Blog home
Living Abroad
Living abroad tips

7 things you didn’t know about Poland

7 min read
Calculator placeholder

Send from

Enter the country or currency you want to send money from.

Popular

All countries

EUR Austria
EUR Belgium
EUR Croatia
EUR Cyprus
CZK Czech Republic
EUR Czech Republic
DKK Denmark
EUR Denmark
EUR Estonia
EUR Finland
EUR France
EUR Germany
EUR Greece
HUF Hungary
EUR Hungary
ISK Iceland
EUR Iceland
EUR Ireland
EUR Italy
EUR Latvia
EUR Liechtenstein
EUR Lithuania
EUR Luxembourg
EUR Malta
EUR Monaco
EUR Netherlands
NOK Norway
EUR Norway
PLN Poland
EUR Poland
EUR Portugal
RON Romania
EUR Romania
EUR San Marino
EUR Slovakia
EUR Slovenia
EUR Spain
SEK Sweden
EUR Sweden
GBP United Kingdom
EUR United Kingdom
TRY Turkey

Exchange Rate

– – –

GBP 1 = NGN 2030.28232

Transfer Fee

Free – – – 0.99 0.99 USD

Receiver gets

Enter the country or currency you want to receive money in.

Popular

All countries

EUR Andorra
AED United Arab Emirates
XCD Anguilla
ALL Albania
AMD Armenia
EUR Armenia
USD Armenia
AOA Angola
EUR Austria
AUD Australia
AWG Aruba
AZN Azerbaijan
EUR Azerbaijan
USD Azerbaijan
BBD Barbados
BDT Bangladesh
EUR Belgium
XOF Burkina Faso
BGN Bulgaria
EUR Bulgaria
BHD Bahrain
USD Bahrain
BMD Bermuda
BND Brunei Darussalam
BOB Bolivia
BSD Bahamas
BTN Bhutan
BWP Botswana
BZD Belize
CAD Canada
CHF Switzerland
EUR Switzerland
NZD Cook Islands
CLP Chile
XAF Cameroon
USD China
COP Colombia
CRC Costa Rica
ANG Curaçao
EUR Cyprus
CZK Czech Republic
EUR Czech Republic
EUR Germany
DJF Djibouti
DKK Denmark
EUR Denmark
XCD Dominica
DOP Dominican Republic
DZD Algeria
USD Ecuador
EUR Estonia
EGP Egypt
EUR Spain
ETB Ethiopia
EUR Finland
FJD Fiji
USD Micronesia
EUR France
XAF Gabon
EUR United Kingdom
GBP United Kingdom
XCD Grenada
GEL Georgia
EUR Georgia
USD Georgia
GHS Ghana
GIP Gibraltar
GMD Gambia
XAF Equatorial Guinea
EUR Greece
USD Guam
GYD Guyana
HKD Hong Kong
USD Hong Kong
HNL Honduras
EUR Croatia
EUR Hungary
HUF Hungary
IDR Indonesia
EUR Ireland
ILS Israel
INR India
USD India
EUR Iceland
EUR Italy
JMD Jamaica
JPY Japan
USD Japan
KES Kenya
USD Kenya
KGS Kyrgyzstan
EUR Kyrgyzstan
USD Kyrgyzstan
KHR Cambodia
AUD Kiribati
KMF Comoros
XCD Saint Kitts and Nevis
KWD Kuwait
USD Kuwait
KYD Cayman Islands
KZT Kazakhstan
EUR Kazakhstan
USD Kazakhstan
XCD Saint Lucia
EUR Liechtenstein
LKR Sri Lanka
LSL Lesotho
EUR Lithuania
EUR Luxembourg
EUR Latvia
MAD Morocco
EUR Monaco
EUR Moldova
MDL Moldova
USD Moldova
MGA Madagascar
MKD Macedonia
MNT Mongolia
EUR Martinique
MRU Mauritania
EUR Malta
MUR Mauritius
MVR Maldives
MWK Malawi
MXN Mexico
MYR Malaysia
MZN Mozambique
NAD Namibia
XOF Niger
NGN Nigeria
EUR Netherlands
EUR Norway
NOK Norway
NPR Nepal
NZD New Zealand
USD New Zealand
OMR Oman
USD Oman
USD Panama
PEN Peru
PGK Papua New Guinea
PHP Philippines
PKR Pakistan
PLN Poland
EUR Poland
USD Puerto Rico
EUR Portugal
PYG Paraguay
QAR Qatar
USD Qatar
EUR Reunion
EUR Romania
RON Romania
RWF Rwanda
SAR Saudi Arabia
USD Saudi Arabia
SBD Solomon Islands
SCR Seychelles
EUR Sweden
SEK Sweden
SGD Singapore
USD Singapore
EUR Slovenia
EUR Slovakia
EUR San Marino
XOF Senegal
SRD Suriname
USD El Salvador
SZL Eswatini
XAF Chad
XOF Togo
THB Thailand
USD Thailand
TJS Tajikistan
EUR Tajikistan
USD Tajikistan
USD Timor-Leste
TMT Turkmenistan
TOP Tonga
TRY Turkey
USD Turkey
TTD Trinidad and Tobago
TZS Tanzania
EUR Ukraine
UAH Ukraine
USD Ukraine
UGX Uganda
USD United States of America
UYU Uruguay
UZS Uzbekistan
EUR Uzbekistan
USD Uzbekistan
EUR Vatican City
XCD Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
USD Virgin Islands, British
VND Vietnam
VUV Vanuatu
WST Samoa
EUR Kosovo
ZAR South Africa
ZMW Zambia
This amount placeholder is shown due to an error in the calculator.
Sign up
Sign up to create an account and proceed in a new tab.

Powered by Moka United

Delivered in minutes

Steeped in history, Poland is one of our key markets here at TransferGo. In fact, back in February, it accounted for over a quarter of our transfers in terms of money flow. That’s kind of a big deal.

To celebrate Europe’s ninth largest country, we thought it was high time to shine a light on some fun facts about the place. Here are 7 things you didn’t know about Poland.

It’s home to Europe’s second-oldest university

With a history dating back to prehistoric times, it comes as no surprise that Poland is home to remarkably old sites and buildings. In fact, it boasts the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Central Europe. These include the medieval town of Toruń, the Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork and of course, Auschwitz-Birkenau. 

Remarkably, it’s also home to the second-oldest university in Central Europe. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III, the Jagiellonian University still teaches today with almost 45,000 students enrolled. Famous alumni include Nicolaus Copernicus, Bronislaw Malinowski and John Paul II. And if you’re wondering who holds the top spot for Central Europe’s oldest university, it’s… Prague. Only by 16 years though.

The Poles love their vodka

Vodka consumption in Poland may be on the wane, but it’s still a huge part of their international trade and drinking culture. Back in the Middle Ages, both peasants and noblemen would produce their own. And today, a whopping 260 million litres of vodka are produced in Poland each year.

If you’d like to imitate the locals next time you visit, don’t expect a vodka cocktail or ask for a mixer. That’s kind of sacrilegious. Instead, gather your friends to share a bottle and drink it neat, chilled and in measurements of 50ml. Brace yourself as things could quickly get messy. In Poland, vodka is always drunk in one gulp or ‘do dna’ (‘to the bottom’). And if you’re visiting somebody’s house, they’ll expect the bottle to be empty before you leave. 

Some Polish men like to kiss women on the hands

One of the most traditional greetings in Poland is to kiss a woman on her hand. The practice goes a little like this. The man takes off his hat. He bends to the outstretched hand (but doesn’t pull) and kisses it ever so lightly. Of course, the woman has the choice to politely decline this offer by withdrawing her hand. And if that happens, the man should stop respectfully. 

It might not be surprising to learn that this tradition has declined in popularity over the last 100 years. But some women still see it as a huge compliment and consider it the ultimate sign of respect. 

Polish is one of the most difficult languages to learn in the world

If you’re trying your hand at learning Polish, you might encounter some difficulties. For English speakers, it’s considered the third most difficult language to learn after Mandarin Chinese and Arabic. With many consonants to a word and seven cases of grammar, many find it difficult to spell and pronounce. 

Plus, one word in English can often have 5+ Polish translations making things rather confusing. Don’t despair though. With Polish using a Latin alphabet, most of the letters will still be somewhat familiar to English speakers. Połamania! (‘Good luck!’)

It’s one of the most religious countries in Europe

When asked whether they feel religious in recent surveys, 86% of Poles said yes. This is reasonably high when you consider the fact that only 30% of Brits do. And even more so when you look at the least religious country in Europe, the Czech Republic. In Czechia, 91% of 16 to 29-year-olds say they have no religion at all. 

But let’s get back to Poland. The largest religion there is Christianity, with almost 73% aligned with the faith. And of the entire population, 55% consider themselves to be highly religious, with half attending religious services at least once a month.

Polish people marry young

On average, they’re between 25 and 27 years old in fact. This makes Polish people the youngest in any EU country to get married. This is likely due to the country’s conservative approach towards couples living together before they’re wed—in fact, it’s generally discouraged.

And the weddings themselves are traditionally huge affairs. The custom of ‘poprawiny’ (to throw a second party after the first) is hugely popular—Cheers (or Na Zdrowie!’) to that! And if you manage to sustain a marriage in the long term, the government will even reward you. Couples who’ve been married for 50 years receive medals and congratulations from the city clerks.

Many life-changing inventions were discovered by Poles

From the first mini computer to walkie talkies, many technological advancements are due to the work of Polish people. Even the invention of the simple but brilliant paperclip was made by a Polish composer. His name was Józef Hofmann and he designed the shape after being inspired by a treble clef. Who’d have thought it?

In 1897, two Polish inventors went to work on experimenting with anti-bullet chest armour. And what did they come up with? The first commercial bulletproof vest. Just over 25 years later, Leo Gerstenzang, a Pole from Warsaw came up with the cotton swab (or Q tip) after watching his wife use toothpicks and cotton wads to reach hard-to-clean areas.

Other Polish inventions include the Kerosene lamp, windscreen wipers, rubber condom, vitamins and radiation that helps to cure cancer. The Poles are some clever people!

______________

And if you want to make a smart move, send money with TransferGo. Sign up now to send money at high speeds and low fees. 

About the author

jennifertate

Jennifer Tate

Jennifer Tate is a freelance copywriter and content manager based in Newcastle upon Tyne with over 15 years of experience in creating SEO copy and content for both leading brands and independent start-ups. Working across a variety of sectors from fintech to fashion and healthcare to homeware, Jennifer specialises in content creation, content management and social media strategies and has worked with TransferGo since 2017. As well as TransferGo, Jennifer has also recently created copy and content for Charlotte Tilbury, carecircle, Tommee Tippee and Robinson Pelham.

Invite friends to TransferGo, earn £20