The Republic of Zakopane or Commonwealth of Zakopane (Polish

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

: Rzeczpospolita Zakopiańska) refers to the area of the city of Zakopane

Zakopane

Zakopane , is a town in southern Poland. It lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998 it was in of Nowy Sącz Province, but since 1999 it has been in Lesser Poland Province. It had a population of about 28,000 as of 2004. Zakopane is a...

 and a few nearby villages that created its own "parliament" (National Organisation) on October 13, 1918, whose main goal was to join the forming independent state of Poland

Second Polish Republic

The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...

. On October 30 the Organisation officially declared its independence from Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

, two days later it transformed into the National Council which was eventually disestablished on November 16 because the Polish Liquidation Committee

Polish Liquidation Committee

The Polish Liquidation Committee was a temporary Polish government body in Galicia formed towards the end of World War I. Created on October 28, 1918, with its seat in Kraków, the Committee was headed by Wincenty Witos and Ignacy Daszyński...

 took power over the Galicia region.

The Republic's only president was a famous Polish writer Stefan Żeromski

Stefan Zeromski

Stefan Żeromski was a Polish novelist and dramatist. He was called the "conscience of Polish literature". He also wrote under the pen names: Maurycy Zych, Józef Katerla and Stefan Iksmoreż.- Life :...

.