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Culture of Poland

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Culture of Poland

The culture of Poland (Polish: Kultura Polski or kultura polska) is the product of its geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to an intricate thousand-year history. Poland has a Roman Catholic majority, and religion plays an important role in the lives of many Polish people. The unique character of Polish culture developed as a result of its geography at the confluence of various European regions.

Ethnic Poles are generally understood to have developed from West Slavic populations native to the region, alongside the assimilation of earlier and neighboring groups, including Celts, Balts, and Germanic tribes. This process gave rise to a distinct Polish identity, particularly following Poland’s Christianization in the 10th century under the influence of the Catholic Church, with Polish culture thereafter developing as a continuous tradition shaped primarily by its internal evolution and, over time, by contact with neighboring societies and broader European cultural currents.

The people of Poland have traditionally been seen as hospitable to artists from abroad and eager to follow cultural and artistic trends popular in other countries. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Polish focus on cultural advancement often took precedence over political and economic activity. These factors have contributed to the versatile nature of Polish art, with all its complex nuances. Nowadays, Poland is a highly developed country that retains its traditions.

Poland has made significant contributions to the art, music, philosophy, mathematics, science, politics and literature of the Western World. The term which defines an individual's appreciation of Polish culture and customs is Polonophilia.

Cultural history of Poland can be traced back to the Middle Ages. In its entirety, it can be divided into the following historical, philosophical artistic periods: Culture of medieval Poland (from the late 10th to late 15th century), Renaissance (late 15th to the late 16th century), Baroque (late 16th to the mid-18th century), Enlightenment (second half of the 18th century), Romanticism (from around 1820 until the suppression of the 1863 January uprising against the Russian Empire), Positivism (lasting until the turn of the 20th century), Young Poland (between 1890 and 1918), Interbellum (1918–1939), World War II (1939–1945), People's Republic of Poland (until the 1989 Autumn of Nations), and Modern.[citation needed]

Polish (język polski, polszczyzna) is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages (also spelled Lechitic) composed of Polish, Kashubian, Silesian and its archaic variant Slovincian, and the extinct Polabian language. All these languages except Polish are sometimes classified as a Pomeranian subgroup. The West Slavic Languages are a subfamily of the Slavic Languages, a descendant of the Indo-European Languages. In the early Middle Ages, before their speakers had become Germanized, Pomeranian languages and dialects were spoken along the Baltic in an area extending from the lower Vistula River to the lower Oder River." used throughout Poland (being that country's official language) and by Polish minorities in other countries. Its written standard is the Polish alphabet, which corresponds to the Latin alphabet with several additions. Despite the pressure of non-Polish administrations in Poland, who have often attempted to suppress the Polish language,[citation needed] a rich literature has developed over the centuries. The language is currently the largest, in speakers, of the West Slavic group. It is the second most widely spoken Slavic language, after Russian and ahead of Ukrainian. Polish is mainly spoken in Poland. Poland is one of the most linguistically homogeneous European countries; nearly 97% of Poland's citizens declare Polish as their mother tongue.

Polish foods include kiełbasa, pierogi (filled with meat, potatoes, cabbage, cheese or holiday fruits), pyzy (meat-filled dough balls), kopytka, gołąbki (meat and rice stuffed cabbage), śledzie (herring), bigos, schabowy, oscypek and much more. Traditionally, food such as soups flaki, rosół, zupa ogórkowa, zupa grzybowa (mushroom soup), żurek, zupa pomidorowa (tomato soup) have been prepared in large vessels intended for groups, often necessitating the use of devices such as oars in their preparation. Traditionally, hospitality is very important.

In the Middle Ages, as the cities of Poland grew larger in size and the food markets developed, the culinary exchange of ideas progressed & people got acquainted with new dishes and recipes. Some regions became well known for the type of sausage they made and many sausages of today still carry those original names. The peasants acknowledged their honorable judgment, allowing them to remain nourished for longer periods of time.

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