Poland

Poland is a country in Central Europe stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains. It borders Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Russia, and covers 312,696 km2 (120,733 sq mi).

Warsaw is the capital and largest city, Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań and Gdańsk are other major cities, and Polish is the official language. The West Slavic Polans gave the country its name, and the baptism of their ruler in 966 marks the start of the state. The Kingdom of Poland arose in 1025, the Sejm took its two-chamber form in 1493, and in 1569 union with Lithuania created the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a great power with an elected king, which in 1791 adopted the first modern constitution in Europe. Neighbors partitioned the country at the end of the 18th century, and independence returned in 1918 with the Second Polish Republic. In 1989, after a decade of the Solidarity movement, Poland became the first communist country to return to democracy and free elections.

The state is a parliamentary republic with a Sejm and a Senate. Its constitution defines a social market economy, firms trade on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, and studios such as CD Projekt, maker of The Witcher games and Cyberpunk 2077, have made the country a hub of video game development. The Tatras on the southern border reach 2,500 m (8,202 ft) at Rysy, the Masurian Lake District lies in the northeast, and Białowieża and Bieszczady are among its 23 national parks.

Nicolaus Copernicus put the Sun at the center of the Solar System, and Maria Skłodowska-Curie became a leading physicist and chemist. Frédéric Chopin heads a strong piano tradition, and the polonaise and mazurka are national dances. Henryk Sienkiewicz, Władysław Reymont, Czesław Miłosz and Wisława Szymborska won the Nobel Prize in Literature, and The Pianist and Ida won Academy Awards. Pierogi, bigos and kielbasa are classic foods, and the first written mention of vodka comes from Poland. The football team took third place at the World Cups of 1974 and 1982, and the volleyball team won Olympic gold in 1976.