3. Poland , officially the Republic of
Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita
Polska) is a country in Central
Europe, situated between the
Baltic Sea in the north and two
mountain ranges (the Sudetes
and Carpathian Mountains) in
the south.
4. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square
kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th
largest country in the world and the 9th largest
in Europe. With a population of over 38.5
million people, Poland is the 34th most
populous country in the world, the 8th most
populous country in Europe and the sixth most
populous member of the European Union.
Poland is a unitary state divided into 16
administrative subdivisions, and its capital and
largest city is Warsaw.
5. Kraków was the former capital and a relic of Poland's Golden Age of
Renaissance. The city served as the place of coronation of most Polish
kings. In Wrocław, the Zoological Gardens are the largest in Poland,
and are one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.
The Old Town of Poland's capital, Warsaw, was reconstructed after its
wartime destruction. Other cities attracting tourists
include Gdańsk, Poznań, Szczecin, Lublin and Toruń. The historic site
of the Nazi-German Auschwitz concentration camp is located
near Oświęcim.
Poland is the 16th most visited country in the world by foreign
tourists, as ranked by World Tourism Organization.
6.
7. Poland has 70 mountains over 2,000 metres (6,600 feet) in elevation, all in
the Tatras. The Polish Tatras, which consist of the High Tatras and the Western
Tatras, is the highest mountain group of Poland and of the entire Carpathian
range. In the High Tatras lies Poland's highest point, the north-western
summit of Rysy, 2,499 metres (8,199 ft) in elevation. At its foot lies the
mountain lakes of Czarny Staw pod Rysami (Black Lake below Mount Rysy),
and Morskie Oko (the Marine Eye).
8. The longest rivers are
the Vistula (Polish: Wisła), 1,047
kilometres (651 mi) long;
the Oder (Polish: Odra) which
forms part of Poland's western
border, 854 kilometres (531 mi)
long; its tributary, the Warta, 808
kilometres (502 mi) long; and
the Bug, a tributary of the Vistula,
772 kilometres (480 mi) long. The
Vistula and the Oder flow into the
Baltic Sea, as do numerous smaller
rivers in Pomerania.
9. Poland's tertiary education institutions; traditional universities, as well as
technical, medical, and economic institutions, employ around 61,000
researchers and members of staff. There are around 300 research and
development institutes, with about 10,000 researchers. In total, there are
around 91,000 scientists in Poland today. However, in the 19th and 20th
centuries many Polish scientists worked abroad; one of the most important of
these exiles was Maria Skłodowska-Curie, a physicist and chemist who lived
much of her life in France. In the first half of the 20th century, Poland was a
flourishing centre of mathematics. Outstanding Polish mathematicians
formed the Lwów School of Mathematics and Warsaw School of
Mathematics .
