Kraków,also seen spelled Cracow or absent Polish diacritics as Krakow,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.
Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie,known simply as Marie Curie,was a Polish and naturalised-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize,the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice,and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. Her husband,Pierre Curie,was a co-winner of her first Nobel Prize,making them the first-ever married couple to win the Nobel Prize and launching the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes. She was,in 1906,the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.
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,and has a temperate transitional climate,while its longest river is the Vistula. Poland is the fifth-most populous member state of the European Union,with its sixteen voivodeships comprising 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 metropolis is Warsaw. Other major cities include Kraków,Wrocław,Łódź,Poznań,and Gdańsk.
Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the 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. The population of the Wrocław metropolitan area is around 1.25 million.
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland,second in terms of population density,and thirteenth in area.
Polish people,or Poles,are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation who share a common history,culture,the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Central Europe. The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland defines the Polish nation as comprising all the citizens of Poland,regardless of heritage or ethnicity. The majority of Poles adhere to Roman Catholicism.
Donald Franciszek Tusk is a Polish politician and historian who has served as the prime minister of Poland since 2023,having previously held the post from 2007 to 2014. From 2014 to 2019 Tusk served as President of the European Council,and from 2019 to 2022 he was the president of the European People's Party (EPP). He co-founded the Civic Platform (PO) party in 2001 and has served as its long-time leader,first from 2003 to 2014 and again since 2021.
Legia Warszawa,commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia,is a professional football club based in Warsaw,Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history,winning record 15 Ekstraklasa champions titles,a record 20 Polish Cup and 5 Polish Super Cup trophies. The club's home venue is the Polish Army Stadium. Legia is the only Polish club never to have been relegated from the top flight of Polish football since World War II.
Zagłębie Lubin S.A. is a Polish professional football club based in Lubin. Founded in 1945 as OMTUR Lubin,the club competes in the Ekstraklasa.
Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna,commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław,is a Polish football club based in Wrocław that plays in Ekstraklasa,the highest level of the Polish football league system.
The Land Forces are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 100,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stretches back a millennium –since the 10th century. Poland's modern army was formed after Poland regained independence following World War I in 1918.
The Cross of Merit is a Polish civil state decoration established on 23 June 1923,to recognize services to the state.
Jakub "Kuba" Błaszczykowski is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a winger,currently a businessman and Wisła Kraków's part owner. He started his professional football career at Wisła Kraków establishing himself at a young age. In 2007,he joined Borussia Dortmund,where he spent the majority of his career,making over 250 appearances and winning two Bundesliga titles,two DFL-Supercups,and one DFB-Pokal.
The Katyn massacre was a series of mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish military officers and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by the Soviet Union,specifically the NKVD in April and May 1940. Though the killings also occurred in the Kalinin and Kharkiv prisons and elsewhere,the massacre is named after the Katyn forest,where some of the mass graves were first discovered by German Nazi forces.
Łukasz Piotr Piszczek is a Polish professional footballer and coach who serves as a player-manager for III liga club Goczałkowice-Zdrój. He is primarily positioned as a right-back,but is capable of playing as a centre-back.
The Warsaw Cup is an annual international figure skating competition which is generally held in November in Warsaw,Poland. In most years,the event is part of the ISU Challenger Series. Medals may be awarded in men's singles,women’s singles,pair skating,and ice dance.
Katherine Anne Bosworth is an American actress. Following minor roles in the films The Horse Whisperer (1998) and Remember the Titans (2000),she had a leading role in the box-office hit Blue Crush (2002).
On 10 April 2010,a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft operating Polish Air Force Flight 101 crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk,killing all 96 people on board. Among the victims were the president of Poland,Lech Kaczyński,and his wife,Maria;the former president of Poland in exile,Ryszard Kaczorowski;the chief of the Polish General Staff and other senior Polish military officers;the president of the National Bank of Poland;Polish government officials;18 members of the Polish parliament;senior members of the Polish clergy;and relatives of victims of the Katyn massacre. The group was arriving from Warsaw to attend an event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the massacre,which took place not far from Smolensk.
Possession of most drugs for recreational use,including cannabis,is illegal in Poland. It was classified as a narcotic in 1951 but it was not until 1997 that possession and use of the drug became a crime. Since 2011,prosecutors have the discretion to drop the charges if the quantity of drugs seized is only a small amount. The medical use of cannabis was legalized in 2018.
