Polska – Agains all logic

Polska, Against All Logic and Standards

Poland lies on the Vistula River And along this river all the more dramatic or less dramatic events played out that made Poland the thoroughly European country it is today. It’s not just the neon signs of multinational companies that have been brightening Polish streets for a few decades, but the transformation in the Poles themselves.

AbOVE: Driving by Cracow’s history and its protagonists: from construction workers of Nowa Huta, to Pope John Paul II, to the Nobel Prize winning poet Czesław Miłosz • LEFT: The 1989 High Noon election poster for the Solidarity movement, featuring Gary Cooper, was designed by Tomasz Sarnecki. Its message was clear: vote to help bring down Communism •

Polish creativity, ingenuity, enthusiasm and openness made this country, long ignored in the international league tables, shine in entrepreneurship, innovativeness and efficiency rankings. On a wave of solidarity with the rest of the world, Poland pulled itself out of a deep depression caused by communism and the lack of access to more than two TV channels. All thanks to the determination of the Poles, who drew on their rich tradition and managed to survive the worst moments – even power outages and meat shortages.

Poland lies on the Vistula River. It was on this river that contemporary Polish role models grew up, like Pope John Paul II and Lech Wałęsa, although the icon of free Poland today is footballer

TOP LEFT: The Polish alphabet is based on the Latin, and includes 32 letters. Photo: the oldest Polish alphabet, Trinity College, Cambridge University collection • LEFT: Bilingual sign with the names of Kashubian villages. Areas inhabited by national, ethnic or regional language minorities may use bilingual signs with minority language local names •

Robert Lewandowski. Nobel Prize winners Wisława Szymborska and Czesław Miłosz gave Poland the reputation of a land of poets. Literary growth is fostered by the sonorous Polish language, used by over 40 million people in Poland and abroad. Knowing the expansiveness of the Poles, it can’t be ruled out that they use the language somewhere else in our galaxy, but that has not been confirmed. Polish is based on the Latin alphabet, and was shaped over the centuries until it finally became one of the official languages of the European Union. Its unique rules for declensions and conjugation amaze anyone brave enough to dare tame the language. They don’t understand how a group of friends can have supper together, where all of them of whatever gender jedzą – are eating – but when the meal is over the women will have eaten – jadły –while the men jedli. Foreigners are also puzzled by the over-use of diminutives. For a little enjoyment in life Poles don’t just spend money (pieniądze) but 'tiny' money (pieniążki), for coffee sip kawka instead of kawa, and can’t go on a walk (spacer)

AbOVE: Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw, located in the Ostrogski Palace. A part of its collection has been added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. The multi-media exhibition incorporates the ideas of the ‘open museum’ movement where visitors determine their route through the exhibition • AbOVE: The Polish Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010 was designed by the Warsaw-based WWAA studio and prominently featured the theme of folk-art paper cutouts adapted to the language of contemporary architecture •

without it turning out to be just a little stroll (spacerek).

Polish occurs in various patois and dialects that developed under geographical and demographical conditions. The partitions from 1772 to 1918 led to the Germanization and Russification of the language which can still be sensed today. In Silesia and Pomerania today some firmly believe that szneka z glancem – a frosted curlicue bun – is a native Polish term, when it really comes from the German for snail (Schnecke) with a glaze (Glanz). There is one other officially recognized language in Poland - Kashubian - it is spoken by over a hundred thousand Kashubs who are the descendants of Slavic Pomeranian tribes which inhabited the Baltic coast during medieval times.

For centuries Poland was regarded as a highly tolerant country, leading national minorities to seek shelter here during turmoil in history – such as Tatars, Karaites, Lemkos, Roma – and even, more recently, the accordion – playing singer Czesław Mozil. And the enormous Jewish heritage lives on in the memory and culture of Poles. Polin, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, a new institution in War-

saw, is a must-visit for its chronicle of Jewish and Polish coexistence in this land.

Poland lies on the Vistula River. The river links the mountainous south with the coastal north. The variety of landscapes the country offers must make an impression on even the most hardened tourist who ‘has seen it all’ on the Internet. The soaring Tatras, the enchanting Bieszczady and the mysterious Karkonosze mountains offer fresh air and gorgeous scenery to capture in spectacular photos sure to score waves of likes on social media. The aroma of grilled fish wafting all along the broad, sandy Baltic beaches makes one want to linger by the shore for just one more trout or flounder. The Mazurian lake country satisfies the most demanding seeker of adventures, backwoods solitude and mosquitoes. Even advertising seems incapable of spoiling Poland’s beautiful landscapes. Hoardings, banners and boards with inscriptions like ‘Plumbing and Consulting’ are so omnipresent that even the most refined aesthetes no longer notice them.

Poland lies on the Vistula River. The Vistula and its tributaries continually

Midsummer’s Eve (Noc Świętojańska, St. John’s Eve) is celebrated on the night between 23 and 24 June. It is a great social occasion which draws throngs to riversides to set wreaths afloat •

enrich the earth, allowing agriculture to flourish. It’s no surprise that until recently Poland was by and large an agrarian country. Folk culture and crafts rapidly grew and blossomed. The main Polish export goods were painted Easter eggs and Highlanders’ leather slippers, and the cultural showcase was the folk song-anddance group Mazowsze. Poland today is a contemporary country whose young people have shed the complexes of the past and are taking on the world on their own terms. This doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten their folk heritage, as witnessed by the splendid music group Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa, loved around the world.

Poland lies on the Vistula River. A river as unregulated and unpredictable

Warsaw’s Multimedia Fountain Park is a popular place to relax •

as the nature of the Poles. Most of the young people avoid the beaten path, which is why Poland is known for innovative solutions, original scientific thought, and a rich cultural life manifested in the country’s numerous festivals. This all comes from the incredible energy lurking in this constantly evolving country. Poland’s opening to the world expanded the intellectual horizons of young people inspired by foreign travel, studies and romance. The result is a flowering of literature, music and art. The economy is expanding, and despite their innate pessimism, Poles are becoming a happier and happier people. Maybe they need to be reminded sometimes, but it’s a country worth working for.

Poland lies on the Vistula River. To be certain of that you don’t need GPS. It’s enough to come here, guided by your: (*tick where appropriate)□romantic spirit, □common sense, or □curiosity. Any reason is good enough to come see what Poland is really like. And there are lots of reasons •

Inspiration is not the exclusive privilege of poets or artists. There is, there has been, there will always be a certain group of people whom inspiration visits. It’s made up of all those who’ve consciously chosen their calling and do their job with love and imagination.

Nobel Lecture, December 7, 1996

Wisława Szymborska

Polish poet, essayist, translator, winner of 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature