What Is The Capital Of Poland?
Where Is Poland?
Poland is a Central European country located along the Baltic Sea. This country shares borders with Germany, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Slovakia, Belarus, and Lithuania. It encompasses an area of 120,726 square miles and has a population of 38,483,957.
What Type Of Government Does Poland Have?
The government of Poland functions as a representative democracy, which means an elected public officer represents a percentage of the population. Under this system, the President serves as the Head of State and leads the executive branch of government. This branch is also made up of the Council of Ministers, which the Prime Minister oversees, as the Head of Government. The legislative branch of the government comprises of the Parliament, which is divided into the Sejm and the Senate. 460 members make up the Sejm, elected by proportional representation, and the Senate has 100 members. The country is divided into 16 administrative subdivisions.
What Is The Capital Of Poland And Where Is It Located?
The capital of Poland is Warsaw, the largest city in the country. This city is centered in the eastern region of Poland by the banks of the Vistula River. It is located approximately 190 miles from the Carpathian Mountains and 160 miles from the Baltic Sea. The entire metropolitan area is made up of 2,355 square miles with a population of 1,748,916.
History Of The Capital City Of Poland
Warsaw has a long history as an important political center. This area was first inhabited sometime between the 9th and 10th centuries AD and further settled in nearby Jazdow between the 12th and 13th centuries. Jazdow, however, was destroyed in fighting among local clans and the city was relocated to a small town called Warszow. By the early part of the 1300’s, Warszow became the seat of one of the Dukes of Masovia, and by 1413, it was the official capital of the Masovian Duchy. In 1526, with the ending of the duchal line, the duchy was ceded to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland.
Officially part of the Kingdom of Poland, Warsaw became the seat of the Sejm in 1529. This move was made permanent in 1569. In 1596, King Sigismund III Vasa relocated his court here from Krakow, a Commonwealth capital. This allowed the royal court to be located at an equal distance between two important Commonwealth capitals: Krakow and Vilnius. The city underwent several attempts at takeovers between 1655 and 1700, but Warsaw managed to maintain its status as Capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1796.
In 1796, the city was taken by the Kingdom of Prussia as the capital of South Prussia. Warsaw was freed in 1806 by Napoleon and designated as the capital of the Duchy of Warsaw. The city experienced several changes in power over the next century. By 1815, it was in a union with Imperial Russia and in 1915, Germany invaded and took control until 1918 when it was returned to Russia. During World War II, the city fought against the German invasion in an attempt to gain their independence during a time of political turmoil and violence. Their efforts were unsuccessful, and the citizens were forced into concentration camps; the city was destroyed. The Soviet army took control from the Germans in 1945 and Warsaw remained under Communist control until 1989.
Present-Day Role Of The City As The Capital Of Poland
Today, Warsaw continues to hold its position as the capital city. All of the public offices are located here, from President to Parliament and even the Supreme Court. The city sends 31 members to the Sejm and also sends two members to serve in the European Parliament. In addition to serving as the capital of Poland, Warsaw is also an important economic and cultural center as well as being a popular tourist destination.
