Lublin is a city in eastern Poland and is the provincial capital of Lublin Voivodeship. With a population of 343,000, Lublin is the largest city in Poland east of Warsaw and the Vistula River. In the Middle Ages and early modern era, Lublin played an important role as an administrative, trade, and military center for the Polish kingdom and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In recent years, Lublin has emerged as a tourist destination due in part to its significant old town and as a gateway to the eastern half of the republic.