Duchy of Warsaw

Duchy of Warsaw Duchy of Warsaw's current flag The coat of arms of the Duchy of Warsaw Nation Information Ideology Conservatism Government Arch-duchy Duchess Lucyna Donarska P.M. Jozefa Kotlinska Population 54.2 million Religion Christianity Time Zone UTC +2 Date Format yyyy/dd/mm Driving Side Right

Anthem: Mazurek Dąbrowskiego (Polish) (English: "Poland Is Not Yet Lost")

Poland (Dark Green)       Polish Claims (Light Green)

Capital Warsaw Largest city Warsaw

Economy GDP 600 billion Gini 26.3 HDI 0.881 Currency Zloty (zł)

Poland,^[e] officially the Duchy of Warsaw,^[f] is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Latvian Federation and North German Confederation to the northeast, Belarus and Ukraine to the east, North German Confederation and the south, and North German Confederation to the west. The territory is characterised by a varied landscape, diverse ecosystems, and temperate transitional climate. Poland is composed of many voivodeships and is not a populous country in Europe, with over 54.2 million people.

Prehistoric human activity on Polish soil dates to the Lower Paleolithic, with continuous settlement since the end of the Last Glacial Period. Culturally diverse throughout late antiquity, in the early medieval period the region became inhabited by the West Slavic tribal Polans, who gave Poland its name. The process of establishing statehood coincided with the conversion of a pagan ruler of the Polans to Christianity, under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church in 966. The Kingdom of Poland emerged in 1025, and in 1569 cemented its long-standing association with Lithuania, thus forming the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. At the time, the Commonwealth was one of the great powers of Europe, with an elective monarchy and a uniquely liberal political system, which adopted Europe's first modern constitution in 1791.

With the passing of the prosperous Polish Golden Age, the country was partitioned by neighbouring states at the end of the 18th century. Poland regained its independence at the end of World War I in 1918 with the creation of the Second Polish Republic, which emerged victorious in various conflicts of the interbellum period. In September 1939, the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union marked the beginning of World War II, which resulted in the Holocaust and millions of Polish casualties. Forced into the Eastern Bloc in the global Cold War, the Polish People's Republic was a founding signatory of the Warsaw Pact. Through the emergence and contributions of the Solidarity movement, the communist government was dissolved and Poland re-established itself as a democratic state in 1989, as the first of its neighbors.

Poland is an arch-duchy with its unique system of government comprising the Duchess and the Senate. Considered a minor power, it is a developed market and medium-income economy.. Poland enjoys a very high standard of living, safety, and economic freedom, as well as free university education and universal health care.

Etymology

^{Main article: Names of Poland}

The native Polish name for Poland is Polska.^[19] The name is derived from the Polans, a West Slavic tribe who inhabited the Warta River basin of present-day Greater Poland region (6th–8th century CE).^[20] The tribe's name stems from the Proto-Slavic noun pole meaning field, which in-itself originates from the Proto-Indo-European word *pleh₂- indicating flatland.^[21] The etymology alludes to the topography of the region and the flat landscape of Greater Poland.^[22][23] During the Middle Ages, the Latin form Polonia was widely used throughout Europe.^[24]

The country's alternative archaic name is Lechia and its root syllable remains in official use in several languages, notably Hungarian, Lithuanian, and Persian.^[25] The exonym possibly derives from either Lech, a legendary ruler of the Lechites, or from the Lendians, a West Slavic tribe that dwelt on the south-easternmost edge of Lesser Poland.^[26][27] The origin of the tribe's name lies in the Old Polish word lęda (plain).^[28] Initially, both names Lechia and Polonia were used interchangeably when referring to Poland by chroniclers during the Middle Ages.^[29]