1.
Poland
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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
2.
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
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It is situated in mid-northern Poland, on the boundary between the two historic regions from which it takes its name, Kuyavia and Pomerania. Its two chief cities, serving as the joint capitals, are Bydgoszcz and Toruń. The Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998 and it consisted of territory from the former Bydgoszcz, Toruń and Włocławek Voivodeships. The area now known as Kuyavia-Pomerania was previously divided between the region of Kuyavia and the Polish fiefdom of Royal Prussia, of the two principal cities of todays Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeship, one was historically located in Kuyavia, whilst the other was an important town of Royal Prussia. The functions of capital are split between Bydgoszcz and Toruń. The Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship is bordered by five other voivodeships, the voivodeship contains 52 cities and towns. These are listed below in descending order of population, Transportation infrastructure is of importance to the voivodeships economy. Kuyavia-Pomerania is a node in the Polish transportation system. Railway lines from the South and East pass through Bydgoszcz to connect to the ports on the Baltic Sea. In addition to this, Bydgoszcz is home to the rolling stock manufacturer PESA SA, Polands largest and most modern producer of railway, all major towns of the province have municipal transportation companies operating buses, whilst Bydgoszcz, Toruń and Grudziądz also have extensive tram systems. The Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeships government is headed by the voivode who is appointed by the Polish Prime Minister. The voivode is then assisted in performing his duties by the voivodeships marshal, the current voivode of Kuyavia-Pomerania is Ewa Monika Mes, and the present marshal is Piotr Całbecki. The Sejmik of Kuyavia-Pomerania consists of 33 members, the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship is divided into 23 counties,4 city counties and 19 land counties. These are further divided into 144 gminas, the counties are listed in the following table. Protected areas in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship include the nine Landscape Parks listed below
3.
Greater Poland Voivodeship
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Greater Poland Voivodeship, also known as Wielkopolska Voivodeship or Wielkopolska Province, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Poznań, Kalisz, Konin, Piła and Leszno Voivodeships, the province is named after the region called Greater Poland or Wielkopolska. The modern province includes most of historic region, except for some south-western parts. Greater Poland Voivodeship is second in area and third in population among Polands sixteen voivodeships, with an area of 29,826 square kilometres and its capital city is Poznań, other important cities include Kalisz, Konin, Piła, Ostrów Wielkopolski, Gniezno and Leszno. The city of Poznań has international twinning arrangements with the English county of Nottinghamshire, Greater Poland, sometimes called the cradle of Poland, formed the heart of the 10th-century early Polish state. In the testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth, which initiated the period of fragmentation of Poland, the eastern part, with Gniezno and Kalisz, was part of the Duchy of Kraków, granted to Władysław II the Exile. However, for most of the period the two parts were under a ruler, and were known as the Duchy of Greater Poland. The region came under the control of Władysław I the Elbow-High in 1314, in the reunited kingdom, and later in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the country came to be divided into administrative units called voivodeships. In the case of the Greater Poland region these were Poznań Voivodeship, the Commonwealth also had larger subdivisions known as prowincja, one of which was named Greater Poland. However, this covered an larger area than the Greater Poland region itself, also taking in Masovia. In 1768 a new Gniezno Voivodeship was formed out of the part of Kalisz Voivodeship. However more far-reaching changes would come with the Partitions of Poland, in the first partition, northern parts of Greater Poland along the Noteć were taken over by Prussia, becoming the Netze District. In the second partition the whole of Greater Poland was absorbed by Prussia and it remained so in spite of the first Greater Poland Uprising, part of the unsuccessful Kościuszko Uprising directed chiefly against Russia. More successful was the Greater Poland Uprising of 1806, which led to the regions becoming part of the Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw, however, following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Greater Poland was again partitioned, with the western part going to Prussia. The eastern part joined the Russian-controlled Kingdom of Poland, where it formed the Kalisz Voivodeship until 1837, within the Prussian empire, western Greater Poland became the Grand Duchy of Posen, which theoretically held some autonomy. Following an unrealized uprising in 1846, and the substantial but still unsuccessful uprising of 1848. Following the end of World War I, the Greater Poland Uprising ensured that most of the region part of the newly independent Polish state. Northern and some parts of Greater Poland remained in Germany
4.
Lubusz Voivodeship
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Lubusz Voivodeship, or Lubuskie Province, is a voivodeship in western Poland. It was created on January 1,1999, out of the former Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra Voivodeships, the provinces name recalls the historic Lubusz Land, although parts of the voivodeship belong to the historic regions of Silesia, Greater Poland and Lusatia. Until 1945, it formed the Neumark within the Prussian Province of Brandenburg. The functions of capital are shared between two cities, Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra. The region is flat, with many lakes and woodlands. In the south, around Zielona Góra, grapes are cultivated, Lubusz Voivodeship borders West Pomeranian Voivodeship to the north, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the east, Lower Silesian Voivodeship to the south, and Germany to the west. Part of the province was located on the western bank of the Oder River. In 1226 Lebus Land came under jurisdiction of the Holy Roman Empire. After World War II it was sometimes referred to as the first Polish province to fall to German expansionism. In 1945, the conquest of eastern Germany by the Soviet Red Army was followed by the redrawing of Polands borders, the east part of the Lubusz region was transferred to Poland, where in communist propaganda it was referred to as part of the Regained or Recovered Territories. That part of the population which had not fled west of the Oder or been killed was rapidly expelled, however, as a result of popular protests, these proposals were eventually amended to increase the number of voivodeships to 16, leading to the creation of Lubusz Voivodeship. The voivodeship contains 42 cities and towns and these are listed below in descending order of population, Lubusz Voivodeship is divided into 14 counties,2 city counties and 12 land counties. These are further divided into 83 gminas, the counties are listed in the following table. Protected areas in Lubusz Voivodeship include two National Parks and eight Landscape Parks
5.
Gwda
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The Gwda is a river in Poland, a tributary of the Noteć. It is 146 kilometers long and begins at Lake Studnica, northeast of Szczecinek and its upper course flows through many lakes. It runs through the town of Piła, downstream from road bridge in Ledyczek and upstream from Podgaje Reservoir. Downstream from dam in Tarnowka and upstream from road bridge in Krepsko, the water of the Gwda was one of the purest in Poland in 1975. However, the flows have since been degraded due to cities pumping non-processed sewage and industrial plants flushing chemicals. Point and non-point sources of pollution in the Gwda river basin in hydrological years 1992/93-1997/98 Journal of Water and Land Development, No
6.
Drawa
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The Drawa is a river and popular aquatic trail in Poland,185.9 km long. The surface of its catchment area amounts to 3296.4 km2, the Drawa begins its course at Krzywe Lake and ends it in Noteć below Krzyż Wielkopolski. The Drawa is a tributary of Noteć, the second regarding size. Its average gradient is 0, 61% and its flow rate 19 m3/s and it is the longest river in Pojezierze Drawskie. The Drawa flows across regions including Pojezierze Drawskie, Równina Drawska and partly near Pojezierze Wałeckie, the source of the Drawa is in nature reserve Dolina Pięciu Jezior. Then, the river flows across Drawski Landscape Park, Drawieński National Park, the section from Czaplinek to Noteć is called the Karol Wojtyła Silver Route. The biggest tributaries of the Drawa are the Kokna, Korytnica, Mierzęcka Struga, Płociczna, Pokrętna, Słopica, Wąsowa. The main streams of the river are the Bagnica, Drawsko, Drawka, Głęboka, Miedzniki, Moczel, Pełknica, Radówka, Sitna, Studzienica, Sucha, Szczuczna, one canal, Prostynia, flows into the Drawa. The Drawa flows through many lakes, in the upper region of the river there are Górne, Krąg, Długie, Głębokie, Małe. Further down the river, the lakes Prosino, Żerdno, Drawsko Lake, Rzepowskie, Lubie, Krosino, Wielkie, the river is also a place of living of the rare specimens – sea trout, common minnow, european bullhead and vimba vimba. The Drawa also hosts buzzards, red algae, sponges, spargania, from the 14th century, the river has been used as a navigational route. Since 1700, the Drawa has been used for drifting honey from Drawsko to Frankfurt, navigation of the river continued until World War II. In 1974, on the route was founded a nature reserve Drawa. The Drawa flows near various historical buildings, one of them is Drahimski Castle, which was turned into the museum. The castle was built in 1360 by the Order of Saint John, there are also interesting bunkers near camping in Kotlina. On Drawas route Wedels Castle, from the 14th century, can also be found, on one of the banks, Wydrzy Głaz can be found. On the section of the river from Lubie to Prostynia, rafting and canoeing are forbidden because the Drawski Training Ground is located in that area. Http, //www. mrowka. pl/drawa. html https, //web. archive. org/web/20120123053451/http, //www. kajaki-sikory. pl, 80/pl/spywy/rzekadrawa http, //www. dpn. pl/drawa Galiński Z. Przewodnik dla kajakarzy
