30 interesting facts about Poland
1) The name of our country – “Poland” – originates from the name of the tribe “Polanie” which means “people living in open fields”.
2) Poland has been invaded or has fought for freedom in insurrections 43 times from 1600 to 1945.
3) Poland adopted the first constitution of its type in Europe and – what is very interesting – the second ever in the world after that of the United States.
4) Polish has the second largest number of speakers among the Slavic languages after Russian.
5) Famous musical composer Frédéric Chopin was Pole and he was born in Zelazowa Wola – a village, which is located about 60 kilometers from Warsaw.
6) Poland’s first documented ruler was Mieszko I in the 10th century.
7) Born in Poland – precisely: in Warsaw – Marie Curie was the first and only Nobel laureate in two different sciences.
8) Polish born astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was the first person to propose that the earth was not the center of the universe.
9) Poland boasts the most winners of the “World’s Strongest Man” title – for example Mariusz Pudzianowski.
10) Poland is known for its large diversity of ethnic including Ukrainians, Belarussians, Slovaks, Lithuanians and Germans.
11) Poland is the 9th largest country in Europe with the population of more than 38 000 000 people.
12) Amongst all the members of the European Union, Polish people are getting married as the youngest.
13) According to a 2007 UNICEF report on child well-being in rich countries, Poland is the second best of the OECD countries.
14) The same reports also finds that Poland has the lowest percentage of overweight young people (only 7.1%).
15) Polish people have the largest households in the European Union.
16) The six biggest cities in Poland are Warsaw, Lodz, Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan and Gdansk.
17) Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.
18) Poland was a communist country from 1945 to 1989.
19) The White Eagle (Polish: Orzeł Biały) is the national symbol of Poland – white eagle with a golden beak and talons, and wearing a golden crown, in a red shield.
20) Poland has seven neighbours: Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Russia.
21) Poland’s capitals have been Gniezno, Poznan, Krakow and finally – Warsaw.
22) Geographically, Poland is not in the Eastern Europe. It is in the very center of Europe.
23) Poland is one of the few countries in the world, where courteous hand-kissing is still a common practice.
24) One third of Poland is covered with forests, 50% of the land is dedicated to farming, there are a total of 9300 lakes and 23 National Parks (e.g. Kampinos National Park near Warsaw).
25) The unit of currency in Poland is the Zloty (PLN). It means “gold” in Polish.
26) Despite the vast destruction the country experienced in World War II, Poland managed to preserve much of its cultural wealth.
27) Poland is currently one of the fastest growing within the EU.
28) According to a Credit Suisse report, Poles are the second wealthiest (after Czechs) of the Central European peoples.
29) According to UNICEF 2007 report, Poland remains one of the most peaceful countries in the world.
30) One of the best universities in Poland is the University of Warsaw, established in 1816.
These couple of facts should help you with learning about Poland and its history, and also find out some trivia about this beautiful country.