Decline of Poland - Polish Partitions
1655	Swedish Wars: The Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa was miraculously defended, attributed to the image of Black Madonna.
1683	Battle of Vienna: Victory of John Ill. Sobieski over Turkish Armee.
1791	Adoption of 3rd May Constitution, the first written one in Europe.
1795	The Kosciuszko uprising is followed by the 3rd partition of Poland between Prussia, Rusia and Austria. Now Poland ceases to exist. Abdication of the last Polish King Stanislaus August Poniatowski.
1815	Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo, Congress of Vienna.

	Rebirth of the Polish State - EU (Schengen)
1918	Versailles Treaty: After World War I Poland regains independence thanks to Marshal Josef Pilsudski who will defeat the Bolshevik army at Warsaw two years later (the Warsaw miracle).
1945	Potsdam Agreement: After World War II, the Polish borders change significantly moving 400 km (250 miles) to the west.
1978	Karol Wojtyla - Bishop of Cracow - becomes Pope John Paul II.
1980	Shipyard Gdansk: Strike organised by Solidarity (Solidarnosc) spreads to the whole country. Poland's Communist President General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in 1981.
1989	Round table: After negotiations the communist party allows free elections. Overwhelming victory of the non-communist Solidarity Party headed by Lech Walesa and Taduesz Mazowiecki.
1998	Poland joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
2004	Poland joins the European Union and 2007 also Schengen.