Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic coast of northern Poland. With a population of 486,492, Gdańsk is the capital and largest city of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is Poland's principal seaport and the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.
Kraków, also spelled Cracow in English, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 and has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, economic, cultural and artistic life. Cited as one of Europe's most beautiful cities, its Old Town with Wawel Royal Castle was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, one of the world's first sites granted the status.
Lesser Poland Voivodeship or Lesser Poland Province, also known as Małopolska, is a voivodeship (province) in southern Poland. It has an area of 15,108 square kilometres (5,833 sq mi), and a population of 3,404,863 (2019).
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, while its longest river is the Vistula. Poland has a temperate transitional climate and is the fifth-most populous member state of the European Union, with its sixteen voivodeships having a total population of over 38 million and covering a combined area of 312,696 km2 (120,733 sq mi). It is bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukraine to the east, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the south, and Germany to the west. The nation's capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other major cities include Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań, and Gdańsk.
Poznań is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's Fair, traditional Saint Martin's croissants and a local dialect. Among its most important heritage sites are the Renaissance Old Town, Town Hall and Gothic Cathedral.
Civic Platform is a centre-right liberal political party in Poland. Since 2021, it has been led by Donald Tusk, who previously led it from 2003 to 2014 and was president of the European Council from 2014 to 2019.
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 3.1 million residents, which makes Warsaw the 6th most-populous city in the European Union. The city area measures 517 km2 (200 sq mi) and comprises 18 districts, while the metropolitan area covers 6,100 km2 (2,355 sq mi). Warsaw is an alpha global city, a major cultural, political and economic hub, and the country's seat of government. It is also capital of the Masovian Voivodeship.
Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, roughly 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the Sudeten Mountains to the south. As of 2023, the official population of Wrocław is 674,132 making it the third largest city in Poland. Population of Wrocław metropolitan area is around 1.25 million.
Katowice is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most populous city in Poland, while its urban area is the most populous in the country and one of the most populous in the European Union.
Łódź, also seen without diacritics as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately 120 km (75 mi) south-west of Warsaw. As of 2023, Łódź has a population of 655,279 making it the country's fourth largest city.
Lviv is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the fifth-largest in Ukraine, with a population of 717,273. It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine. Lviv also hosts the administration of Lviv urban hromada. It was named in honour of Leo, the eldest son of Daniel, King of Ruthenia.
Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339. Lublin is the largest Polish city east of the Vistula River and is about 170 km (106 mi) to the southeast of Warsaw by road.
Kalisz is a city in central Poland, and the second-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, with 97,905 residents. It is the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of Greater Poland, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce.
The Lublin Voivodeship, also known as the Lublin Province, is a voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in southeastern part of the country. It was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Lublin, Chełm, Zamość, Biała Podlaska and (partially) Tarnobrzeg and Siedlce Voivodeships, pursuant to Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. The region is named after its largest city and regional capital, Lublin, and its territory is made of four historical lands: the western part of the voivodeship, with Lublin itself, belongs to Lesser Poland, the eastern part of Lublin Area belongs to Red Ruthenia, and the northeast belongs to Polesie and Podlasie. Lublin Voivodeship borders Subcarpathian Voivodeship to the south, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship to the south-west, Masovian Voivodeship to the west and north, Podlaskie Voivodeship along a short boundary to the north, Belarus and Ukraine to the east. The region's population as of 2019 was 2,112,216. It covers an area of 25,155 square kilometres (9,712 sq mi).
The Polish Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej. In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 military personnel and about 475 aircraft, distributed among ten bases throughout Poland.
The Ministry of National Defence is a office of government in Poland headed by the Minister of National Defence. It is responsible for the organisation and management of the Polish Armed Forces. During the Second Polish Republic and World War II it was called the Ministry of Military Affairs. Ministry budget for 2022 was 140 billion PLN.
The University of Warsaw is a public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well as 100 specializations in humanities, technical, and the natural sciences.
The Vistula is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at 1,047 kilometres in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers 193,960 km2 (74,890 sq mi), of which 168,868 km2 (65,200 sq mi) is in Poland.
The Civic Coalition is a catch-all political alliance currently ruling in Poland. The alliance was formed around Civic Platform in opposition to the then-ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.
