Country book · Europe

Poland

Resilient history, forests, and a serious love of pierogi

Poland has been rebuilt more than once and each time comes back with fierce pride — a country of medieval squares, primeval forests and a national memory that refuses to be erased. It's also, quietly, one of Europe's fastest-growing economies.

Myths

What's true, what isn't

Actually true

Warsaw's Old Town is a near-total reconstruction
Ninety percent destroyed in WWII, it was rebuilt brick by brick from paintings and photographs, and is now UNESCO-listed.
Poland has real primeval forest
Białowieża Forest is one of the last remaining fragments of the vast forest that once covered Europe, home to wild bison.
Vodka culture runs deep
Poland claims to be one of vodka's birthplaces, and it remains central to toasts and hospitality.
Catholicism remains a strong cultural force
Poland is among Europe's most religiously observant countries, and Pope John Paul II remains a towering national figure.

Commonly believed, wrong

"Poland was on the Axis side in WWII"
Poland was invaded and occupied, suffering some of the war's worst losses, and had one of the largest resistance movements in Europe.
"It's all grey and post-Soviet"
Kraków's colorful Renaissance square and the Baltic coast's sandy dunes show a country far more varied than the stereotype.
"Pierogi are only meat-filled"
Fillings range from potato and cheese to blueberries and sweet farmer's cheese, especially in summer.
"Poland is a small country"
It's the fifth-most populous country in the EU, roughly the size of New Mexico with 38 million people.

Highlights

The best of Poland

Kraków's Main Square

One of Europe's largest medieval squares, ringed by the Cloth Hall and hourly trumpet call.

The Tatra Mountains

Jagged peaks around Zakopane, Poland's highland capital of folk architecture.

Białowieża Forest

Ancient woodland straddling the Belarus border, home to free-roaming European bison.

The Baltic coast

Wide white-sand beaches and shifting dunes near Łeba and Sopot's pier.

Culture

Cultural riches

Rebuilt heritage

Warsaw's meticulous postwar reconstruction is a point of deep national pride.

Amber craftsmanship

Baltic amber jewelry has been worked in Poland for millennia, especially in Gdańsk.

Folk costume and dance

Regional dress, especially the Góral highlander style, survives in festivals across the south.

Chopin's legacy

Warsaw celebrates its native composer with park benches that play his music at the push of a button.

Food

What to eat

Pierogi

Dumplings filled with potato, cheese, meat or fruit, boiled or pan-fried and topped with butter.

Bigos

A slow-cooked hunter's stew of sauerkraut, fresh cabbage and mixed meats.

Żurek

A tangy fermented rye soup often served with sausage and a boiled egg.

Pączki

Deep-fried doughnuts filled with rose jam, traditionally eaten before Lent.

Oscypek

Smoked salted cheese made from sheep's milk in the Tatra highlands.

Music

World-famous voices

Chopin

The romantic piano, forever Polish.

Daria Zawiałow

Modern Polish alt-pop.

Behemoth

Extreme metal export.

Sanah

Poland's most-streamed pop artist.

Czesław Niemen

Legendary rock-soul voice.

History

Important people in history

Casimir III the Great

1310 — 1370

Expanded and modernized medieval Poland, founding Kraków's university, one of Europe's oldest.

Tadeusz Kościuszko

1746 — 1817

Military engineer who fought for both American and Polish independence and freedom causes.

Lech Wałęsa

b. 1943

Solidarity leader and later president who helped bring down communism peacefully in 1989.

Pope John Paul II

1920 — 2005

Polish-born pope whose visits home emboldened the movement that ended Soviet-era rule.

Cities