History of Poland

History

Poland’s history is an immense tale. Forever sandwiched between two powerful and aggressive neighbours, it has over the past millennium defended its freedom and sovereignty on innumerable occasions, only to be overrun and subjugated to occupation by foreign powers time and time again. It has gone from being the largest country in Europe to completely disappearing off the world map, and seen its population devastated in two world wars. Yet it is testament to the astounding resilience of the Polish people that Poland has not only bounced back from every crushing blow but also had the energy to hold strong to its own culture.

Before the poles

The lands of modern-day Poland have been inhabited since the Stone Age, with numerous tribes from the east and west calling its fertile plains home. Archaeological finds from both the Stone and Bronze Ages can be seen in many Polish museums, but the greatest example of pre-Slavic peoples resides in Biskupin; its fortified town from the Iron Age was built by the Lusatian tribe around 2700 years ago. The Celts, followed by the Germanic tribes and then the Baltic folk, all established themselves on Polish soil, but it wasn’t until the coming of the Slavs that Poland began to shape itself into a nation.

Slavic origins

Although the exact date of the arrival of the first Slavic tribes is unknown, historians agree that the Slavs began settling the area between the 5th and 8th centuries. From the 8th century onwards, smaller tribes banded together to form greater conglomerations, thus establishing themselves more fully on the lands of the future Polish state. The country’s name derives from one of these tribes, the Polanie (literally, ‘the people of the fields, open-country dwellers’), who settled on the banks of the Warta River near present-day Poznań. Their tribal chief, the legendary Piast, managed to unite the scattered groups of the surrounding areas into a single political unit in the 10th century, and gave it the name Polska (later Wielkopolska, meaning Great Poland). It wasn’t until the coming of Piast’s great-great grandson, Duke Mieszko I, that much of Poland was united under one dynasty.

The first polish kingdom

After Duke Mieszko I converted to Christianity, he did what most early Christian rulers did and began conquering the neighbours. Soon the entire coastal region of Pomerania (Pomorze) fell under his sovereignty, along with Śląsk (Silesia) to the south and Małopolska (Little Poland) to the southeast. By the time of his death in 992, the Polish state was established within boundaries similar to those of Poland today, and the first capital and archbishopric were established in Gniezno. By that time, towns such as Gdańsk, Szczecin, Poznań, Wrocław and Kraków already existed. Mieszko’s son, Boleslaw the Brave, continued his father’s work, even pushing the Polish border as far east as Kyiv. His son, Mieszko II, was less successful in the conquering department, and during his reign the country experienced wars in the north and a period of internal fighting within the royal family. The administrative centre of the country was moved from Wielkopolska to the less vulnerable Małopolska, and by the middle of the 11th century, Kraków was established as the royal seat.

Kazimierz iii & reunification

Not until 1320 was the Polish crown restored and the state reunified. It was under the rule of Kazimierz III Wielki (Casimir III the Great; 1333–70) that Poland gradually became a prosperous and powerful state, despite concessions being made to Bohemia in the southwest and the Teutonic Knights in the north. Kazimierz Wielki regained suzerainty over Mazovia, then captured vast areas of Ruthenia (today’s Ukraine) and Podolia, thus greatly expanding his monarchy towards the southeast.

Kazimierz Wielki was also an enlightened and energetic ruler on the domestic front. Promoting and instituting reforms, he laid down solid legal, economic, commercial and educational foundations. He also passed a law providing privileges for Jews, thus establishing Poland as a safe house for the Jewish community for centuries to come. Over 70 new towns were founded, and the royal capital of Kraków flourished. In 1364 one of Europe’s first universities was established at Kraków, and an extensive network of castles and fortifications was constructed to improve the nation’s defences. There is a saying that Kazimierz Wielki ‘found Poland built of wood and left it built of stone’.