Poland Travel Overview
Important facts
Capital: Warsaw (See more on ITYPEJOB.COM)
Official language: Polish
Currency: Zloty 1PLN = 0.23EUR
Continent: Eastern Europe
23 national parks, 16 regions – Poland has many sides
Smoked sausages and flavored vodkas – many have that right and taste in their heads when they think of Poland. But Poland not only attracts tourists with hearty delicacies.
Location
According to Countryaah, Poland is a state in Central Europe. The country borders in the north on the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany and the Baltic coast.
Travel in Poland
In Poland there are as many and different travel destinations as there are regions. The north has a very beautiful landscape and invites the brave to swim and to hike, mountaineering and in winter to ski.
The former Auschwitz -Birkenau concentration camp is located in Poland and is open to tourists. Please note that this is a memorial and not a tourist attraction.
Useful information
Did you know that the composer Frederic Chopin is originally from Poland? About 60 kilometers west of Warsaw Żelazowa Wola is his birthplace. The house where he was born is now a museum entirely dedicated to the composer.
Currency
Currency (sub-unit)
Zloty (100 groszy)
ISO 4217 code
PLN / 985
Geography
Continent: Europe
Region: east
Geo coordinates: N 51 ° 55 ’10 ” E 19 ° 8′ 42.5″
Highest mountain: Rysy (2,499 m)
Total area: 312,685 km²
Mainland: 304,465 km²
National border: 2,788 km
Coastline: 491 km
Politics
Dependency: Russia until 1918
Austria until 1918
Germany until 1918
UN member since: 1945
Other political affiliation: European Union since 2004
Form of government: Socialist republic
Houses of Parliament: bikameral
Party system: Multi-party system
State building: decentralized
Political culture: Subject culture
Particularities: The cath. Despite the constitutional separation of state and church, the church has e.g. B. by the possibility of the abstract norm control procedure great influence.
Economy
Export goods: Coal, food, vehicles
BSP: $ 296,288,000,000
GDP: $ 311,811,400,000
GDP purchasing power parity: $ 572 billion
Economic growth: 3.7%
GDP share of agriculture: 4.7%
GDP share of industry: 30.7%
GDP share of services: 64.6%
Inflation rate: 2.5%
Unemployment: 17.1%
State budget revenue: $ 4294967295
State budget expenditure: $ 4294967295
National debt: 49.2%
Export: $ 107.586 billion
Import: $ 111.474 billion
Foreign debt: $ 103.730 billion
Gold and currency reserves: $ 43.290 million
Electricity consumption: 124,070 million KWh
Gas reserves: 154,400 million m³
Gas production: 4,130 million m³
Gas consumption: 17,180 million m³
Oil reserves: 142 million m³
Oil production: 31,000 million m³
Oil consumption: 536,000 million m³
Cultivation area: 40.33%
Bovine: 6,124,000 pieces
Pigs: 17,589,000 pieces
Sheep: 810,000 pieces
Fishing: 285,000 t
Demographic data
Residents: 38,536,900
Residents in cities: 24,031,700
Minorities: Germans, Belarusians, Ukrainians
Average age: 37 years
0-14 years: 15.9%
15-64 years: 70.8%
> 65 years: 13.3%
Population growth: -0.05%
Birth rate: 9.85 / 1,000 residents
Death rate: 9.89 / 1,000 residents
Migration: -0.46 / 1,000 residents
Ratio men / women: 0.95
Fertility: 1.25 children / woman
Infant mortality: 7.22 ‰
Life expectancy men: 70.95 years
Life expectancy women: 79.23 years
Country codes and abbreviations
ISO 3166 Alpha 2: PL
ISO 3166 Alpha 3: POLE
ISO 3166 numeric: 616
Top Level Domain: pl
IOC country code: POLE
UN / LOCODE: PL
Source: Abbreviationfinder
Communication
Telephone connections: 15,160,000
Cell Phones: 26,040,000
Radios: 20,900,000
TV: 18,720,000
Computer: 6,490,000
Internet users: 11,020,000
Transportation
Railway lines: 22,886 km
Paved roads: 311,772 km
of which expressways: 507 km
Cars: 12,260,000
Merchant fleet (ships over 1,000 GRT): 11
Pipelines: 15,324
Health
Number of doctors: 87,280
Daily food intake: 3,420 kcal / resident
HIV- infected people: 14,900
Education
History
Foundation: 966
Last sovereign since: 1918
Religion
Main religious group: Christians
Distribution of religions: 89.8% Roman Catholic, 1.3% Russian Orthodox, 0.3% Protestant, etc.
Crime
Prison inmates: 79,000
Military
Armed forces (troop strength): 160,000
Main battle tank: 1,050
Battleships: 3
Submarines: 3
Warplanes: 220
Helicopter: 60
Defense Spending: $ 6,474,000,000
GETTING THERE
Arriving by plane
Poland’s national airline is called LOT Polish Airways (LO) (Internet: www.lot.com). Good direct connections from
– Frankfurt / M. to Gdansk (Danzig), Warsaw, Katowice (Kattowitz), Poznan (Posen) and Wroclaw (Breslau),
– Hamburg, Cologne and Munich to Warsaw,
– Hamburg to Gdansk (Danzig),
– Düsseldorf to Warsaw,
– Munich to Gdansk (Danzig), Warsaw and Wroclaw (Breslau) and
– Geneva to Warsaw,
– Zurich to Warsaw.
LOT offers daily flight services from Geneva via Munich or Frankfurt to Warsaw. Warsaw is served several times a day from Vienna.
Lufthansa (LH) also offers regular scheduled flights from Düsseldorf, Frankfurt / M., Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart direct to Warsaw as well as from Düsseldorf and Frankfurt / M. directly to Katowice or from Frankfurt / M. to Lublin. There are other direct flight connections between Frankfurt and Rzeszów in south-east Poland and from Düsseldorf to Gdansk (Danzig).
Eurowings (EW) connects Hanover, Dresden, Zurich and Vienna with Krakow.
Air Berlin (AB) offers flights from Berlin-Tegel and Düsseldorf to Krakow as well as from Berlin to Gdansk and Warsaw.
Swiss (LX) connects Zurich with Warsaw.
Flight times
Berlin – Warsaw: 1 hour 35 minutes; Frankfurt – Warsaw: 1 hour 40 minutes; Hamburg – Gdansk: 1 hour 35 minutes; Frankfurt – Wroclaw: 1 hour 50 minutes; Vienna – Warsaw: 1 hour 15 minutes; Geneva – Warsaw: 2 hours 15 minutes; Zurich – Warsaw: 1 hour 55 minutes.
Arrival by car
The road connections are good and numerous. The motorway network consists of 776 km.
The heavily traveled routes include the A4 Görlitz – Wroclaw (Breslau) and the A2 Frankfurt / Oder – Warsaw.
There is a direct motorway connection from Dresden via Görlitz and Wroclaw (Breslau) and Krakow to Korczowa on the Ukrainian border.
The following German-Polish border crossings are open around the clock:
Ahlbeck – Swinemünde (Usedom),
Linken – Lubieszyn,
Pomellen – Kolbaskowo,
Rosow – Rosowek,
Schwedt – Krajnik Dolny,
Hohenwutzen – Osinow Dolny,
Kietz – Kostrzyn,
Frankfurt / O. – Slubice,
Frankfurt / O. – Swiecko,
Guben – Gubin / Gubinek,
Forst – Olszyna,
Bad Muskau – Leknica,
Podrosche – Przewoz,
Ludwigsdorf – Jedrzychowice,
Görlitz – Zgorzelec and
Zittau – Sieniawka / Porajow.
The border crossing Ostritz – Krzewina Zgorzelecka is only open to pedestrians and cyclists. Long-distance bus
: Eurolines (Internet: www.eurolines.com) and Flixbus (Internet: www.flixbus.de), among others, travel from Germany, Austria and Switzerland to Poland. The IC bus (Internet: www.bahn.de/p/view/angebote/fernbus/index.shtml) connects Berlin with Krakow via Breslau and Katowice.
Arriving by train
The following important train connections exist between Germany and Poland:
3 x daily Berlin Zoo – Warsaw
1 x daily Hamburg – Berlin Zoo – Krakow
1 x daily Amsterdam – Berlin – Szczecin
1 x daily Berlin Hbf – Gdansk
several times a day Lübeck – Stettin
Several times a day Dresden – Görlitz – Breslau
There are the following important train connections between Austria and Poland:
Vienna – Warsaw (express train with sleeping car, travel time 8 hours 30 minutes)
The best connection from Austria leads through the Czech Republic, during the day Eurocitys run to Warsaw (Vienna – Warszawa: 7 hours 34).
Nightjet – night trains (Internet: www.oebb.at/de/angebote-ermaessigungen/nightjet) connect Vienna with Warsaw and Krakow.
From Switzerland you drive either via Prague or Vienna.
Trains of the Polish State Railways run from northern Germany (Internet: www.pkp.com.pl) mostly via Berlin and Szczecin or Frankfurt / O., in the south via Dresden and Görlitz. There are trains from Angermünde to Szczecin, from Berlin to Gdansk, Gorzów, Wroclaw, Katowice (Kattowitz) and Kraków, and from Leipzig to Wroclaw and Kraków. There are also connections between Berlin and Kostrzyn / Küstrin (regional train) and between Berlin and Swinoujscie / Swinoujscie in the summer season (journey time: approx. 4 hours 30 minutes).
Berlin-Warszawa-Express
The Berlin-Warszawa-Express operated by Deutsche Bahn and PKPruns three times a day in both directions. A particularly low tariff applies on the train. The global price system already includes the automatic seat reservation. The train with dining car takes just six hours to travel between the two capitals (Berlin-Poznan a good three hours). Due to the favorable location of the departure times (e.g. early in the morning from Berlin, late afternoon from Warsaw), the connection is also suitable for short trips to Warsaw or Pozna.
Information can be obtained from the transport representatives of the Polish State Railways (Panoramastraße 1, D-10178 Berlin (Tel: (030) 24 72 99 98).
Rail passes
InterRail: Children (4-11 years), young people (12-25 years) and adults (from 26 years) who have had a permanent residence in Europe, the CIS or Turkey for at least 6 months can use InterRail.
The InterRail One-Country Pass is available for travel in almost 30 European countries including Macedonia and Turkey and is valid for 3, 4, 6, 8 days within 1 month in one country. Children aged 4-11 travel at half the adult price.
The InterRail Global Passenables travel through several countries and is offered with different validity periods. Either 5 days out of 10 days total validity or 10 out of 22 can be selected. A continuous period of 22 days or 1 month is also possible.
Note on arriving by train
Tickets and discounts for rail travel in Europe
There are discounts in the form of flat-rate prices with the Europe Special Poland for cross-border journeys between Germany and Poland. With the Bahncard 25 you get an additional discount. Certain requirements apply (trip with the ICE / EC on at least one DB section, no night trips, etc.).
The Dresden-Wroclaw Regio Special for single travelers, families and groups is valid within three days for a return trip between Dresden Hauptbahnhof and Wroclaw Glówny.
Further information is available from Deutsche Bahn (Internet: www.bahn.de).
Arrival by ship
Adler Ships (Internet: www.adler-schiffe.de) organizes trips from the German seaside resorts on Usedom to Miedzyzdroje / Misdroy on the Polish Baltic Sea island of Wolin. The following connections are offered regularly:
– Heringsdorf / Bansin / Ahlbeck on Usedom and Swinoujscie / Swinemünde
– Heringsdorf / Bansin / Ahlbeck on Usedom and Miedzyzdroje / Misdroy on Wolin
– Kamminke on Usedom and Swinoujscie / Swinemünde
– Kamminke with Usedom and Nowe Warpno Bus transfer to Szczecin / Stettin. Excursions are also offered in summer from Sassnitz to Swinoujscie / Swinoujscie.
Pol Ferries (Internet: www.polferries.pl) operate year-round liner services between Poland and Scandinavia on the routes
Gdansk – Nynäshamn near Stockholm / Sweden,
Swinoujscie – Ystad / Sweden,
Swinoujscie – Copenhagen and
Swinoujscie – Rønne, Bornholm Island / Denmark (only in summer).
The general agency in Germany accepts bookings: travel agency DARPOL, Wilmersdorfer Str. 20, D-10585 Berlin (Tel: (030) 342 00 74. Internet: www.darpol.com).
Hanseatic Tours offers cruises to Szczecin (Stettin) and Swinoujscie (Swinoujscie), Aida Cruises (Internet: www.aida.de) Gdynia (Gdynia) and Gdansk (Danzig).
In the summer months, an excursion boat runs from Berlin via the Havel, Oder-Havel Canal and Oder to Szczecin (Stettin). There follows a city tour. Further information from: Stern und Kreis Schiffahrt GmbH, Puschkinallee 15, D-12435 Berlin (Tel: (030) 536 36 00. Internet: www.sternundkreis.de).