thumb|right|The [[Coat of arms of Poland|Polish White Eagle is Poland's enduring national and cultural symbol.]]

The culture of Poland ( or kultura polska) is the product of its geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to an intricate thousand-year history. Poland has a Roman Catholic majority, and religion plays an important role in the lives of many Polish people. The unique character of Polish culture developed as a result of its geography at the confluence of various European regions.

Ethnic Poles are generally understood to have developed from West Slavic populations native to the region, alongside the assimilation of earlier and neighboring groups, including Celts, Balts, and Germanic tribes. This process gave rise to a distinct Polish identity, particularly following Poland’s Christianization in the 10th century under the influence of the Catholic Church, with Polish culture thereafter developing as a continuous tradition shaped primarily by its internal evolution and, over time, by contact with neighboring societies and broader European cultural currents.

The people of Poland have traditionally been seen as hospitable to artists from abroad and eager to follow cultural and artistic trends popular in other countries. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Polish focus on cultural advancement often took precedence over political and economic activity. These factors have contributed to the versatile nature of Polish art, with all its complex nuances. the court documents from the Palatinate of Sandomierz in Poland.

|File:Szczecin filharmonia (1).jpg|Szczecin Philharmonic was awarded the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture

Art

thumb|280x280px|Melancholy (1894), by [[Jacek Malczewski]]

thumb|200px|[[Stańczyk (painting)|Stańczyk, painted in 1862 by Jan Matejko]]Polish art has always reflected European trends while maintaining its unique character. The Kraków school of Historicist painting developed by Jan Matejko produced monumental portrayals of customs and significant events in Polish history. Stanisław Witkiewicz was an ardent supporter of Realism in Polish art, its main representative being Jozef Chełmoński.

The Młoda Polska (Young Poland) movement witnessed the birth of modern Polish art and engaged in a great deal of formal experimentation led by Jacek Malczewski (Symbolism), Stanisław Wyspiański, Józef Mehoffer, and a group of Polish Impressionists. Artists of the 20th century Avant-garde represented various schools and trends. The art of Tadeusz Makowski was influenced by Cubism; while Władysław Strzemiński as well as Henryk Stażewski worked within the Constructivist idiom, and Tamara de Lempicka in the Art Deco style. Distinguished contemporary artists include Monika Sosnowska, Roman Opałka, Leon Tarasewicz, Jerzy Nowosielski, Mirosław Bałka, and Katarzyna Kozyra and Alicja Kwade in the younger generation. The most celebrated Polish sculptors include Xawery Dunikowski, Katarzyna Kobro, Alina Szapocznikow and Magdalena Abakanowicz. Since the inter-war years, Polish art and documentary photography has enjoyed worldwide recognition. In the 1960s, the Polish Poster School was formed, with Henryk Tomaszewski and Waldemar Świerzy at its head.

Among the best classical modern composers are Polish musicians Grażyna Bacewicz, Witold Lutosławski, Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Górecki.

thumb|left|upright|[[Wanda Wilkomirska]]

The Polish world renown virtuosos of classical music of all time include composers Karol Lipiński, Artur Rubinstein, Ignacy Paderewski, Mieczysław Horszowski, Grażyna Bacewicz, Wanda Wilkomirska and Krystian Zimerman.

Jazz musician Krzysztof Komeda was known after WWII especially for his film soundtracks, including film directed by Roman Polański, but also for his 1966 album Astigmatic.

In the Polish music industry Rap stand out as the most prominent and widely recognized genre. Polish rappers are celebrated for their talents and achievements. Over the years, most Polish rappers stuck to the contemporary rap music, but in the 21st century several new‐generation artists began to diversify into other genres including Trap. Νotable Polish rappers include Magik, Peja and Popek. In terms of Rap, there are many female artists, but none have gained mainstream publicity. Polish contemporary music also consists of disco polo, which is identified as ‘our own,’ local, and Polish with Zenon Martyniuk, the king of the disco polo and co-founder of the legendary Akcent band, achieving massive success through his hit “Przez Twe oczy zielone”, the second most popular Polish song on YouTube with over 100 million views.

Poland has one of the strongest and best-respected electronic dance music (EDM) scenes in Europe. One of the biggest record labels of EDM in Poland is Empire Records. The death metal band Vader is considered the most successful Polish Metal act and have gained commercial and critical praise internationally. Their career spans more than three decades with many international tours. They are often seen as a huge inspiration on modern Death Metal. Behemoth and Decapitated have found significant success inside and outside Poland. Both have toured extensively across Europe, America and, in the case of Decapitated, have recently toured Australia and New Zealand. Recently Indukti, Hate, Trauma, Crionics, Lost Soul and Lux Occulta have started to become well known outside of Poland. There is also an active grindcore, and a vigorous black metals scenes as well, the later led by Graveland, Darzamat, Kataxu, Infernal War and Vesania.

Literature

Since the arrival of Christianity and the subsequent access to Western European civilization, Poles developed a significant literary production in Latin. Conspicuous authors of the Middle Ages are among others Gallus Anonymus, Wincenty Kadłubek and Jan Długosz, an author of the monumental work on the history of Poland. With the arrival of the Renaissance, Poles came under the influence of the artistic patterns of the humanistic style, actively participating in the European issues of that time with their Latin works.

thumb|Monument to [[Adam Mickiewicz, one of the greatest Polish poets, at the Main Market Square in Kraków]]

The origins of Polish literature written in Polish go back beyond the 14th century. In the 16th century the poetic works of Jan Kochanowski established him as a leading representative of European Renaissance literature. Baroque and Neo-Classicist belle letters made a significant contribution to the cementing of Poland's peoples of many cultural backgrounds. The early 19th century novel "Manuscrit trouvé à Saragosse" by Count Jan Potocki, which survived in its Polish translation after the loss of the original in French, became a world classic. Wojciech Has's film based on it, a favourite of Luis Buñuel, later became a cult film on university campuses. Poland's great Romantic literature flourished in the 19th century when the country had lost its independence. The poets Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki and Zygmunt Krasiński, the "Three Bards", became the spiritual leaders of a nation deprived of its sovereignty, and prophesied its revival. The novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz, who won the Nobel Prize in 1905, eulogised the historical tradition. It is difficult to grasp fully the detailed tradition of Polish Romanticism and its consequences for Polish literature without a thorough knowledge of Polish history.

Subsequently, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth partook in the intellectual ferment of the Enlightenment, which for the multi-ethnic Commonwealth ended not long after the partitions and political annihilation that would last for the next 123 years, until the collapse of the three partitioning empires in World War I.

The period of Messianism, between the November 1830 and January 1863 Uprisings, reflected European Romantic and Idealist trends, as well as a Polish yearning for political resurrection. It was a period of maximalist metaphysical systems.

The collapse of the January 1863 Uprising prompted an agonising reappraisal of Poland's situation. Poles gave up their earlier practice of "measuring their goals by their aspirations" (Adam Mickiewicz) and buckled down to hard work and study. "[A] Positivist," wrote the novelist Bolesław Prus's friend, Julian Ochorowicz, was "anyone who bases assertions on verifiable evidence; who does not express himself categorically about doubtful things, and does not speak at all about those that are inaccessible."

The 20th century brought a new quickening to Polish philosophy. There was growing interest in western philosophical currents. Rigorously trained Polish philosophers made substantial contributions to specialized fields—to psychology, the history of philosophy, the theory of knowledge, and especially mathematical logic. Jan Łukasiewicz gained world fame with his concept of many-valued logic and his "Polish notation." Alfred Tarski's work in truth theory won him world renown.

After World War II, for over four decades, world-class Polish philosophers and historians of philosophy such as Władysław Tatarkiewicz continued their work, often in the face of adversities occasioned by the dominance of a politically enforced official philosophy. The phenomenologist Roman Ingarden did influential work in esthetics and in a Husserl-style metaphysics; his student Karol Wojtyła owned a unique influence on the world stage as Pope John Paul II.

See also

  • Religion in Poland
  • Education in Poland
  • Polish comics
  • Timeline of Polish science and technology
  • Economy of Poland
  • Politics of Poland
  • Foreign relations of Poland
  • Tourism in Poland
  • Seven Wonders of Poland
  • World Heritage Sites of Poland
  • Sport in Poland
  • National costumes of Poland
  • Polish folk dances
  • Wigilia
  • Pasterka
  • Święconka
  • Pisanka (Polish)
  • Easter Monday
  • Fat Thursday
  • Name days in Poland
  • Studniówka
  • Juwenalia
  • Zaduszki

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File:Strokes Opener 040719-139 (48247874422).jpg|Open'er Festival in Gdynia is one of the biggest annual music festivals in Poland

File:Mercado de Navidad, Plaza del Mercado, Breslavia, Polonia, 2017-12-20, DD 41-49 HDR PAN.jpg|Christmas market in Wrocław

File:Ratusz_Zamosc.jpg|Old Town of Zamość (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

File:Poland NT 2011.jpg|Poland national football team

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References

  • Looking at Poland's History Through the Prism of Art
  • Polonia Music The world of Polish heritage music!
  • Polish Art Center A Treasury of Polish Heritage
  • Pigasus Gallery Polish Poster, Music & Film
  • Serpent.pl Albums from genre folk/ethno
  • Read more about Polish culture at Culture.pl – the online magazine promoting Polish culture abroad, run by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute