Poland [antikvár]

q^ J hese prefatory remarks could begin traditionally with elementary facts of geography: that L-/ Poland is seventh in area and population in Europe, that Poland lies precisely in the middle of Europehalfway between Lapland in the north and the Peloponnesus in the south, Portugal in the west and the Urals in the east.They could also begin with a short historical survey reminding the reader that a Thousand Years of the Polish State were celebrated in 1966 and drawing attention to a rare historical phenomenon, namely that after ten centuries of dramatic events and countless territorial modifications, Poland now lies almost exactly within the same borders that it occupied when the sovereign state was first established.Finally, the introduction could start off with the political definition: the Polish People's Republic is a socialist state, member of a community of countries which have chosen socialism as the basis of their political system and ideological aims.We have, however, chosen to get away from these accepted conventionsthat is, of giving a summary composed of a handful of sentences and figures on the contents of the volume.We shall begin instead with a sentence that reflects the character of the present album: Poland is a strikingly photogenic country. This straightforward statement is made without false modesty. The proof is contained in the photographs that appear in the pages of the album.The chief attraction of the country from the photographic point of view is its diversified landscape. The surface features seen from some point in outer space seem to be arranged like a layer cake. The mountain chains that form the southern border slope into a string of highlands that give way to the great expanse of plains (in the past the melancholy flat land sparsely punctuated with the exclamation marks of shaggy willow trees was considered typical of the Polish landscape); towards the north the hilly lake districts descend to the coastal lowlands. Not many people in Europe can enjoy scenery of such wide geological and natural diversity as the Poles have in their territories without leaving their country.The Tatras are a miniature version of the Alps. Although there are no lofty peaks here (the Tatras are only a small shadow on the map), the jutting rough crags, the spectacular valleys and wealth of rock forms rival anything that can be found in the Alps. More wildly fantastic are parts of the Sudetic Mountains, the oldest mountain system of Europe, their features furrowed and pitted with old age into shapes that excite the imagination. The Bieszczady region is the last unspoiled mountain preserve in Europe, an ideal retreat for those who yearn for solitude.Statistics do not bear out the legend that Poland is a country of forests. It is true, however, that some of the forests have no rivals in Europe. The primeval Bialowieza Forest, beloved by the bison and adored by artists, holds benevolent sway over the sylvan principality. No other European country, except for Scandinavia, can boast of an equally splendid constellation of lakes. Nowhere, except in the Soviet Union, do we find a land of marshes running with elk and water fowl to equal the fabulous lowlands drained by the Biebrza River. The Bigdowska Desert of Poland is small in area and has no dromedaries but travelers have reported seeing mirages. Other features are the fantastic Karstic rock formations and five hundred kilometres of fine white sand beeches on the Baltic. The Baltic does not have the dazzling colour or the irregular shoreline of the southern seas, but it does have a wide spectrum of misty greys that glitter with a gamut of pastels in the sunlight.Nature is enhanced by culturethe second reason why the Polish landscape is photogenic. All the architectural styles that emerged over the past millennium of European history are woven into the ancient fabric of Polish cities. They often reside in close harmony in one building because, as a French envoy7