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EURO 2012

The decision to make Poland a co-host of EURO 2012 was greeted with surprise both inside and outside Poland as well as by jubilation that Michel Platini and his UEFA committee had the foresight and courage to bring such a successful tournament here....
Fat Thursday

Fat Thursday might sound strange to those of you who are used to the literal translation of the French term Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), but in Poland the last Thursday before Lent begins is just as gluttonous, though....
Marek Kamiński

Born in Gdańsk on March 24, 1964, Marek Kamiński ranks as Poland’s greatest living explorer, and in 1995 became the first person in the world to reach both Poles unaided in the same year....
Solidarity

Although Solidarity was officially christened in 1980, its roots can be traced some ten years earlier....
Nicolaus Copernicus

Head 100km east of Gdańsk and you’ll come across Frombork, a pleasant little town that hit world news in November....
Smoking

After holding out to be one of the few remaining EU countries with no prohibitions on smoking, a new law put into effect on November 15th, 2010 finally limited smoking in public places....
Ignacy Jan Paderewski

Born in Kuryłówka in 1860 the man many credit for sparking the Uprising is rightfully regarded as a national icon....
Błędowska Desert

Here’s sand in your eye: smack between Kraków and Katowice (in fact 40km from each city), lies Pustynia Błędowska - a bonafide, genuine, centuries-old desert....
Edward Gierek

Born in Zagórze, an outlying district of Sosnowiec, Edward Gierek (1913 – 2001) is best remembered as the man who took Poland to the brink of bankruptcy with his half-mad economic policies....
Max Berg

Born in the coastal town of Szczecin (then known as Stettin) in 1870 Max Berg went on to become one of the most eminent architects of his time, and nowhere will he be remembered more so than in Wrocław....
Daniel Libeskind

Warsaw’s changing horizon is set for more dramatic developments with the news that the Orco Property Group in conjunction with acclaimed architect Daniel Liebeskind are to construct a 192 metre residential tower in the heart of Warsaw....
Hot Beer

There’s a number of ways to survive winter in Poland, and we’ve tried them all; from dressing up like Eskimos to eating loads of fat and staying home....
Not a Queue

A seemingly straightforward concept, while standing in an orderly line is probably as unconsciously ingrained where you come from as staying to the right while passing in a narrow corridor, here in Poland, queuing is a cutthroat game of cunning and sabotage....
Tipping Tribulations

Polish tipping etiquette can be a bit confusing for foreigners. While in other civilized countries it’s ...

The Drowning of Marzanna

A burning effigy of Marzanna

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Despite the strong Catholic character of modern Poland, some pagan traditions have endured. One of the most blithely bizarre and eyebrow-raising is the spring equinox celebration known as the Drowning of Marzanna (Topienie Marzanny). Marzanna is the Polish incarnation of the old Slavic goddess of with winter, plague and death. Fearing her icy grasp, the best way for superstitious Slavs to protect themselves, encourage the timely arrival of spring and ensure a good harvest was to partake in an old-fashioned witch-burning, followed by a drowning (just to be sure). In medieval times the rite involved making a Marzanna effigy out of straw which was then wrapped in linen and beautified with ribbons and beads. On the afternoon of March 21st, young children would play with/torture the idol, gleefully parading it around and dunking it in every trough and water barrel in the village. At dusk the villagers would gather at the riverbank, setting the effigy ablaze and tossing it into the water, cheering as the blazing wretch disappeared downstream. Today the symbolic folk custom survives, as every child in kindergarten and primary school annually participates in the creation of a Marzanna doll, which can range in size from small puppets to life-sized dummies. Under adult supervision, Marzanna is taken to the nearest riverbank or bridge, set ablaze and thrown to its watery grave as the children sing springtime and witch-burning songs. For example: Już wiosenne słonko wzbija się po niebie | W tej wezbranej rzece utopimy ciebie! (Loose IYP translation: As the spring sun rises in the sky of blue | in this swollen river we are drowning you!). Happy springtime, kids.

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Poland In Your Pocket

Free Download

Features

More features:

EURO 2012

Fat Thursday

Marek Kamiński

Solidarity

Nicolaus Copernicus

Smoking

Ignacy Jan Paderewski

Błędowska Desert

Edward Gierek

Max Berg

Daniel Libeskind

Hot Beer

Not a Queue

Tipping Tribulations

The Drowning of Marzanna

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Poland
In Your Pocket