TERRITORY AND PEOPLE
Poland lies in the central part of the European continent. The capital
city is Warsaw. To the west, Poland has a border of 467 km with Germany,
to the south with the Czech Republic (790 km) and Slovakia (541 km), to
the east and north-east with Ukraine (529 km), Belarus (416 km), Lithuania
(103 km) and Russia (210 km). The total length of Poland's land and sea
borders is 3,496km.
Poland's total surface area is 322,500 sq km. This makes it the ninth
largest country in Europe, after Russia, Ukraine, France, Spain, Sweden,
Germany, Finland and Norway, and the 63rd largest in the world.
Poland's population stood at 38,644.000 in 2001.
Poland lies in Central European Time (GMT time plus 1 hour) and uses
the decimal system, based on the SI International System.
The geographical regions are (from the south):
 About
Podkarpacie
Podkarpacie is a most interesting region for people who like mountains,
nature and walking trips. The tourists come here mainly for the mountains:
Bieszczady, Beskid Niski. The mountains are mostly wooded, so the walk
through the dense forests on your own ways will give you an excellent
opportunity to take a good look at the flora and fauna. Here you can find
wooden orthodox churches. The biggest attraction in Bieszczady are poloniny
- the high mountain pastures. In the Bieszczady National Park live
lynxes, brown bears, wolves and wildcats and many kinds of birds. So Bieszczady
invites you to come in for bird and animal watching too. Tourists come
here also for Hucul horses - often used in hippo therapy and for mountain
rides. It is not only nature which can be admired in this region. Przemyœl
and Krasiczyn invites you to visit beautiful castles, Lesko is well-known
for Poland`s finest synagogue. In Biala G门俽a on the opposite side
river, you'll find Poland's biggest open-air museum of traditional wooden
buildings from the Bieszczady area. That's not everything you can come
here for…
More about Podkarpacie >
About
Malopolska:
Malopolska has more tourist attractions than any other region in Poland.
You can find here most of historical monuments, religious shrines, health
resorts. The major destination for sightseeing is Krakow - European
City of Culture for the year 2000. It's main rival is Zakopane
- a lively resort at the foot of Poland's highest mountains, the Tatras,
and the best-known town in the mountainous Podhale region. The
most important place for pilgrims is Czestochowa, the country's
national shrine, with the holy picture of the Black Madonna at the Monastery
of Jasna G门俽a. Another great attraction in this region is Wieliczka
with its stunning salt mine. One of the most beautiful place to stay in
this region is the Roztocze with his two national parks and reserves and
the area around Lublin, Zamosc and Tomasz门倃 Lubelski.
More about Malopolska >
About
Slask:
Geographically, Slask is located between the upper and middle Oder and
partly on the upper Vistula. For centuries, this land was contested by
Poles, Germans, Czech and other nations. As a result of the Second World
War, the entire region was annexed to Poland. Slask as a historical place,
boasts many beautiful towns and landscapes with pleasant renovated historical
buildings. If you want mountains and nature you should go to the Sudeten
and the Silesian Beskid Mountains. Beautiful landscapes are very attractive
for tourists who like hiking. After a long walk you can rest in serene
vintage spas with fine parks, little towns with traditional architecture,
or in historic mansions reminiscent of the area's rich and complex history.
We have in this region some of the best tourist facilities in Poland.
Agrotourism, offers a fast growing range of rural accommodation and accompanying
attractions - typically horse-riding and wholesome food from biodynamic
farms - an excellent choice. In winter time the Karkonosze mountains are
ideal for skiing.
More about Slask >
About
Wielkopolska:
Wielkopolska, located in central-west Poland, is the country's oldest
province, with countless monuments from the formative years of the Polish
state. This region offers plenty of attractions for tourists. Its cities,
towns and villages are rich with treasures: old manor houses and stately
homes which once belonged to eminent noble families, magnificent mansions
and castles, churches, open-air museums of traditional folk architecture,
and archaeological parks (see: Biskupin). The most popular cities are:
Pozna艅, K门俽nik, Wolsztyn, Gniezno, Kalisz, Ostr门倃
Wielkopolski, Leszno, Liche艅 etc.
More about Wielkopolska >
About
Mazowsze:
Mazowsze
is an historical and ethnographic region in central Poland. Its biggest
town of them is Warszawa - Poland`s capital since 1596 (King Zygmunt III
Waza made it his principal residence and thus Krak门倃 ceased to be Poland's
capital). The most interesting cities in Mazowsze are: Warsaw, Pu艂tusk,
P艂ock, 艁om排篴, 呕elazowa Wola. All of them are rich with monuments, museums
and excellent places to stay. To the north-west of Warsaw is the magnificent
Puszcza Kampinoska, which in 1959 was designated the Kampinos National
Park, the second largest in the country (38,500 ha) - created in order
to protect a group of inland dunes.
More about Mazowsze >
About
Podlasie:
North-east of Warsaw lies an unspoiled land of many unique attractions
including the primeval Bia艂owie排篴 Forest and the marshy valleys of the
Narew and Biebrza Rivers with a staggering profusion of wildlife. The
Bia艂owieski Park Narodowy is Poland's oldest National Park, established
in 1932. This place has found its place on the list of World Biosphere
Reserves and the UNESCO World Heritage List. The park is most famous for
the freely-roaming European bison, but there are many others species:
wolves, lynxes, elks, wild boar, otters and ermines. Another wonderful
places to see in this region are the river-basins of Narew and Biebrza
Rivers, known as Poland's Amazonia. This north-eastern part of Podlasie
is probably one of the most beautiful and unspoilt areas in Poland. You
will be made most welcome!
More about Poldlasie >
About
Mazury:
Mazury is an historical and ethnographic region in the north-east of
Poland. The Masurian Lake District and the smaller lake districts (around
Suwa艂ki and August门倃) is known as "the land of a thousand
lakes". The largest from them are 艢niardwy (113.8 sq km) and
Mamry (104.5 sq km); the deepest one is Ha艅cza (10,8108.5 m) in
the Suwa艂ki Lake District, and the longest one is Jeziorak (27 km)
in the I艂awa Lake District. Most of them are linked by rivers and
canals, so the very popular waterway excursion along the Great Masurian
Lakes covers a distance of 88 km. Masury and the Suwa艂ki regions
are a paradise for yachting enthusiasts, canoeists, hikers and walkers,
and everyone who loves tranquilllity. In the summer time the major local
resorts hold many sporting and cultural events.
More about Mazury >
About
Pomorze:
Pomorze is a historical and geographical region in northern Poland along
the Baltic coast. Geographically, it encompasses two different landscapes:
the coast and the lake districts and to the south a little. You can find
here beautiful places to stay, good restaurants, and a number of historical
places to visit. The sea, beaches, lakes, rivers, and forests provide
all the different kinds of tourism - everyone will find something of interest
here. You can ride a bike to just about anywhere, and in many places it
is also possible to go horse-riding. Accommodation is easy to find in
the countless holiday homes, self-catering accommodation, guest houses,
campsites and agrotourist farms. People who enjoy nightlife and going-out
will find any number of discos, clubs and pubs. Those looking for something
else can go to see National Parks: S艂owi艅ski National Park,
Wolin National Park, Tuchola Forest.
More about Pomorze >
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