2. Poland began to form into a recognizable unitary and territorial entity around the middle of the 10th century under the Piast dynasty. Poland's first historically documented ruler, Mieszko I, accepted baptism in 966 and adopted Catholicism as the new official religion of his subjects. In 1000 Boleslaw the Brave, continuing the policy of his father Mieszko, held a Congress of Gniezno and created the metropolis of Gniezno and the dioceses of Kraków, Kołobrzeg, Wrocław.

3. From the mid-17th century, the huge state entered a period of decline caused by devastating wars and deterioration of the country's system of government. Significant internal reforms were introduced during the later part of the 18th century, but the reform process was not allowed to run its course, as the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy through a series of invasions and partitions terminated the Commonwealth's independent existence in 1795.

4. From then until 1918 there was no independent Polish state. The opportunity for freedom appeared only after World War I, when the partitioning imperial powers were defeated by war and revolution.

5. WORLD WAR I From then until 1918 there was no independent Polish state. The opportunity for freedom appeared only after World War I, when the partitioning imperial powers were defeated by war and revolution.

6. The Second Polish Republic was established and existed from 1918 to 1939. It was destroyed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union by their Invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II. Millions of Polish citizens perished in the course of the Nazi occupation.

7. BOGURODZICA Bogurodzica ( Mother of God) is the oldest Polish hymn. It was composed somewhere between the 10th and 13th centuries. The origin of the song is not clear. Polish knights sang it as an anthem before the Battle of Grunwald and during the battle with the Turkish army at Varna in 1444. Bogurodzica also accompanied the coronation ceremonies of the first Jagiellonian kings.

8. DĄBROWSKI’S MAZURKA "Dąbrowski's Mazurka" is the national anthem of Poland. It is also known by its original title, Pieśń Legionów Polskich we Włoszech, "Song of the Polish Legions in Italy", or by its incipit, Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła, "Poland is not yet lost" or "Poland has not yet perished".

9. It was originally meant to boost the morale of Polish soldiers serving under General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski in the Polish Legions, which were part of the French Revolutionary Army led by General Napoléon Bonaparte in its conquest of Italy. The mazurka, expressing the idea that the nation of Poland, despite lack of political independence, had not disappeared as long as the Polish people were still alive and fighting in its name, soon became one of the most popular patriotic songs in Poland.

10. Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. Chopin was born in Żelazowa Wola, a village in the Duchy of Warsaw. A renowned child-prodigy pianist and composer, he grew up in Warsaw and completed his music education there; he composed many of his mature works in Warsaw before leaving Poland in 1830 at age 20.

11. Chopin invented the instrumental ballade and made major innovations to thepiano sonata, mazurka, waltz, nocturne, polonaise, étude, impromptu, scherzo and prélude.