Timeline of Polish history
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Timeline of Polish History
Dates and most important events in Polish history from prehistoric times up to the present day.
- c.960
- Mieszko I assumes rule in Poland
- 966
- Christianization of Mieszko I and Poland
- 968
- First bishopric in Poland - Poznan, Jordan became first bishop of Poland.
- 972
- Mieszko's victorious battle of Cedynia over margrave Hodon
- 992
- Death of Mieszko I
- 992-1025
- Reign of Bolesław I Chrobry (the Brave)
- 997
- Death of St.Adalbert of Prague during the christianization of Prussians
- 1000
- The Congress of Gniezno, with participation of the Emperor Otto III
- 1000
- Archbishopric founded in Gniezno with sufragan bishoprics in Kolobrzeg, Wroclaw, and Cracow
- 1025
- Coronation of Bolesław I Chrobry as the King of Poland
- 1034-1058
- Reign of Casimir the Restorer
- 1034-1039
- People's rebellion and invasion of the Czech prince, Brzetyslav.
- 1076
- Coronation of Bolesław the Bold for the king of Poland
- 1079-1102
- Reign of prince Ladislas
- 1102-1138
- Reign of prince Boleslav the Wrymouthed (Boleslav Krzywousty)
- 1106-1107
- War between Boleslav the Wrymouthed and his brother Zbigniew
- 1138
- Following Bolesław's death, in accordance with his will, Poland is split into five main provinces, one for each of his sons, with the senior holding also the "royal" province between Greater and Little Poland. Beginning of regional disintegration which continues until 1320.
- 1146-1173
- Boleslav the Curly is the senior prince in Cracow
- 1226
- Konrad of Mazovia asks Teutonic Knights, recently expelled from Hungary by Andrew II, to settle in Poland and gives them land in northern Mazovia, in addition to any territory they can wrest from the pagan Prussians and Lithuanians. The christianization of Prussia begins
- 1241
- The Mongol invasion cuts a wide swath of destruction through southern Poland; Cracow is besieged.
- In July, the host of the Silesian princes is met and routed at the battle of Legnica, a defeat accompanied by the death of overlord Henry II the Pious.
- 1252
- Lebus Land lost to Brandenburg
- 1295
- Coronation of Przemysl II for the king of Poland in Gniezno; shortly after, he is murdered in a bathhouse.
- 1300
- Coronation of Waclav II, king of Bohemia, as the king of Poland
- 1305
- Death of Waclav II, his son Waclav III becomes the king of Poland
- 1306
- Waclaw III is killed by an assassin while travelling to Cracow to inaugurate his reign in Poland
- 1306-1333
- Reign of Wladyslaw the Elbow High (Wladyslaw Lokietek)
- 1308-1309
- The Teutonic Knights drive out the Brandenburgians who captured Gdańsk, but hold the city for themselves. Wladyslaw the Elbow High, caught up with the situation in Little Poland, particularly the conspiracy led by Albert, the Cracow mayor, cannot intervene.
- 1320
- Coronation of Wladislaw the Elbow High and reunion of most of the Polish lands
- 1327-1332
- War against the Teutonic Order
- 1331
- Battle of Plowce
- 1343
- Peace treaty with the Teutonic Order in Kalisz
- 1370
- Death of Casimir the Great ends Piast Dynasty
- 1370-1382
- Reign of Louis I of Hungary
- 1385
- Personal union with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania following marriage of Polish princess Jadwiga with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Wladyslaw Jagiello
- 1386-1434
- Reign of Wladyslaw Jagiello, beginning of Jagiellonian dynasty in Poland
- 1387
- Formal christianization of Lithuania
- 1409-1411
- War with Teutonic Knights
- 1410 July 15
- Victorious battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) with Teutonic Knights
- 1411 February
- First peace treaty of Torun with Teutonic Order
- 1434-1444
- Reign of Wladislaw III
- 1444
- Battle of Varna against the Ottoman Empire and death of Wladislaw III
- 1454 February
- Prussian Confederation of cities and gentry revolts against rule of Teutonic Knights, and (March) accepts Polish sovereignty
- 1454-1466
- Thirteen Years' War of Poland and Prussian Confederation against Teutonic Knights
- 1466 October
- Second Treaty of Thorn: the Teutonic Order cedes western (henceforth Royal) Prussia to Poland; eastern (later Ducal) Prussia remains under control of the Order, as a Polish fief.
- 1474
- First Polish printed text (in Cracow)
- 1492-1501
- Reign of Jan Olbracht
- 1569
- Administrative union of Lublin creates the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Rzeczpospolita)
- 1572
- Death of Sigismund II, the last king of the Jagiellonian Dynasty
- 1573
- Election of Henry of Valois as King of Poland
- 1575
- Stephen Báthory becomes King of Poland
- 1582
- The peace treaty in Jam Zapolski ends the Livonian war.
- 1610
- Polish-Lithuanian forces occupy Moscow
- 1620
- War with the Ottoman Empire
- 1655-1660
- Invasion of Poland by the Army of Charles X of Sweden in the Northern Wars, known in Poland as "the Deluge"
- 1683 September 12
- Polish king John III Sobieski defeats Turkish Army near Vienna
- 1768
- The Confederation of Bar
- 1772
- The First Partition of Poland: Austria receives Galicia, the Kingdom of Prussia gains West Prussia, and Imperial Russia gains Vitebsk, Mogilev and Gomel
- 1791 May 3
- Proclamation of the May Constitution of Poland
- 1793
- The Second Partition of Poland: Russia gains Podolia, eastern Volhynia and most of modern Belarus, while Prussia gains Greater Poland
- 1794 March
- The national insurrection led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko
- 1795
- The Third Partition of Poland: Russia gains Curonia, Lithuania, western Belarus and western Volhynia, while Prussia receives the land to the north and west of Warsaw, and Austria the land to the south and east of the city.
- 1795 November 25
- The kingdom of Poland comes to an end with the abdication of Stanislaus II
- 1807
- The Grand Duchy of Warsaw is created under Napoleons tutelage from the territories annexed by Prussia in 1793 and 1795
- 1809
- The Grand Duchy gains the area annexed by Austria in 1795
- 1813
- Poland is occupied by Russian troops, bringing the Grand Duchy to an end
- 1815
- Most of the former Grand Duchy (excluding the Poznan and Torun districts) become the Kingdom of Poland under the rule of the Tsar of Russia.
- 1830 November 29
- The November Uprising against occupation of Poland
- 1832 February 26
- Russian-occupied Poland is stripped of its separate administration
- 1846 February 22
- Krakow Uprising: the city is annexed by Austria in November
- 1863 January 22
- The January Uprising against occupation of Poland: fighting continues into 1864
- 1914 August
- Outbreak of World War I: Marshal Pilsudski's troops fight with German and Austrian troops against Russia
- 1916 November 5
- Germany and Austria-Hungary proclaim an independent kingdom of Poland, in practice under German control
- 1917 July
- Pilsudski imprisoned at Madgeburg after supporting Polish soldiers who refused to swear brotherhood with their German and Austrian counterparts
- 1918 March 3
- Russia signs Treaty of Brest-Litovsk renouncing sovereignty over Poland. The rise of independent Second Polish Republic
- 1918 November 11
- Poland regains independence
- 1918-1919
- Uprising in Greater Poland region for liberation from German administration
- 1920 April 25-October 12
- Polish-bolshevik war. Poland avoids Soviet conquest and gains a narrow victory
- 1921 March 17
- Proclamation of the March Constitution
- 1921 March 18
- Treaty of Riga
- 1926 May 12-14
- Coup d'etat by Jozef Pilsudski. He is behind the government that rules until 1939
- 1935 May 12
- Pilsudski dies: Marshal Rydz-Smigly becomes leader of regime
- 1938 October
- Zaolzie or Cieszyn Silesia area was re-annexed by Poland from Czechoslovakia in accord with the Munich Agreement
- 1939 September 1
- Germany invades Poland - the beginning of WWII
- 1939 September 17
- Soviet troops invade and then occupy eastern Poland
- 1940-41
- Soviet Union incarcerates 1.5 million Poles in labor camps and executes thousands of prisoners of war before ceding Polish lands to Germans
- 1941-44
- All Polish territory comes under Nazi occupation, taking savage toll of Polish lives. Poland becomes main killing ground of the Holocaust. Polish resistance movements active at home and abroad
- 1943
- Discovery of Katyn Massacre causes breach between Soviet Union and Polish government-in-exile
- 1944 August 1-October 2
- The Warsaw Uprising. The resistance Polish Home Army receives no Soviet assistance and is crushed by Nazis
- 1944 July 22
- Communist-dominated Polish National Liberation Committee is formed in Lublin on land liberated by Soviet and Polish troops
- 1944 December 31
- National Liberation Committee establishes provisional government
- 1945
- Red Army liberates Polish territories and establishes communist-dominated coalition government
- 1947
- Communists consolidate political monopoly after rigged elections
- 1947-1949
- Sovietization occurs, including nationalization of industry and business, attacks on organized religion, and imprisonment of opposition leaders
- 1948-1956
- Stalinist period brings most severe communist rule; adoption of Soviet-style constitution; attempted collectivization of agriculture
- 1948 December 20
- Communist (Workers) Party merges with left wing of Socialist Party as Polish United Workers Party (PZPR)
- 1956 June 28
- Worker riots in Poznan result in numerous deaths. In defiance of Soviet Union, Władysław Gomułka chosen as Polish Communist Party leader. He announces commitment to reform and liberalization of system.
- 1956 October
- Gomułka appointed leader of United Workers Party
- 1970 December
- Protests lead to Gomułka's replacement by Edward Gierek
- 1980 August 31
- victory of Solidarity Trade Union strike led by Lech Wałęsa in Gdańsk, a 21-point agreement with the Communist government signed
- 1981 December 13
- Communist authorities led by prime minister General Wojciech Jaruzelski proclaim martial law
- 1983 July
- Lifting of the state of martial law in Poland
- 1989 June 4
- The first free postwar general elections (with some reservations) in Poland return a pro-Solidarity majority
- 1989 September 12
- The first non-communist-dominated government in Poland since the war
- 1990 December 9
- Wałęsa elected President of Poland
- 1992
- The last Soviet troops leave Poland
- 1997 April 2
- New Constitution adopted
- 1999 March 12
- Poland becomes a member of NATO
- 2004 May 1
- Poland enters the European Union