Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE 169

Poland has an extremely varied

landscape. Alpine scenery predomi-

nates in the Tatra Mountains to the

south, while the north is dominated

by lakes. The country’s inhabitants,

who number almost 39 mil lion, all but

consti tute a single ethnic group, with

minor ities accounting for less than 4

per cent of the population. The largest

minorities are Germans, who are

concentrated mainly around the city

of Opole in Silesia, and Belarusians

and Ukrainians, who inhabit the east

of the country. The majority of Poles

are Catholic, but large regions of the

country, such as Cieszyn in Silesia,

have a substantial Protestant pop-

ulation. In the east there are also

many Orthodox Christians.

HISTORY

The origins of the Polish nation go

back to the 10th century, when Slav

tribes living in the area of Gniezno

united under the Piast Dynasty,

which ruled Poland until 1370.

Mieszko I (c. 922–92) converted to

Christianity in 966, thus bringing his

kingdom into Christian Europe, and

made Poznań the seat of Poland’s

first bishopric. After this dynasty

died out, the great Lithuanian Grand

Duke Jagiełło took the Polish throne

and founded a new dynasty. The

Treaty of Krewo in 1385 initiated a

long process of consolidation

between Poland and Lithuania,

culminating in 1569 with the signing

of the Union of Lublin and the

POLAND

L

ocated between Russia and Germany, Poland has always

been a fiercely contested land. Released from the Eastern Bloc

in 1989, the country is now developing rapidly, as seen in the

cities of Warsaw, Cracow, Gdańsk and Wrocław. Monuments attest

to a stormy history, but Poland is famed for its virtues, especially the

generosity of its people and the excellence of its vodka.

Rolling fields at the foot of the Tatra Mountains

The imposing Stalinist Neo-Baroque Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw