Poland 2011

Warsaw or Warszawa is Poland's capital and largest city. It has a high standard of living, complete with all the modern amenities for a satisfied citizen. The city of Warsaw is truly an unforgettable destination for tourists.
Skyscapers shoot upwards as Warsaw's economic status rises and the city continues to gather foreign investors. With a fine location, Warsaw is blessed with the Vistula River flowing through the city.
Having signed the Schengen Agreement and the EU, it is convenient for travellers to travel in and out of Warsaw as well as experience local transit provided with style.
As the historical areas of Warsaw give air of its celebrated past, the developing plans and constructions of modern institutions mark Warsaw as one of the world's prime cities.
During the late 14th Century, Warsaw or Warszowa was a quaint fishing village, until a newer settlement was formed in the area after the fall of Jazdów. Warsaw became the capital of Mazovia in 1413.
When King Sigismund III Vasa ruled over Warsaw during the 16th century, the city became capital of the Commonwealth and the Polish Crown. In the middle of 17th century, Swedish, Transylvanian and Brandenburgian forces attacked Warsaw.
In the late 18th century, Poland was divided between Russia, Prussia and Austria. It was not until 1815 that Warsaw became the capital of the Polish Kingdom. Though it was dependent on Imperial Russia, it had considerable autonomy.
The city of Warsaw progressed massively in different sectors. During the 19th Century, universities, bridges, transit and sewer systems were formed. Poland regained its independence in 1918 with Warsaw as its capital. It was 1939-1944 when the wrath of Germany painted the city red. The Nazis blasted every existing structure and annihilated around half a million people when an uprising by insurgents took place. The Jewish Ghetto lasted about a month, before the whole city was torn to bits, including the Royal Castle.
In 1945 the reconstruction of Warsaw started. Communism fell while Poland lived under socialism. Many historical museums, castles, streets and churches were restored, and the Old Town became part of UNESCO's World Heritage list. Poland joined the European Union in 2004, and continues to become the modern and charming city it is today.

The city of Lublin, the largest in eastern Poland, is one of the most alluring urban centres in the whole country, thanks in large part to the evocative hive of alleys that constitute its magnificent Old Town. New arrivals are sometimes put off by the sprawling high-rise buildings and smokestacks of the suburbs, but once you're in the heart of the place, it's all cobbled streets and dilapidated mansions – a wistful reminder of past glories. The fabric of this old quarter came through World War II relatively undamaged, and recent restoration has made the city centre ripe for tourism, though Lublin sees nothing like the crowds flowing into Kraków, Warsaw or Gdańsk. In among the numerous churches you'll find reminders that for centuries Lublin was home to a large and vibrant Jewish community, a population exterminated in the Nazi concentration camp at Majdanek, 6km from the city centre.