EN
The article offers a short description of the contents of the Atlas and methods used to elaborate it. As an example, four maps are also presented and briefly interpreted. The Atlas contains 150 monothematic and 14 typological colour, computer made maps of rural areas in subdivision by gminas (communes). Most of the maps refer to the situation at the end of 1980s, that is to the time Poland was on the threshold of transition from centrally planned to market economy. The maps are grouped in the following thematic blocks: (1) selected characteristics of rural settlement network, infrastructure, housing conditions and agrarian structure; (2) size and natural and migratory movement of population; (3) structure of population by socio-demographic characteristics; (4) socio-demographic characteristics of peasant and non-peasant population; (5) specific characteristics of peasant farms and households; (6) typological characteristic of rural areas. The titles of maps presented in the article are as follows: map 1 - Proportion of people with post-primary education; map 2 - Proportion of people with less than primary education; map 3 - Proportion of farm operators with post-primary education (all maps refer to population 15 years old and over); map 4 - Type of gminas according to employment structure by industry and ownership sector.