Poland is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north.
The country extends 876 km from north to south and 689 km from east to west. Poland’s total area is 312,843 square kilometers, making it the 9th largest in Europe.
A nation with a proud cultural heritage, Poland can trace its roots back over 1,000 years. There have been periods of independence as well as periods of domination by other countries.
A new era began when Poland became an EU member in 2004, fifteen years after the end of communist rule.