Download Poland`s territory extends across several geographical regions. In

GEOGRAPHY:
Poland’s territory extends across several geographical regions. In the
northwest is the Baltic seacoast. This coast is marked by several spits,
coastal lakes, and dunes. The largely straight coastline is indented by the
Szczecin Lagoon, the Bay of Puck, and the Vistula Lagoon. The center
and parts of the north lie within the North European Plain.
Rising gently above these lowlands is a geographical region comprising
the four hilly districts of moraines and moraine-dammed lakes formed
during and after the Pleistocene ice age. These lake districts are the
Pomeranian Lake District, the Greater Polish Lake District, the Kashubian
Lake District, and the Masurian Lake District. The Masurian Lake District is
the largest of the four and covers much of northeastern Poland. The lake
districts form part of the Baltic Ridge, a series of moraine belts along the
southern shore of the Baltic Sea.
DEMOGRAPHICS:
Poland, with 38,116,000 inhabitants, has the eighth-largest population in
Europe and the sixth-largest in the European Union. It has a population
density of 122 inhabitants per square kilometer.
Poland historically contained many languages, cultures and religions on
its soil. The country had a particularly large Jewish population. The Polish
language, part of the West Slavic branch of the Slavic languages,
functions as the official language of Poland.
Long Market
Main Market Square
METROPOLITAN AREAS:
The largest metropolitan areas that lie in Poland are the Silesian
metropolitan area centered on Katowice and other cities of Upper
Silesian Coal Basin . The capital, Warsaw; Kraków, Łódź; the Tricity of
Gdańsk–Sopot–Gdynia, Poznań and Wrocław . The largest urban area is
Katowice urban area . For an overview of Polish cities, see List of cities
and towns in Poland.
Castle Square
Umschlagplatz
RELIGION:
Religious minorities include Polish Orthodox -about 506.800-, various
Protestants -about 150,000-, Jehovah's Witnesses -126,827-, Eastern
Catholics, Mariavites, Polish Catholics, Jews, and Muslims .Members of
Protestant churches include about 77,500 in the largest EvangelicalAugsburg Church, and a similar number in smaller Pentecostal and
Evangelical churches.
Basilica of Our Lady of Lichen.
Holy Spirit Orthodox Church
CUISINE:
Polish cuisine has both influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of
surrounding countries. For centuries the Polish kitchen has been the
arena for competing influences from France and Italy, while it also
borrowed extensively from more exotic tables: Tartar, Armenian,
Lithuanian, Cossack, Hungarian and Jewish. It is rich in meat, especially
chicken and pork, and winter vegetables, and spices, as well as different
kinds of noodles the most notable of which are the pierogi. It is related to
other Slavic cuisines in usage of kasza and other cereals. Generally
speaking, Polish cuisine is hearty. The preparation of traditional cuisine
generally is time intensive and Poles allow themselves a generous
amount of time to prepare and enjoy their festive meals, with some
meals, like Christmas Eve or Easter breakfast, taking a number of days to
prepare in their entirety.
Pierogi
Polish Pastries
By: Arancha García y Vinita Diez.