1. 6th largest country in the EU: Poland is the 6th largest country in the EU – both in terms of area and population (312,685 km2 and 38 million inhabitants respectively)
2. Polish pizzas: In Poland, pizzas are made without tomato sauce. Instead, the waiter serves the tomato sauce on the side (typically in a pitcher) so you can pour it on yourself. Sometimes the tomato sauce is just ketchup
3. Outgoing people: There are approximately 37 million Poles living in Poland and an estimated 21 million Poles living abroad – i.e. about 36% of all Poles outside Poland’s borders. Although information on the total number of Poles in the world varies from source to source, it is estimated to be around 60 million
4. Name days: Traditionally, name days have been celebrated more than birthdays. However, younger generations are starting to celebrate birthdays more than before. The concept of name days is that each day of the year has a series of names associated with it (typically 3-5) and that you celebrate your name day every year
5. Dog names: The most popular dog name in Poland is ‘Burek’, which best translates to “brownish-gray color”. In addition, ‘reks’ from the Latin ‘rex’ (king) is also very popular
Fact: Krakow was the capital of Poland from 1038 until 1596, when Warsaw took over the title. Pictured is Wawel in Krakow, which was also the seat of the Polish kings
6. Marriage age: Poland has the lowest average marriage age in the EU. The average age for women is 25.6 years, while for men it is 27.5 years. The overall average is 26.6 years
7. Astronomers: Polish-born astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was the first person to propose the theory that the Earth was not the center of the universe. Another Polish astronomer, Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687), published the first detailed and accurate mapping of the moon
8. Kupala night: Kupala night is a popular holiday and event where some Poles jump over a bonfire. The tradition is related to the summer solstice and is older than Christianity
9. Pope channel: There is a Pope channel in Polish among Polish TV channels. So if you want to watch the Pope, you can simply turn on the TV and select the Pope channel
10. Last Polish king: Poland’s last king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, abdicated in 1795 after 25 years on the throne. He was also the Grand Duke of Lithuania
Poland’s capital Warsaw is home to approximately 1.7 million people, making it the country’s largest city