Poland

Poland is a country located in Central Europe. It is bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. 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 approximately 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the eighth most populous country in Europe, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Poland's capital and largest metropolis is Warsaw. Other major cities include Kraków, Łódź, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk, and Szczecin. Poland has a rich history, with the country having been occupied at various times by the tribes of Gaul, the Illyrians, the Slavs, the Hungarians, the Tatars, the Teutonic Knights, and the Swedes. In the 13th century, Poland became a vassal state of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1569, Poland was established as a hereditary monarchy under the Jagiellonian dynasty. After being partitioned by the Russian Empire, Austria, and Prussia in the 18th century, Poland regained its independence in 1918 with the Treaty of Versailles. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed by the Soviet Union invading Poland in accordance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. More than six million Polish citizens, including three million Jews, perished in the war. In 1947, the Polish People's Republic was established as a satellite state under Soviet influence. In the aftermath of the Revolutions of 1989, Poland re-established itself as a presidential republic. Poland is a developed country, which maintains a high-income economy along with high standards of living, life quality, safety, education, and economic freedom. Poland is a member state of the European Union, the Schengen Area, the United Nations, NATO, the OECD, the Three Seas Initiative, and the Visegrád Group. It is also the world's eighth most visited country. Poland is famous for its medieval architecture, especially in cities like Kraków, Warsaw, and Wrocław, which contain some of the best-preserved Gothic buildings in Europe.