The Berkeley Guides:
Berkeley Guide to Europe:
Poland:
Background Information for
Poland
By Meir Rinde and Matthew Waxman
Through 600 years of history, Kraków's streets have seen the construction of medieval castles, Gothic and baroque Catholic churches, and universities; they've witnessed Poland conquered, partitioned, and erased from the map of Europe by waves of invaders; they've felt the footsteps of German knights, Napoleon's officers, Hitler's armies, and Soviet soldiers. In the spring of 1989, these same streets, witnesses to 30 generations of the Polish struggle for independence and statehood, saw the wheel of history spin in favor of the Poles. Solidarity, the workers' trade union, was given a chance to participate in the first free elections in Eastern Europe since World War II. In the streets of Kraków, protest demonstrations soon underwent metamorphoses, becoming election campaigns; a new generation of Poles discovered democracy and celebrated the birth of an autonomous Poland.
Poles are still surprised to encounter travelers who come simply to visit; you may be asked frequently if you're visiting relatives. Poland isn't a place that will steamroll you with stunning architecture; Nazis razed many of Poland's historical sights. Major points of interest in Poland include the north, which encompasses the fishing villages and resort towns along the Baltic coast; the capital city, Warsaw, which lies in the east-central part of the country; and the south, which features the beautifully preserved medieval city of Kraków and, nearby, somber O{wiecim (alias Auschwitz). The best hiking and skiing in Poland center on the mountain village Zakopane, in the peaks of the Tatry Mountains.
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