Poland-West


 * = Poland =

The country of Poland is divided into 16 different provinces.
 * Location:**Poland is located in central Europe. Countries that border Poland are Germany, Russia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine,Slovakia, Czech Republic. The absolute location for Poland is 52 degrees latitude and 21 degrees longitude.
 * Place:**Polish is the official language in Poland. The majority of polish people belong to the Roman Catholic Chuch (90%). The family is Polands most important social unit. They have a strong sence of loyalty to their family. Immpressive mountains run along the southern border. Poland has mild summers, cold winters, and rain is common during the year.
 * Human-Environment Interaction:** Trees are being cut down for roads, houses, and buildings. Poland is mostly flatland and doesn't have any natural borders. Poland isn't a very sunny environment, so most people have pale skin. In 1989 most river water in Poland was polluted and couldn't be used for irrigation. Most of the river life died off. Poland gets about 600 millimeters of rain anually.
 * Movement:**People get around by buses, trains, trams, and cars. There are 125 airports and 84 of them have paved runways.There are a few harbors to transport goods and Poland is the leading exporter of food.There was a recent huge expansion of home and cell phone use. The vistula river is the main river in Poland and it's the largest. The Warsaw Chopin airport is the busiest airport in Poland. It handles just under 50% of the countries airways.
 * Region:**

**Bialowieza National Park** The Bialowieza National Park in Poland is the last primeval forest in Europe. In 1919 the last of the wild bison perished in the park. In 1929 the polish government brought 4 of only 54 remaining bison in the world to the forest for safe breeding. They were released into the wild in 1952. There are also a few graves of those who were executed by the Gestapo for suspicion in aiding the resistance. This national park is important because throughout the war and all the poaching done by German and Soviet soldiers, the Bialowieza forest was able to keep its beauty and survive though most of its inhabitants were almost extinct. The park has so much history and deserves to be seen and acknowledged. You can get there and back by a bus that travels to Warsaw.
 * **Trip Itinerary:**
 * **Trip Itinerary:**

**Teatr Narodowy** The Teatr Narodowy is a gigantic theatre in Warsaw, Poland. The theatre was first opened on November 19th, 1765. After two years the theatre was forced to close because of political disturbances and the First Partition of Poland between Austria, Russia, and Prussia. The theatre is important because in 1774 a bill was passed which allowed the company to resume its activities.The theatre was damaged twice, first in September of 1939 and then again during the Warsaw Uprising of August 1944. Both occurances were results from the wars. After renovations, the theatre was able to reopen in 1949. It would be interesting to see a place that has been around for over 200 years and has felt the effects of the World Wars. Depending on where you're staying, you can get to the Teatr Narodowy by rental car or taxi.

**P****alace of Science and Culture** Originally known as the Joseph Stalin Palace of Science and Culture, the building was first constructed in 1952. After Stalin's death, his name was removed in the destalinization process.The palace was a gift from the Soviet Union to the people of Poland. To this day, many poles hate the building. The building is important because it shows the influence that the Soviet Union had over the Polish during World War 2. It would be interesting to see what exhibits there are in its museum. To get there you would take a taxi or a rental car.

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 * Auschwitz Concentration Camp **
 * **This is probably the most important place in Poland. The infamous camp is well known for the slaughter of millions of Jews, Poles, and Gypsies during World War 2. The camp is an important reminder of all the lives that were taken and those who suffered before the camp was liberated. Auschwitz was the largest Nazi complex including 45 sub-camps and had the highest death toll. Seeing pictures and hearing stories of what went on in the camp aren't enough to fully understand what happened. This would be a great place to visit to fully understand the structure of the camp and how massive it really is in size. To get to Auschwitz there are several different tour groups which pick people up from their hotels.