Important Facts On Poland

This post is specially made for the people of Poland and interested people of the world who wants to know more important facts about
country Poland. So, stay in touch for more general knowledge.

• The name "Poland" - in Latin "Polonia" and in Polish "Polska" comes from the name of the tribe "Polanie", who used to inhabit the western part of today's country. It used to mean: people living in open fields.
• Poland is the the 9th largest country in Europe.
• The six biggest cities in Poland are Warsaw, Lodz, Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan, and Gdansk
• Polish is the official (and most spoken language) of Poland. English and German are commonly learned as second languages.
• Almost 90% of the population are Roman Catholics.
• The highest point in Poland is Rysy in the Tatra Mountains (2,499m)
• The most popular name for a dog in Poland is Burek which translates to: “brownish-grey color”.
• In Poland the name day is considered more important than the birthday.
• Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
• Amongst all the members of the European Union, the residents of Poland marry the youngest.
• Poland boasts 17 Nobel prize winners, including four Peace Prizes and five in Literature.
• 90% of Poles have completed at least secondary education.
• Marie Curie (born Maria Sklodowska ; 1867-1934), the first and only Nobel laureate in two different sciences and first female professor at the Sorbonne University.
• Polish born astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was the first person to propose that the earth was not the center of the universe.
• Another Polish astronomer, Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687) published the earliest exact maps of the moon.
• Saint John’s Kupala is a popular holiday in which people jump over fires, a tradition that predates Christianity.
• In Wroclaw there is an annual city-wide medieval festival, including jousts, horse archery, medieval dances and other activities.
• Marzenna is a tradition where people weave straw dolls and decorate them with ribbons. These represent the end of winter, and the beginning of spring. When the snow starts to melt, they proclaim the beginning of spring and chuck the Marzennas into the river or stream, symbolically ‘killing’ the winter.
• During Wianki people go to the riverbanks and float wreaths with candles on them on the water. If it floats to a woman on the other side, she’ll find love. If it circles three times, she’ll be unlucky with her love life.
• Natural resources include: coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land.
• Przystanek Woodstock is the biggest open-air festival in Europe–an annual free rock music festival in Poland, inspired by and named for the Woodstock Festival.
• Pizza in Poland does not contain tomato sauce. The waiters bring sauce to the table in a pitcher, and you pour it on top. Sometimes the sauce is just ketchup.
• There is a Pope channel on TV. Anytime one needs to see the pope, one can tune him in.
• In Poland, bananas are peeled from the blossom end, not from the stem end.
• Some Polish beer is 10% alcohol.
• Polish toilet paper is made of crepe.
• The coldest part of Poland is in the the North-East and the warmest is in the South-west.
• The national symbol of Poland is the White tailed Eagle.
• Geographically, Poland is not in the Eastern Europe. It is in the very centre of Europe.
• The national colours of Poland are red and white. They can be seen on their flag and emblem.
• One of the most famous places in Poland is the oldest Salt Mine in Wieliczca, near Kraków. It is a truly impresive place, in which salt has been excavated for over 700 years!
• there are twenty-three National Parks in Poland, so you can see they are concerned about protecting their wildlife and landscapes! In some of them there are some truly unique species of animals, like the European buffalo or white eagle for example.
• The most interesting building in Poland is Spodek in Katowice. The name means "Saucer" and it really looks like a giant flying saucer, especially at night. It is a big sports and concert hall.
• Since year 1600 till 1945 Poland has been invaded or fought for freedom in insurections 43 times.
• When you enter the elevator and you want to go to 2nd floor you have to press button with number 1. In Poland 1st floor is treated as floor 0 and is called "parter".
• Communist rule of Poland was overthrown in 1989. Poland was a communist country from 1945 to 1989.
• Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
• There is only one desert (the Bledow Desert) in Poland.
• Forests cover almost one third of Poland. Over 50% of the land is dedicated to farming.
• Chicken and pork are used in many Polish dishes.
• Gingerbread is a traditional Polish dessert.