More features:
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Izabella Scorupco
You wouldn’t expect to catch James Bond playing hide the sausage with a bearded woman, so it should come as a bit of a bombshell that Izabella Scorupco (his squeeze in Goldeneye) was exactly that – albeit for a role in some nonsense Scando art house flick....
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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....
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Witkacy
Eccentric, flamboyant and tragic, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz - remembered as ‘Witkacy’ (1885-1939) – was one of Poland’s premier avant-garde icons....
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Andrzej Wajda
Born in 1926 in the Polish town of Suwałki, Andrzej Wajda is regarded by many as the father of Polish cinema....
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National Anthem
Whether you call it “Poland is Not Yet Lost,” “Song of the Polish Legions of Italy” or “Dąbrowski’s Mazurka,” they all describe the same thing: Poland’s national anthem....
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Max Factor
Max Faktor (or Faktorowicz), born in Łódź in 1877, has come to be regarded as the father of modern day cosmetics....
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Staypoland Hotel Reservation
In Your Pocket have teamed up with local specialists Staypoland.com to allow you to book hotel rooms online....
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Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Born in Kuryłówka in 1860 the man many credit for sparking the Uprising is rightfully regarded as a national icon....
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Disaster in Smolensk
Poland hit world headlines on April 10th 2010 when a plane carrying President Lech Kaczyński, his wife and ninety four other passengers crashed by the city of Smolensk killing all on board....
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Jerzy Kosiński
Born in Łódź, 1933, Jerzy Kosiński stands out as one of the 20th century's great literary talents, with a life story every bit as sinister and dramatic as his books....
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Grzane piwo/wino
There’s a number of ways to survive winter in Poland, and we’ve tried them all, from dressing up like Eskimos to sitting at home in our pants....
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Discover Poland
One of the greatest pluses Poland has as it fights for its place in the competitive global tourist market is the variety of holidays it can offer the leisure traveller....
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Blofeld
James Bond; roving womanizer, man of mystery and secret agent supreme. But what’s he got to do with Gdynia? Absolutely nothing, to be precise....
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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....
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. It was a childhood accident that originally inspired him to travel the world; having nearly lost his arm the blank days spent recuperating in hospital saw him make a personal pledge to live a life of adventure. And so he did. His expeditions have seen him become the first Pole to make the 600km trek through Greenland, circle the Baltic (approximately 2,000km) in a rubber dinghy in a time of five days and scale Mount Vinson – the highest peak in Antarctica. His most high profile moment, however, came in 2004 when he set off to conquer both Poles once more, this time with 15 year old Jaś Mela from Malbork. Mela managed the feat in spite of losing an arm and a leg after being electrocuted a couple of years before. Battling temperatures of –30 degrees Celsius, and winds of 200km per hour, the pair just managed to hit their target, arriving at the South Pole on December 31. In the process Mela became the youngest and first disabled person to conquer both Poles in one year, and the expedition raised funds to provide artificial limbs for around 65 Polish children and adults. Awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta for his travels, Kamiński is also the co-author of three books and the founder of the Marek Kamiński Foundation (www.kaminski.pl) - an organization set up to promote exploring the Poles and planet in general, as well as increasing environmental awareness in young people. The foundation also runs an educational project (www.nabiegun.pl) aimed at helping those less fortunate.
fot. Peplowski111