POLAND REVISITED Much of the Country Is on the North European
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POLAND REVISITED By Mike McPhee [This is the text of an Address at the Sydney Unitarian Church on 08 March 2020.] Poland is a country with a long history, glorious much of the time but with some tragic periods. With a popu- lation of 39 million, it is the sixth most populous country in the European Union and also the seventh largest in both area and GDP. Its capital, Warsaw has 1.8 million inhabitants and another six cities have populations between 400,000 and 800,000: Kraków, Łódź, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk, and Szczecin. Much of the country is on the North European Plain, therefore largely flat and fertile, but most of its southern borders are mountainous with extensive foothills further north. Its main river is the Vistula, which crosses the entire country, but the Oder River flows through the southwest and then forms the border with Germany. (Both rivers have many tributaries, however, as can be seen on the map.) The region has been inhabited for at least 500,000 years and it became the centre of the Lusatian culture during the Bronze and Iron Ages (1300 – 500 BCE). While numerous Slavic tribes had arrived by then, there were other ethnicities present and archeologists are reluctant to speculate on who the Lusatians actually were. What is known is that they had pottery, metalwork, extensive agriculture and fortified settlements. By the 10th Century CE, Slavs were the dominant ethnicity in the region and the five major tribes were united by Duke Mieszko I of the Piast dynasty to form a Polish state whose borders were surprisingly similar to those of the present day. Its western neighbours, Lusatia and the Veleti Union were also inhabited by Slavs and those territories were contested by Poland and Germany over the centuries. Despite the name, the region of ‘Old Prussia’ to the northeast was inhabited by Baltic speakers related to the Lithuanians and Latvians. Mieszko converted to Christianity in 966, drawing Poland closer to the rest of Europe, though it would take 300 years for the whole country to become Christian. Despite periods of disunity that sometimes caused Poland to revert to duchy status, the Piast dynasty remained in power for most of the next 400 years. When Casimir III died without issue in 1370, he was succeeded by his nephew, King Louis I of Hungary. This led to a brief union of the two kingdoms, after which he was succeeded by his daughter, Jadwiga, in 1384. Events took a remarkable turn in 1386, when Jadwiga married Grand Duke Jagalla of Lithuania, who had just converted to Christianity for the purpose. Despite the small size of the present-day state, at that time Lithuania had acquired most of what is now Belarus and Ukraine through intermarriage and alliances. Jagalla was made co-monarch as Wladislaw II Jagiello and, after Jadwiga died in 1399, he ruled in his own capacity until his death in 1434. The Jagiellon dynasty ruled until 1572, by which time the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had been formalised. It became one of the largest states in Europe at the time, with an area of 1 million square kilometres and a population of 10 million. The Commonwealth lasted under other dynasties for another 200 years, during which time it became renowned as a centre of scholarship, culture and religious tolerance. Unfortunately, after a disastrous war with Sweden in the early 1700s, it was badly weakened and its neighbours began to attack. Outer regions like Latvia and Ukraine were taken early in the piece but later the entire Commonwealth was carved up by Russia, Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Partitions of 1772, 1793 and 1795. Poland ceased to exist as a state until the end of World War I, despite numerous uprisings against the partitioning powers during that time. The Republic of Poland that emerged in 1920 was more-or-less as it had been before the Partitions. As we know, the country was again partitioned by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939, and after World War II it was effectively shifted westward. Much of its eastern territory was acquired by the USSR while Poland gained the former German territories of Pomerania, Silesia and East Prussia. Most of the German inhabitants of those regions were expelled and replaced by Polish refugees from the lost eastern lands. Most of us known the later history of Poland as a communist state until 1989, so we should now commence our tour of the country. The capital, Warsaw, on the Vistula River has a population of 1.8 million; however, with 3.1 million people in the greater metropolitan area, it is the fifth-largest city in Europe. Built on the site of a fishing village in about 1300, the original town became a ducal capital and a centre of crafts and trade. It became the capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1596 and expanded greatly after the royal court and many nobles moved there. In the 1700s, the city was largely rebuilt under the direction of leading German architects as a centre of culture and the arts, earning it the title ‘the Paris of the North’. Warsaw was under Prussian control after the Third Partition but it was awarded to Russia by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Considerable modernisation in the way of water mains, sewers, trams and gaslights took place after that time. Sadly, the city was destroyed to the extent of 85% by the retreating Germans near the end of World War II, so much of what you’ll be seeing next has been painstakingly reconstructed since that time. The Royal Castle was built on the site of an earlier wooden fortified town in about 1400 and expanded over the years. Originally the home of the Dukes of Masovia, it became the royal residence and administrative head- quarters when Warsaw was made the capital, as well as the meeting place of the Sejm (Parliament). After the Partitions, it was used by various occupying powers, including the Nazis, for the same purposes. Under the first Polish republic, it served as the presidential palace. Today, it is a museum and part of Warsaw’s impressive Old Town on the bank of the Vistula River, which also features a historic Market Place and the Barbican, a fortified entrance that is the only remaining part of the walls that once surrounded the town. The Old Town was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. There are three cathedrals in Warsaw but only St. John’s is called an Archcathedral, because it has been the seat of the Archbishop since 1813. Originally built in the 14th Century in Gothic style, the then cathedral served as a coronation and burial site for numerous Dukes of Masovia. It was rebuilt several times, most notably in the 19th Century in the English Gothic Revival style. Almost totally destroyed in 1945, the Archcathedral was rebuilt after the war. The exterior reconstruction was based on the 14th Century church's presumed appearance, based on drawings from the 1600s. Attempts were made to restore the interior to its appearance in those times, as well. The Łazienkowski Palace is in the city's largest park, occupying over 76 hectares of the city centre. Built as a Baroque bath house by a nobleman in the 1680s, it was richly decorated with stuccos, statues, and paintings. In 1766, Stanisław II Augustus, the last king of Poland, purchased the estate and converted the bathing pavilion into a summer residence with an English garden. The Vistula River has always been a central feature of Warsaw that various city planners over the centuries have taken full advantage of. A kilometres-long riverside promenade provides a great place for walking, cycling, dining and nightlife. Along the boulevards are gazebos with sun loungers, stone benches and seats made from tree branches. Surprisingly, perhaps, there are stretches of sand at certain points on the river which are regarded as some of the most beautiful urban beaches in the world. This one is near the Poniatowski Bridge and has beach volleyball facilities, while others give access to boats that cruise on the river. About 270 km up the Vistula River, almost to the border with Czech Republic and Slovakia, is Kraków, with a city population of 775,000 and 1.7 million people in the metropolitan area. Dating back to the 7th Century and originally part of the Czech kingdoms of Moravia and, later, Bohemia, the thriving commercial centre was taken by King Mieszko I of Poland in about 990. It became the Polish capital in 1038, after which many of its historic buildings were constructed. The city flourished over the next 600 years, becoming a centre of learning, arts and sciences. It went into decline after Warsaw became the capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, probably as a point of balance between the two components. Under the Partitions of the late 1700s, it came under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of World War I. Mercifully, the city was largely undamaged during World War II, so even its oldest buildings are intact today. The Wawel Castle was built by King Casimir III the Great, who reunified Poland in the 1300s and expanded its territories. One of the largest castles in the country, it was the residence of Polish kings for centuries. It was expanded over those years, so its various structures are in the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque styles. Since 1930, the castle has been one of the country's premier art museums.