Territorial changes of Poland

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Territorial changes of Poland
in the 20th century
Post World War I

World War II

Post World War II

Areas

Demarcation Lines

Adjacent Countries

From a nucleus between the Odra and Vistula rivers on the North European Plain, in eras of strength Poland expanded to the Baltic, the Dnieper, the Black Sea and the Carpathians, while in periods of weakness it shrank dramatically.[1] Historian Norman Davies argues that "despite Poles' fervent belief in the macierz or 'motherland', it is impossible to identify any fixed territorial base which has been permanently, exclusively and inalienably Polish".[2] In 1492, the territory of Poland-Lithuania - not counting the fiefs of Mazovia, Moldavia and East Prussia - covered 1,115,000 km² (431,000 sq mi), making it the largest territory in Europe; by 1793 it had fallen to 215,000 km² (83,000 sq mi), the same size as Great Britain, and in 1795 it disappeared completely.[1] The first 20th century incarnation of Poland, the Second Polish Republic, occupied 389,720 km² (150,470 sq mi) while since 1945, a more westerly Poland included 312,677 km² (120,725 sq mi).[2]

The Poles are the most numerous of the West Slavs and occupy what some believe to be the original homeland of the Slavic peoples. While other groups migrated, the Polanie remained in situ along the Vistula, from the river's sources to its estuary at the Baltic Sea.[3] There is no other European nation centred to such an extent on one river.[4] The establishment of a Polish state is often identified with the adoption of Christianity by Mieszko I in 966 CE (see Baptism of Poland), when the state covered territory similar to that of present-day Poland. In 1025 CE, Poland became a kingdom. In 1569, Poland cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin, forming the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries in 16th- and 17th-century Europe.[5][6][7][8]

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had many particularities that made it unique among contemporary states. The Commonwealth's political system, often called the Noble's Democracy or Golden Freedom, was characterized by the sovereign's power being reduced by laws and the legislature (Sejm) controlled by the nobility (szlachta). This system was a precursor to the modern concepts of broader democracy[9] and constitutional monarchy.[10][11] The two comprising states of the Commonwealth were formally equal, although in reality Poland was a dominant partner in the union.[12] Its population was hallmarked by a high level of ethnic and confessional diversity, and the state was noted for having religious tolerance unusual for its age,[13] although the degree of tolerance varied with time.[14]

In the late 1700s, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth began to collapse. Its neighbouring states were able to slowly dismember the Commonwealth until 1795, when Poland's territory was completely partitioned among the Kingdom of Prussia, the Russian Empire, and Austria. Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic in 1918 after World War I, but lost it in World War II through occupation by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Poland lost over six million citizens in World War II, emerging several years later as the socialist People's Republic of Poland within the Eastern Bloc, under strong Soviet influence.

During the Revolutions of 1989, communist rule was overthrown and Poland became what is constitutionally known as the "Third Polish Republic." Poland is a unitary state made up of sixteen voivodeships (Polish: województwo). Poland is also a member of the European Union, NATO, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Territorial timeline

Pre 1635

In the period following the emergence of Poland in the 10th century, the Polish nation was led by a series of rulers of the Piast dynasty, who converted the Poles to Christianity, created a sizeable Central European state, and integrated Poland into European culture. Formidable foreign enemies and internal fragmentation eroded this initial structure in the 13th century, but consolidation in the 1300s laid the base for the dominant Polish Kingdom.

Beginning with the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila, the Jagiellon dynasty (1385–1569) formed the Polish-Lithuanian Union. The Lublin Union of 1569 established the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as an influential player in European politics and a vital cultural entity.

Duchy of Prussia

In 1525, during the Protestant Reformation, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, Albert of Hohenzollern, secularized the order's Prussian territory, becoming Albert, Duke of Prussia. His duchy, which had its capital in Königsberg, was established as a fief of the Crown of Poland.[15]

1635

Sweden, weakened by involvement in the Thirty Years' War, agreed to sign the Armistice of Stuhmsdorf (also known as Treaty of Sztumska Wieś or Treaty of Stuhmsdorf) in 1635, favourable to the Commonwealth in terms of territorial concessions.[16]

1655

In the history of Poland and Lithuania, the Deluge refers to a series of wars in the mid- to late 17th century that left the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in ruins.[17]