Poland–Serbia relations
Encyclopedia
Polish-Serbian relations are foreign relations between Poland
and Serbia
. Diplomatic relations have been maintained since Poland and Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes established them in 1919. Poland has an embassy in Belgrade
. Serbia has an embassy in Warsaw
.
group, the Serbs to the South Slavic
. As having origin in the Proto-Slavs, the two were pagan (Slavic religion) until forming of Christianity as state-religion; 867–886 in Serbia with the baptism of Mutimir
(by Eastern Christian Cyril and Methodius), and 966 in Poland with the baptism of Mieszko I
(by Western Christian Jordan
).
The cultural ties and common origin are predominate factors in the relations.
". The location of White Serbia has not precisely been determined, however, the most likely - a eponymous connection with the Sorbs
(Serby) of Lusatia
(a region of Poland, Czech Republic
and Germany).
was part Serbian, having descendance of the House of Nemanjić
, through Stephen Dragutin of Serbia.
in 1389, the Christian army led by Prince Lazar included a number of Polish
and Hungarian knights.
There were Serbian guslars (players of gusle
) in the year 1415 at the royal court of the Polish king Vladislav Jagelonski.
Polish knight Zawisza Czarny
was captured by Turkish commander Sinan Bey near the Golubac fortress
, in Serbia
, around April 1428.
In the Battle of Niš in 1443, Władysław III of Poland fought alongside Đurađ Branković.
. The Polish Hussars, first mentioned in 1500 (Racowie, of Rascia
) were Serbs
.
in 1830-31, Polish revolutionaries fled to Serbia. Ilija Garashanin made contact with the Polish emgigrees.
A Polish, Prince Adam Czartoryski
, founded the "Nachertanije"-project of Greater Serbia
.
The great Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz
(l. 1798–1855) thought highly of Serb epic poetry, and chose it as a theme of lectures at Collège de France
.
The Serbs and Poles were part of the Sokol
organizations.
.
In the early fall of 1918, an allied account said that Serbs and Poles in a region from Urals to Volga had been recruited by a French officer.
In 1918, Serbs and Poles together with Chinese, were part of the "Officer's Corps", a unit of the Russian Consul at Harbin.
. In the mountains of Serbia in the years 1942–1943 there were three other Polish partisan companies attached to the Chetnik Corps.
The Rules of Chetnik Warfare was first published in Polish, then translated into Serbian
.
On June 1, 1944, a Balkan Air Force
was established by the British. It had mostly British, but also Italian, a Yugoslav squadron, and a Polish flight.
Kosovo declared its independence
from Serbia
in 17 February 2008 and Poland recognized
it on 26 February 2008. Poland was the first Slavic country to do so.
In September 2008, President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński
, stated that the original cause of the 2008 South Ossetia war
was not the Georgian operation, but the recognition of Kosovo's independence and that he would block attempts to establish diplomatic relations of Poland with Kosovo at ambassadorial level; however, the government has not proposed to send an ambassador to Pristina.
The recognition of Kosovo Albanian independence has been criticized in Poland.
-album by Polish singer-songwriter Kayah
and Serbian musician Goran Bregović
became a bestseller after its release in 1999.
in their works. In a poem published in 1612, Kasper Miaskowski wrote that "the Serbian gusle and gaida
s will overwhelm Shrove Tuesday
" (Serbskie skrzypki i dudy ostatek zagluszą). In the idyll
named Śpiewacy, published in 1663, Józef Bartłomiej Zimorowic used the phrase "to sing to the Serbian gusle" (przy Serbskich gęślach śpiewać). In some older Serbian books on literature it was stated that a Serbian guslar performed at the court of Władysław II Jagiełło
in 1415, but this is not confirmed in Polish sources.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe 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...
and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. Diplomatic relations have been maintained since Poland and Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes established them in 1919. Poland has an embassy in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. Serbia has an embassy in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
.
History
The Poles and Serbs are Slavs. The Poles belong to the West SlavicWest Slavic
West Slavic can refer to:* West Slavic languages* West Slavic peoples...
group, the Serbs to the South Slavic
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
. As having origin in the Proto-Slavs, the two were pagan (Slavic religion) until forming of Christianity as state-religion; 867–886 in Serbia with the baptism of Mutimir
Mutimir of Serbia
Mutimir of Serbia was Prince of the Serbs from ca 850 until 891. He defeated the Bulgar Army, allied himself with the Byzantine Emperor and ruled the First Serbian Principality when the Christianization of the Serbs took place and the Eparchy of Ras was established.He was the eldest son of Knez...
(by Eastern Christian Cyril and Methodius), and 966 in Poland with the baptism of Mieszko I
Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I , was a Duke of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was son of Siemomysł; grandchild of Lestek; father of Bolesław I the Brave, the first crowned King of Poland; likely father of Świętosława , a Nordic Queen; and grandfather of her son, Cnut the...
(by Western Christian Jordan
Jordan (bishop of Poland)
Jordan was the first Bishop of Poland from 968 with his seat, most probably, in Poznań. He was an Italian or German.Most evidence shows that he was missionary bishop subordinate directly to the Pope. He arrived in Poland, probably from Italy or the Rhineland, in 966 with Dubrawka to baptise...
).
The cultural ties and common origin are predominate factors in the relations.
White Serbs
According to Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Serbs "came from White SerbiaWhite Serbia
White Serbia or Bojka , is the mythical homeland of the ancestors of the Serbs, of the White Serbs .The area adjacent to White Serbia was known as White Croatia, where the Croats trace their origin...
". The location of White Serbia has not precisely been determined, however, the most likely - a eponymous connection with the Sorbs
Sorbs
Sorbs are a Western Slavic people of Central Europe living predominantly in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. In Germany they live in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. They speak the Sorbian languages - closely related to Polish and Czech - officially recognized and...
(Serby) of Lusatia
Lusatia
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe. It stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Elbe valley in the west, today located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Lower Silesian and Lubusz voivodeships of western Poland...
(a region of Poland, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Germany).
Royal connections
Jadwiga of PolandJadwiga of Poland
Jadwiga was monarch of Poland from 1384 to her death. Her official title was 'king' rather than 'queen', reflecting that she was a sovereign in her own right and not merely a royal consort. She was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou, the daughter of King Louis I of Hungary and Elizabeth of...
was part Serbian, having descendance of the House of Nemanjić
House of Nemanjic
The Nemanjić was the most important dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages, and one of the most important in Southeastern Europe. The royal house produced eleven Serbian monarchs between 1166 and 1371. It's progenitor was Stephen Nemanja, who descended from a cadet line of the Vukanović dynasty...
, through Stephen Dragutin of Serbia.
Wars against the Ottoman Empire
In the Battle of KosovoBattle of Kosovo
The Battle of Kosovo took place on St. Vitus' Day, June 15, 1389, between the army led by Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I...
in 1389, the Christian army led by Prince Lazar included a number of Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
and Hungarian knights.
There were Serbian guslars (players of gusle
Gusle
The Gusle is a single-stringed musical instrument traditionally used in the Dinarides region of the Balkans ....
) in the year 1415 at the royal court of the Polish king Vladislav Jagelonski.
Polish knight Zawisza Czarny
Zawisza Czarny
Zawisza Czarny z Garbowa , Sulima Coat of Arms, was a Polish knight and nobleman. He served as a soldier and diplomat under the Polish king Władysław II and Hungarian-Bohemian king Sigismund of Luxembourg...
was captured by Turkish commander Sinan Bey near the Golubac fortress
Golubac fortress
Golubac Fortress was a medieval fortified town on the right side of the Danube River, 4 kilometers downstream from the modern-day town of Golubac, Serbia. The fortress, which was most likely built during the 14th century, is split into three compounds which were built in stages...
, in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, around April 1428.
In the Battle of Niš in 1443, Władysław III of Poland fought alongside Đurađ Branković.
Hussars
The Hussars was a light cavalry of European armies, originating in the Serbian concept; of exiled Serbian warriors leaving Ottoman occupied SerbiaHistory of Ottoman Serbia
The territory of what is now the Republic of Serbia was part of the Ottoman Empire throughout the Early Modern period.Ottoman culture significantly influenced the region, in architecture, cuisine, linguistics, and dress, especially in arts, and Islam....
. The Polish Hussars, first mentioned in 1500 (Racowie, of Rascia
Rascia
Rascia was a medieval region that served as the principal province of the Serbian realm. It was an administrative division under the direct rule of the monarch and sometimes as an appanage. The term has been used to refer to various Serbian states throughout the Middle Ages...
) were Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
.
Revolutions and Principality of Serbia
After the Polish November UprisingNovember Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
in 1830-31, Polish revolutionaries fled to Serbia. Ilija Garashanin made contact with the Polish emgigrees.
A Polish, Prince Adam Czartoryski
Adam Czartoryski
Adam Czartoryski can refer to:* Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski , Polish nobleman and man of letters* Adam Jerzy Czartoryski , Polish nobleman and minister of the Russian Empire* Adam Karol Czartoryski...
, founded the "Nachertanije"-project of Greater Serbia
Greater Serbia
The term Greater Serbia or Great Serbia applies to the Serbian nationalist and irredentist ideology directed towards the creation of a Serbian land which would incorporate all regions of traditional significance to the Serbian nation...
.
The great Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
(l. 1798–1855) thought highly of Serb epic poetry, and chose it as a theme of lectures at Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
.
The Serbs and Poles were part of the Sokol
Sokol
The Sokol movement is a youth sport movement and gymnastics organization first founded in Czech region of Austria-Hungary, Prague, in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner...
organizations.
World War I
In March 1914, Serbian, French, Polish and Greek allied troops landed at OdessaOdessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
.
In the early fall of 1918, an allied account said that Serbs and Poles in a region from Urals to Volga had been recruited by a French officer.
In 1918, Serbs and Poles together with Chinese, were part of the "Officer's Corps", a unit of the Russian Consul at Harbin.
World War II
Poles joined the Yugoslav Partisans with the beginning of the War, as well as the ChetniksChetniks
Chetniks, or the Chetnik movement , were Serbian nationalist and royalist paramilitary organizations from the first half of the 20th century. The Chetniks were formed as a Serbian resistance against the Ottoman Empire in 1904, and participated in the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II...
. In the mountains of Serbia in the years 1942–1943 there were three other Polish partisan companies attached to the Chetnik Corps.
The Rules of Chetnik Warfare was first published in Polish, then translated into Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
.
On June 1, 1944, a Balkan Air Force
Balkan Air Force
The Balkan Air Force was a late-World War II Allied air formation.-History:The formation was based at Bari in Italy, and activated on 7 June 1944 from AHQ 'G' Force to simplify command arrangements for the air support of Special Operations Executive-operations in the Balkans, i.e. across the...
was established by the British. It had mostly British, but also Italian, a Yugoslav squadron, and a Polish flight.
Kosovo
Polish opinion on the Nato operations in Kosovo was mixed: 37% favoured involvement while 43% were against. The government decided in favor of a Nato-led operation to bring cease-fire in the conflict.Kosovo declared its independence
2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was adopted on 17 February 2008 by individual members of the Assembly of Kosovo acting in personal capacity and not binding to the Assembly itself...
from Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
in 17 February 2008 and Poland recognized
International reaction to the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia was enacted on Sunday, 17 February 2008 by the Assembly of Kosovo with a unanimous quorum. All 11 representatives of the Serb minority boycotted the proceedings...
it on 26 February 2008. Poland was the first Slavic country to do so.
In September 2008, President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
, stated that the original cause of the 2008 South Ossetia war
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
was not the Georgian operation, but the recognition of Kosovo's independence and that he would block attempts to establish diplomatic relations of Poland with Kosovo at ambassadorial level; however, the government has not proposed to send an ambassador to Pristina.
The recognition of Kosovo Albanian independence has been criticized in Poland.
Peacekeeping
Poland currently has 274 troops serving in Kosovo as peacekeepers in the NATO led Kosovo Force. Originally there were 800 Polish troops in KFOR.Music
The Kayah i BregovićKayah i Bregovic
Kayah i Bregović is a joint album by Bosnian musician Goran Bregović and Polish singer Kayah, released in 1999.The album became a bestseller in Poland, exceeding 700,000 copies sold...
-album by Polish singer-songwriter Kayah
Kayah
Kayah may refer to:* Kayah State, a state of Myanmar.* Kayah people, a Sino-Tibetan people.* Kayah language* Kayah , Polish singer....
and Serbian musician Goran Bregović
Goran Bregovic
Goran Bregović is one of the most internationally known modern musicians and composers of the Balkans. He currently splits his time between Paris and Belgrade, where he settled down during the Yugoslav Wars.Bregović has composed for such varied artists as Iggy Pop and Cesária Évora...
became a bestseller after its release in 1999.
Gusle
Polish poets of the 17th century mentioned the gusleGusle
The Gusle is a single-stringed musical instrument traditionally used in the Dinarides region of the Balkans ....
in their works. In a poem published in 1612, Kasper Miaskowski wrote that "the Serbian gusle and gaida
Gaida
The gaida is a musical instrument, aerophone, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag.The gaida, and its variations, is a traditional musical instrument for entire Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East....
s will overwhelm Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...
" (Serbskie skrzypki i dudy ostatek zagluszą). In the idyll
Idyll
An idyll or idyl is a short poem, descriptive of rustic life, written in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the Idylls....
named Śpiewacy, published in 1663, Józef Bartłomiej Zimorowic used the phrase "to sing to the Serbian gusle" (przy Serbskich gęślach śpiewać). In some older Serbian books on literature it was stated that a Serbian guslar performed at the court of Władysław II Jagiełło
Jogaila
Jogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...
in 1415, but this is not confirmed in Polish sources.