Almost no Polish literature remains before Christianisation in the 10th century. Polish literature was written in the Latin language during the Middle Ages. The Polish language was accepted as equal to Latin after the Renaissance for literature.
Jan Kochanowski was a leading poet of European Renaissance literature in the 16th century. Other great Polish poets include Adam Mickiewicz who wrote "Pan Tadeusz" epic in 1834.
Several Polish novelists have won the Nobel prize. Henryk Sienkiewicz won in 19 dramatized versions of famous events in Polish history. Władysław Reymont won a Nobel prize in 1924. He wrote the novel Chłopi. Two polish poets won Nobel prize as well. One is Wisława Szymborska (1996) and the second Czesław Miłosz (1980).
Stanisław Lem is a famous science fiction author in the modern era. His "Solaris" novel was made twice into a feature film.
In the past, Poland was inhabited by people from different nations and of different religions (mainly Catholics, Orthodox and Judaism). This changed after 1939, because of the Nazi Holocaust which killed many Polish Jews. After World War II, the country was changed into a communist country, by the Warsaw Pact which included most central European countries and Russia Russia.
Today 38,038,000 people live in Poland (2011). In 2002 96.74% of the population call themselves Polish, while 471,500 people (1.23%) claimed another nationality. 774,900 people (2.03%) did not declare any nationality. Nationalities, or ethnic groups in Poland are Silesians, Germans (most in the former Opole Voivodeship), Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Russians, Jews and Belarusians. The Polish language is part of the West Slavic section of the Slavic languages. It is also the official language of Poland. English and German are the most common second languages studied and spoken.
In the past few years, Poland's population has gone down because of an increase in emigration and a sharp drop in the birth rate. In 2006, the census office estimated the total population of Poland at 38,536,869, a very small rise on the 2002 figure of 38,230,080. Since Poland's accession to the European Union, many Polish people have moved to work in Western European countries like the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Some organizations state people have left because of high unemployment (10.5%) and better opportunities for work somewhere else. In April 2007, the Polish population of the United Kingdom had risen to about 300,000 people and estimates predict about 65,000 Polish people living in the Republic of Ireland. However, in recent years strong growth of Polish economy and increasing value of Polish currency (PLN) makes many Polish immigrants to go back home. In 2007, the number of people leaving the country was lower than people who are coming back. Poland became an attractive place to work for people from other countries (mainly Ukraine).
A Polish minority is still present in neighboring countries of Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania, as well as in other countries. The largest number of ethnic Poles outside of the country can be found in the United States.
The lists below show the population count of Poland's largest cities based on 2005 estimates.
England
England is a country in Europe. It is a country with over sixty cities in it. It is in a union with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All four countries are in the British Isles and are part of the United Kingdom (UK).
Over 55 million people live in England (2015 estimate). This is 84% of the population of the UK. The capital city of England is London, which is also the biggest city in the country. Other large cities in England are Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.
The English flag is a red cross on a white background. This cross is the cross of Saint George, who is the patron saint of England. Some other symbols used for England are a red rose and three lions.
England is the largest part of the island of Great Britain, and it is also the largest constituent country of the United Kingdom. Scotland and Wales are also part of Great Britain (and the UK), Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. To the east and south, and part of the west, England is bordered by sea. France is to the south, separated by the English Channel. The Channel Tunnel, (Chunnel) under the English Channel, connects England to northern France (and the rest of mainland Europe). Ireland is a large island to the west, divided into Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland.
London is the largest city and the capital. The longest river in England is the River Severn. Other large rivers are the Thames (which runs through London), the Trent and the Humber.
In geological terms, the Pennines, known as the "backbone of England", are the oldest range of mountains in the country, originating from the end of the Paleozoic Era around 300 million years ago. Most of England's landscape consists of low hills and plains, with upland and mountainous terrain in the north and west of the country.
The English Lowlands are in the central and southern regions of the country, consisting of green rolling hills, including the Cotswold Hills, Chiltern Hills, North and South Downs; where they meet the sea they form white rock exposures such as the cliffs of Dover. This also includes relatively flat plains such as the Salisbury Plain, Somerset Levels, South Coast Plain and The Fens.
The United Kingdom is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It has met Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and intends to meet the legally binding target of a 20% cut in emissions by 2010. In 2019, the British Parliament became the first national government in the world to officially declare a climate emergency.
England was named after a Germanic tribe called the "Angles", who settled in Central, Northern, and Eastern England in the 5th and 6th centuries. A related tribe called the "Saxons" settled in the south of England. That is why that period of English history is called "Anglo-Saxon". For most of this time, England did not exist as a united country. The Anglo-Saxons lived in many small kingdoms, which slowly united.
The countries of England, Scotland and Wales correspond to boundaries of the earlier Roman Britain. It also corresponds with language differences, since the German tribes did not reach those areas, at least in any large numbers. The English language is derived from German languages of the time, whereas the native British languages of the time were Celtic languages.
The English kingdoms fought both the Scots, who were also uniting into one kingdom, and Danish invaders. The Danes formed their own large region in the Northeast of England called Danelaw. Many villages and towns in this area (particularly in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire) have Danish names, and use some Danish-based words. At one time Wessex (in the West of England) was the only English kingdom left. After many battles, King Alfred the Great of Wessex became king of the whole of England. The old kingdoms (Mercia, Northumbria, etc.) became provinces, called "Earldoms" and each governed by an Earl. By AD 927 Alfred's grandson Athelstan was the king of all of England not controlled by the Danes.
War with the Danes continued and from 1016 to 1042. The king of Denmark (Knut or Canute), died in 1035, and then his sons ruled England.
When King Edward the Confessor died, Harold Godwinson (the Earl of Wessex) became king. William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy (today part of northern France), said that Harold had promised to make William the king. He invaded England and fought King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. William won, and became king of England.
The kings of England spoke French for the next 300 years. England took over the country of Wales in the 13th century. There were many wars, often against France and Scotland.