LAND

LAND
An area characterised by relative geographical homogeneity and the features of the natural environment or the history of its inhabitants and/or social, cultural and economic phenomena.

A geographical land is distinguished on the basis of its specific geographical location (e.g. Northern Arctic Circle, equatorial tropical forests), terrain (e.g. High Tatras), climatic and microclimatic factors (e.g. Suwałki Lake District as the Polish “cold pole”, Pomerania distinguished due to the presence of iodine), occurrence or non-existence of a specific flora or fauna (e.g. Błędowska Desert, Białowieża Primeval Forest as the European bison territory).

The term “historical land” is used to describe an area defined on the basis of the specific history of its inhabitants, the linguistic distinctiveness of indigenous peoples (e.g. Silesia, Kashubia), religious reasons (e.g. Włodawa Lake District with traces of Christianity, Judaism, Orthodoxy and Islam), ethnic reasons (e.g. Podlasie inhabited by Lithuanian Tatars influencing the cultural specificity of this land), economic reasons (e.g. Upper Silesia with heavy industry).

One and the same land can be classified as both geographical and historical (e.g. Żuławy Wiślane is characterised by specific history related to the Dutch and German settlers, as well as natural values resulting from its location in the area of a geographical depression; the Kłodzko Land is characterised by, for example, springs, the Śnieżnik Massif or Góry Stołowe, while culturally and historically it remains related to Bohemia). The boundaries between lands have the character of a transition zone, in which the characteristics of one land gradually disappear in favour of the neighbouring land (which distinguishes it from region whose borders are sometimes administratively established).

[M. G.]

Literature:
Kondracki, Jerzy. Geografia regionalna Polski. Warszawa: PWN, 2002.

Kondracki, Jerzy. „Regiony fizycznogeograficzne Polski”. Poznaj Świat 4 (1964).

Manczak, Iryna. „Atrakcyjność turystyczna polskich regionów na Facebooku”. Rozprawy Naukowe Akademii Wychowania Fizycznego we Wrocławiu 50 (2015): 117-128.