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Poland's first cultural crop was tended by Sigismund I the Old (1506-48). Through his cultivation, Latin was gradually supplanted by Polish, a national literature was born and architectural expertise blossomed. Scientific endeavour was also a feature of this period. In 1543, the patently bonkers Nicolaus Copernicus published On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, proposing (poor chappie) that the earth moves around the sun. Poland's next king, Sigismund II Augustus (1548-72) continued his father's patronage of arts and culture, and the two reigns came to be referred to as Poland's golden age.

Sculpture and painting in Poland is typically religious, with Gothic and Renaissance representations of the Madonna and Christ evident in most churches. Ornate tomb decoration was a particular specialty of Polish stone-workers, their anonymous artistry also evident in the bas-relief facades of many Renaissance houses. Secular work has been largely documentary, even until well into this century. Zdzislaw Beksinski is an exception. Born in 1929, he is a creator of a striking and mysterious world of dreams and is thought by many to be the best artist Poland has produced.

Artists in Poland today are still shaking off the hideous legacy of Communism under Stalin. During this period, Socialist Realism became the dominant style, bequeathing an abominable body of visual arts, architecture, literature and music. Poland has spawned fine fiction writers, many of them emigrants like Isaac Bashevis Singer, whose work recreates in Yiddish the vanished milieu of Jewish Poland. Among the current prominent exponents of Polish culture are writers such as Ryszard Kapuscinski, and the composer Henryk Gorecki, whose third symphony achieved world-wide success a couple of years ago.

Polish food is hearty and filling, with thick soups and sauces, abundant in potatoes and dumplings, rich in meat but not in vegetables. Characteristic ingredients are dill, marjoram, caraway seeds and wild mushrooms; favourite dishes include bigos (sauerkraut and meat) and barszcz (beetroot soup). There are four daily meals in Poland: an early breakfast, a light snack for second breakfast, a substantial lunch taken after work, and a small supper before bed. Tea and vodka are the favoured Polish beverages, both consumed with fervour, but to somewhat differing effect.