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Poland ((ポーランド語:Polska)) is a country in Central Europe〔(UN Statistics )〕〔(CIA Factbook )〕 bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is , making it the 69th largest country in the world and the ninth largest in Europe. From a nucleus between the Odra and Vistula rivers on the North European Plain, Poland has at its largest extent expanded as far as the Baltic, the Dnieper, the Black Sea and the Carpathians, while in periods of weakness it has shrunk drastically or even ceased to exist. ==Territorial history== In 1492, the territory of Poland-Lithuania - not counting the fiefs of Mazovia, Moldavia, and East Prussia - covered , making it the largest territory in Europe; by 1793, it had fallen to , the same size as Great Britain, and in 1795, it disappeared completely.〔 The first 20th-century incarnation of Poland, the Second Polish Republic, occupied , while, since 1945, a more westerly Poland covered . The Poles are the most numerous of the West Slavs and occupy what some believe to be the original homeland of the Slavic peoples. While other groups migrated, the Polanie remained ''in situ'' along the Vistula, from the river's sources to its estuary at the Baltic Sea. There is no other European nation centred to such an extent on one river.〔 The establishment of a Polish state is often identified with the adoption of Christianity by Mieszko I in 966 CE (see Baptism of Poland), when the state covered territory similar to that of present-day Poland. In 1025 CE, Poland became a kingdom. In 1569, Poland cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin, forming the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries in 16th- and 17th-century Europe.〔pg 554 - ''Poland-Lithuania was another country that experienced its 'Golden Age' during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The realm of the last Jagiellons was absolutely the largest state in Europe''.〕〔pg 51 - ''"the deluge," denoting the downfall of Poland, at that time the largest state in Europe, stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea and from the Oder to the Dnieper River.''〕 The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had many characteristics that made it unique among states of that era. The Commonwealth's political system, often called the Noble's Democracy or Golden Freedom, was characterized by the sovereign's power being reduced by laws and the legislature (Sejm), which was controlled by the nobility (szlachta). This system was a precursor to the modern concepts of broader democracy〔pg 3 - 〕 and constitutional monarchy.〔pg 84 - ''enabled them to push a new constitution through the Diet, transforming Poland from an anarchic republic ... into a reasonably modern constitutional monarchy''〕〔pg 34 - ''It was Poland more than any other Western European country that became the early symbol of a liberal and constitutional monarchy.''〕 The two comprising states of the Commonwealth were formally equal, although in reality Poland was a dominant partner in the union. Its population was hallmarked by a high level of ethnic and confessional diversity, and the state was noted for having religious tolerance unusual for its age,〔pg 373 - ''Quoting from Sarmatian Review academic journal mission statement: ''Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was () characterized by religious tolerance unusual in pre-modern Europe〕 although the degree of tolerance varied over time.〔pg 122 - ''() secured for a time a rule of religious tolerance, particularly in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries ... The situation changed, however, toward the end of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.''〕 In the late 18th century, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth began to collapse. Its neighbouring states were able to slowly dismember the Commonwealth. In 1795, Poland's territory was completely partitioned among the Kingdom of Prussia, the Russian Empire, and Austria. Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic in 1918 after World War I, but lost it in World War II through occupation by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Poland lost over six million citizens in World War II, emerging several years later as the socialist People's Republic of Poland within the Eastern Bloc, under strong Soviet influence. During the Revolutions of 1989, communist rule was overthrown and Poland became what is constitutionally known as the "Third Polish Republic." Poland is a unitary state made up of sixteen voivodeships ((ポーランド語:województwo)). Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Poland currently has a population of over 38 million people,〔 which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world〔NationMaster.com 2003–2007, (Poland, Facts and figures )〕 and one of the most populous members of the European Union. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Territorial evolution of Poland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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