A brief history of Poland in the last 200 years

During the second half of the 18th century the Kingdom of Poland was a country which differed from present-day Poland in many important ways. Its territory included all of what we now call Lithuania, Belarus and half of contemporary Ukraine. On the other hand, nearly half of the contemporary area of Poland then belonged to Prussia (or, less precisely - to Germany). From time immemorial all those territories had been inhabited by diverse peoples of several religions. The western and central regions of the Kingdom were inhabited mostly by Catholics of Polish ethnic background. Catholic Poles and Lithuanians lived in its north-eastern section, which is now the Republic of Lithuania. The eastern regions were inhabited by Byzantine Catholics of Ruthenian (which is now Belarussian and Ukrainian) background and a small but important Catholic Polish minority. All parts of the Polish Kingdom were also inhabited by Jews (about 10% of the whole population) who lived mostly in shtetls, i.e. tiny cities. Also other ethnic groups, e.g. Germans, Armenians, Tartars, Scots, Dutchmen, etc. were represented. The Prussian provinces of Pomerania, Silesia and East Prussia which now belong to Poland also had a considerable Polish minority, although the majority was of German ethnic background. Pomerania and East Prussia were traditionally Lutheran, whereas most of the Silesian people belonged to the Roman Catholic Church.
 

Between 1772 and 1795 the entire territory of the Kingdom of Poland was divided between Prussia, Austria and Russia. During those so-called Partitions of Poland, Prussia acquired the western regions of Poland, esp. those, which were later renamed to West Prussia (formerly Royal Prussia) and Province of Posen (the area around Poznan, the Polish name being Wielkopolska, i.e. Greater Poland). The southern Polish territories around Kraków and Lwów were incorporated into the Austrian Empire and renamed "Galicia". The central and eastern provinces of Poland were taken over by the Russian Empire. Only during a short period when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Central Europe, he restored Poland as a Duchy of Warsaw, dependent on himself, consisting of the territories Prussia and Austria had annexed in 1793-95.

After Napoleon's fall, the situation was finally resolved in 1815. The victorious Russia took control over most of the Duchy of Warsaw. The Tzars gave it relatively much autonomy and created the new Kingdom of Poland there (but dependent on Russia) whereas the former eastern parts of Poland were directly incorporated into the Empire (and the populace of the Byzantine Catholics living there was forced to "convert" to Eastern Orthodox). The boundaries fixed in 1815 were stable during the next century but many other things changed. The 19th century was the time of industrial development and massive migrations. The Polish provinces under Prussian government were slowly germanized as more and more Germans settled there. Several attempts to regain independence were made by Poles, but all the uprisings against Russia, Prussia and Austria were bloodily suppressed. That was one of the reasons why in the last three decades of the 19th century more than a million people emmigrated from Poland, mostly to North America.

The First World War was a catastophe for all the Empires that had once divided Poland. An independent Republic of Poland was restored. Most of the 19th century Kingdom of Poland, the whole Galicia and most of the former Prussian provinces of West Prussia and Posen together with some areas of present-day Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine constituted Poland between the Wars. Most German inhabitants of the former Prussian provinces emigrated to Germany.
 

On the left: the map of Central Europe in 1920. On the right: in 2000.

As the Second World War began, Poland was attacked by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Both totalitarian countries divided Poland and began to persecute her people. The Nazis murdered about 90% of the Polish Jews and more than a million of Catholic Poles. The Soviets also murdered a comparable number of Poles, many others experienced to concentration camps in Siberia. After this horrible period was over and World War II had ended, new boundaries were designed for Central Europe by Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt at Yalta. Poland lost a third of its pre-WWII area which was taken over by the Soviets. As a "compensation", the allied powers handed over to Poland a large part of Germany east of the Oder and Neisse rivers. Nearly the entire population of those provinces either escaped the Red Army in 1945 or was later expelled to Germany and the territory was settled by Polish refugees from the East, who wanted to avoid Soviet rule. Also hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were forced to leave Poland to settle in the Soviet Union. Most of the Jews who survived the Holocaust emigrated to Israel or to the USA.

Because of those migrations, contemporary Poland has practically no population of ethnic minorities - about 5% in total. Except for a few hundred thousand of Germans in Silesia and comparable numbers of Belarussians (in the Easternmost regions) and Ukrainians, all other minorities do not exceed 100,000 people. This is a situation completely different from that throughout the whole of Polish history.

Food & Drink

- Poland

Polish cuisine is a mix of Slavic culinary traditions. It is rich in meat, especially chicken and pork. Poland is known for its delicious bread: white, brown, whole meal, with raisins, prunes, sunflower, sesame seeds, and poppy seed. The country has a number of unique regional cuisines with regional differences in preparations and ingredients. In the north the favorite dish is fresh water fish. The Masurian kitchen is a combination of German, Russian and Polish influences. There are many local dishes as well, in Suwalszczyzna in the north-east where the best potato dishes are offered. The Western Poland is known for duck dishes. The cuisine shows strong influences of Austrian dishes, especially from Vienna. Popular desserts include cheesecake, topped with vanilla creme or chocolate is known as Viennese cheesecake (“sernik wiedenski”).

The central and east part of Poland is famous for “pierogi” (polish dumpings). The eastern cuisine is originated in Lwow. A typical dish is “kulebiak” made from yeast dough stuffed with cabbage, boiled rice, eggs and fish. It is served with Ukrainian-style borsch with plenty of vegetables and thickened with sour cream. At the foot of the Tatra Mountains - Podhale very popular are “oscypek” - a scheep's milk cheese and “kwaśnica”- sauerkraut.

Soup:

Barszcz

clear beetroot borscht

Botwinka

soup made of leaves and stems of young beetroot

Chłodnik

cold borscht starts with young beets chopped or boiled together with their leaves. When the soup is cooled it’s usually mixed with soured milk, kefir or yoghurt. Typically raw chopped vegetables like radishes or cucumbers are added, sometimes hard-boiledeggs as well

Flaczki

beef or pork tripe stew with marjoram served with wheat bun

Grochowa

pea soup, usually trick

Grzybowa

mushroom soup served with noodles

Jarzynowa

vegetable soup served with potatoes and pieces of meet

Kapusniak

cabbage soup served with potatoes and pieces of sausage

Krupnik

barley soup with many vegetables and pieces of meet

Ogórkowa

made of sour, salted cucumbers served with potatoes

Pomidorowa

tomato soup served with noodles or rice

Rosół

chicken or beef soup served with noodles

Żurek

soured rye flour served with meat (usually boiled with sausage or bacon)and potatoes

Main dishes:

Bigos

a traditional Polish stew made of sauerkraut and meat, sometimes mushrooms, usually served with bread

Dzik

wild boar

Fasolka
po bretonsku

cannelini beans and sausage stew

Gołąbki

cabbage leaves stuffed with mince meat and rice

Golonka w piwie

pork knuckle in beer sauce

Indyk

turkey

Kaczka z jabłkami

duck with apples

Kaszanka

Polish blood sausage

Kasza gryczana
ze skwarkami

buckwheat cereal with chopped onions and fried lard

Klopsiki

meat balls

Kotlet schabowy

pork chop

Kurczak

chicken

Pieczen cielca

roast veal

Pieczen wolowa

roast beef

Pieczen wieprzowa

roast pork

Pieczen z dzika

roast wild board

Pierogi

dumplings which might be filled with sauerkraut and mushrooms or meat or potatoes or sweet curd cheese with a touch of vanilla or blueberries or other fruit, such as cherries or strawberries or apples

Placki
ziemniaczane

potato pancakes traditionally served with sour cream, however nowadays also with fruits or chocolate

Pyzy

potato dumplings served by themselves or stuffed with minced meat

Śledź w oleju

herring in oil with onion

Śledź w śmietanie

herring in sour cream

Zrazy zawijane

rolled fillets of veal in a spicy sauce

Drinks

Poles love to drink tea. It is usually served in glasses with a slice of lemon. Tea is never drunk with milk. Another most popular drink is coffee, which is served in a cup with milk and sugar.

Alcohol

Beer
Polish beer is almost always lager. There are a few popular brands such as:
Sometimes youths, girls in particular, drink beer mixed with fruit syrup (raspberry or blackcurrant) using a straw.
During wintertime in some pubs the “hot beer” is offered. It is sweetened with honey and served with cloves and cinnamon.

Wine
Polish people rather do not produce wine. Wines are imported mainly from the countries like: Hungary, Bulgaria, France, Spain, and Italy.

Vodka
Polish people like vodka, but please don’t believe in stereotypes, that they do drink everyday and really much. Nowadays more and more people drink beer.

Vodka is traditionally drunk neat from the short glass (50 ml) as a single gulp. Then people take a piece of snack: the herring or gherkin.

The most popular brand is Buffalo Vodka called “Żubrówka” with the characteristic bison label on the bottle. It has as a long blade of special grass in it, which gives the vodka a slight greenish shade and a special flavor. Buffalo Vodka is sometimes served as a drink mixed with apple juice.

The other top brands are:

It is also worth to mention about Goldwasser – known for flakes of real gold in it and mead – the oldest polish alcoholic drink characterizing delicate, sweet taste, made of honey.