Poland has not been one of Europe’s luckiest countries.

It’s gone from being the largest country in Europe to being wiped off the map, not once but several times.

The map below traces the history of Poland’s borders from 1635 right through to the present day.

Watch as the borders shrink from their peak during the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to the partitions of Poland at the end of the 18th century to the massive shift west during the 20th.

Map created by Esemono via Wikimedia

Here’s a bit more background about some of the key years listed in the map above:

If you’d like to learn more about the history of Poland have a look at the following books:

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