National symbols

Polish Flag

The official Polish flag for general use consists simply of two horizontal fields of equal size, with the top one white and the bottom one red. In the vertical arrangement, white is to the right of red. The colors white and red were introduced as the national colors in 1831. The flag was officially adopted by the Sejm on 1 August 1919, and remains unaltered to this very day.The flag that features Poland's white eagle set against a red shield on the white field is known as a "bandera" (ship's flag or ensign). According to Polish flag tradition, it is meant to be flown by Polish ships at sea and by Polish diplomatic missions and other official institutions abroad.

National emblem

A white eagle turned to the right with a golden crown upon its head and a golden beak and talons, against a red background. As a heraldic emblem, the eagle appeared in the first half of the XIII century as the emblem of the Piast dynasty, became the official emblem of the entire state under the rule of Władysław Łokietek, and was adopted by the Sejm (lower house of Parliament) as the state emblem following Poland's regaining of independence in 1919. In 1927, a new image of the eagle was adopted by decree of the President of the Republic. It was based on a design by Prof. Z. Kamiński and patterned on the emblem that existed during the reign of Stefan Batory, with a shape almost identical to the one used today. After 1945, the eagle was similar to the pre-war one, but without a crown (confirmed by decree in 1955). Since 1990, the white eagle has had a crown once again.

National anthem

The Polish anthem is the Mazurek Dąbrowskiego, written by J. Wybicki in 1797. It became the national anthem in 1831, and has been the state anthem since 1927. In 1948, it was confirmed by the authorities of the Polish People's Republic and introduced to the constitution in 1976.

The full text of the Polish National Anthem see here