Poland Guide
Introduction to Poland
Poland is one of the success stories of new Europe, transforming itself from communist-bloc one-party state to parliamentary democracy and European Union member in a remarkably short period of time. Gleaming corporate skyscrapers have taken root in Warsaw, and private shops and cafés have established themselves in even the most provincial of rural towns. The country has a radically different look about it, having exchanged the greyish tinge of a state-regulated society for the anything-goes attitude of private enterprise – and all the billboards and window displays that go with it.
During periods of foreign oppression the Catholic Church was always the principal defender of the nation's identity, so that the Catholic faith and the struggle for independence have become fused in the Polish consciousness. The physical presence of the Church is inescapable – in Baroque buildings, roadside shrines and images of the national icon, the Black Madonna of Częstochowa – and the determination to preserve the memories of an often traumatic past finds expression in religious rituals that can both attract and repel onlookers.
To a great extent, the sense of social fluidity, of a country still in the throes of major transitions, remains a primary source of Poland's fascination.
Dramatically changed geopolitical circumstances have seen Poland join NATO and, perhaps even more significantly, become a fully-fledged member of the EU, a status which promises to transform the country more profoundly than anything since the advent of communism.