Download Officially the Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a

Officially the Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a country in Central
Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to
the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and
Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is
312,679 square kilometers (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country
in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over
38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world
and one of the most populous members of the European Union.
The establishment of a Polish state is often identified with the adoption of
Christianity by its ruler Mieszko I, in 966, when the state covered territory
similar to that of present-day Poland. The Kingdom of Poland was formed in
1025, and in 1569 it cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin, forming the Polish–Lithuanian
Commonwealth.
The commonwealth collapsed in 1795, and Poland's territory was partitioned
among the Kingdom of Prussia, the Russian Empire, and Austria. Poland
regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic in 1918, after World
War I, but was later occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during
World War II. Poland lost over six million citizens in World War II, emerging
several years later as the People's Republic of Poland within the Eastern Bloc
under Soviet influence.
During the Revolutions of 1989, communist rule was overthrown and Poland
became what is constitutionally known as the "Third Polish Republic". Poland is
a unitary state, made up of sixteen voivodeships (Polish: województwo). Poland
is a member of the European Union, NATO, United Nations, World Trade
Organization, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD).
Poland’s territory extends across several geographical regions. In the northwest
is the Baltic seacoast, which extends from the Bay of Pomerania to the Gulf of
Gdansk. This coast is marked by several spits, coastal lakes (former bays that
have been cut off from the sea), 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.
South of the Northern European Lowlands lie the regions of Silesia and
Masovia, which are marked by broad ice-age river valleys. Farther south lies the
Polish mountain region, including the Sudetes, the Cracow-Częstochowa
Upland, the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, and the Carpathian Mountains, including
the Beskids. The highest part of the Carpathians is the Tatra Mountains, along
Poland’s southern border.
Flora and fauna
A wisent in the Białowieża Forest
Phytogeographically, Poland belongs to the Central European province of the
Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the World Wide
Fund for Nature, the territory of Poland can be subdivided into three
ecoregions: the Baltic mixed forests, Central European mixed forests and
Carpathian montane conifer forests.
Many animals that have since died out in other parts of Europe still survive in
Poland, such as the wisent in the ancient woodland of the Białowieża Forest
and in Podlachia. Other such species include the brown bear in Białowieża, in
the Tatras, and in the Beskids, the gray wolf and the Eurasian Lynx in various
forests, the moose in northern Poland, and the beaver in Masuria, Pomerania,
and Podlachia.
Family of White Stork, a national bird in Poland
In the forests, one also encounters game animals, such as Red Deer, Roe Deer
and Wild Boars. In eastern Poland there are a number of ancient woodlands,
like Białowieża, that have never been cleared by people. There are also large
forested areas in the mountains, Masuria, Pomerania, Lubusz Land and Lower
Silesia.
Poland is the most important breeding ground for European migratory birds.
Out of all of the migratory birds who come to Europe for the summer, one
quarter breed in Poland, particularly in the lake districts and the wetlands along
the Biebrza, the Narew, and the Warta, which are part of nature reserves or
national parks.