A thousand years
in eras
From the baptism of Mieszko I to the Third Republic. Each era is a different layout of borders, different centres of power, and different generations of creators placed on the map of the country.
Early Piast Poland
The first Piast state, from its legendary beginnings and the baptism of Mieszko I (966) to the death of Boleslaw III Wrymouth (1138).
Fragmentation Period
After 1138 Poland split into rival duchies. Efforts at reunification ended with the coronation of Wladyslaw the Elbow-high in 1320.
Kingdom of Poland
The reunited Kingdom of Poland, strengthened under Casimir III the Great, before the dynastic union with Lithuania.
Polish-Lithuanian Union (Jagiellonians)
The Jagiellonian age, from the Union of Krewo (1385) to the Union of Lublin (1569).
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest states in the Europe of its time, up to the third partition in 1795.
Partitions of Poland
Poland vanished from the map of Europe, divided between Russia, Prussia and Austria, until independence was regained in 1918.
Second Polish Republic
The interwar Polish state, reborn in 1918 and ended by the aggression of 1939.
World War Two
Occupation and resistance. During this period no sovereign borders of the Polish state existed.
Polish People's Republic
Postwar Poland with borders shifted westward, a satellite state of the Eastern Bloc until 1989.
Third Polish Republic
Democratic Poland since 1989, a member of the European Union and NATO.