CRACOWS HISTORIC CENTRE WIELICZKA SALT MINE AUSCHWITZ BIRKENAU –GERMAN NAZI CONCENTRATION AND EXTERMINATION CAMP ( ) THE BIA Ł OWIEZA FOREST HISTORIC CENTRE OF WARSAW

OLD TOWN OF ZAMOŚĆ MEDIEVAL TOWN OF TORUŃ CASTLE OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER IN MALBORK KALWARIA ZEBRZYDOWSKA THE MANNERIST RCHITECTURAL AND PARK LANDSCAPE COMPLEX AND PILGRIMAGE PARK

CHURCHES OF PEACE IN JAWOR AND ŚWIDNICA WOODEN CHURCHES OF SOUTHERN LITTLE POLAND PARK MUŻAKOWSKI THE CENTENNIAL HALL IN WROCŁAW

St Peters Square The Statue of Liberty Y ou N eednt L eave P oland

Inwałd, a small town located in the south of Poland. It's a place where you can meet beautiful miniature models of the most famous architectural wonders from all over the world. In the park you can admire structures like: the Colosseum, the Statue of Liberty, the Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the Great Sphinx of Giza, the White House and many other. It sounds fantastic, isn't it?

SAFARI GOLD PANNING WESTERN CITY VIKINGS FESTIVAL CHIVALRY COMPETITIONS MUSEUM of WAX FIGURES Warsaw

Its safari in Świerkocin near Gorzów Wielkopolski. You could see there more than 600 species of animals from the whole world. An area of Safari ZOO is about 20ha. Roads are similar to African Savannah, wild prairies or Mongolian Steppe and they lead to the most exotic animals. There are four regions in the ZOO: Asia, Africa, South America and Mongolian zone. In the ZOO we have to move only by cars. We mustnt go out of the car and feed animals even if they come near us. Thanks to that trip, we can see the animals in close-up,so it gives us the opportunity to have different view of wildlife.

If you share our passion for gold prospecting and collecting gold nuggets, this place is for you. Welcome to the capital city of Polish Gold - Złotoryja. It is undoubtedly the most wonderful small town in the Sudeten mountains. Only here will you find gold - both in nearby streams, and in hearts of inhabitants. For years local authorities have been doing activities associated with traditional seeking of the gold ore.This long-standing experience shows that they provide high-quality services which enjoy great popularity.

The atmosphere of the gold prospecting triggers unusual joy in participants, arousing rivalry and sometimes even leading to the illness called gold fever. Gold is the symbol of the affluence and riches. The word itself evokes pleasant thrill in hearts of many people. Gold Fever Prospecting

In 2001 the representation of Poland participated in the World Championships in Australia – from where we brought two gold medals, in 2002 in Japan we won a gold medal in the category of amateurs, and in 2003 about 70 strong representation team of Poland took part in the world championships in Switzerland taking also high places among competitors.

The Polish Brotherhood of Gold Panning is an organization operating for the promotion of the city, the region, and Poland as an unusually attractive place for tourists. Their another objective is the popularization of gold panning" as an active form of family rest in the natural environment. They are the only Polish organiser of gold prospecting events - displays, cups, regional, Polish, European and world championships. Till now ten editions of the International Open Polish Championships have been held in which a few hundred competitors from Europe, Australia and the USA participated. They also got media coverage. It is a member of the world federation (World Goldpanning Association) with the registered office in Great Britain. In 2000 the Brotherhood was entrusted with the task of being the host to the World Gold Panning Championships, which was recognised as the "best tourist offer for Central and Eastern Europe".

The Western Country town called 'Kansas City' in Rudnik near Grudziądz in the southern part of Poland. It is not a very big village, but it looks like in the old western film. You can meet cowboys or Indians there or see a show. There are a lot of them - for example a bank robbery or defence of Alamo fort.. Kansas City gives you an opportunity to go to the Saloon in the evening and take part in dancing show full of country dances. There is also a small zoo and other attractions.

The event is considered as one of the largest and most important events of this kind in Europe, every year it attracts one thousand participants from dozen European countries, as well as from United States and Australia. During the festival, you will be able to see, among others, Slav races and Vikings ships, theatre productions, Slavs and Vikings battle, presentation of early medieval crafts, cooking and Slavs and Vikings camp, Slavic wedding ceremony, sea battle, slaves market, horse fighting, the presentation of Slavic myth about the creation of the world, and even a competition for the most dignified beard. One of the main organizers of the event is association: Slavs and Vikings Wolin - Jomsborg - Vineta Center. I strongly advise you to see the historical festival which takes place at the Promenada Centre in Rynia, near Warsaw - the site of Viking ruins.

On the fields of Grunwald In the castle of Princess Anna Wazówna in Golub-Dobrzyn Chivarly Tournament of St. Dominik in Gdańsk Knights Feasts in Rynie /Mazury

Międzyzdroje

SUMMERSUMMER WINTER AUTUMN SPRINGSPRING

Among flora for a special attention deserves oak called Bartek, which is 670 years old and it is the monument of nature. Its also worth mentioning the Polish unique Bison bonasus ( aurochs) the biggest land mammal in Europe inhabiting the natural reserves. Beautiful stork which is inseparable element of our country. SYMBOLS OF POLAND The White-tailed Eagle, also known as the Sea Eagle, Erne (sometimes Ern), or White-tailed Sea-eagle, is a large bird of prey in the family. It is considered a close cousin of the Bald Eagle and occupies the same ecological niche in Eurasia

The bear cave in Kletno in the Sudetes is unique beause of many corridors reaching 3 km in length. Waterfalls and rising springs are very often found in the Tatra Mountains and they are one of the Park attractions. The largest waterfall is Wielka Siklawa, which is 70 m high. ( in the Tatra mountains) Sand dunes-Łeba This lake is known as Turkusowe (turquoise), because of its crystal clear water, which on a sunny day has a splendid emerald or turquoise color. (Woliński National Park) Lake Solina (Polish: Jezioro Solińskie)- the largest artificial lake in the Bieszczady Mountains

The spotted salamander – the largest amphibian in Poland The wild mushrooms Tatra chaomis( only 63 species in Poland) The Aesculapian snake- the longest up to 170cm of length and the only constrictor snake in Poland The birch The chestnut

XMAS EVECHRISTMAS Sharing a holy wafer and exchanging wishes Going carolling EASTER SATURDAY WET MONDAY Taking a food basket to church for blessing Custom of dousing one another with water

Sledging cavalcade in winter CHMIELAKI –festival of hops harvesting to enjoy mug of beer in Krasnystaw CROP HARVEST home festival Making bonfires

DANCING THE POLONAISE GRADUATION DAY PROM NIGHT

Poland is famous for unusually sumptuous weddings, which last two or even three days in rural areas. A bride and a groom invite not only close and distant relatives but also neighbours so in all there are up to 200 guests. During this unique reception people dance, drink, and sing – simply enjoy themselves to remember this special festivity for many years to come, and Polish hospitality of course! WEDDING RECEPTIONS CHRISTENING 2 GRADERS RECEIVING HOLY COMMUNION

Enjoy the meal! Menu Pierogi Bigos Sour rye and sausage Wild mushroom Beetroot Sauerkraut soup Cold borscht Stuffed cabbage Potato pancakes Tripe

B igos Hunters stew - is a traditional stew typical of Polish and Lithuanian cuisine that many consider the Polish national dish. A savory stew of cabbage, meat and sausage blended with other ingredients like dried mushrooms or prunes and a glass of dry red wine. There is no standard recipe, as recipes vary considerably from region to region and from family to family, depending on spices added according to someones liking and local tradition. P ierogi - dumplings, usually filled with sauerkraut and or mushrooms, meat, potato and / or savory cheese. There is also a sweet version for gourmets: sweet curd cheese with a touch of vanilla, or other fruits, such as cherries, blueberries or strawberries, and sometimes even apples - optionally topped with sour cream and sugar.

G ołąbki - a cabbage roll (also stuffed cabbage) is a dish consisting of cooked cabbage leaves wrapped around a variety of fillings. The filling is traditionally based around meat, often beef, lamb or pork and is seasoned with garlic, onion and spices. Grains such as rice and barley, eggs, mushrooms and vegetables are often included in the filling as well. As the dish originated as a way to use leftover food, other ingredients may also be used in the stuffing. Ż urek - the sour rye soup is a soup made of soured rye flour and meat (usually boiled pork sausage or pieces of smoked sausage, bacon or ham). In Poland it is sometimes served in an edible bowl made of bread or with boiled potatoes. The recipe varies from region to region. In Silesia, the żur śląski, different from the more traditional żurek, can be found. In the Podlasie region, it is common to eat żurek with halved boiled eggs.

Infusion of herbs, berries or fruits steeped in alcohol Oscypek (Polish; plural: oscypki) is a smoked cheese made of salted sheep milk In Poland, vodka (Polish: wódka), has been produced since the early Middle Ages. Polish sausages, Kiełbasa, come in a wide range of styles such as Swojska, Krajańska, Szynkowa, Biała, śląska, Krakowska, podhalańska, and others. Sausages in Poland are generally made of pork, rarely beef. Honey is the perfect sweetener for hot winter drinks Żubrówka- also known in English as Bison Grass Vodka. In Poland since the 16th century, and by 18th century it was one of the favourite raw drinks of the nobility

WHATS WORTH BUYING IN POLAND? FURNITURE AMBER CRYSTALS SILVER CLOTHES LEATHER BAGS EMBROIDERED TABLECLOTHS

Water Sports: Rafting along Czarna Hańcza, Biebrza, Dunajec Canoeing on the Rega, Słupia, Łeba rivers Sailing in Mikołajki – heart of Mazovian Lake District or Giżycko or Solina Kayak regatta on the Malta Lake in Poznań Windsurfing – coast of Pucka Bay Diving in a quarry in Jaworzna – Szczakowa (Upper and Lower Silesia)

Horse riding in the stables in Zastawno, Zawiesiuchy (near Warsaw), Jaszków k/ Śremu Speedway course in Toruń Rock climbing/mountaineering in the Tatras and Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska Hang-gliging and paragliding in Zakopane, Szczyrk, Bielso-Biała. Overseas tourists can join Poles in their favourite pastimes:

Poles are ranked among the best chess players in the world. In 2008 Radosław Wojtaszek became Champion of Europe in chess. The best Polish chess players are Bartosz and Monika Soćkowie. The latter is the first Polish woman who was granted the title of man super champion. WORLD CUP OF CHESS AND BRIDGE Polish bridge players are also considered to be among the best 3 teams in the world, soon after Americans and Italians. At the International Championship of Mind Sports held in Pekin in 2008 Polish bridge players won 2 silver and 1 brown medal.

European School Club Mielec Liceum Ogólnokształcące 1 Jędrusiów 1 Polska Radka Bociek Ewa Jędrzejowska Agata Wieczorek Alicja Dziura Eliza Jurek Sara Jarochowska Marika Frankiewicz Weronika Mędrak Edyta Grądziel Adrianna Szady Klaudia Ząbek Adrianna Sztuka Karolina Dudek Joanna Madura Joanna Działo Sara Rajzer

Source: Internet - Atlas Polski - Readers Digest

CRACOWS HISTORIC CENTRE Close to the Old City, the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill has also been registered on the UNESCO list. It was the centre of power and chief residence of the kings of Poland from the 10th to the late16th century. Wawel Castle and Cathedral overlook the River Vistula, and both edifices have had numerous conversions and additions over the centuries, which has resulted in a mixture of styles: Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque. In Wawel Castle you'll see the biggest and most valuable collection of Renaissance arrases (Flemish tapestries) in the world - over a hundred of them WIELICZKA SALT MINE There are tourists who come to Poland just to see the Wieliczka Salt Mine. It's the world's oldest commercial enterprise still in business - salt has been mined here since the 13th century with no interruptions, although it's no longer done on an industrial scale. Today's mine is a labyrinth of corridors and chambers 350 km long, 2 km of which are accessible to visitors. The most spectacular sight is Saint Kinga's Chapel, although, in fact, it deserves to be called an underground salt church in deference to its dimensions AUSCHWITZ BIRKENAU - GERMAN NAZI CONCENTRATION AND EXTERMINATION CAMP ( ) The Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp museum has been entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Several hundred thousand people visit it every year. During the Second World War, the Nazis murdered Jews, Poles, Romany People, Russians, and people of several other nationalities; the majority of those who died were Jews deported from all over occupied Europe. Entry to the Auschwitz museum is through the gates immortalised in many films and photographs, inscribed "Arbeit Macht Frei" ("work makes you free") THE BIAŁOWIEZA FOREST There's also a work of nature on the UNESCO list; the Bialowieza Forest, the biggest naturally afforested area in Europe and the last remaining section of primaeval forest, with an abundance of flora and fauna unmatched anywhere else in Europe. The Bialowieza National Park is also on the World Biosphere Reserve list. It's the habitat of the European bison, the continent's largest mammal, 26 species of trees and 56 species of shrubs. The average age of the trees is 126 years HISTORIC CENTRE OF WARSAW Warsaw is also on the UNESCO list. It's hard to believe, looking at this city, that it was almost razed to the ground during the Second World War. Once known as the "Paris of the North", this city, boasting 13th-century buildings, ceased to exist having been bombarded. Little coloured houses surrounded by defensive walls, the spires of the churches and the Royal Castle; it's all the result of reconstruction carried out in the post-war years. Warsaw's Old City was entered on the UNESCO list as an example of faithful reconstruction including the preservation of original sections of the architecture.

OLD TOWN OF ZAMOŚĆ Zamosc was founded in the 16th century by the chancellor Jan Zamoysky on the trade route linking western and northern Europe with the Black Sea. Modelled on Italian theories of the 'ideal city', Zamosc is a perfect example of a late-16th-century Renaissance town. It has retained its original layout and fortifications and a large number of buildings that combine Italian and central European architectural traditions MEDIEVAL TOWN OF TORUŃ Torun owes its origins to the Teutonic Order, which built a castle there in the mid- 13th century as a base for the conquest and evangelization of Prussia. It soon developed a commercial role as part of the Hanseatic League. In the Old and New Town, the many imposing public and private buildings from the 14th and 15th centuries (among them the house of Copernicus) are striking evidence of Torun's importance CASTLE OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER IN MALBORK Another UNESCO site which arouses excitement and admiration is Malbork Castle, erstwhile headquarters of the Teutonic Order and the largest Gothic fortress in Europe. It consists of three wards surrounded by separate fortifications and occupies about 20 hectares. There's also a museum with an amber collection. The Castle organises special night-time tours and son et lumière shows in its courtyards KALWARIA ZEBRZYDOWSKA THE MANNERIST RCHITECTURAL AND PARK LANDSCAPE COMPLEX AND PILGRIMAGE PARK Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is a breathtaking cultural landscape of great spiritual significance. Its natural setting – in which a series of symbolic places of worship relating to the Passion of Jesus Christ and the life of the Virgin Mary was laid out at the beginning of the 17th century – has remained virtually unchanged. It is still today a place of pilgrimage.

CHURCHES OF PEACE IN JAWOR AND ŚWIDNICA The Churches of Peace in Jawor and Swidnica were built in the former Silesia in the mid-17th century, amid the religious strife that followed the Peace of Westphalia. Constrained by the physical and political conditions, the Churches of Peace bear testimony to the quest for religious freedom and are a rare expression of Lutheran ideology in an idiom generally associated with the Catholic Church WOODEN CHURCHES OF SOUTHERN LITTLE POLAND The wooden churches of southern Little Poland represent outstanding examples of the different aspects of medieval church-building traditions in Roman Catholic culture. Built using the horizontal log technique, common in eastern and northern Europe since the Middle Ages, these churches were sponsored by noble families and became status symbols. They offered an alternative to the stone structures erected in urban centres PARK MUŻAKOWSKI A landscaped park of ha astride the Neisse River and the border between Poland and Germany. Blending seamlessly with the surrounding farmed landscape, the park pioneered new approaches to landscape design and influenced the development of landscape architecture in Europe and America. This integrated landscape extends into the town of Muskau with green passages that formed urban parks framing areas for development. The town thus became a design component in a utopian landscape. The site also features a reconstructed castle, bridges and an arboretum THE CENTENNIAL HALL IN WROCŁAW The Centennial Hall, a landmark in the history of reinforced concrete architecture, was erected in by the architect Max Berg as a multi-purpose recreational building, situated in the Exhibition Grounds. The 23m-high dome is topped with a lantern in steel and glass. The Centennial Hall is a pioneering work of modern engineering and architecture.