Poland trivia: 46 questions and answers

Warsaw. Warsaw is the capital and largest city, on the Vistula in east-central Poland. Kraków was the royal capital until the late 16th century.

False. False. Poland is in the European Union but keeps its own currency, the złoty, divided into 100 groszy.

Rysy. Rysy, 2,500 m at its north-western summit, stands in the Tatras on the border with Slovakia. Śnieżka is the highest peak of the Sudetes, and Triglav is Slovenia's highest mountain.

The Vistula. The Vistula, 1,047 km long, rises in the southern mountains and reaches the Baltic near Gdańsk. The Oder flows along the western border, and the Warta runs through Poznań.

False. False. Poland borders Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Russia. The Czech Republic and Slovakia lie between Poland and Austria.

Mieszko I. Duke Mieszko I, the first ruler of the Polish state, was baptised in 966. His son Bolesław I the Brave became the first crowned king in 1025.

The Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Knights were crushed at Grunwald on 15 July 1410 by King Władysław II Jagiełło and Grand Duke Vytautas. The Order never recovered its former power.

John III Sobieski. John III Sobieski commanded the relief army at the Battle of Vienna on 12 September 1683.

True. True. It is often called the first modern constitution in Europe, and 3 May is still a national holiday in Poland.

True. True. Russia, Prussia and Austria divided the Commonwealth in 1772, 1793 and 1795, and there was no independent Polish state for 123 years.

Gdańsk. Solidarity grew out of the strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk in August 1980. Its leader was Lech Wałęsa.

True. True. Poland joined on 1 May 2004 together with nine other countries. It had joined NATO in 1999.

Filled dumplings. Pierogi are filled dumplings, boiled and often then fried in butter. Cabbage rolls are gołąbki, potato pancakes are placki and doughnuts are pączki.

Żurek. Żurek is the tangy sour rye soup, traditional at Easter. It is sometimes also called white barszcz. Rosół is a clear broth, red barszcz is beetroot soup and pomidorowa is tomato soup.

Sauerkraut and cabbage. Bigos is made with sauerkraut and cabbage, stewed for hours with several kinds of meat and sausage.

Little ears. Uszka means 'little ears', after their shape. Gołąbki, the cabbage rolls, are the 'little doves'.

True. True. Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek) began as a way to use up lard, sugar and eggs before the Lenten fast.

False. False. The Christmas Eve supper, Wigilia, is meat-free. Fried carp is the traditional main dish, and it often starts with barszcz with uszka.

Toruń. Copernicus was born in Toruń in 1473. He later studied at the university in Kraków.

True. True. Wrocław was the German city of Breslau until 1945, when it became part of Poland.

Łódź. Łódź grew fast in the 19th century around its textile factories. Its film school trained directors such as Andrzej Wajda and Roman Polański.

Wawel. Wawel Royal Castle was home to Polish kings for centuries, and they were crowned and buried in the cathedral beside it.

Salt. Wieliczka is a salt mine, worked from the 13th century until 1996. Miners carved chapels and statues out of the rock salt.

The Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Knights built Malbork Castle between about 1274 and 1406. It passed to the kings of Poland in 1457.

True. True. It was rebuilt mostly between 1947 and 1951 and joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1980.

The European bison. The European bison, Europe's heaviest land animal, lives in Białowieża Forest on the border with Belarus.

Eye of the Sea. Morskie Oko means 'Eye of the Sea', from a legend that the lake was joined to the sea by an underground passage.

Warsaw. Marie Curie was born Maria Skłodowska in Warsaw. She later moved to Paris, where she did her famous research.

True. True. Chopin died in Paris, but as he wished, his heart was taken back to Warsaw. It rests in a pillar of the Holy Cross Church.

It stops suddenly in the middle. It stops suddenly in the middle, in memory of a legendary watchman said to have been shot by an arrow while sounding the alarm.

A bear. Wojtek was a bear, a Syrian brown bear adopted as a cub in Iran. He travelled with Polish soldiers to Italy and later lived at Edinburgh Zoo.

True. True. It was written in 1797 for Polish legions fighting alongside Napoleon, and one line says 'Bonaparte has shown us ways to victory'.

Golden. Złoty comes from the Polish word for 'golden'. One złoty is divided into 100 groszy.

Wrocław. Wrocław has around 1,000 bronze dwarfs, and hunting for them is a favourite pastime for visitors.

Thank you. Dziękuję (jen-KOO-yeh) means 'thank you'. 'Please' is proszę.

False. False. 'Nie' means 'no'. 'Yes' is 'tak'.

A train. Pociąg (POH-chohnk) means a train. A bus is an autobus.

Dzień dobry. Dzień dobry means 'good day' and is the polite greeting in shops and with strangers. Dobranoc means 'good night'.

Smacznego. Smacznego means 'enjoy your meal'. When raising a glass, people say 'Na zdrowie!'

Proszę rachunek. Proszę rachunek means 'the bill, please'.

True. True. Przepraszam (psheh-PRAH-shahm) gets someone's attention and is also used to apologise.

True. True. Poland bans most Sunday trading, apart from a few shopping Sundays before big holidays. Restaurants, petrol stations and bakeries stay open.

Keep the change. Saying 'Dziękuję' (thank you) as you pay is understood as 'keep the change', so only say it if you mean it.

The ambulance. In Poland 999 calls the ambulance, 998 the fire brigade and 997 the police. The European number 112 works for all emergencies.

False. False. Drinking alcohol in public places is illegal, and the police can fine you.

0.02%. The limit is 0.02%, much lower than in many countries, so it is best not to drink at all before driving.