Greater Poland Uprising of 1918–1919, or Wielkopolska Uprising

The Greater Poland Uprising of 1918–1919, or Wielkopolska Uprising of 1918–1919 or Posnanian War was a military insurrection of Poles in the Greater Poland region (also called by the Germans the Grand Duchy of Poznań or Provinz Posen region) against Germany. The uprising had a significant effect on the Treaty of Versailles, which granted a reconstituted Poland the area won by the Polish insurgents plus some additional territory, at the cost of German territory, all of which had previously been Polish territory, before the three Partitions of Poland carried out (between 1787 and 1795) by the three powerful, neighbouring Empires of Austria, Prussia and Russia.

The card depicts the Meeting convened by the Council Zobnierzy and Robotnikorz at the city council hall in Poznan on Monday 11 November1918, in which the then Mayor Ernst Wilmsa gave the call for the uprising.

Thank you Weronika.

Polish uszka, also known as "little ears"

Further to my post on 22nd October 2013, when I talked about Borcht, Elzbieta sent me this card from Poland. This card shows a Traditional Polish borscht with dumplings called "Uszka". 

Polish uszka, also known as "little ears" because of their shape, are one of the three main Polish filled dumplings/crepes along with pierogi and nalesniki. They are typically made with savory fillings and boiled in broth. Mushroom-filled uszka served in beetbarszcz are a favorite for Christmas Eve wigilia dinner.

Thank you Elzbieta for afixing such beautiful stamps on the card. What pretty roses!

The Zielona Góra Wine Festival

The Zielona Góra Wine Fest (Polish: Winobranie w Zielonej Górze) is a wine festival held in the Polish town of Zielona Gora. The tradition is related to the period of harvest of grapes from the local vineyards which were then turned into wine. The first festival took place in October 1852. Nowadays it starts in the first or second week of September and lasts for nine days.

The festivities start on a Saturday with a parade through the city centre. It is preceded by a symbolic ceremony when the Roman wine god Bacchus and his Maenads receive the keys to the town from the local authorities. During the nine days a lot of cultural and sport events take place, among which the International Festival of Folklore is one of the most prominent. There are also theatre meetings (including street theatres) and music concerts.

The centre of the town turns into a big marketplace for the time of the fest, with a separate street allotted for the antiques market.

Thank you Dear Jadwiga for this nice card.

St. Mary's Church in Krakow

Kraków is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life and is one of Poland's most important economic hubs. It was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1569; the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1596; Free City of Kraków from 1815 to 1846; the Grand Duchy of Cracow from 1846 to 1918; and Kraków Voivodeship from the 14th century to 1999. It is now the capital of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship.

The city has grown from a Stone Age settlement to Poland's second most important city. It began as a hamlet on Wawel Hill and was already being reported as a busy trading centre of Slavonic Europe in 965. With the establishment of new universities and cultural venues at the emergence of the Second Polish Republic in 1918 and throughout the 20th century, Kraków reaffirmed its role as a major national academic and artistic centre. The city has a population of approximately 760,000 whereas about 8 million people live within a 100 km radius of its main square.

The different aspects of the monument shown on this card are those of the Church of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven (also known as St. Mary's Church), it is a Brick Gothic church re-built in the 14th century (originally built in the early 13th century), adjacent to the Main Market Square in Kraków, Poland. Standing 80 m (262 ft) tall, it is particularly famous for its wooden altarpiece carved by Veit Stoss.

On every hour, a trumpet signal—called the Hejnał mariacki—is played from the top of the taller of St. Mary's two towers. The plaintive tune breaks off in mid-stream, to commemorate the famous 13th century trumpeter, who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before the Mongol attack on the city. The noon-time hejnał is heard across Poland and abroad broadcast live by the Polish national Radio 1 Station.

St. Mary's Basilica also served as an architectural model for many of the churches that were built by the Polish diaspora abroad, particularly those like St. Michael's and St. John Cantius in Chicago, designed in the so-called Polish Cathedral style.

The church is familiar to many English-speaking readers from the 1929 book The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly.

Thank you Kasia for a very nice card.

Wisła

Wisła is a town in Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, with a population of about 11,810 (2006), near the border with Czech Republic in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. It is situated in the Silesian Beskids mountain range. Wisła is the Polish name for the Vistula River, which has its source in the mountains near the town.

Located near the national tourist centre Ondraszek, Wisła is a popular year-round tourist destination, with the nearby mountains favoured by ski jumpers. It is known for being the home town of ski jumper Adam Małysz, and for the fact that it is the only town in Poland with a majority Protestant population.

Wisła is also the home of the Beskid Museum, on B. Hoff square. It has on display agricultural tools, folk costumes and goatskin bagpipes from the surrounding region.

In Wisła a trail starts that leads to the Stożek Wielki, a mountain on the border with the Czech Republic that reaches a height of 978 meters.  This pretty card was sent to me by Agnieszka.

Season's Greetings

A very pretty card from my friend Ada in Warsaw. Thank you Dear. Wish you all the best in the New Year too.

Kołobrzeg, Poland

Kołobrzeg is a city in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland with some 50,000 inhabitants (as of 2000). Kołobrzeg is located on the Parsęta River on the south coast of the Baltic Sea (in the middle of the section divided by the Oder and Vistula Rivers). It has been the capital of Kołobrzeg County in West Pomeranian Voivodship since 1999, and previously was in Koszalin Voivodship (1950–1998).
During the Early Middle Ages, Slavic Pomeranians founded a settlement at the site of modern Budzistowo. Thietmar of Merseburg first mentioned the site as Salsa Cholbergiensis. Around the year 1000, when the area was under Polish rule, the stronghold became seat of the Diocese of Kołobrzeg. During High Middle Ages, the town was expanded with additional settlement was founded a few kilometers north of the stronghold in the course of the Ostsiedlung and chartered with Lübeck law. The city later joined the Hanseatic League. Within the Duchy of Pomerania, Kolberg was the urban center of the secular reign of the Cammin bishops and their residence throughout the High and Late Middle Ages. When Kolberg was part of Brandenburgian Pomerania during the Early Modern Age, it withstood Polish and Napoleon's troops in the Siege of Kolberg. From 1815, it was part of the Prussian province of Pomerania. During the 19th century a Polish community started to organize itself. As the Nazis took power in Germany, Poles and Jews were discriminated, determined to be subhuman and eventually subjected to genocide. In 1945 Polish and Soviet troops seized the town and it was subsequently attached to Poland, while the remaining German population, which had not fled the advancing Red Army was expelled. The town, devastated in the preceding Battle of Kolberg, was rebuilt but lost its status as the regional center to the nearby Koszalin. This lovely card was sent to me by Krystyna.

Branicki Palace, Białystok

Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Located in the North Podlasie Lowland on the banks of the Biała River, Białystok ranks second in terms of population density, eleventh in population, and thirteenth in area, of the cities of Poland. It has historically attracted migrants from elsewhere in Poland and beyond, particularly from Central and Eastern Europe. This is facilitated by the fact that the nearby border with Belarus is also the eastern border of the European Union, as well as the Schengen Area. The city and its adjacent municipalities constitute Metropolitan Białystok. The city has a Warm Summer Continental climate, characterized by warm summers and long frosty winters. Forests are an important part of Białystok's character, and occupy around 1,756 ha (4,340 acres) (17.2% of the administrative area of the city) which places it as the fifth most "wooded" city in Poland.

Branicki Palace is a historical edifice in Białystok, Poland. It was developed on the site of an earlier building in the first half of the 18th century by Jan Klemens Branicki, a wealthy Polish–Lithuanian, into a residence suitable for a man whose ambition was to become king of Poland. The palace complex with gardens, pavillons, sculptures, outbuildings and other structures and the city with churches, city hall and monastery, all built almost at the same time according to French models was the reason why the city was known in the 18th century as Versailles de la Pologne (Versailles of Poland) and subsequently Versailles de la Podlachie (Versailles of Podlachia)
With the first Partition of Poland it went to the Prussian Kingdom and, after 1807, to Russia. In the summer of 1920, briefly, the palace was the headquarters of the Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee. Branicki Palace suffered from bombing and fires caused by the Germans, with damage totalling approximately 70%. It was restored after World War II as a matter of national pride. The Medical University is now housed in the Palace. Justyna a resident sent me this card.

Forests of Roztocze and woodland-tundra.

Lubelskie is located in one of the most green and ecologic clean regions of Europe. Here is located the largest in country group of Forests Janowskie and Solska Forest. Also here are stretch from Kraśnik to Hrebenne (and further to Lvov) picturesque areas of afforested hills of Roztocze. Forest land, with deep valley, numerous springs and small waterfalls on rocky terrains creates superb conditions for foot and bicycle wander. Apart from peculiarities of the nature, you will find here old country huts, antique small churches, Orthodox churches, cemeteries, and also on borderland in forests concrete bunkers from so-called Mołotow line, built hurriedly by Red Army in years 1940-41.

Roztoczański National Park protects the valuable forests of Central Roztocze, with fir-beeches forests - typical for Carpathians. Town of Zwierzyniec was formerly hunting terrain of Zamoyski family. Now it is farming of Polish pony, coming from extinct specie of forest horse - tarpan. Magda sent me this card.

Polish Folk Art

Wycinanki is the Polish folk art of paper cutouts. Pronounced vee-chee-non-key, it is known throughout the world as a beautiful paper cut art form. Wycinanki are handmade and have a very distinctive look. Multiple layers of colored paper are folded, cut and sometimes embossed to create wonderful patterns. The intricacy of the designs is created by repeating symmetrical patterns and folk motifs inspired by nature and geometric forms. Wycinanki cutouts come in many different sizes. Wycinanki became a popular folk craft in the mid 1800’s and was used by Polish peasants to decorate the walls and ceiling beams in countryside cottages. They were also given as gifts to family members and friends. A form of decoupage was used; the intricate designs were cut with scissors and glued to whitewashed walls and ceiling beams to create a happy cheerful appearance.

The colorful cutouts of flowers, circles, roosters and stars with a symmetrical arrangement reflect a high level of folk art artistry. Wycinanki cutouts are in a wide variety of colors and shapes including peacocks, roosters and other birds as well as rural scenes. They are also used for special occasions such as Christmas and Easter. Wycinanki remains a treasured form of Polish folk art.

This distinctive and lovely card was sent to me by Ada from Warsaw.

Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp

Auschwitz or Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940–1945), was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II It was the largest of the German concentration camps, consisting of Auschwitz I (the Stammlager or base camp); Auschwitz II–Birkenau (the Vernichtungslager or extermination camp); Auschwitz III–Monowitz, also known as Buna–Monowitz (a labor camp); and 45 satellite camps. Auschwitz had for a long time been a German name for Oświęcim, the town by and around which the camps were located; the name "Auschwitz" was made the official name again by the Germans after they invaded Poland in September 1939. Birkenau, the German translation of Brzezinka (birch tree), refers to a small Polish village nearby that was mostly destroyed by the Germans to make way for the camp. During the last Great War, the very name Auschwitz brought about nightmares to allied soldiers who were perhaps hundreds and thousands of miles away from this notorious place. I for one shocked when I studied it almost thirty years later when I was involved in a project at the Staff College.

Auschwitz II–Birkenau was designated by the Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, Germany's Minister of the Interior, as the place of the "final solution of the Jewish question in Europe". From early 1942 until late 1944, transport trains delivered Jews to the camp's gas chambers from all over Nazi-occupied Europe. The camp's first commandant, Rudolf Höss, testified after the war at the Nuremberg Trials that up to three million people had died there (2.5 million gassed, and 500,000 from disease and starvation), a figure since revised to 1.1 million, around 90 percent of them Jews. Others deported to Auschwitz included 150,000 Poles, 23,000 Roma and Sinti, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war, some 400 Jehovah's Witnesses and tens of thousands of people of diverse nationalities. Those not killed in the gas chambers died of starvation, forced labor, infectious disease, individual executions, and medical experiments.

On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops, a day commemorated around the world as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In 1947, Poland founded a museum on the site of Auschwitz I and II, which by 1994 had seen 22 million visitors—700,000 annually—pass through the iron gates crowned with the infamous motto, Arbeit macht frei ("work makes free"). Many suspected what was happening inside the gates, but, now the true horrors were laid bare before the whole world. Pawel sent this card to me.

Poland - Gdansk

Gdańsk , also known as Danzig, its German name, is a city in Poland on the Baltic Sea. It is the capital of Pomerania. Gdańsk with nearby Sopot and Gdynia are often referred as Tri-city (pl: Trójmiasto). Gdańsk is considered the most beautiful city on Baltic Sea having rich and magnificent architecture. Its position on the Baltic has historically made Gdańsk one of the most important port cities in Northern Europe, and tragically also the scene of a rather disturbing past. World War II was ignited by a dispute over the control of the city. By the end of the war the city lay almost completely in ruins. The German population was expelled and replaced by Poles as the city came under Polish rule and changed its name to Gdańsk. However, the impact of its former German ties is still evident. Although most of the old buildings were damaged or destroyed in WWII, they have been painstakingly restored or rebuilt. This lovely card was sent to me by Kasia.

In modern history, Gdańsk is known as the birthplace of Solidarity, the labor and democracy movement that helped to bring down the Communist government in Poland, and subsequently marked the beginning of the end of The cold war. The charismatic leader, Lech Walesa, who became Poland’s first post-Communist president, led the movement.

Do not be fooled by the fact that Gdańsk is famous for its shipyards, as it is a beautiful city with a charm of its own.

Poland - Ostrów Tumski, Poznan

Ostrów Tumski, the island surrounded by the River Warta and its tributary, the Cybina. Initially, this was a small settlement outside the city walls, controlling the river crossing. It appears to have become the capital when moment Poland adopted the Christian faith in 966. It is also said that Poznań was the site of Mieszko I's conversion to Christianity. The settlement was protected by huge wooden and earth embankments, reinforced with stones. Here on the card you can see the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul. Inside these are buried the first kings and princes of Poland. In the distance is a red multi-storey building which houses the University of Poznan where my friend Pawel studies.

Easter Greetings

Easter Greetings from Poland. This very artistic card was sent to me by Ada.

Poland - Crowned White Eagle

THE WHITE EAGLE - 700 YEARS OF THE COAT OF ARMS OF THE POLISH STATE

The White Eagle is the national coat of arms of Poland. It is a stylized white eagle with a golden beak and talons, and wearing a golden crown, in a red shield. The Crowned White Eagle has been the Coat of Arms of the Polish State for seven centuries now. It is one of the oldest State Coats of Arms in the world. There are very few other countries who have managed to maintain their coats of arms for such a long period of time.

Several historic traditions and legends have referred to the origin of the White Eagle, moving it back to the times when the Polish State was being established, and even earlier. The Eagle was connected with Poland's first capital, Gniezno, where Lech, the legendary ancestor of the Piast dynasty was to find an eagle's nest (in Polish: "gniazdo"), and thus took the eagle as his coat of arms. On the other hand, Jan Dlugosz, Poland’s most distinguished chronicler living in the 15th century, wrote that Duke Boleslaw Chrobry was granted the Eagle as his coat of arms by the Emperor Otto III during the meeting of both Monarchs in Gniezno in the year 1000. The origin of the White Eagle is neither as fine nor as distant in time however. Generally, coats of arms did not exist before 12th century.

The Legend behind the Polish White Eagle.

A thousand years ago, or maybe even more, there lived three brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus. For many years they had been content in their villages, but the families grew larger and they needed more room to live.The brothers decided to travel in different directions to search for new homes. Lech, Czech, and Rus traveled with their troops for many days. They rode their horses over mountains and rivers, through forests and wild country. There were no people to be found anywhere, not a town or tiny village. On the crest of a mountain top, they separated, each going in a different direction. Czech went to the left, Rus went to the right and Lech rode straight ahead, down the mountain and across vast plains. One day Lech saw a spendid sight. He and his troops had come to a place where a meadow surrounded a small lake. They stopped at the edge of the meadow as a great eagle flew over their heads. It flew around in great swooping circles, then perched on its nest, high on a craggy rock. Lech stared in awe at the beautiful sight. As the eagle spread its wings and soared into the heavens again, a ray of sunshine from the red setting sun fell on the eagle's wings, so they appeared tipped with gold, the rest of the bird was pure white. "Here is where we will stay!" declared Lech. "Here is our new home, and we will call this place GNIEZNO ... (the eagle's nest). He and his people built many houses and it became the center of his territory. They called themselves Polonians, which means "People of the Field". They made a banner with a white eagle on a red field and flew it over the town of Gniezno, which became the first historical capital of Poland.

And, now you know how Poland began . Thank you Ada Lewandowska for this card.