POLAND - GUIDEbOOk
FLAG COAT OF ARMS
POLAND
POLAND IS A COUNTRy OF 1000-yEAR-OLD hISTORy, RICh TRADITIONS AND AbUNDANT CULTURAL hERITAGE. ThE LEGACy OF byGONE CENTURIES ThAT INCLUDES MONUMENTS OF ARChITECTURE, hISTORICAL MEMENTOS AND MASTERPIECES OF ART IS PERFECTLy COMbINED wITh ThE wEALTh OF POLISh NATURE AND ITS ORIGINAL LANDSCAPES. MILLIONS OF TOURISTS vISIT POLAND EvERy yEAR.
DISCOvER wILDERNESS ThE IMPORTANCE OF POLAND LAyS IN ITS LARGE NATURAL hAbITATS. IN ThE EAST AND NORTh, ThERE ARE SEvERAL LARGE FORESTS, LIkE ThE TUChOLA FOREST DESIGNATED by UNESCO AS A bIOSPhERE RESERvE. ThE bUFFER zONE CONSISTS OF TUChOLA, wDA, wDzyDzE AND zAbORSkI LANDSCAPE PARkS. ThE AREA wAS FORMED DURING ThE LAST GLACIAL AGE, ChARACTERISTIC ELEMENTS OF ThE LANDSCAPE ARE ThE POST-GLACIAL LAkES AND INLAND DUNES. ThERE ARE A LOT OF MARkED bIkE, hIkING OR CANOE ROUTES. SEvERAL RIvER vALLEyS, NOTAbLy ThE vISTULA, NAREw, bUG, wARTA AND ODER hAvING wIDE FLOOD LANDS OR SANDy ISLANDS FULL OF wATER ARE PROTECTED AS LANDSCAPE PARkS. MARShES ALONG ThE bIEbRzA ARE ThE LARGEST wETLAND IN EUROPE, wITh LARGE POPULATIONS OF AqUATIC wARbLER, SPOTTED EAGLE, GREAT SNIPE AND whITE-wINGED bLACk TERN. SEvERAL AREAS wIThIN ThESE LANDSCAPE PARkS bELONG TO ThE IMPORTANT bIRD AREAS (IbA) NETwORk.
wARSAw, CAPITAL OF POLAND wARSAw IS A UNIqUE CITy, LOCATED IN ThE CENTER OF EUROPE, AT ThE jUNCTION OF ThE TRADE ROADS FROM ThE wEST TO ThE EAST AND FROM ThE NORTh TO ThE SOUTh OF ThE CONTINENT. yOU wILL bE TRULy FASCINATED by ThE hISTORy AND ATMOSPhERE OF ThIS MAGNIFICENT CITy, whICh COMbINES ThE INFLUENCES OF wESTERN AND EASTERN EUROPE, AND whERE TRADITION MEETS MODERNITy. wARSAw wILL SURELy ENChANT yOU.
wARSAw
kRAkOw – ThE jEwEL IN ThE CROwN SITUATED IN SOUThERN POLAND, kRAkOw IS ONE OF ThE COUNTRy’S MOST ANCIENT CITIES AND ITS FORMER CAPITAL AND A REAL PEARL IN ITS CROwN. ThE CITy LIES ON ThE bANkS OF ThE vISTULA RIvER whICh IS CALLED ThE qUEEN OF POLISh RIvERS. kRAkOw RECEIvES vISITORS FROM ThE whOLE wORLD. ThE TOwN IS FILLED wITh MONUMENTS AND IS IMPOSSIbLE TO vISIT IN jUST ONE DAy whICh IS NOT REALLy ENOUGh TO ExPERIENCE ThE EMOTIONS ThIS CITy CAN EvOkE. ITS UNIqUE ATMOSPhERE hAS INSPIRED ARTISTS AND wRITERS. vISITORS FALL IN LOvE wITh kRAkOw AND IF ThEy LEAvE, ThEN IT IS ONLy TO RETURN ANOThER DAy. ThE CITy’S RICh CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC LIFE CONTRIbUTES TO ThIS FASCINATION AS MUCh AS ThE GENUINE ChARACTER OF ITS STREETS AND LITTLE SqUARES LINED wITh RESTAURANTS SERvING LOCAL DELICACIES.
kRAkOw
zAkOPANE – wINTER CAPITAL OF POLAND zAkOPANE, LOCATED IN SOUThERN POLAND vERy CLOSE TO ThE TATRA NATIONAL PARk (TATRzANSkI PARk NARODOwy), OFFERS MANy ATTRACTIONS ALL yEAR ROUND. IN SUMMER IT IS vERy POPULAR wITh hILL wALkERS AND MOUNTAIN CLIMbERS AND IN wINTER wITh wINTER SPORTS ENThUSIASTS. ThE TATRA MOUNTAIN RANGE IN POLAND hAS AN ALPINE ChARACTER whICh FOR MANy PEOPLE IS OFTEN ONE OF ThE MAIN REASONS FOR vISITING zAkOPANE. MOUNTAIN hIkING IS wELL ORGANISED hERE AS ARE TRIPS by A CAbLE CAR, whICh IS hIGhLy RECOMMENDED ESPECIALLy FOR SIGhTSEEING. EvEN ExPERIENCED MOUNTAIN CLIMbERS, FAMILIAR wITh ThE ALPS, CAN bE SURPRISED by ThE vIEw ONTO ThE vALLEy OF ThE FIvE LAkES (DOLINA PIECIU STAwOw) IN ThE AUTUMN.
zAkOPANE
GI Ż yCkO- wELCOME TO MAzURy LOCATED IN ThE NORTh-EAST OF POLAND, ThE MAzURy REGION IS ALSO kNOwN AS ThE LAND OF ThE GREAT MAzURIAN LAkES. ITS RIvERS, STREAMS AND LAkES SURROUNDED by AN UNSPOILT, NATURAL ENvIRONMENT MAkE IT ONE OF ThE MOST FREqUENTLy vISITED PARTS OF ThE COUNTRy. GIzyCkO, SURROUNDED by OvER 110 LAkES IS ThE CENTRE ON ThIS REGION. IT IS ALSO ThE STARTING POINT OF TRAILS LEADING TO wEGORzEwO, MIkOLAjkI AND RUCIANE NIDy AMONG MANy OThERS. wATER SPORTS AND SAILING bASES ARE NUMEROUS AND wELL EqUIPPED CREATING vERy GOOD CONDITIONS FOR INLAND wATERS SAILING. ThE MAzURy REGION IS PARADISE FOR ThOSE SEEkING ACTIvE, OUTDOOR RECREATION. wALkING AND SAILING, hORSEbACk RIDING, bIkING AND FIShING OR jUST PICkING MUShROOMS ARE SOME OF ThE MOST POPULAR ACTIvITIES hERE.
GI Ż yCkO- wELCOME TO MAzURy
TORUŃ ThE OLD AND ThE NEw TOwN IN TORUN, wITh ThE TEUTONIC CASTLE, wERE ENTERED ON ThE UNESCO LIST OF ThE MOST IMPORTANT hISTORIC SITES OF wORLD CULTURAL hERITAGE IN 1997. TORUN IS ONE OF ThE OLDEST CITIES IN POLAND. ThE MEDIEvAL OLD TOwN OF TORUN IS ThE bIRThPLACE OF ThE ASTRONOMER NICOLAUS COPERNICUS. IN 2007 ThE OLD TOwN IN TORUN wAS ADDED TO ThE LIST OF SEvEN wONDERS OF POLAND. NATIONAL GEOGRAPhIC POLSkA RATED ThE OLD TOwN MARkET AND ThE GOThIC TOwN hALL AS ONE OF ThE "30 MOST bEAUTIFUL PLACES IN ThE wORLD." IN 2010 FORbES MAGAzINE RANkED TORUN AS NUMbER ONE OF ThE "POLISh CITIES ATTRACTIvE FOR bUSINESS„.
TORUN
GDANSk GDANSk IS ONE OF POLAND'S OLDEST CITIES wITh A hISTORy GOING bACk A ThOUSAND yEARS. IT hAS AN IMPORTANT PLACE IN POLISh CONSCIOUSNESS AS ThE LOCATION OF ThE START OF wORLD wAR II AND whERE ThE FALL OF COMMUNISM IN CENTRAL EUROPE bEGAN. ThIS IS whERE ThE FAMOUS SOLIDARITy MOvEMENT STARTED, PROTECTING wORkER'S RIGhTS AND, LATER, ThE SyMbOL OF RESISTANCE AGAINST ThE PEOPLE'S REPUbLIC. TOGEThER wITh NEIGhbOURING GDyNIA AND SOPOT, GDAńSk FORMS A LARGE METROPOLITAN AREA CALLED TRójMIASTO (TRICITy). ThIS IS A PLACE NOT TO bE MISSED whEN vISITING POLAND. IT IS RICh IN CULTURAL AND ARChITECTURAL RELICS.
GDANSk
SALT MINE IN wIELICzkA LOCATED IN ThE TOwN OF wIELICzkA IN SOUThERN POLAND, LIES wIThIN ThE kRAk贸w METROPOLITAN AREA. ThE MINE, bUILT IN ThE 13Th CENTURy, PRODUCED TAbLE SALT CONTINUOUSLy UNTIL 2007, AS ONE OF ThE wORLD'S OLDEST SALT MINES STILL IN OPERATION. FROM ITS bEGINNING AND ThROUGhOUT ITS ExISTENCE, ThE ROyAL MINE wAS RUN by ThE 呕UPy kRAkOwSkIE SALT MINES. ThE MINE'S ATTRACTIONS INCLUDE DOzENS OF STATUES AND FOUR ChAPELS ThAT hAvE bEEN CARvED OUT OF ThE ROCk SALT by ThE MINERS. ThE OLDEST SCULPTURES ARE AUGMENTED by ThE NEw CARvINGS by CONTEMPORARy ARTISTS. AbOUT 1.2 MILLION PEOPLE vISIT ThE wIELICzkA SALT MINE ANNUALLy.
SALT MINE IN wIELICzkA
ThANk yOU FOR wATChING ThE FOUNDER OF ThE PROjECT AGNIESzkA w贸jCIk