voivodeships: 16
Official Languages: Polish
Patron saint and day: St Casimir, Sunday nearest to March 4th
Click here to see the location of Poland within Europe. You can see any places we have visited within Poland by looking through the counties below:
- Lesser Poland
- City of Krakow.
- Towns of Jordanow and Zakopane.
- Village of Chocholow.
- Auschwitz A Concentration Camp.
- Auschwitz Birkenau Concentration Camp.
The British Isles were the limit, but now the world! 