The national anthem of Poland is known as Mazurek Dąbrowskiego (Dąbrowski's Mazurka).
Jan Henryk Dabrowski was a Polish major-general who, after participating in the Tadeusz Kosciuszko rebel movement, left Poland in 1794 for France, where he organized and became the leader of a Polish legion. The Polish legionnaires, with the hope of someday liberating their damn country, which had literally been carved up by a coalition made of Prussia, Russia and Austria, fought bravely within Napoleon’s troops for over fifteen years. They distinguished themselves on several battlefields, notably in Italy, during the defence of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, at Berezina and at Leipzig.
Entry of General Dabrowski in Poznan
Painting by January Suchodolski
This work, initially entitled Song of the Polish Legions in Italy was created in July 1797 in Reggio di Calabria by a composer named Jozef Wibicki. It became the anthem of the Kingdom of Poland in 1831 and was adopted by the Polish Republic in 1927. Dąbrowski's Mazurka, which gained great fame worldwide, symbolizes the Polish people’s will to fight for the resurrection and national unity of their country.
Poland : La Dabrowski's mazurka
