Polish playing cards () have been manufactured since the 15th century and include both French- and

German-suited cards German-suited playing cards are a very common style of traditional playing card used in many parts of Central Europe characterised by 32- or 36-card packs with the suits of Acorns (''Eichel'' or ''Kreuz''), Leaves (''Grün'', ''Blatt'', ''Lau ...

. Polish playing cards may also refer more narrowly to the Polish pattern: traditional packs of 36

German-suited German-suited playing cards are a very common style of traditional playing card used in many parts of Central Europe characterised by 32- or 36-card packs with the suit (cards), suits of Acorns (suit), Acorns (''Eichel'' or ''Kreuz''), Leaves ( ...

playing cards produced in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

to local designs.

Description

Polish pattern cards comprise the four suits of

Leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

(''Wino''), Hearts (''Czerwień''), Acorns (''Żołądź'') and Bells (''Dzwonek'') and five picture cards: the

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

or Deuce (''Tuz''), Ten (''Kralka'') or

Banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

(''Król''),

Ober Ober may refer to: * Ober (playing card), court card in the German and Swiss styles of playing cards * Ober, Indiana, an unincorporated community in Washington Township, Starke County * Oberek (also ''ober''), a lively Polish dance in triple metre ...

(''Wyżnik'') and Unter (''Niżnik'') and four pip cards: the Nine (''Dziewiątka''), Eight (''Ósemka''), Seven (''Siódemka'') and Six (''Szóstka''). Sometimes there are additional cards such as the: Five (''Piątka''), Four (''Czwórka'') and Three (''Trójka'').

History

The first cards of this type were imported from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and appeared in Polish towns and cities as early as the 15th century. Soon thereafter, domestic production began.''Polish Playing Cards''
at wopc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2023. In the 16th century, playing card manufacture had begun at

Lemberg Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, Breslau,

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

Olkusz Olkusz ( ''Elkish'') is a town in southern Poland with 36,607 inhabitants (2014). Situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Katowice Voivodeship (1975–1998), it is the capital of Olkusz County. Olkusz is known for its ...

and

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. According to

Łukasz Gołębiowski Łukasz Gołębiowski (; 1773–1849) was a Polish ethnographer, historian, translator and librarian. In 1794, he fought as a Polish army officer in the Kościuszko Uprising against Russia and participated in the Battle of Szczekociny The Ba ...

, German-suited Polish cards were used to played, among others, the games of Kupiec, Kasztelan, Wózek, Skrzetułka, Drużbart, Pamfil, Chapanka, Tryszak, Mariasz,

Piquet Piquet (; ) is an early 16th-century plain-trick card game for two players that became France's national game. David Parlett calls it a "classic game of relatively great antiquity... still one of the most skill-rewarding card games for two" but ...

(''Pikieta'') and Cwik.Gołębiowski (1831). From the 18th century,

French-suited cards French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. I ...

and French terminology began to gradually dominate, while traditional Polish cards gradually lost popularity throughout the 19th century. Currently, cards of this pattern (32-piece pack) are still used in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

for the game of Skat.

Tarot playing cards Tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play trick-taking card ...

are also produced for Polish Taroki. Notable Polish cardmakers in the late 19th and 20th centuries include Willink of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Pierswsza and Karpalit of

Lvov Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, the

Playing Card Factory and state-owned KZWP. The latter dominates the market and has recently been renamed Trefl.

Cards in fiction

Ignacy Krasicki Ignacy Błażej Franciszek Krasicki (3 February 173514 March 1801), from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia (in German, ''Ermland'') and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno (thus, Primate of Poland), was Poland's leading Polish Enlightenment, Enlightenment ...

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* Łukasz Gołębiowski, ''Gry i zabawy różnych stanów w kraju całym lub niektórych tylko prowincyach'', Warsaw 1831. *

Zygmunt Gloger Zygmunt Gloger (3November 184516August 1910) was a Polish historian, archaeologist, geographer and ethnographer, bearer of the Wilczekosy coat of arms. Gloger founded the precursor of modern and widely popular Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Socie ...

, '' Old Polish Illustrated Encyclopedia''.

External links

* {{cite web, access-date=2008-11-17, first=Sławomir, last=Cyfert, title=Krótka historia polskich kart do gry, url=http://altacarta.com/polski/research/poland-kurzeGeschichte1.html
A deck of cards from Austria - similar to the Polish one

''Polish Playing Cards''
at wopc.co.uk. Playing card decks Polish games Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Polish traditions