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Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by some, simply as the Continent. When Eurasia is regarded as a single continent, Europe is treated both as a continent and subcontinent.

Usage

The continental territory of the historical Carolingian Empire was one of the many old cultural concepts used for mainland Europe. This was consciously invoked in the 1950s as one of the basis for the prospective European integration (see also multi-speed Europe)

The most common definition of mainland Europe excludes these continental islands: the Greek islands, Cyprus, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, the Balearic Islands, Great Britain and Ireland and surrounding islands, Novaya Zemlya and the Nordic archipelago, as well as nearby oceanic islands, including the Canary Islands, Madeira, the Azores, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Svalbard.

The Scandinavian Peninsula is sometimes also excluded even though it is a part of "mainland Europe", as the de facto connections to the rest of the continent were historically across the Baltic Sea or North Sea (rather than via the lengthy land route that involves travelling to the north of the peninsula where it meets Finland, and then south through northeast Europe). The Øresund Bridge now links the Scandinavian road and rail networks to those of Western Europe.

Great Britain and Ireland

In both Great Britain and Ireland, the Continent is widely and generally used to refer to the mainland of Europe. An amusing British newspaper headline supposedly once read, "Fog in Channel; Continent Cut Off". It has also been claimed that this was a regular weather forecast in Britain in the 1930s. In addition, the word Europe itself is also regularly used to mean Europe excluding the islands of Great Britain, Iceland, and Ireland (although the term is often used to refer to the European Union). The term mainland Europe is also sometimes used. Usage of these terms may reflect political or cultural allegiances, for example it has been observed that there is a correlation between whether a British citizen considers themselves "British" or "European" and whether they live in an area which primarily supported Brexit.

Derivatively, the adjective continental refers to the social practices or fashion of continental Europe. Examples include breakfast, topless sunbathing and, historically, long-range driving (before Britain had motorways) often known as Grand Touring. Differences include electrical plugs, time zones for the most part, the use of left-hand traffic, and for the United Kingdom, currency and the continued use of certain imperial units alongside the metric units which have long since displaced customary units in continental Europe.

Britain is physically connected to continental Europe through the undersea Channel Tunnel (the longest undersea tunnel in the world), which accommodates both the Eurotunnel Shuttle (passenger and vehicle use – vehicle required) and Eurostar (passenger use only) services. These services were established to transport passengers and vehicles through the tunnel on a 24/7 basis between England and continental Europe, while still maintaining passport and immigration control measures on both sides of the tunnel. This route is popular with refugees and migrants seeking to enter the UK.

Scandinavia

Especially in Germanic studies, continental refers to the European continent excluding the Scandinavian Peninsula, Britain, Ireland, and Iceland. The reason for this is that although the Scandinavian peninsula is attached to continental Europe, and accessible via a land route along the 66th parallel north, it is usually reached by sea.

Kontinenten ("the Continent") is a vernacular Swedish expression that refers to an area excluding Sweden, Norway, and Finland but including Denmark (even the Danish Archipelago which is technically not a part of continental Europe) and the rest of continental Europe. In Norway, similarly, one speaks about Kontinentet as a separate entity. In Denmark, Jutland is referred to as the mainland and thereby a part of continental Europe.

The Scandinavian Peninsula is now connected to the Danish mainland (the Jutland Peninsula) by several bridges and tunnels.

Mediterranean and Atlantic islands

The Continent may sometimes refer to the continental part of France (excluding Corsica and overseas France), the continental part of Greece (excluding the Aegean Islands, Crete, and the Ionian Islands), the continental part of Italy (excluding Sardinia, Sicily, etc.), the continental part of Portugal (excluding the Azores and Madeira), and the continental part of Spain (excluding the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, the plazas de soberanía, etc.). The term is used from the perspective of the island residents of each country to describe the continental portion of their country or the continent (or mainland) as a whole.

Metropolitan France is also known as l'Hexagone, "the Hexagon", referring to its approximate shape on a map. Continental Italy is also known as lo Stivale, "the Boot", referring to its approximate shape on a map. Continental Spain is referred to as peninsular Spain.

See also

• Contiguous United States
• Continental philosophy
• Geographical midpoint of Europe
• Hajnal line
• Mainland
  • Mainland Australia
  • Mainland China
  • Mainland Finland
  • Mainland Tanzania
• Regions of Europe

References

1. "Europe". Merriam Webster Dictionary. Archived from the original on 22 April 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
2. Rosensteil, Francis (2001). Annuaire Europeen 2000 / European Yearbook 2000. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 69. ISBN 9041118446.
3. Robert, Jacques (2014). The European Territory: From Historical Roots to Global Challenges. Routledge. p. 183. ISBN 9781317695059.
4. "the Continent". Cambridge Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
5. Baldwin, James A. (2014), "Continents", in R.W. McColl (ed.), Encyclopedia of World Geography, Infobase Publishing, pp. 214–216, ISBN 978-0-8160-7229-3
6. Heacock, Roger (13 December 2013). "Europe and Jerusalem:From Unholy Cacophony to Holy Alliance" (PDF). Institute for Palestine Studies. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
7. Kaiser, Wolfram (2003). "Trigger-happy Protestant Materialists? The European Christian Democrats and the United States". In Trachtenberg, Marc (ed.). Between empire and alliance : America and Europe during the Cold War. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 67–69. ISBN 978-0-585-45510-5. OCLC 52451911.
8. Hyde-Price, Adrian G. V. (2000). ""Epochenwend:" unification and German grand strategy". Germany and European order : enlarging NATO and the EU. Manchester, UK, New York: Manchester University Press : Distributed exclusively in the USA by St. Martin's Press. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-7190-5427-3. OCLC 44851822 – via Internet Archive.
9. ^ Misachi, John (7 May 2019). "What Is Continental Europe?". WorldAtlas. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
10. Oakley, Robin (19 April 2005). "Europe no star as election issue". CNN. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
11. Sykes, Tom; Sykes, Simon, eds. (2 September 2009). Fog in Channel?: Exploring Britain's Relationship with Europe. Shoehorn Publishing. ASIN 1907149066.
12. "What is Europe?". Open Learning. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
13. Fraser, Douglas (15 August 2011). "Britain pushes hard choices for Europe's hard core". BBC News.
14. O'Carroll, Lisa; Barr, Caelainn (11 April 2017). "Half of young adults in the UK do not feel European, poll reveals | Society | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
15. "EU gives up on 'metric Britain'". BBC News. 11 September 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
16. Kelly, Jon (21 December 2011). "Will British people ever think in metric?". BBC. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
17. "France boosts Calais tunnel security". BBC News. 29 July 2015.

• Regions of Europe
• Political geography