POLANDPOLAND

LOCATION IN WIDER WORLD

Republic of Poland 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.

MAIN CITIES

Warsaw is the capital and largest city in Poland. Warsaw has over 1,708,491 inhabitants.

MAIN CITIES

Kraków Łódź

Wrocław Poznań

LANGUAGE

Polish grammar is similar in most respects to that of Russian, and those who have studied Russian will find its grammar much easier to grasp. Polish is a highly inflected language, with relatively free word order, although the dominant arrangement is subject–verb–object.There are no articles, and subject pronouns are often dropped.

FLAG AND CURRENCY

The Zloty is the official currency of Poland. Poland has not yet adopted the Euro and although there were hopes it would adopt the currency in 2011 these plans have been put on ice until the economic uncertainty blows over. So for the immediate future the only currency you can spend in Poland will be the Polish zloty.

POPULATION AND RELIGION

population: over 38.5 million people

ethnic groups:  91.56% Polish0.94% Silesian0.04% Kashubian0.07% German0.07% Ukrainian0.08% Belarusian7.24% Other

religion: until World War II, Poland was a religiously diverse society, in which substantial Jewish, Protestant and Christian Orthodox minorities coexisted with a Roman Catholic majority. As

a result of the Holocaust and the post–World War II flight and expulsion of German and Ukrainian populations, Poland has

become overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. In 2007, 88.4% of the population belonged to the Catholic Church.

DESCRIPTION OF COUNTRY- LANDSCAPE

Tatra Mountains Zakopane

Beach in Puck bay

Masurian Lake District

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN POLAND.

Malbork Castle, on the right bank Nogat, gothic, brick, fortified. Is the largest castle in the world by surface area, and the largest brick building in Europe. The castle is a classic example of a medieval fortress and, on its completion in 1406, was the world's largest brick castle. UNESCO designated the "Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork" and its Museum as the World Heritage Site in December 1997. It is one of two World Heritage Sites in the region with origins in the Teutonic Order. The other is the "Medieval Town of Toruń", founded in 1231 as the site of the castle Thorn.

Wawel - Krakow hill on the platform, in Krakow, in the District and Old Town, on the left bank of the Vistula, the historic district of Krakow. In 1978, Wawel Castle and the Old Town, Kazimierz and Stradom was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 along with the Old Town, Stradom, Kazimierz, the foothills, the New World and Sand was declared a historical monument.

Poznań Town Hall or Ratusz is a building in the city of Poznań in western Poland, located in the Old Market Square (Stary Rynek) in the centre of the Old Town neighbourhood. It served as the city's administrative building until 1939, and now houses a museum. The town hall was originally built in the late 13th century following the founding of the medieval city in 1253; it was rebuilt in roughly its present-day form, in mannerist style, with an ornate loggia, by Giovanni Battista di Quadro in 1550–1560. The display of mechanical fighting goats, played out daily at noon above the clock on the front wall of the building, is one of the city's main tourist attractions.The Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń is a Roman Catholic church located in the village of Licheń Stary near Konin in the Greater Poland Voivodeship in Poland. It was designed by Barbara Bielecka and built between 1994 and 2004. The construction was funded by pilgrims' donations.With the nave 120 meters long and 77 meters wide, with a central dome 98 meters high, and with a tower 141.5 metres tall, it is Poland's largest church and one of the largest churches in the world. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland whose icon, perhaps dating back to the 18th century, is displayed in the basilica's main altar. It is one of Poland's principal pilgrimage sites.

IMPORTANT HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY

966 CHRISTENING OF POLAND1000 GERMAN IMPEROR OTTO III VISITED POLISH KING BOLESŁAW CHROBRY IN GNIEZNO1386 POLISH – LITHUANIAN UNION1410 GRUNWALD BATTLE1683 RELIEF OF VIENNA BY JAN III SOBIESKI1772 FIRST POLAND’S PARTITION3 MAY 1791 CONSTITUTION RESOLUTION1793 SECOND POLAND’S PARTITION1795 THIRD POLAND’S PARTITION11 NOVEMBER REGAINING INDEPENDENCE BY POLAND1 SEPTEMBER 1939 BEGINNING OF WORLD WAR II8 MAY 1945 END OF WORLD WAR II

FOODBarszcz biały: sour thick wheat starch soup with marjoram, potatoes, sometimes with cream. 

Kotlet schabowy: traditional breaded pork cutlet. 

Bigos: appetizing, seasoned "hunter" stew made from sauerkraut with chunks of various meats and sausages, extremely traditional. 

FAMOUS PEOPLE

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)Famous pianist and the greatest Polish composer ever. He was born in Zelazowa Wola near Warsaw and spent most of his life in France. He wrote music especially for the piano and his repertoire included concerts, sonatas, etudes, preludes, polonaises, mazurkas and waltzes. Chopin was one of the trendsetters of early 20th Century Classical Music.

John Paul II (1920-2005)Probably the most famous Pole ever, Pope John Paul II was born Karol Jozef Wojtyla in the small town of Wadowice in Poland. By being elected pope by the Catholic Church in 1978, he became the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. This pope modernised the papacy and spread his reach internationally through massive gatherings of Catholics and frequent consultations with heads of state.

Marie Curie-Sklodowska (1867-1934)Through her discovery of radium, Marie Curie paved the way for nuclear physics and cancer therapy. Born of Polish parents, she was a woman of science and courage, compassionate yet stubbornly determined. Her research work was to cost her her own life.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)Copernicus is said to be the founder of modern astronomy. Born on February 19, 1473, in Torun, Poland, Nicolaus Copernicus was destined to become, through the eventual publication of his heliocentric planetary theory 70 years later, one of the seminal figures in the history of scientific thought.

THE AREA OF OUR SCHOOL

USEFUL VOCABULARYHello  Cześć  CHESHCHGood morning / afternoon  Dzień dobry  DEE-yen DOB-ree

Good evening  Dobry wieczór  DOB-ree vee-YE-choor

Goodnight  Dobranoc  dob-RAH-notzHow are you? (f/inf)  Jak się masz?  yak syee MASHFine  Dobrze  DOB-shehThank you  Dziękuję  DYEE-koo-yehYou're welcome  Proszę  PROH-shehGoodbye  Do widzenia  doh vee-DZEE-nyaYes / No  Tak / Nie  TACK /NYEENice to meet you  Miło mi  mee-WOH mee

What's your name?  Jak się nazywasz?  yack syee nah-ZYH-vash?

My name is _____  Nazywam się _____  nah-ZYH-vam syee _____

Do you speak English? 

Czy mówisz po angielsku? 

chee moo-VEESH poh ang-YEL-skoo?

I don't understand  Nie rozumiem  nyee roh-zoo-MYEEM

Excuse me  Przepraszam  pshep-RASH-amI'm sorry  Przykro mi  pshee-KROH mee