Poland

Poland, officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a country in the central part of the European continent, the geometrical centre of which is near Warsaw (capitol).
The total area of Poland is 312,679 km² (120,728 sq mi), population of over 38.5 million people.



Over the centuries, Poland's territory has changed many times, but it has always comprised the basins of the Warta and Vistula Rivers, and the lands between the Carpathians and the Baltic Sea. In the 16th-18th centuries the country's area was as much as 1 million sq km. Before the Partitions (late 18th century) it was about 733,000 sq km. Partitioned and annexed by Russia, Prussia and Austria, in 1795 Poland disappeared from the map of Europe for the next 123 years. On the restoration of independence in 1918 it covered 388,000 sq km.

The education of Polish society was a goal of rulers as early as the 12th century, and Poland soon became one of the most educated European countries. Poland is the birthplace of some world famous individuals, including Pope John Paul II, Marie Skłodowska Curie, Kazimierz Pułaski, Nicolaus Copernicus and Frederic Chopin.