Poland

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland, set on the Vistula River. It houses the president, parliament, and ministries, and became the capital in 1596 when King Sigismund III moved the royal court from Kraków. Despite near-total destruction in World War II, Warsaw was painstakingly rebuilt and today is Poland’s political, cultural, and economic hub. To remember it: “War-saw saw wars”—a nod to its wartime history and resilience as the capital. The other options are major Polish cities but not the capital: Kraków, the former royal seat; Gdańsk, a Baltic port and birthplace of the Solidarity movement; and Wrocław, a Silesian city on the Oder.