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Facts about Poland

Poland, officially the Republic of Poland - the country located in Central Europe by the Baltic Sea. It borders with Germany (467km) in the west, the Czech Republic (790km) and Slovakia (538km) in the south , Ukraine (529km) Belarus (416km) and Lithuania (103km) in the east, Russia (Kaliningrad region, to the north 210km), and Baltic coastline (788km).

In terms of the surface Poland takes 69. place in the world and ninth in Europe. In terms of population it takes 33. place in the world.
The country is divided into 16 provinces which are divided into districts and municipalities.


Poland in numbers
Area 312 685km2
Population 39 millions
Capital Warsaw, 1 700 000
Currency 1 PLN = 100 groszy
Density/sq km 119km2
Main Religion Catholics 95%
Language Polish
Urbanization 66%
Literacy 99%
Life expectancy 73 years average
Inflation 3,5%
Unemployment 11%
Longest river Vistula 1047km
Highest mountain Rysy 2499m
Biggest lake Sniardwy
Biggest island Wolin

Climate

The climate in Poland is a mixture maritime and continental. There are very cold and snowy winters and warm summers with plenty of rainfalls in July. During the spring and autumn the weather can be very surprising, because of the air masses which come either from the south west (warm air) or from the north east (cold air) of the continent.

Average temperature in summer varies between 16.5 ° C and 20 ° C, in winter - between -6 ° C and 0 ° C. Average annual air temperature in Poland is 7-9 ° C (except for mountain areas). Warmest cities in Poland in view of the average annual air temperature are Tarnów, Wroclaw and Slubice.

The average rainfall is 600 mm per year. The rainfall during the year is uneven, 2 / 3 of annual rainfall is in the summer.
Maximum temperature: 40.2 ° C - Prószków, 29.07.1921 r.
The minimum temperature: -41.0 ° C - Siedlce, 11.01.1940 r.
The highest annual rainfall: 2 770 mm - Valley of five ponds, 2001
The lowest annual rainfall: 275 mm - Poznan, 1982.

Time Zone

Poland is in the Central time zone (GMT + 01:00). Most European countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Czech, Slovakia, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Hungary, belong to the same time zone. From March to October Poland is in so called summer time.

Language

Polish language belongs to a group of west slavic languages, and is a part of the family of Indoeuropean languages. It is estimated that the Polish language is the mother tongue of about 44 million people worldwide, the Poles and Polish citizens residing abroad.

Currency

The polish currency is zloty(PLN). It consists of 100 groszy.
The banknotes are 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 PLN denominations, the coins are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 groszy and 1, 2, 5 zlotys. There are numerous banks and exchange offices where you can exchange money. The main conversions are:

1 USD approximately 3,2 PLN
1 GBP approximately 5 PLN
1 EUR approximately 4,4 PLN
1 CHF approximately 2.9 PLN

In Poland there is also a great number of cash dispensers(over 14000 for the time being). The majority of polish hotels and businesses accept credit cards(Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, American Express, Diners).

Average prices at the restaurants / main cities
Breakfast 10-20 PLN
Dinner 40-60 PLN / at better restaurants 70-100 PLN
Pizza 20-30 PLN
Cake: 8-15 PLN
Glass of wine 10-15 PLN
Bear 6-10 PLN
Coffee 6-8 PLN

Average prices at shops/ main cities
Bottle of water 2-3 PLN
Bottle of Local Bear 2- 4 PLN
Bottle of Wine 10-30 PLN
White Bread 3 PLN
Litter of vodka 25 PLN
20 Cigarettes 8-10 PLN
Milk 3 PLN

Bus tickets
Warsaw2.80 PLN
Krakow2.50 PLN
Underground tickets
Warsaw2.80 PLN
Fuel
ON4.50 PLN
PB 954.70 PLN
Train Tickets
Warsaw - Poznan 110 PLN - 160 PLN (1 or 2 class)
Warsaw - Gdansk 100 PLN - 150 PLN (1 or 2 class)

Embassies and consulates

Majority of the countries have their embassies or consulates in Warsaw and other major cities(Gdansk, Poznan, Cracow, Szczecin, Lodz). Please be informed that most of the offices are opened only weekdays, so check the opening hours before.
For a full list of embassies please see
For a full list of consulates please see

Visas

In the European union visas are not needed.

Citizens of the following countries that can travel to Poland without Visas:

Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong (special administrative region), Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao (special administrative region), Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Uruguay, the Vatican, and Venezuela.
More info about Visa requirements

Visas are required for the citizens of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.

In the end of 2007 Poland joined The Shengen territory. Within territory of this agreement there is no passport control. All the members of European Union belong to Shengen except for two: United Kingdom and Ireland

Public Holidays

During public holidays all institutions, banks, offices even most of shops are closed for business.

  • 1 January - New Year's Day
  • the first and second day of Easter - first Sunday after the first spring full moon
  • 1 May - Labour Day
  • 3 May - Constitution Day
  • Corpus Christi - On Thursday of the ninth week after Easter
  • 15 August - Assumption Day
  • 1 November - All Saints
  • 11 November - Independence Day
  • 25 December - the first day of Christmas
  • 26 December - the second day of Christmas

Shops

The opening hours are very diversed. Generally shops all around Poland are opened for business during the whole week(especially malls and shopping centers) except for the public holidays.

Smaller shops may be opened even on public holidays but it is in a gesture of its private owner.

Emergency phone numbers

From fixed phones and phone booths free of charge:
997 Police
998 Fire Brigade
999 Ambulance
981 Road Assistance

While using mobile phone dial the general emergency number 112. The operator will kindly ask you for the appropriate emergency unit.

Food

Unlike many other national cuisine, it is difficult to find in the Polish tradition truly "original" polish dishes. The development of the Polish cuisine has been influenced by the historical transformations. During centuries it was changing. The best known influences are German, French, Oriental, Russian, Italian and Jewish.

Polish cuisine is characterized by a very strong regionalism, resulting from the period of country partition. Different regions have specific meals - for example, associated with Silesia: pork soup(rosół), "Warsaw" tripe soup(flaki) and pork coutlet with cabbage and potatoes, or in Lublin dumplings(pierogi) with white cheese and buckwheat. In the whole country and even some places abroad the best known and associated with Poland dish, is sauerkraut stew-meal made from sausages and mushrooms(bigos).

Curiosities about Poland

The oldest, continuously operating cinema in the world is located in Szczecin! Its name is Pioneer and was founded in 1909. Cinema has its place in the Guinness Book of Records. Here you can watch a movie sitting at a table, as in the cafeteria.

In Chelm under the Old Town, at a depth of 20-30 m there are underground corridors forged by the local people in the chalk rock. Their length is about 15 km. Citizens excavated chalk in cellars of their homes and then sold it.

Wang Temple in Karpacz is a wooden church built in the town of Vang in Norway at the turn of the XII and XIII century. It was moved to Karpacz in the nineteenth century. The interior of the church is covered with statues and secret Vikings inscriptions.

Zielona Gora since the thirteenth century was famous of wine-making. In 1793 there were 2,410 vineyards. It is in Zielona Gora where in 1826 has begun the first production of champagne in Germany.

Map - Poland in Europe

Poland in Europe
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