20 interesting facts about Poland

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Facts about Poland

1. The most popular dog’s name in Poland is “Burek”, which is the Polish word for a brown-grey colour.
2. In Poland, people generally peel bananas from the blossom end and not the stem end.
3. Poland shares its borders with no less than seven countries: Russia, Lithuania, Belarus, Slovakia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Germany.
4. Poland has had many capital cities in its time. These have included Gniezno, Poznan, Krakow and Warsaw. Lublin has been the capital twice – after both World Wars.
5. Geographically, Poland is not actually in Eastern Europe – it is in fact in the very centre of Europe.
6. In Poland, one’s “Name Day” – imieniny – is considered a far more important occasion than one’s birthday.
7. Poland’s national symbol is the white-tailed eagle.
8. The name “Poland” originates from the name of the tribe Polanie. This tribe used to inhabit the Western part of what we now call Poland, and originally meant “people living in open fields”.
9. The most “World’s Strongest Man” winners are from Poland.
10. People of Polish descent have won 17 Noble prizes, including four for peace and five for literature.
11. One third of Poland is covered with forest, with 50% of the land is dedicated to farming. The country contains 9,300 lakes, 23 National Parks and one desert.
12. Rysy, in the Tatra Mountains, is the highest point in Poland, at a height of 2,499 m.
13. Most Poles are Roman Catholics.
14. Roman Catholicism is so popular that Poland has a TV channel dedicated to the Pope.
15. In 1989, Poland held its first free elections in more than 40 years.
16. Bigos is the country’s most popular traditional dish. It is a type of stew made from Polish sauerkraut, fresh cabbage, different types of meat, sausage, prunes, dried mushrooms, onions and spices. This is cooked over several days and served with potatoes and bread.
17. Marzanna is a Polish tradition where people weave straw dolls, which they then decorate with ribbons. These dolls represent winter, so when the snow starts to melt the Marzanna dolls are thrown into a river, symbolizing the ‘killing’ of winter.
18. The Polish are generally well-educated, with 90% of Poles having completed at least a secondary education.
19. The Polish born astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus is considered to be the first person to propose the theory that the earth was not the centre of the universe.
20. In Poland, pizza bases are not topped with Napolitana or a tomato-based sauce. These are generally served separately and resemble what we would consider to be ketchup.

Did you know that Sable International offers a cheap and convenient money transfer service between the UK and Poland? To find out more, visit our global money transfers page.