Poland (Austria and others)

Poland (Polish: Polska), officially the Kingdom of Poland (Polish: Królestwo Polska) – is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the East Galicia and West Galicia to the south and Russia ato the east.

The establishment of a Polish state is often identified with the adoption of Christianity by its ruler Mieszko I in 966, over the territory similar to that of present-day Poland. The Kingdom of Poland was formed in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin, forming the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth ceased to exist in 1795 as the Polish lands were partitioned among the Kingdom of Prussia, the Russian Empire, and Austria. Poland regained its independence as the Kingdom of Poland in 1917.However, the monarchy was overthrown in 1919, and two decades later, in September 1939, it was invaded by Nazi Germany, triggering World War II. Over six million Polish citizens died in the war. Poland was re-estabilished as a independent state after the end of the World War II.

Poland is a unitary state made up of ten voivodeships (Polish: województwo). Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).