From the moment I stepped off the airport shuttle on the eastern side of Helsinkiâs Railway Square, I felt small. In front of me, Helsinki Railway Station dominated the square, its arch-shaped faÃ§ade guarded on either side by enormous, lamp-wielding statues. Everywhere I looked was a succession of large and beautiful buildings, testaments to the creativity of 19th- and 20th-century architects.
With its 38,346,279 people, Poland is the 34th largest country in the world by population. It is the 70th largest country in the world by area with 312,685 square kilometers.
Geography. Poland, a country the size of New Mexico, is in north-central Europe. Most of the country is a plain with no natural boundaries except the Carpathian Mountains in the south and the Oder and Neisse rivers in the west. Other major rivers, which are important to commerce, are the Vistula, Warta, and Bug.istory. Great (north) Poland was founded in 966 by Mieszko I, who belonged to the Piast dynasty. The tribes of southern Poland then formed Little Poland. In 1047, both Great Poland and Little Poland united under the rule of Casimir I the Restorer.