X-Nico

45 unusual facts about Poland


Alfred W. Benson

Born in Poland, Chautauqua County, New York, he moved to Jamestown, New York in 1860, and attended Jamestown and Randolph Academies.

Bolesław Skarżyński

Bolesław Skarżyński (1901-1963) was a renowned Polish biologist.

Campaign Against Homophobia

Campaign Against Homophobia (original name: Kampania Przeciw Homofobii, abbreviation: KPH) is a Polish LGBT organisation, which aims to promote legal and social equality for people outside the heteronorm.

Carl-Philipp-Emanuel-Bach-Straße

Apart from being very close to the Oder river and the border crossing to Słubice, Poland, Carl-Philipp-Emanuel-Bach-Straße is home to part of the Viadrina Museum in the Junker house and Museum for Junge Kunst.

Częstochowa Voivodeship

Though most of the current territory of the former Częstochowa Voivodeship belongs to the Silesian Voivodeship, it historically is part of Lesser Poland, apart from western areas, around Lubliniec and Olesno.

Elections in Poland

There were also elections in the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939), and the People's Republic of Poland, although most of the latter are considered to have been rigged.

He abdicated in 1795 after the partitions of Poland ended the existence of sovereign state of Poland for 123 years.

Franek

Franek is the oldest oil shaft in the world, located in the village of Bóbrka Poland.

Gdańsk Voivodeship

The name Gdańsk Voivodeship has been used twice to designate local governments in Poland.

Gdańsk Voivodeship (1) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–98, superseded by Pomeranian Voivodeship.

Gerard Antoni Ciołek

He was a member of the State Council for the Nature Conservation ('Panstwowa Rada Ochrony Przyrody', PROP), as well as served on the Boards of Directors of the Tatra National Park and the Pieniny National Park.

Human rights in Poland

Human rights in Poland are guaranteed by the second chapter of the Constitution of Poland.

Independent Students' Union

On November 25, students of Warsaw's School of Fire Service Officers went on strike to protest their college's being subjected directly to the Ministry of Interior and Administration instead of the Higher Education Bill.

Jadwiga Zlotorzycka

Jadwiga Zlotorzycka (1926-2002) was a Polish entomologist.

Jan Pitass

Jan Pitass (July 3, 1844 - December 11, 1913) was a Polish priest who was the founder and first pastor of the oldest Polish parish (St. Stanislaus - Bishop & Martyr Church) in the diocese of Buffalo, New York.

John Mojecki

Born in Kożuszkowo, Poland, his first place of residence was Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania (now known as Jim Thorpe).

Klemzig

Klępsk in Poland was previously a Prussian village known by the German name, Klemzig

Kokot

Kokot, Poland, a village in Gmina Kije, Pińczów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland

Kordon

Kordon, Poland, a village in Gmina Narewka of Hajnówka County of Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland

Koszalin Voivodeship

– a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1950–75, created from eastern part of Szczecin Voivodeship, superseded by the voivodeships of Koszalin (2), Slupsk and Pila.

Left and Democrats

Although the coalition was initially conceived as a temporary electoral alliance for the 2006 local elections, cooperation between the parties continued, and on January 18, 2007, a Political Negotiating Committee headed by former Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski was created, for the purpose of clarifying a common centre-left political program.

Ludwik Sitowski

Ludwik Sitowski (born 1880 - 1947) was a Polish zoologist.

M. Wolf

Marek Wolf, a Polish physicist, currently with the Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Wrocław.

Mikhail Yuzefovich

In his report to the Russian Government "On the so-called Ukrainophile movement" in 1876 he characterised Ukrainian language societies as subversive and claimed they were organised by Polish and Austrian enemies of Russia.

Nestlé Waters North America

Poland Spring water is derived from multiple sources in the state of Maine, including Poland Spring and Garden Spring in Poland, Clear Spring in Hollis, Evergreen Spring in Fryeburg, Spruce Spring in Pierce Pond Township, and White Cedar Spring in Dallas Plantation.

Pinhas Kopel

Koppel was born on January 15, 1918 (2 Shvat 5678 on the Hebrew calendar) in the town of Turek in central Poland.

Poland, Indiana

After completion, Tom and Marsha plan to launch the boat in Kentucky Lake, then take the Tombigbee waterway to the Gulf of Mexico, then on to see the world.

Polish Solidarity Campaign

Britain's Polish Solidarity Campaign (PSC) was a campaign in solidarity with Solidarity (the Solidarność trade union) and other democratic forces in Poland.

Politics of Poland

Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament (known together by the very same name as the lower house "Sejm"), the Sejm and the Senate.

The political system is defined in the Polish Constitution, which also guarantees a wide range of individual freedoms.

Executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers.

The judicial branch plays a minor role in politics, apart from the Constitutional Tribunal, which can annul laws that violate the freedoms guaranteed in the constitution.

The Senate (Senat) has 100 members elected for a four-year term in 40 multi-seat constituencies under a rare plurality bloc voting method where several candidates with the highest support are elected from each electorate.

The president, as the head of state, is the supreme commander of the Armed Forces and has the power to veto legislation passed by parliament, but otherwise has a mostly representative role.

Robert P. Pula

He was a polymathic poet, painter, pianistic composer, Polka historian, Polish culturalist, cartoonist, writer, editor, and teacher.

Setnica

Setnica, Poland, a settlement in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland

Skolwin

Skolwin is a municipal neighbourhood of the city of Szczecin, Poland situated on the left bank of Oder river, north of the Szczecin Old Town, and Middle Town, south of the town of Police.

Słupsk Voivodeship

was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland from 1975 to 1998, previously part of Szczecin Voivodeship (1945–50) and Koszalin Voivodeship (1950–75), superseded (since 1999) by Pomeranian Voivodeship and West Pomeranian Voivodeship (Sławno County).

Spiny

Spiny, Poland, a village in the district of Gmina Pakosławice, within Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland

Środa County

Two counties (powiats) in Poland may be referred to in English by this name, as in Polish they are both named powiat średzki (which means "powiat of Środa").

Szymon Syrski

Szymon Syrski (24 October 1824, Łubnie – 13 January 1882, Lwów) was a Polish zoologist.

Terrorfront

Terrorfront is the first and debut full-length album by Polish blackened death metal band Infernal War.

W.W.S.2 Żaba

The WWS-2 Żaba (Frog) was a single-seat training glider designed and built in Poland from 1937.

Welfare in Poland

Constitution of Poland states that all citizens have the right to social security in case of being unable to find a job, reaching the retirement age, or suffering from inability to work due to illness or disability.

Due to the economic recession that the economy of Poland suffered in the 1990s, spending in real terms in some areas that have remained stable as a percent of the GDP, such as education and medical services, have fallen.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's omnium

The Women's Omnium was one of the 9 women's events at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland.

Antony Polonsky

The Neighbors Respond: The Controversy over the Jedwabne Massacre in Poland, co-editor with Joanna B. Michlic, (Princeton University Press, 2004) ISBN 978-0-691-11306-7

Ariel Jakubowski

Ariel Jakubowski (born September 7, 1977 in Człuchów) is a Polish footballer who currently plays for Polish side Wisła Płock.

Arthur Lane

Arthur Bliss Lane (1894–1956), United States Ambassador to Poland, 1944–1947

ASELSAN

After exportation of such a system to Oman in 2008 for the Qurayyat-Sur motorway, Aselsan won in 2010 a tender worth 5.4 million to develop an electronic toll collection system and implement at 51 toll booths in Poland.

Augustus III of Poland

He spent less than three years of his thirty-year reign in Poland, where political feuding between the House of Czartoryski and the Potocki paralysed the Sejm (Liberum Veto), fostering internal political anarchy and weakening the Commonwealth.

CD Mirandés

Additionally, it also held other sporting events, most notably the under-21 match between Spain and Poland in 2006 (0–1).

Celier Kiss

The Celier Kiss is a series of Polish autogyros that was designed by Frenchman Raphael Celier and produced by his company, Celier Aviation of Jaktorów-Kolonia, Poland.

Chraplewo

Chraplewo, Nowy Tomyśl County in Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland)

Czołowo

Czołowo, Poznań County in Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland)

David Coffin

Coffin comes from a musical background: His father, Rev. William Sloane Coffin, studied to be a concert pianist with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, his grandfather was pianist Arthur Rubinstein, and his great-grandfather was Polish conductor Emil Mlynarski.

Dupa Biskupa

In Polish adult animated comedy series Włatcy móch two recurring characters Marcel and The colonel (two zombies living on local graveyard) were seen playing dupa biskupa on a tombstone.

Ectaco

Within the next 2 years offices were opened in Germany (Berlin), Great Britain (London), the Czech Republic (Prague), Canada (Toronto), Poland (Warsaw) and Ukraine (Kiev).

Flight 16

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 16, a 2011 belly-landing of a Boeing 767-300ER in Warsaw, Poland

Friedewald train collision

Repairs to the boiler were carried out by Interlok, Piła, Poland.

Gabriele Oriali

He was also part of the team that defeated the strong teams of Argentina and Brazil, and defeated Poland in the semi-final.

Jacek Rostowski

From 1989 to 1991 during Poland’s great economic transformation following the fall of communism, Vincent-Rostowski was an advisor to the Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Leszek Balcerowicz.

Jadwiżyn

Jadwiżyn, Drawsko County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (north-west Poland)

Jan Breydel

Kuzma Minin, the Russian leader of a popular militia that drove the Poles out of Russia at the end of the Time of Troubles in 1612, also happened to be a butcher.

Jean de Reszke

He subsequently busied himself breeding racehorses in Poland and teaching singing in Paris and at Nice on the French Riviera.

Katarzynowo

Katarzynowo, Rawicz County in Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland)

Kazimierz Leski

Kazimierz Leski, nom de guerre Bradl (21 June 1912 — 27 May 2000), was a Polish engineer, co-designer of the Polish submarines ORP Sęp and ORP Orzeł, a fighter pilot, and an officer in World War II Home Army's intelligence and counter-intelligence.

La Caixa

At the end of 2007, La Caixa had 5,480 branches, of which 5,468 are located throughout Spain and two operating abroad (Warsaw, Poland and Bucharest, Romania), and 10 representative offices in Germany, Belgium, China, France, Italy, Morocco, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

Lomno

Łomno, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, a village in the Starachowice County in southeastern Poland

Łężek

Łężek, Sławno County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (north-west Poland)

Maciejowice

In September 1939, during the Invasion of Poland, two large units of the Polish Army (13th Infantry Division and Wilenska Cavalry Brigade) evacuated eastwards on a wooden bridge at Przewoz.

Magdalena Abakanowicz

Magdalena Abakanowicz (born June 20, 1930, in Falenty, Poland) is a Polish sculptor and fiber artist.

Mały Buczek

Mały Buczek, Złotów County, a village in the administrative district of Gmina Lipka, Złotów County, Poland

Mariusz Lewandowski

After Franciszek Smuda took over the national team in 2009, he stopped playing for Poland.

National Democracy

In 1928 the National Party (Stronnictwo Narodowe) was founded, as a successor party to the Popular National Union.

Niklas Frank

Niklas Frank (born 9 March 1939) is a German author and journalist best known for writing a book which denounced his father Hans Frank (a German lawyer who was executed after being found guilty at the Nuremberg trials for his actions, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, arising from his involvement with the Nazi party and as Governor-General of occupied Poland during World War II).

Owieczki

Owieczki, Oborniki County in Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland)

Piaskowo

Piaskowo, Gmina Szamotuły in Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland)

Pinus cembra

Pinus cembra, also known as Swiss pine, Swiss stone pine or Arolla pine, is a species of pine tree that grows in the Alps and Carpathian Mountains of central Europe, in Poland (Tatra Mountains), Switzerland, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia (Tatra Mountains), Ukraine and Romania.

Podstolice

Podstolice, Chodzież County in Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland)

Polish Central Archives of Historical Records

Central Archives of Historical Records (Polish: Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych) in Warsaw is one of the four national archives of Poland.

Sławnikowice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship

Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus was born in Kieslingswalde (now Sławnikowice in western Poland).

Słupy

Słupy, Nakło County in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (north-central Poland)

Śmiłowo

Śmiłowo, Piła County in Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland)

Smolary

Smolary, Gniezno County in Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland)

Sokratis Papastathopoulos

He became the first player to be sent off at UEFA Euro 2012 during the opening game of the tournament against co-hosts Poland, after receiving two yellow cards, following what pundits decried as two poor decisions by the referee Carlos Velasco Carballo.

Stanisław Kulczyński

Kulczyński was awarded the Order of the Builders of People's Poland (1964), the Order of the Banner of Labour 1st class and the Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

Stanowice

Stanowice, Góra County in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (south-west Poland)

Stefan Constantinescu

The exhibition incorporates a cardboard installation with a series of video works by Hungarian artist Péter Forgács, Poland’s Zuzanna Janin, UK-based collaborators Karen Mirza and Brad Butler, Lithuanian Deimantas Narkevičius and Switzerland’sYves Netzhammer, sound-work by Liliana Moro, a sculpture by Via Lewandowski and Constantinescu's own film My Beautiful Dacia.

Trzęsacz

Trzęsacz, Choszczno County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (north-west Poland)

VH1 Europe

Though produced in Warsaw (Poland), VH1 Europe broadcasts from MTV Networks Europe's premises in Camden Town (London, UK) to the whole continent of Europe, covering also the Middle East, South Africa and parts of Northern Africa.

Wielkopolski

There is also another Polish warmblood breed, the Małopolski, bred in the region of Małopolska ("Little Poland") in the south of the country (around Kraków).

Wolkowo

Wolkowo, Grodzisk Wielkopolski County, Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland)

Zbigniew Małkowski

He has since returned to Poland to continue playing his football at a lower level, with OKS 1945 Olsztyn, his first senior club.

Zielin

Zielin, Gryfino County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (north-west Poland)