Religion in Poland has changed throughout centuries, however Christian Faith, particularly Roman Catholicism has dominated polish cociety (see also historical demography of Poland). Currently most Poles, adhere to the Christian faith, more than 90% are Roman Catholic (according to church baptism statistics) with 80% counting as practising Catholics (regularly attending Church). The rest of the population consists mainly of Eastern Orthodox (about 509 500), Jehovah’s Witnesses (about 123 034) and various Protestant (about 86 880 in the largest Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland and about as many in smaller churches) religious minorities.
According to the 2006 International Religious Freedom Report by the U.S. Department of State, more than 96 percent of citizens were identified as Roman Catholic As of 2007 (CBOS’ probe), 55% citizens over the age of 18 declare full identification with the Roman Catholic Church; 6% declare themselves as unbelievers. (After the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005: 63% and 3%)
www.wikipedia.org - Religion in Poland
Polish culture has been influenced by both Eastern and Western influences. Today, these influences are evident in Polish architecture, folklore, and art. Poland is the birthplace of some world famous individuals, including Pope John Paul II, Marie Skłodowska Curie, Kazimierz Pułaski, Nicolaus Copernicus and Frederic Chopin.
| Birthplace of Marie Sklodowska-Curie - source |
The character of Polish art always reflected world trends. The famous Polish painter, Jan Matejko included many significant historical events in his paintings. Also a famous person in history of Polish art was Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz. He was an example of a Polish Renaissance Man. Polish literature dates back to 1100s and includes many famous poets and writers.
Many world renowned Polish movie directors include Academy Awards winners Roman Polański, Andrzej Wajda, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Janusz Kamiński and, Krzysztof Kieślowski. The traditional Polish music composers include world-renowned pianist Frederic Chopin as well as famous composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Karol Szymanowski, and others.
www.wikipedia.org - Polland Culture
Famous people of Poland
Karol Szymanowski (1882 – 1937), the world-famous composer and pianist, born in Tymoszowka, Composer, born on 3 October 1882 in Tymoszowka, died on 29 March 1937 in Lausanne.
Karol Szymanowski spent his childhood in Tymoszowka, Ukraine. He started to learn to play the piano in 1889, his father being his first teacher. Then he learned from Gustaw Neuhaus in the Elizawetgrad School of Music, and later became a student of Marek Zawirski (harmony) and Zygmunt Noskowski (counterpoint and composition) in Warsaw in 1901-05. At that time Szymanowski met Pawel Kochanski, Artur Rubinstein, Grzegorz Fitelberg, Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz "Witkacy" and Stefan Zeromski
www.culture.pl - Karol Szymanowski
Frédéric Chopin
| Frédéric Chopin - source |
Frédéric Chopin (Polish: Fryderyk [Franciszek] Chopin, sometimes Szopen; French: Frédéric [François] Chopin; March 1, 1810 – October 17, 1849) was a Polish virtuoso pianist and piano composer of the Romantic period. He is widely regarded as the greatest Polish composer, and one of the most influential composers for piano in the 19th century.
Chopin was born in the village of Żelazowa Wola, in the Duchy of Warsaw, to a Polish mother and French-expatriate father, and came to be regarded as a child-prodigy pianist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Chopin www.wikipedia.org - Chopin
Pope John Paul II
| Pope John Paul II - source |
Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II, Spanish: Juan Pablo II) born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) reigned as the 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City from 16 October 1978, until his death, almost 27 years later, maing his the second-longest pontificate after Pius IX’s 31-year reign. He is the only Polish pope, and was the first non-Italian pope since the Dutch Adrian VI in the 1520s.
John Paul II was Pope during a period in which the Catholic Church’s influence declined in developed countries but expanded in the Third World. During his reign, the pope traveled extensively, visiting over 100 countries, more than any of his predecessors. He remains one of the most-traveled world leaders in history. He was fluent in numerous languages: his native Polish and also Italian, French, German, English, Spanish, Croatian, Portuguese, Russian and Latin. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he canonized a great number of people.