Polish–Lithuanian CommonwealthThe Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, or simply Poland–Lithuania, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch in real union, who was both King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. It was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th- to 17th-century Europe. At its largest territorial extent, in the early 17th century, the Commonwealth covered almost and as of 1618 sustained a multi-ethnic population of almost 12 million.
SpišSpiš (Latin: Cips/Zepus/Scepus/Scepusia/Scepusium, Zips, Szepesség/Szepes, Spisz) is a region in north-eastern Slovakia, with a very small area in south-eastern Poland (more specifically encompassing 14 villages). Spiš is an informal designation of the territory, but it is also the name of one of the 21 official tourism regions of Slovakia. The region is not an administrative division in its own right, but between the late 11th century and 1920 it was an administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary (see separate article Szepes County in this regard).
GoralsThe Gorals (Górale; Goral dialect: Górole; Gorali; Cieszyn Silesian: Gorole), also known as the Highlanders (in Poland as the Polish Highlanders, a subethnic group of the Polish nation) are an indigenous ethnographic subgroup primarily found in their traditional area of southern Poland, northern Slovakia and in the region of Cieszyn Silesia in the Czech Republic, where they are known as the Silesian Gorals. There is also a significant Goral diaspora in the area of Bukovina in western Ukraine and in northern Romania, as well as in Chicago, the seat of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.
ZakopaneZakopane (Podhale Goral: Zokopane) is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been part of Lesser Poland Voivodeship. its population was 27,266. Zakopane is a centre of Goral culture and is often referred to as "the winter capital of Poland". It is a popular destination for mountaineering, skiing, and tourism. Zakopane lies near Poland's border with Slovakia, in a valley between the Tatra Mountains and Gubałówka Hill.
Orava (region)Orava is the traditional name of a region situated in northern Slovakia (as Orava) and partially also in southern Poland (as Orawa). It encompasses the territory of the former comitatus (county) of Árva (or Arwa in German). The northern part of is one of the regions which are part of the Goral Lands. The name arises from the Orava river (a major river flowing through the region). The county arose before the 15th century. The county's territory was situated along the Orava River between Zázrivá and the Tatra Mountains.
VistulaThe Vistula (ˈvɪstjʊlə; Wisła, ˈvjiswa) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in the south of Poland, above sea level in the Silesian Beskids (western part of Carpathian Mountains), where it begins with the Little White Vistula (Biała Wisełka) and the Black Little Vistula (Czarna Wisełka).
Eurasian lynxThe Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is a medium-sized wild cat widely distributed from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. It inhabits temperate and boreal forests up to an elevation of . Despite its wide distribution, it is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching and depletion of prey. Felis lynx was the scientific name used in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in his work Systema Naturae.
Kingdom of HungaryThe Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen I at Esztergom around the year 1000; his family (the Árpád dynasty) led the monarchy for 300 years. By the 12th century, the kingdom became a European middle power within the Western world.
SudetesThe Sudetes (suːˈdiːtiːz ), commonly known as the Sudeten Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince in Central Europe, shared by Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. They consist mainly of mountain ranges and are the highest part of Bohemian Massif. They stretch from the Saxon capital of Dresden in the northwest across to the region of Lower Silesia in Poland and to the Moravian Gate in the Czech Republic in the east. Geographically the Sudetes are a Mittelgebirge with some characteristics typical of high mountains.
Habsburg monarchyThe Habsburg monarchy (Habsburgermonarchie, ˈhaːpsbʊʁɡɐmonaʁˌçiː), also known as Habsburg Empire (Habsburgerreich ˈhaːpsbʊʁɡɐˌʁaɪç), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities that were ruled by the House of Habsburg and, following the partition of the dynasty, especially by its Austrian branch. From the 18th century it is also referred to as the Danubian monarchy (Donaumonarchie ˈdoːnaʊmonaʁˌçiː) or the Austrian monarchy.
