70-425: Sobieski (singular masculine; singular feminine: Sobieska ; plural: Sobiescy ) is a Polish noble family name, and may refer to: Other people with the surname Sobieski: See also Sobieski Stuarts (1795–1872 & 1802–1880), two brothers who claimed Stuart ancestry. Polish people Polish people , or Poles , are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation who share a common history , culture ,
140-619: A Slavic "ethnic badge". In the Carpathian foothills of Podolia , at the northwestern fringes of the Chernyakov zone, the Slavs gradually became a culturally-unified people; the multiethnic environment of the Chernyakhov zone presented a "need for self-identification in order to manifest their differentiation from other groups". The Przeworsk culture , northwest of the Chernyakov zone, extended from
210-650: A narrow sense, refers to western Slavic material grouped around Bohemia, Moravia and western Slovakia, distinct from the Mogilla (southern Poland) and Korchak (western-central Ukraine and southern Belarus) groups further east. The Prague and Mogilla groups are seen as the archaeological reflection of the 6th-century Western Slavs . Previously, the 2nd-to-5th-century Chernyakhov culture encompassed modern Ukraine, Moldova and Wallachia . Chernyakov finds include polished black-pottery vessels, fine metal ornaments and iron tools. Soviet scholars, such as Boris Rybakov , saw it as
280-471: A separate language during the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. The Proto-Slavic vocabulary, which was inherited by its daughter languages, described its speakers' physical and social environment, feelings and needs. Proto-Slavic had words for family connections, including svekry ("husband's mother"), and zъly ("sister-in-law"). The inherited Common Slavic vocabulary lacks detailed terminology for physical surface features that are foreign to mountains or
350-557: A total number of 120,000, making Poles the largest immigrant group in Norway. Only in recent years has the population abroad decreased, specifically in the UK with 116.000 leaving the UK in 2018 alone. There is a large minority of Polish people in Ireland that makes up approximately 2.57% of the population. Early Slavs The early Slavs were speakers of Indo-European dialects who lived during
420-643: Is hearty and Poles are one of the more obese nations in Europe – approximately 58% of the adult population was overweight in 2019, above the EU average. According to data from 2017, meat consumption per capita in Poland was one of the highest in the world, with pork being the most in demand. Alcohol consumption is relatively moderate compared to other European states; popular alcoholic beverages include Polish-produced beer , vodka and ciders . Poles have traditionally adhered to
490-556: Is the area of Slavic settlement in Central and Eastern Europe during the first millennium AD, with its precise location debated by archaeologists, ethnographers and historians. Most scholars consider Polesia the homeland of the Slavs. Theories attempting to place Slavic origin in the Near East have been discarded. None of the proposed homelands reaches the Volga River in the east, over
560-698: Is usually used in Poland to refer to people of Polish origin who live outside Polish borders. There is a notable Polish diaspora in the United States , Brazil , and Canada . France has a historic relationship with Poland and has a relatively large Polish-descendant population. Poles have lived in France since the 18th century. In the early 20th century, over a million Polish people settled in France , mostly during world wars, among them Polish émigrés fleeing either Nazi occupation (1939–1945) or Communism (1945/1947–1989). In
630-625: The Bavarian Geographer 's list of Slavic tribes contains a note: "Suevi are not born, they are sown ( seminati )". A similar description of the Sclavenes and Antes is found in the Strategikon of Maurice , a military handbook written between 592 and 602 and attributed to Emperor Maurice . Its author, an experienced officer, participated in the Eastern Roman campaigns against the Sclavenes on
700-598: The Coat of arms of Poland ( godło ). The national colours are white and red, which appropriately appear on the flag of Poland ( flaga ), banners, cockades and memorabilia. Personal achievement and education plays an important role in Polish society today. In 2018, the Programme for International Student Assessment ranked Poland 11th in the world for mathematics, science and reading. Education has been of prime interest to Poland since
770-808: The Dinaric Alps in the southwest or the Balkan Mountains in the south, or past Bohemia in the west. One of the earliest mention of the Slavs' original homeland is in the Bavarian Geographer circa 900, which associates the homeland of the Slavs with the Zeriuani , which some equate to the Cherven lands . According to historical records, the Slavic homeland would have been somewhere in Central-Eastern Europe. The Prague - Penkova - Kolochin complex of cultures of
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#1732847920027840-647: The European Union in 2004 and with the opening of the EU's labor market; an approximate number of 2 million, primarily young, Poles taking up jobs abroad. It is estimated that over half a million Polish people went to work in the United Kingdom from Poland. Since 2011, Poles have been able to work freely throughout the EU where they have had full working rights since Poland's EU accession in 2004 . The Polish community in Norway has increased substantially and has grown to
910-626: The Kingdom of Poland . The oldest known Slavic principality in history was Carantania , established in the 7th century by the Eastern Alpine Slavs, the ancestors of present-day Slovenes . Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps comprised modern-day Slovenia , Eastern Friul and large parts of present-day Austria . The early Slavs were known to the Roman writers of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD under
980-718: The Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (approximately from the 5th to the 10th centuries AD) in Central , Eastern and Southeast Europe and established the foundations for the Slavic nations through the Slavic states of the Early and High Middle Ages . The Slavs' original homeland is still a matter of debate due to a lack of historical records; however, scholars generally place it in Eastern Europe , with Polesia being
1050-653: The Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Central Europe . The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland defines the Polish nation as comprising all the citizens of Poland, regardless of heritage or ethnicity. The majority of Poles adhere to Roman Catholicism . The population of self-declared Poles in Poland is estimated at 37,394,000 out of an overall population of 38,512,000 (based on
1120-570: The Polish tribes ( Lechites ); the names of many tribes are found on the list compiled by the anonymous Bavarian Geographer in the 9th century. In the 9th and 10th centuries the tribes gave rise to developed regions along the upper Vistula (the Vistulans ), the Baltic Sea coast and in Greater Poland . The ultimate tribal undertaking (10th century) resulted in a lasting political structure and
1190-648: The Proto-Indo European *pleh₂- , which means flat or flatland and corresponds to the topography of a region that the Western Polans initially settled. The prefix pol- is used in most world languages when referring to Poles (Spanish polaco , Italian polacche , French polonais , German Pole ). Among other foreign exonyms for the Polish people are Lithuanian Lenkai ; Hungarian Lengyelek ; Turkish Leh ; Armenian : Լեհաստան Lehastan ; and Persian : لهستان ( Lahestān ). These stem from Lechia ,
1260-564: The Proto-Indo-European , the reconstructed language from which originated a number of languages spoken in Eurasia . The Slavic languages share a number of features with the Baltic languages (including the use of genitive case for the objects of negative sentences ,the loss of Proto-Indo-European kʷ and other labialized velars ), which may indicate a common Proto-Balto-Slavic phase in
1330-610: The Slavs ( Sclaveni ) in his 551 work Getica , noting that "although they derive from one nation, now they are known under three names, the Veneti, Antes and Sclaveni" ( ab una stirpe exorti, tria nomina ediderunt, id est Veneti, Antes, Sclaveni ). Procopius wrote that "the Sclaveni and the Ante actually had a single name in the remote past; for they were both called Sporoi in olden times". Possibly
1400-533: The end of Communism in Poland in 1989 . In Brazil, the majority of Polish immigrants settled in Paraná State. Smaller, but significant numbers settled in the states of Rio Grande do Sul , Espírito Santo and São Paulo (state) . The city of Curitiba has the second largest Polish diaspora in the world (after Chicago) and Polish music , dishes and culture are quite common in the region. A recent large migration of Poles took place following Poland's accession to
1470-422: The lower Danube at the end of the century. A military staff member was also the source of Theophylact Simocatta 's narrative of the same campaigns. Although Martin of Braga was the first western author to refer to a people known as "Sclavus" before 580, Jonas of Bobbio included the earliest lengthy record of the nearby Slavs in his Life of Saint Columbanus (written between 639 and 643). Jonas referred to
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#17328479200271540-412: The mazurka , krakowiak and polonaise , were popularized by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin , and they soon spread across Europe and elsewhere. Latin songs and religious hymns such as Gaude Mater Polonia and Bogurodzica were once chanted in churches and during patriotic festivities, but the tradition has faded. According to a 2020 study, Poland ranks 12th globally on a list of countries which read
1610-774: The 1300–500 BC culture and the 2nd century BC–4th century AD Przeworsk culture . The Danube basin hypothesis, postulated by Oleg Trubachyov and supported by Florin Curta and Nestor's Chronicle , theorises that the Slavs originated in central and southeastern Europe. Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European Proto-Slavic began to evolve from
1680-616: The 2011 census), of whom 36,522,000 declared Polish alone. A wide-ranging Polish diaspora (the Polonia ) exists throughout Eurasia , the Americas , and Australasia . Today, the largest urban concentrations of Poles are within the Warsaw metropolitan area and the Katowice urban area . Ethnic Poles are considered to be the descendants of the ancient West Slavic Lechites and other tribes that inhabited
1750-500: The 6th and the 7th centuries AD is generally accepted to reflect the expansion of Slavic-speakers at the time. Core candidates are cultures within the territories of modern Belarus , Poland and Ukraine . According to the Polish historian Gerard Labuda , the ethnogenesis of Slavic people is the Trzciniec culture from about 1700 to 1200 BC. The Milograd culture hypothesis posits that the pre-Proto-Slavs (or Balto-Slavs) originated in
1820-508: The 7th century BC–1st century AD culture geographically located in northwestern Ukraine and southern Belarus. According to the Chernoles culture theory, the pre-Proto-Slavs originated in the 1025–700 BC culture located in northwestern Ukraine and the 3rd century BC–1st century AD Zarubintsy culture . According to the Lusatian culture hypothesis, they were present in northeastern Central Europe in
1890-650: The Bavarians of Styria and Carinthia called their Slavic neighbours "Windische". The unknown author of the Chronicle of Fredegar used the word "Venedi" (and variants) to refer to a group of Slavs who were subjugated by the Avars . In the chronicle, "Venedi" formed a state that emerged from a revolt led by the Frankish merchant Samo against the Avars around 623. A change in terminology,
1960-548: The Christian faith; an overwhelming majority belongs to the Roman Catholic Church , with 87.5% of Poles in 2011 identifying as Roman Catholic . According to Poland's Constitution , freedom of religion is ensured to everyone. It also allows for national and ethnic minorities to have the right to establish educational and cultural institutions, institutions designed to protect religious identity, as well as to participate in
2030-711: The Dniester to the Tisza valley and north to the Vistula and Oder . It was an amalgam of local cultures, most with roots in earlier traditions modified by influences from the (Celtic) La Tène culture , (Germanic) Jastorf culture beyond the Oder and the Bell-Grave culture of the Polish plain. The Venethi may have played a part; other groups included the Vandals , Burgundians and Sarmatians . East of
2100-660: The Dniester, the Dnieper and the Don). A connection between Proto-Slavic and Iranian languages is also demonstrated by the earliest layer of loanwords in the former; the Proto-Slavic words for god (*bogъ) , demon (*divъ) , house (*xata) , axe (*toporъ) and dog (*sobaka) are of Scythian origin. The Iranian dialects of the Scythians and the Sarmatians influenced Slavic vocabulary during
2170-713: The Greek and pre-Schism Roman Orthodox Catholic Churches). By the 12th century, they formed the core populations of a number of medieval Christian states: East Slavs in the Kievan Rus' , South Slavs in the Bulgarian Empire , the Principality of Serbia , the Duchy of Croatia and the Banate of Bosnia , and West Slavs in the Principality of Nitra , Great Moravia , the Duchy of Bohemia , and
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2240-620: The Polish authorities in 1995, are the Native Polish Church ( Rodzimy Kościół Polski ), which represents a pagan tradition going back to Władysław Kołodziej 's 1921 Holy Circle of Worshippers of Światowid ( Święte Koło Czcicieli Światowida ), and the Polish Slavic Church ( Polski Kościół Słowiański ). There is also the Native Faith Association ( Zrzeszenie Rodzimej Wiary , ZRW ), founded in 1996. Polish people are
2310-598: The Polish territories during the late antiquity period. Poland's recorded history dates back over a thousand years to c. 930–960 AD, when the Western Polans – an influential tribe in the Greater Poland region – united various Lechitic clans under what became the Piast dynasty , thus creating the first Polish state. The subsequent Christianization of Poland by the Catholic Church , in 966 CE, marked Poland's advent to
2380-452: The Republic of Poland can register their institution with the Ministry of Interior and Administration creating a record of churches and other religious organizations who operate under separate Polish laws. This registration is not necessary; however, it is beneficial when it comes to serving the freedom of religious practice laws. Slavic Native Faith ( Rodzimowiercy ) groups, registered with
2450-595: The Sclavenes and Antes spoke the same languages but traced their common origin not to the Venethi but to a people he called "Sporoi". Sporoi ("seeds" in Greek; compare "spores") is equivalent to the Latin semnones and germani ("germs" or "seedlings"), and the German linguist Jacob Grimm believed that Suebi meant "Slav". Jordanes and Procopius called the Suebi "Suavi". The end of
2520-467: The Slavic homeland in the Pripet Marshes of Polesia , which lack those plants. Common Slavic dialects before the 4th century AD cannot be detected since all of the daughter languages emerged from later variants. Tonal word stress (a 9th-century AD change) is present in all Slavic languages, and Proto-Slavic reflects the language that was probably spoken at the end of the 1st millennium AD. Jordanes , Procopius and other Late Roman authors provide
2590-460: The Slavic tribes inhabited a large portion of Central and Eastern Europe . By then, the nomadic Iranian -speaking peoples living in the European Pontic Steppe (the Scythians , Sarmatians , Alans , etc.) had been absorbed by the region's Slavic-speaking population . Over the next two centuries, the Slavs expanded westwards (to the Elbe river and in the Alps ), and southwards (into the Balkans , absorbing Illyrian and Thracian peoples in
2660-435: The Slavs as "Veneti" and noted that they were also known as "Sclavi". Western authors, including Fredegar and Boniface , preserved the term "Venethi". The Franks (in the Life of Saint Martinus , the Chronicle of Fredegar and Gregory of Tours ), Lombards ( Paul the Deacon ) and Anglo-Saxons ( Widsith ) referred to Slavs in the Elbe-Saale region and Pomerania as "Wenden" or "Winden" (see Wends ). The Franks and
2730-527: The United States, a significant number of Polish immigrants settled in Chicago (billed as the world's most Polish city outside of Poland), Milwaukee, Ohio, Detroit, New Jersey , New York City, Orlando , Pittsburgh , Buffalo , and New England . The highest concentration of Polish Americans in a single New England municipality is in New Britain, Connecticut . The majority of Polish Canadians have arrived in Canada since World War II. The number of Polish immigrants increased between 1945 and 1970, and again after
2800-450: The Wars , and Secret History ) during the 550s. Each book contains detailed information on raids by Sclavenes and Antes on the Eastern Roman Empire , and the History of the Wars has a comprehensive description of their beliefs, customs and dwellings. Although not an eyewitness, Procopius had contacts among the Sclavene mercenaries who were fighting on the Roman side in Italy . Agreeing with Jordanes's report, Procopius wrote that
2870-443: The ancient name for Poland, or from the tribal Lendians . Their names are equally derived from the Old Polish term lęda , meaning plain or field. Slavs have been in the territory of modern-day Poland for over 1500 years. During the Migration Period , central Europe was becoming increasingly settled by the early Slavs (500–700 AD). They organized into tribal units , of which the larger ones further west were later known as
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2940-408: The archaeological reflection of the proto-Slavs. The Chernyakov zone is now seen as representing the cultural interaction of several peoples, one of which was rooted in Scytho-Sarmatian traditions, which were modified by Germanic elements that were introduced by the Goths. The semi-subterranean dwelling with a corner hearth later became typical of early Slavic sites, with Volodymir Baran calling it
3010-405: The auspices of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in Constantinople around 950. In the archaeological literature, attempts have been made to assign an early Slavic character to several cultures in a number of time periods and regions. They are mainly related to the Kiev culture which flourished from the 2nd to the 5th centuries in the "middle and upper Dnieper basin , akin to it sites of
3080-467: The borders of the Carolingian Empire were referred to as Wends ( Vender ), with the term being a corruption of the earlier Roman-era name. The earliest, archaeological findings connected to the early Slavs are associated with the Zarubintsy , Chernyakhov and Przeworsk cultures from around the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD. However, in many areas, archaeologists face difficulties in distinguishing between Slavic and non-Slavic findings, as in
3150-508: The case of Chernyakhov and Przeworsk, since the cultures were also attributed to Iranian or Germanic peoples and were not exclusively connected with a single ancient tribal or linguistic group. Later, beginning in the 6th century, Slavic material cultures included the Prague-Korchak , Penkovka , Ipotești–Cândești , and the Sukow-Dziedzice group cultures. With evidence ranging from fortified settlements ( gords ), ceramic pots, weapons, jewellery and open abodes. The Proto-Slavic homeland
3220-453: The community of Western Christendom . However, throughout its existence, the Polish state followed a tolerant policy towards minorities resulting in numerous ethnic and religious identities of the Poles, such as Polish Jews . The Polish endonym Polacy is derived from the Western Polans , a Lechitic tribe which inhabited lands around the River Warta in Greater Poland region from the mid-6th century onward. The tribe's name stems from
3290-400: The country's current linguistic homogeneity. The culture of Poland is closely connected with its intricate 1,000-year history , and forms an important constituent in the Western civilisation . Strong ties with the Latinate world and the Roman Catholic faith also shaped Poland's cultural identity. Officially, the national and state symbol is the white-tailed eagle ( bielik ) embedded on
3360-404: The country, while Orthodox Christians can be found mostly in the far north-eastern corner, in the area of Białystok , and Protestants in Cieszyn Silesia and Warmia-Masuria regions. A growing Jewish population exists in major cities, especially in Warsaw , Kraków and Wrocław . Over two million Jews of Polish origin reside in the United States, Brazil, and Israel. Religious organizations in
3430-492: The course of history. Poland is linguistically homogeneous – nearly 97% of Poland's citizens declare Polish as their mother tongue. Polish-speakers use the language in a uniform manner throughout most of Poland, though numerous dialects and a vernacular language in certain regions coexist alongside standard Polish. The most common lects in Poland are Silesian , spoken in Upper Silesia , and Kashubian , widely spoken in historic Eastern Pomerania ( Pomerelia ), today in
3500-465: The creation of a Polish state . Polish is the native language of most Poles. It is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group and the sole official language in the Republic of Poland. Its written form uses the Polish alphabet , which is the basic Latin alphabet with the addition of six diacritic marks , totalling 32 letters. Bearing relation to Czech and Slovak , it has been profoundly influenced by Latin , German and other languages over
3570-461: The development of those two linguistic branches of Indo-European. Frederik Kortlandt places the territory of the common language near the Proto-Indo-European homeland : "The Indo-Europeans who remained after the migrations became speakers of Balto-Slavic ". According to the prevailing Kurgan hypothesis , the original homeland of the Proto-Indo-Europeans may have been in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Europe. Proto-Slavic developed into
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#17328479200273640-622: The early 12th century, particularly for its noble classes . In 1364, King Casimir the Great founded the Kraków Academy , which would become Jagiellonian University , the second-oldest institution of higher learning in Central Europe. People of Polish birth have made considerable contributions in the fields of science, technology and mathematics both in Poland and abroad, among them Vitello , Marie Skłodowska–Curie , Rudolf Modrzejewski , Rudolf Weigl , Bronisław Malinowski , Stefan Banach , Stanisław Ulam , Leonid Hurwicz , Benoit Mandelbrot and Alfred Tarski . Poland's folk music , especially
3710-435: The lake called Mursianus to the Danaster [Dniester] and northward as far as the Vistula. They have swamps and forests for their cities. The Antes, who are the bravest of these peoples dwelling in the curve of the sea of Pontus [Black Sea] spread from the Danaster to the Danaper [Dnieper] rivers that are many days' journey apart". Procopius completed his three works on Emperor Justinian I 's reign ( Buildings , History of
3780-418: The lands that the Venethi (a people named in Tacitus 's Germania ) lived during the last decades of the 1st century AD. Pliny the Elder wrote that the territory extending from the Vistula to Aeningia (probably Feningia, or Finland), was inhabited by the Sarmati, Wends, Sciri and Hirri . Jordanes in De origine actibusque Getarum (Ch. 34-35), wrote that "Within these rivers lies Dacia, encircled by
3850-410: The lofty Alps [Carpathian Mountains] as by a crown. Near their left ridge, which inclines toward the north, and beginning at the source of the Vistula, the populous race of the Venethi dwell, occupying a great expanse of land. Though their names are now dispersed amid various clans and places, yet they are chiefly called Sclaveni and Antes. The abode of the Sclaveni extends from the city of Noviodunum and
3920-425: The millennium of contact between them and early Proto-Slavic. A connection between Proto-Slavic and the Germanic languages can be assumed from the number of Germanic loanwords, such as *kupiti ("to buy"), *xǫdogъ ("skillful"), *šelmъ ("helmet") and *xlěvъ ("barn"). The Common Slavic words for beech , larch and yew were also borrowed from Germanic, which led Polish botanist Józef Rostafiński to place
3990-418: The most commonly accepted location. It is generally agreed that ancient Roman writers referred to the ancestors of Slavs as Venedi . The proto-Slavic term Slav shares roots with Slavic terms for speech , word , and perhaps was used by early Slavic people themselves to denote other people, who spoke languages similar to theirs . The first written use of the name "Slavs" dates to the 6th century, when
4060-716: The most, and approximately 79% of Poles read the news more than once a day, placing it 2nd behind Sweden . As of 2021, six Poles received the Nobel Prize in Literature . The national epic is Pan Tadeusz (English: Master Thaddeus), written by Adam Mickiewicz . Renowned novelists who gained much recognition abroad include Joseph Conrad (wrote in English; Heart of Darkness , Lord Jim ), Stanisław Lem (science-fiction; Solaris ) and Andrzej Sapkowski (fantasy; The Witcher ). Various regions in Poland such as Greater Poland , Lesser Poland , Mazovia , Silesia , and Pomerania developed their own distinct cultures, cuisines, folk costumes and dialects. Also, Poland for centuries
4130-403: The name of Veneti . Authors such as Pliny the Elder , Tacitus and Ptolemy described the Veneti as inhabiting the lands east of the Vistula river and along the Venedic Bay ( Gdańsk Bay ). Later, having split into three groups during the migration period , the early Slavs were known to the Byzantine writers as Veneti, Antes and Sclaveni . The 6th century historian Jordanes referred to
4200-446: The northwestern part of Poland. Kashubian possesses its own status as a separate language. The Goral people in the mountainous south use their own nonstandard dialect, accenting and different intonation . The geographical distribution of the Polish language was greatly affected by the border changes and population transfers that followed the Second World War – forced expulsions and resettlement during that period contributed to
4270-409: The oldest mention of Slavs in historical writing Slověne is attested in Ptolemy 's Geography (2nd century) as Σταυανοί (Stavanoi) and Σουοβηνοί (Souobenoi/Sovobenoi, Suobeni, Suoweni), likely referring to early Slavic tribes in a close alliance with the nomadic Alanians , who may have migrated east of the Volga River . In the 8th century during the Early Middle Ages , early Slavs living on
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#17328479200274340-435: The probable earliest references to the southern Slavs in the second half of the 6th century AD. Jordanes completed his Gothic History , an abridgement of Cassiodorus 's longer work, in Constantinople in 550 or 551. He also used additional sources: books, maps or oral tradition. Jordanes wrote that "After the slaughter of the Heruli , Hermanaric also took arms against the Venethi. This people, though despised in war,
4410-420: The process), and also moved eastwards (in the direction of the Volga River ). Between the sixth and seventh centuries, large parts of Europe came to be controlled or occupied by Slavs, a process less understood and documented than that of the Germanic ethnogenesis in the west. Yet the effects of Slavicization were far more profound. Beginning in the 7th century, the Slavs were gradually Christianized (both by
4480-414: The replacement of Slavic tribal names for the collective "Sclavenes" and "Antes", occurred at the end of the century; the first tribal names were recorded in the second book of the Miracles of Saint Demetrius , around 690. The unknown "Bavarian Geographer" listed Slavic tribes in the Frankish Empire around 840, and a detailed description of 10th-century tribes in the Balkan Peninsula was compiled under
4550-416: The resolution of matters connected with their cultural identity. There are smaller communities primarily comprising Protestants (especially Lutherans ), Orthodox Christians (migrants), Jehovah's Witnesses , those irreligious , and Judaism (mostly from the Jewish populations in Poland who have lived in Poland prior to World War II) and Sunni Muslims ( Polish Tatars ). Roman Catholics live all over
4620-608: The sixth-largest national group in the European Union (EU). Estimates vary depending on source, though available data suggest a total number of around 60 million people worldwide (with roughly 18-20 million living outside of Poland, many of whom are not of Polish descent, but are Polish nationals). There are almost 38 million Poles in Poland alone. There are also strong Polish communities in neighbouring countries, whose territories were once occupied or part of Poland – Czech Republic , Slovakia , Lithuania , Latvia , western Ukraine , and western Belarus . The term " Polonia "
4690-404: The steppe: the sea, coastal features, littoral flora or fauna or saltwater fish. Proto-Slavic hydronyms have been preserved between the source of the Vistula and the middle basin of the Dnieper . Its northern regions adjoin territory in which river names of Baltic origin ( Daugava , Neman and others) abound. On the south and east, it borders the area of Iranian river names (including
4760-422: The type Zaozer´e in the upper Dnieper and the upper Daugava basins, and finally the groups of sites of the type Cherepyn–Teremtsy in the upper Dniester basin and of the type Ostrov in the Pripyat basin". It is recognised as the predecessor of the 6th- and 7th-century Prague-Korchak , Prague-Penkovka and Kolochin cultural horizons that encompass Slavic cultures from the Dniester to the Elbe. "Prague culture" in
4830-399: Was a refuge to many Jews and to Armenians , who became an important part of Polish society and similarly developed their own unique cultures. Popular everyday foods in Poland include pork cutlets ( kotlet schabowy ), schnitzels, kielbasa sausage, potatoes, coleslaw and salads, soups ( barszcz , tomato or meat broth ), pierogi dumplings, and bread rolls . Traditional Polish cuisine
4900-406: Was strong in numbers and tried to resist him. [...] These people, as we started to say at the beginning of our account or catalogue of nations, though off-shoots from one stock, have now three names, that is, Venethi, Antes and Sclaveni". His claim was accepted more than a millennium later by Wawrzyniec Surowiecki , Pavel Jozef Šafárik and other historians, who searched the Slavic Urheimat in
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