Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately 40,000 km2 (15,400 sq mi), and the population is estimated at 8,000,000. Silesia is split into two main subregions, Lower Silesia in the west and Upper Silesia in the east. Silesia has a diverse culture, including architecture, costumes, cuisine, traditions, and the Silesian language. The largest city of the region is Wrocław.
Kłodzko is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse river.
Racibórz is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County.
Lądek-Zdrój, known in English as Landek, is a spa town situated in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, southwestern Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Lądek-Zdrój, close to the Czech border. As of 2019, the town has a population of 5,572.
Orlen S.A., commonly known as Orlen, is a Polish multinational oil refiner, petrol retailer and natural gas trader headquartered in Płock, Poland. The company's subsidiaries include the main oil and gas companies of the Czech Republic and Lithuania, Unipetrol and Orlen Lietuva, respectively.
In August 2002, a week of intense rainfall produced flooding across a large portion of Europe. It reached the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ukraine and Russia. The event killed 232 people and left €27.7 billion (US$27.115 billion) in damage. The flood was of a magnitude expected to occur roughly once a century. Flood heights unknown since St. Mary Magdalene's flood were recorded.
Kudowa-Zdrój, or simply Kudowa, is a town located below the Table Mountains in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in the southwestern part of Poland. It has a population of around 10,000 and is located at the Polish-Czech border, just across from the Czech town of Náchod, some 40 km (25 mi) west of Polish Kłodzko and 140 km (87 mi) from Prague.
Wleń is a small historic town in Lwówek Śląski County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is located on the Bóbr river in the historic Lower Silesian region, approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) south-east of Lwówek Śląski, and 97 kilometres (60 mi) west of the regional capital Wrocław.
The Gorals, also anglicized as the Highlanders and historically also as Vlachs, are an ethnographic group primarily found in their traditional area of southern Poland, northern Slovakia, and in the region of Cieszyn Silesia in the Czech Republic, where they are known as the Silesian Gorals. There is also a significant Goral diaspora in the area of Bukovina in western Ukraine and in northern Romania, as well as in Chicago, the seat of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.
Głuchołazy is a historic town in southwestern Poland with approximately 13,534 inhabitants as of 2019. It is located within the Nysa County of Opole Voivodeship (province), near the border with the Czech Republic, and is the administrative seat of Gmina Głuchołazy.
Bratislava, historically known as Pozsony and Pressburg, is the capital and largest city of the Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all cities on the River Danube. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, some sources estimate it to be more than 660,000—approximately 140% of the official figures. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia at the foot of the Little Carpathians, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital to border two sovereign states.
Expressway S8 or express road S8, officially named The Route of the Heroes of the Battle of Warsaw 1920 is a Polish highway which connects Wrocław via Łódź and Warsaw to Białystok. The whole road is 554 km (344 mi) long. Its fragment forming the bypass of Wrocław (22.7 km) is constructed in motorway standard and marked as A8.
Poland and the Czech Republic are both members of the European Union and of NATO. Both joined the EU simultaneously on 1 May 2004. They also both joined NATO on 12 March 1999. Both countries, together with Slovakia and Hungary, form the Visegrád Group, which is an important regional group in Central Europe. Both countries are also members of the Bucharest Nine, Three Seas Initiative, OECD, OSCE, Council of Europe and the World Trade Organization.
The 2009 European floods were a series of natural disasters that took place in June 2009 in Central Europe. Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Turkey were all affected. The heavy rains caused overflowing of the rivers Oder, Vistula, Elbe and Danube. At least 12 people were killed in the Czech Republic and one in Poland.
Kłodzko Land is a historical region in southwestern Poland.
The 2010 Central European floods were a devastating series of weather events which occurred across several Central European countries during May and June 2010. Poland was the worst affected. Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia were also affected.
The 1997 Central European flood or the 1997 Oder Flood of the Oder and Morava river basins in July 1997 affected Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany, taking the lives of 114 people and causing material damages estimated at $4.5 billion. The flooding began in the Czech Republic, then spread to Poland and Germany. In Poland, where it was one of the most disastrous floods in the country's history, it was named the Millennium Flood. The term was also used in Germany (Jahrtausendflut). The event has also been referred to as the Great Flood of 1997.
Extreme flooding in Central Europe began after several days of heavy rain in late May and early June 2013. Flooding and damages primarily affected south and east German states, western regions of the Czech Republic (Bohemia), and Austria. In addition, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary were affected to a lesser extent. The flood crest progressed down the Elbe and Danube drainage basins and tributaries, leading to high water and flooding along their banks.
Mateusz Gniazdowski is a Polish political scientist, expert on Central European issues. Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the Czech Republic, heading the Polish diplomatic mission in Prague during the period: 16 September 2022 – 31 July 2024.
Throughout much of 2024, numerous European countries were affected by severe floods caused by prolonged heavy rains. Several were catastrophic, causing deaths and widespread damage due to overflowing river basins and landslides. Deaths occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Germany, Romania, Spain, Austria, France, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Montenegro, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal and Slovakia.
