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Brief history of Poland
Some useful information
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What is Poland?
A country of central Europe situated between the Baltic Sea, the Carpathian Mountains and the Rivers Odra
and Bug, owes it turbulent history to its geographic location between great powers, at the contact point between
cultures of East and West.
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POLAND'S HISTORY
Pre-Slavonic and Slavonic tribes already began settling these lands in the 15 th century BC. Prehistoric evidence has been provided by, among other things, excavations at the site of a prehistoric settlement of the Lusatian culture in Biskupin, dating from c. 550 BC. Among the tribes inhabiting those areas in the 9 th century AD were the Polanians, whose capital was Gniezno, and the Vistulians with their capital in Krakow or Wislica.
The Polanian state's Piast Dynasty conquered neighbouring tribes, including the Vistulians, and began consolidating Slavonic lands. Turning point in the annals of Polish statehood was the acceptance of Christianity by Duke Mieszko I. That act occurred in 966 and brought Poland into the realm of Latin culture, thereby averting Poland's conversion ' by fire and sword' as a pagan country.
Mieszko's successor, Boleslaw I the Brave, brought about the creation of a Christian bishopric in Gniezno and exploited the martyr's death of Bishop Wojciech, a missionary killed while traing to convert the pagan Prussians, for propaganda purposes. He could then strive to elevate Christian nation Poland had become to the rank of a kingdom. He accomplished that feat in 1025, when be became the firs crowned king of Poland.
In 1038, his successor, Casimir the Renower, moved his capital to Krakow, which for centuries to come would be the centre of Poland's political and social life. The last representative of the Piast Dynasty was Casimir the Great, of which it has been said that 'he found a Poland built of wood and left behind one built of brick and stone.'
Following his heiress death, his nephew Louis of Hungary ascended the throne. His daughter Jadwiga married the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Jagiello, and marriage sealed a union between Poland and Lithuania creating the Jagiellonian Dynasty that reigned until 1572. That was an exceptionally good period for Poland.
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The reign of that dynasty's last kings - Zygmunt the Old and Zygmunt August - has come to be known as 'the golden age'. Following Zygmunt August's heiress death up till 1795, Poland was ruled by elected monarchs, chosen by the entire gentry in the Election Fields of the town of Wola outside Warsaw. The way the kings were elected often led to elections unfavourable to Poland's raison d'etat. Rather than the good of the country, the primary concern were the interests of the gentry who over time obtained growing privileges, thereby weakening royal authority and the state.
A practical reflection of that state of affairs was the 'nihil novi' constitution of 1505, which made any decisions affecting the gentry impossible without their consent. Another was the privilege known as 'liberum veto' - 'I do not permit', which enabled a nobleman to adjourn parliament with a single dissenting vote.
The first elected monarch, Henri de Valois (Henryk Walezy), fled to France after a short reign. But the throne also entrusted to outstanding individuals. Among them were Stefan Batory, Jan III Sobieski and Stanislaw August Poniatowski. From 1587 to 1668 Poland was ruled by dynasty Vasa of Swedish origin, and after the death of Jan III Sobieski, the Wittin Dynasty of Saxony came to power, represented by August II and August III. In the 17th and 18th century Poland declined in importance, and that led to the first partition in which Russia, Austria and Prusia annexed nearly 30% of its territory.
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At the time, attempts were undertaken to introduce reforms, whose most eloquent manifestation was the Constitution of 3 May 1791. But it's provisions were annulled by the traitorous Confederation of Targowica, and in 1793 Poland was partitioned a second time. The third partition, carried out in 1795, whipped Poland of the map of Europe for 123 years.
Poland only regained its independence on the basis of the Treaty of Versailles after First World War. Unfortunately, not for long. In September 1939, the Republic of Poland was invaded by Germany and the USSR. Throughout the entire Second World War Poles fought against the Nazi occupation forces at home and abroad. After the war, a new geopolitical order established at Yalta would make Poland dependent on the Soviet Union for the next 45 years. The Polish nation's numerous revolts against communist rule (1956, 1970, 1976) were quashed by force. It was only the strikes by workers affiliated with the Solidarity trade union led by Lech Walesa that led to a change of Poland's political system and the country's full sovereignty. On 31 December 1989, the Third Polish Republic was born.
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Europoland.com staff
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Below: The parade led by the "Zwierzyniec Pony", known as the Lajkonik, starts on the Octave Christi
from the Cloister of the Norbertine Sisters in Kraków.
It commemorates the repulsion of a Tatar attack in 1287. The costume used today was designed by
Stanisław Wyspiański in 1905.
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Above: Cashubian Ethnographic Park in the willage of Wdzydze Kiszewskie was established in 1907 and is
Poland's oldest scansen (open-air museum).
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Below: Slovincian National Park, established in 1967, has been included among World Biosphere Reserves. Its main
attraction are shifting and dunes rising to a height of 42 meters changing their position by up to 9
meters by a year.
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Above: A monument of Mikołaj Kopernik (Copernicus), sculpted by Friedrich Tieck in 1853. Kopernik was born
in Toruń, worked in Warmia region as a medic and secretary to Bishop Łukasz Watzenrode. He dealt with economic
matters, but his main claim to fame was his work in astronomy which pored the correctness of the heliocentric theory.
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Below: To get from the Pszczyna marketplace to the castle one must pass through the 17th-century Gate
of the Chosen Ones. The formerly Gothic ducal place was erected in the years 1870-1875 according to the
French Renaissance design of Alexander Destailleur.
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Above: Krasiczyn Castle was erected in the years 1592-1618 for the Krasicki family, Marcin Krasicki transformed it
into a residence, with architect Galeazzo Appiani overseeing the project.
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On the right: The great Council Chamber, known as the Red Hall, is the town hall's most beautiful interior.
Its decor, created in the period from 1593 to 1608, was the work of Dutch and Gdańsk
masters: Hans Vredeman de Vries, Izaak van den Blocke and Simon Herle.
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