POLISH LEGIONS

Polish Legions, during the Napoleonic Period, were collectively several Polish units serving in the French army from the 1790s to 1810s. After the third partition of Poland in 1795 many Poles believed that revolutionary France and its allies would help Poland, as France's enemies included the partitioners of Poland (Prussia, Austria and Imperial Russia). Therefore many Polish soldiers, officers and volunteers emigrated from Poland , especially to Italy and France, where they joined local military forces. The number of Polish recruits soon reached many thousands, and so with support from Napoleon Bonaparte special Polish military units, commanded by Polish officers and with Polish military ranks were created. They became known as the Polish Legions and were considered to be a Polish army 'in exile' under command of France. Those units were commanded, among others, by Jan Henryk Dąbrowski, Karol Kniaziewicz and Józef Wybicki . Polish Legions serving alongside the French army during the Napoleonic Wars saw combat in most of Napoleon's campaigns, from the West Indies, through Italy and Egypt, to Russia.

Napoleon in Poland

The fourth coalition was assembled in and Napoleon defeated Prussia at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt (14 October 1806).
He marched on against advancing Russian armies through Poland, and was involved at the bloody stalemate of the Battle of Eylau on 6 February 1807.
After a decisive victory at Friedland, he signed a treaty at Tilsit in East Prussia with Tsar Alexander I of Russia, dividing Europe between the two powers.
He placed puppet rulers on the thrones of German states, including his brother Jerome as king of the new state of Westphalia.
In the French-controlled part of Poland, he established the Duchy of Warsaw, with King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony as ruler. Between 1809 and 1813, Napoleon also served as Regent of the Grand Duchy of Berg for his brother Louis Bonaparte.

Our country- Poland

Poland is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine and Belarus to the east; and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast, to the north.
The total area of Poland is 312,679 km² (120,728 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and 5th in Europe. Poland's population is over 38.5 million people.
The first Polish state was baptized in 966. Poland became a kingdom in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by uniting to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth collapsed in 1795. Poland regained its independence in 1918 but lost it again in World War II, occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. In 1989, communist rule was overthrown and Poland became what is informally known as the "Third Polish Republic".
Poland is the 33rd most populous country in the world. Poland is a unitary state made up of sixteen voivodeships (Polish: województwo). Poland is also a member of the European Union, NATO and OECD.

The heart of Poland- Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital of Poland and its largest city. It is located on the Vistula River roughly 370 kilometers (230 mi) from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2006 was estimated at 1,700,536, with a metropolitan area of approximately 2,900,000 to 3,000,000 people. The city area is 516.9 square kilometers (199.6 sq mi), with an agglomeration of 6,100.43 square kilometers (2,355.4 sq mi) (Warsaw Metro Area - Obszar Metropolitalny Warszawy). Warsaw is the 8th biggest city in the European Union.
Warsaw gave its name to the Warsaw Pact, Warsaw Convention, Treaty of Warsaw and the Warsaw Uprising.

For many years the Fiat 126 was the most popular car bought in Poland. That however, changed in 1998 when this car slowly started to take further places in automotive sales statistics. The Fiat 126 is still the least expensive vehicle in the market and for many people it is the only possibility to own a new car. The maintenence costs are quite inexpensive because of inexpensive replacement parts and service.

POLISH TRADITIONAL DANCE- KRAKOWIAK

The Krakowiak is a fast, syncopated Polish dance in duple time from the region of Krakow and Little Poland. It became a popular ballroom dance in Vienna ("Krakauer") and Paris ("Cracovienne")— where, with the polonaise and the mazurka, it signalled a Romantic sensibility of sympathy towards a picturesque, distant and oppressed nation— and in Russia in the mid-nineteenth century. A krakoviak is featured in Mikhail Glinka's A Life for the Tsar (1836).
The first printed Krakowiak appeared in Franciszek Mirecki's album for the piano, "Krakowiaks Offered to the Women of Poland" (Warsaw, 1816). Frederic Chopin produced a bravura concert krakowiak in his Grand Rondeau de Concert Rondo á la Krakowiak in F major for piano and orchestra (op. 14, 1828).
In terms of its choreography, the krakowiak is set for several couples, among whom the leading male dancer sings and indicates the steps. According to the description in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the krakowiak is directed by the leading man from the first pair. As they approach the band, "the man, tapping his heels or dancing a few steps, sings a melody from an established repertory with newly improvised words addressed to his partner. The band follows the melody, and the couples move off in file and form a circle (with the leading couple back at the band). Thereafter verses are sung and played in alternation, the couples circulating during the played verses.