Misplaced Pages

Central Europe: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 15:24, 28 September 2018 editSkyhighway (talk | contribs)388 edits →Current views← Previous edit Revision as of 15:32, 28 September 2018 edit undoFakirbakir (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users12,899 edits Reverted to revision 861591078 by GreenC bot (talk): Romanian belongs to the Balkan. (TW)Tag: UndoNext edit →
Line 82: Line 82:
* A concept underlining the links connecting ] and ] with ] and treating the ] together with the whole ] ] population as one entity – this position is taken by the ]n historiography. * A concept underlining the links connecting ] and ] with ] and treating the ] together with the whole ] ] population as one entity – this position is taken by the ]n historiography.
* A concept putting an accent on the links with the West, especially from the 19th century and the grand period of liberation and formation of Nation-states – this idea is represented by in the ] states, which prefer the enlarged concept of the "East Centre" expressing their links with the ]. * A concept putting an accent on the links with the West, especially from the 19th century and the grand period of liberation and formation of Nation-states – this idea is represented by in the ] states, which prefer the enlarged concept of the "East Centre" expressing their links with the ].
*Romania is currently also viewed as Central European country.


According to ], the 1991 summit held in ], ] and attended by the ], ] and ] presidents was hailed at the time as a major breakthrough in Central European cooperation, but the ] became a vehicle for coordinating Central Europe's road to the European Union, while development of closer ties within the region languished.<ref name="Tiersky, p. 472">], p. 472</ref> According to ], the 1991 summit held in ], ] and attended by the ], ] and ] presidents was hailed at the time as a major breakthrough in Central European cooperation, but the ] became a vehicle for coordinating Central Europe's road to the European Union, while development of closer ties within the region languished.<ref name="Tiersky, p. 472">], p. 472</ref>

Revision as of 15:32, 28 September 2018

Central Europe according to The World Factbook (2009), Encyclopædia Britannica, and Brockhaus Enzyklopädie (1998)Central Europe according to P. Jones (Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography). Many Central European countries and regions were part of the German and Austro-Hungarian empires and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and thus share common cultural and historical connections.

Central Europe is the region comprising the central part of Europe. It is said to occupy continuous territory that are otherwise conventionally Eastern Europe and Western Europe. The concept of Central Europe is based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. Central Europe is going through a phase of "strategic awakening", with initiatives such as the CEI, Centrope and the Visegrád Four. While the region's economy shows high disparities with regard to income, all Central European countries are listed by the Human Development Index as very highly developed.

Historical perspective

Middle Ages and early modern era

Elements of unity for Western and Central Europe were Roman Catholicism and Latin. However Eastern Europe, which remained Eastern Orthodox Christian, was the area of Graeco-Byzantine cultural influence; after the schism (1054), Eastern Europe developed cultural unity and resistance to the Western world (Catholic and Protestant) within the framework of Church Slavonic language and the Cyrillic alphabet.

According to Hungarian historian Jenő Szűcs, foundations of Central European history at the first millennium were in close connection with Western European development. He explained that between the 11th and 15th centuries not only Christianization and its cultural consequences were implemented, but well-defined social features emerged in Central Europe based on Western characteristics. The keyword of Western social development after millennium was the spread of liberties and autonomies in Western Europe. These phenomena appeared in the middle of the 13th century in Central European countries. There were self-governments of towns, counties and parliaments.

In 1335, under the rule of the King Charles I of Hungary, the castle of Visegrád, the seat of the Hungarian monarchs was the scene of the royal summit of the Kings of Poland, Bohemia and Hungary. They agreed to cooperate closely in the field of politics and commerce, inspiring their late successors to launch a successful Central European initiative.

In the Middle Ages, countries in Central Europe adopted Magdeburg rights.

Before World War I

A view of Central Europe dating from the time before the First World War (1902):   Central European countries and regions: Germany and Austria-Hungary (without Bosnia & Herzegovina and Dalmatia)  Regions located at the transition between Central Europe and Southeastern/Eastern Europe: Romania

Before 1870, the industrialization that had developed in Western and Central Europe and the United States did not extend in any significant way to the rest of the world. Even in Eastern Europe, industrialization lagged far behind. Russia, for example, remained largely rural and agricultural, and its autocratic rulers kept the peasants in serfdom. The concept of Central Europe was already known at the beginning of the 19th century, but its real life began in the 20th century and immediately became an object of intensive interest. However, the very first concept mixed science, politics and economy – it was strictly connected with intensively growing German economy and its aspirations to dominate a part of European continent called Mitteleuropa. The German term denoting Central Europe was so fashionable that other languages started referring to it when indicating territories from Rhine to Vistula, or even Dnieper, and from the Baltic Sea to the Balkans. An example of that-time vision of Central Europe may be seen in J. Partsch's book of 1903.

On 21 January 1904, Mitteleuropäischer Wirtschaftsverein (Central European Economic Association) was established in Berlin with economic integration of Germany and Austria–Hungary (with eventual extension to Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands) as its main aim. Another time, the term Central Europe became connected to the German plans of political, economic and cultural domination. The "bible" of the concept was Friedrich Naumann's book Mitteleuropa in which he called for an economic federation to be established after the war. Naumann's idea was that the federation would have at its centre Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire but would also include all European nations outside the Anglo-French alliance, on one side, and Russia, on the other. The concept failed after the German defeat in World War I and the dissolution of Austria–Hungary. The revival of the idea may be observed during the Hitler era.

Interwar period

Interwar Central Europe according to Emmanuel de Martonne (1927)CE countries, Sourcebook of Central European Avant-Gardes 1910–1930 (L.A. County Museum of Art)

According to Emmanuel de Martonne, in 1927 the Central European countries included: Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Switzerland. The author use both Human and Physical Geographical features to define Central Europe.

The interwar period (1918–1939) brought new geopolitical system and economic and political problems, and the concept of Central Europe took a different character. The centre of interest was moved to its eastern part – the countries that have (re)appeared on the map of Europe: Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland. Central Europe ceased to be the area of German aspiration to lead or dominate and became a territory of various integration movements aiming at resolving political, economic and national problems of "new" states, being a way to face German and Soviet pressures. However, the conflict of interests was too big and neither Little Entente nor Intermarium (Międzymorze) ideas succeeded.

The interwar period brought new elements to the concept of Central Europe. Before World War I, it embraced mainly German states (Germany, Austria), non-German territories being an area of intended German penetration and domination – German leadership position was to be the natural result of economic dominance. After the war, the Eastern part of Central Europe was placed at the centre of the concept. At that time the scientists took an interest in the idea: the International Historical Congress in Brussels in 1923 was committed to Central Europe, and the 1933 Congress continued the discussions.

Hungarian scholar Magda Adam wrote in her study Versailles System and Central Europe (2006): "Today we know that the bane of Central Europe was the Little Entente, military alliance of Czechoslovakia, Romania and Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), created in 1921 not for Central Europe's cooperation nor to fight German expansion, but in a wrong perceived notion that a completely powerless Hungary must be kept down".

The avant-garde movements of Central Europe were an essential part of modernism's evolution, reaching its peak throughout the continent during the 1920s. The Sourcebook of Central European avantgards (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) contains primary documents of the avant-gardes in Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, and Poland from 1910 to 1930. The manifestos and magazines of Western European radical art circles are well known to Western scholars and are being taught at primary universities of their kind in the western world.

Mitteleuropa

The Mitteleuropa: AT, HR, CZ, DE, HU, PL, SK, SI, EE/LV/LT, large parts of RO, RS, minor parts of FR, IT, RU, UA

The German term Mitteleuropa (or alternatively its literal translation into English, Middle Europe) is an ambiguous German concept. It is sometimes used in English to refer to an area somewhat larger than most conceptions of 'Central Europe'; it refers to territories under Germanic cultural hegemony until World War I (encompassing Austria–Hungary and Germany in their pre-war formations but usually excluding the Baltic countries north of East Prussia). According to Fritz Fischer Mitteleuropa was a scheme in the era of the Reich of 1871–1918 by which the old imperial elites had allegedly sought to build a system of German economic, military and political domination from the northern seas to the Near East and from the Low Countries through the steppes of Russia to the Caucasus. Later on, professor Fritz Epstein argued the threat of a Slavic "Drang nach Westen" (Western expansion) had been a major factor in the emergence of a Mitteleuropa ideology before the Reich of 1871 ever came into being.

In Germany the connotation was also sometimes linked to the pre-war German provinces east of the Oder-Neisse line which were lost as the result of World War II, annexed by People's Republic of Poland and the Soviet Union, and ethnically cleansed of Germans by communist authorities and forces (see expulsion of Germans after World War II) due to Yalta Conference and Potsdam Conference decisions. In this view Bohemia and Moravia, with its dual Western Slavic and Germanic heritage, combined with the historical element of the "Sudetenland", is a core region illustrating the problems and features of the entire Central European region.

The term "Mitteleuropa" conjures up negative historical associations among some elderly people, although the Germans have not played an exclusively negative role in the region. Most Central European Jews embraced the enlightened German humanistic culture of the 19th century. German-speaking Jews from turn of the 20th century Vienna, Budapest and Prague became representatives of what many consider to be Central European culture at its best, though the Nazi version of "Mitteleuropa" destroyed this kind of culture instead. However, the term "Mitteleuropa" is now widely used again in German education and media without negative meaning, especially since the end of communism. In fact, many people from the new states of Germany do not identify themselves as being part of Western Europe and therefore prefer the term "Mitteleuropa".

Central Europe behind the Iron Curtain

  Politically independent CE states during Cold War: Finland, Austria, Yugoslavia

Following World War II, large parts of Europe that were culturally and historically Western became part of the Eastern bloc. Czech author Milan Kundera (emigrant to France) thus wrote in 1984 about the "Tragedy of Central Europe" in the New York Review of Books. Consequently, the English term Central Europe was increasingly applied only to the westernmost former Warsaw Pact countries (East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary) to specify them as communist states that were culturally tied to Western Europe. This usage continued after the end of the Warsaw Pact when these countries started to undergo transition.

The post-World War II period brought blocking of the research on Central Europe in the Eastern Bloc countries, as its every result proved the dissimilarity of Central Europe, which was inconsistent with the Stalinist doctrine. On the other hand, the topic became popular in Western Europe and the United States, much of the research being carried out by immigrants from Central Europe. At the end of the communism, publicists and historians in Central Europe, especially anti-communist opposition, came back to their research.

According to Karl A. Sinnhuber (Central Europe: Mitteleuropa: Europe Centrale: An Analysis of a Geographical Term) most Central European states were unable to preserve their political independence and became Soviet Satellite Europe. Besides Austria, only the marginal Central European states of Finland and Yugoslavia preserved their political sovereignty to a certain degree, being left out of any military alliances in Europe.

According to Meyers Enzyklopädisches Lexikon, Central Europe is a part of Europe composed of Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Switzerland, and northern marginal regions of Italy and Yugoslavia (northern states – Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia), as well as northeastern France.

Current views

Geopolitical Challenges - Panel on the Future of Europe

Rather than a physical entity, Central Europe is a concept of shared history which contrasts with that of the surrounding regions. The issue of how to name and define the Central European region is subject to debates. Very often, the definition depends on the nationality and historical perspective of its author.

Main propositions, gathered by Jerzy Kłoczowski, include:

Habsburg-ruled lands
  • A concept underlining the links connecting Belarus and Ukraine with Russia and treating the Russian Empire together with the whole Slavic Orthodox population as one entity – this position is taken by the Russian historiography.
  • A concept putting an accent on the links with the West, especially from the 19th century and the grand period of liberation and formation of Nation-states – this idea is represented by in the South-Eastern states, which prefer the enlarged concept of the "East Centre" expressing their links with the Western culture.

According to Ronald Tiersky, the 1991 summit held in Visegrád, Hungary and attended by the Polish, Hungarian and Czechoslovak presidents was hailed at the time as a major breakthrough in Central European cooperation, but the Visegrád Group became a vehicle for coordinating Central Europe's road to the European Union, while development of closer ties within the region languished.

Peter J. Katzenstein described Central Europe as a way station in a Europeanization process that marks the transformation process of the Visegrád Group countries in different, though comparable ways. According to him, in Germany's contemporary public discourse "Central European identity" refers to the civilizational divide between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. He says there's no precise, uncontestable way to decide whether the Baltic states, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, and Bulgaria are parts of Central Europe or not.

Lonnie R. Johnson points out criteria to distinguish Central Europe from Western, Eastern and Southeast Europe:

  • One criterion for defining Central Europe is the frontiers of medieval empires and kingdoms that largely correspond to the religious frontiers between the Roman Catholic West and the Orthodox East. The pagans of Central Europe were converted to Roman Catholicism while in Southeastern and Eastern Europe they were brought into the fold of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
  • Multinational empires were a characteristic of Central Europe. Hungary and Poland, small and medium-size states today, were empires during their early histories. The historical Kingdom of Hungary was until 1918 three times larger than Hungary is today, while Poland was the largest state in Europe in the 16th century. Both these kingdoms housed a wide variety of different peoples.

He also thinks that Central Europe is a dynamic historical concept, not a static spatial one. For example, Lithuania, a fair share of Belarus and western Ukraine are in Eastern Europe today, but 240 years ago they were in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Johnson's study on Central Europe received acclaim and positive reviews in the scientific community. However, according to Romanian researcher Maria Bucur this very ambitious project suffers from the weaknesses imposed by its scope (almost 1600 years of history).

The Columbia Encyclopedia defines Central Europe as: Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. The World Factbook uses a similar definition and adds also Slovenia. Encarta Encyclopedia and Encyclopædia Britannica do not clearly define the region, but Encarta places the same countries into Central Europe in its individual articles on countries, adding Slovenia in "south central Europe".

The German Encyclopaedia Meyers Grosses Taschenlexikon (Meyers Big Pocket Encyclopedia), 1999, defines Central Europe as the central part of Europe with no precise borders to the East and West. The term is mostly used to denominate the territory between the Schelde to Vistula and from the Danube to the Moravian Gate. Usually the countries considered to be Central European are Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland; in the broader sense Romania too, occasionally also Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

The European floristic regionsThe Pannonian Plain, between the Alps (west), the Carpathians (north and east), and the Sava/Danube (south)Carpathian countries (north-west to south-east): CZ, AT, PL, SK, HU, UA, RO, RS

States

The comprehension of the concept of Central Europe is an ongoing source of controversy, though the Visegrád Group constituents are almost always included as de facto C.E. countries. Although views on which countries belong to Central Europe are vastly varied, according to many sources (see section Current views on Central Europe) the region includes the states listed in the sections below.

Depending on context, Central European countries are sometimes grouped as Eastern or Western European countries, collectively or individually but some place them in Eastern Europe instead: for instance Austria can be referred to as Central European, as well as Eastern European or Western European.

Other countries and regions

Some sources also add neighbouring countries for historical reasons (the former Austro-Hungarian and German Empires, and modern Baltic states), or based on geographical and/or cultural reasons:

The Baltic states, geographically in Northern Europe, have been considered part of Central Europe in the German tradition of the term, Mitteleuropa. Benelux countries are generally considered a part of Western Europe, rather than Central Europe. Nevertheless, they are occasionally mentioned in the Central European context due to cultural, historical and linguistic ties.

The following states or some of their regions may sometimes be included in Central Europe:

Geography

Geography defines Central Europe's natural borders with the neighbouring regions to the North across the Baltic Sea namely the Northern Europe (or Scandinavia), and to the South across the Alps, the Apennine peninsula (or Italy), and the Balkan peninsula across the Soča-Krka-Sava-Danube line. The borders to Western Europe and Eastern Europe are geographically less defined and for this reason the cultural and historical boundaries migrate more easily West-East than South-North. The Rhine river which runs South-North through Western Germany is an exception.

The Danube river watercourse system throughout Central and Southeastern Europe

Southwards, the Pannonian Plain is bounded by the rivers Sava and Danube- and their respective floodplains. The Pannonian Plain stretches over the following countries: Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia, and touches borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republika Srpska) and Ukraine ("peri- Pannonian states").

As southeastern division of the Eastern Alps, the Dinaric Alps extend for 650 kilometres along the coast of the Adriatic Sea (northwest-southeast), from the Julian Alps in the northwest down to the Šar-Korab massif, north-south. According to the Freie Universität Berlin, this mountain chain is classified as South Central European.

The Central European flora region stretches from Central France (the Massif Central) to Central Romania (Carpathians) and Southern Scandinavia.

At times, the term "Central Europe" denotes a geographic definition as the Danube region in the heart of the continent, including the language and culture areas which are today included in the states of Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and usually also Austria and Germany, but never Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union towards the Ural mountains.

Central European countries by geography

Entirely within Central Europe:

Mostly within Central Europe:

Statistics

Data

Demography

Central Europe is one of continent's most populous regions. It includes countries of varied sizes, ranging from tiny Liechtenstein to Germany, the largest European country by population (that is entirely placed in Europe). Demographic figures for countries entirely located within notion of Central Europe ("the core countries") number around 165 million people, out of which around 82 million are residents of Germany. Other populations include: Poland with around 38.5 million residents, Czech Republic at 10.5 million, Hungary at 10 million, Austria with 8.5 million, Switzerland with its 8 million inhabitants, Slovakia at 5.4 million, Croatia with its 4.3 million residents, Slovenia at 2 million (2014 estimate) and Liechtenstein at a bit less than 40,000.

Population density (people per km) by country, 2015

If the countries which are occasionally included in Central Europe were counted in, partially or in whole – Romania (20 million), Serbia (6.9 million), Lithuania (2.9 million), Latvia (2 million), Estonia (1.3 million) – it would contribute to the rise of between 25–35 million, depending on whether regional or integral approach was used. If smaller, western and eastern historical parts of Central Europe would be included in the demographic corpus, further 20 million people of different nationalities would also be added in the overall count, it would surpass the 200 million people figure.

Economy

Currencies

Currently, the members of the Eurozone include Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland use their currencies (Croatian kuna, Czech koruna, Hungarian forint, Polish złoty), but are obliged to adopt the Euro. Switzerland uses its own currency, Swiss franc.

Human Development Index

World map by quartiles of Human Development Index in 2013.
  Very High   Low
  High   Data unavailable
  Medium

Countries in descending order of Human Development Index (2014 data):

Globalisation

Map showing the score for the KOF Globalization Index.

The index of globalization in Central European countries (2015 data):

Prosperity Index

Legatum Prosperity Index demonstrates an average and high level of prosperity in Central Europe (2016 data):

Corruption

Overview of the index of perception of corruption, 2015.
     90–100      60–69      30–39      0–9
     80–89      50–59      20–29      No information
     70–79      40–49      10–19

Most countries in Central Europe score tend to score above the average in the Corruption Perceptions Index (2015 data):

According to the Bribe Payers Index, released yearly since 1995 by the Berlin-based NGO Transparency International, Germany and Switzerland, the only two Central European countries examined in the study, were respectively ranked 2nd and 4th in 2011.

Infrastructure

Industrialisation occurred early in Central Europe. That caused construction of rail and other types of infrastructure.

Rail

Rail network density.

Central Europe contains the continent's earliest railway systems, whose greatest expansion was recorded in Austro-Hungarian and German territories between 1860-1870s. By the mid-19th century Berlin, Vienna, and Buda/Pest were focal points for network lines connecting industrial areas of Saxony, Silesia, Bohemia, Moravia and Lower Austria with the Baltic (Kiel, Szczecin) and Adriatic (Rijeka, Trieste). Rail infrastructure in Central Europe remains the densest in the world. Railway density, with total length of lines operated (km) per 1,000 km2, is the highest in the Czech Republic (198.6), Poland (121.0), Slovenia (108.0), Germany (105.5), Hungary (98.7), Slovakia (73.9) and Croatia (72.5). when compared with most of Europe and the rest of the world.

River transport and canals

Before the first railroads appeared in the 1840s, river transport constituted the main means of communication and trade. Earliest canals included Plauen Canal (1745), Finow Canal, and also Bega Canal (1710) which connected Timișoara to Novi Sad and Belgrade via Danube. The most significant achievement in this regard was the facilitation of navigability on Danube from the Black sea to Ulm in the 19th century.

Branches

Logo of wine tranding corporation

Compared to most of Europe, the economies of Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland tend to demonstrate high complexity. Industrialisation has reached Central Europe relatively early: Luxembourg and Germany by 1860, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland by 1870, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia by 1880.

Agriculture

Central European countries are some of the most significant food producers in the world. Germany is the world's largest hops producer with 34.27% share in 2010, third producer of rye and barley, 5th rapeseed producer, sixth largest milk producer, and fifth largest potato producer. Poland is the world's largest triticale producer, second largest producer of raspberry, currant, third largest of rye, the fifth apple and buckwheat producer, and seventh largest producer of potatoes. The Czech Republic is world's fourth largest hops producer and 8th producer of triticale. Hungary is world's fifth hops and seventh largest triticale producer. Serbia is world's second largest producer of plums and second largest of raspberries. Slovenia is world's sixth hops producer.

Business

Central European business has a regional organisation, Central European Business Association (CEBA), founded in 1996 in New York as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting business opportunities within Central Europe and supporting the advancement of professionals in America with a Central European background.

Tourism

Central European countries, especially Austria, Croatia, Germany and Switzerland are some of the most competitive tourism destinations. Poland is presently a major destination for outsourcing.

Outsourcing destination

Kraków, Warsaw, and Wrocław, Poland; Prague and Brno, Czech Republic; Budapest, Hungary; Bucharest, Romania; Bratislava, Slovakia; Ljubljana, Slovenia and Zagreb, Croatia are among the world's top 100 outsourcing destinations.

Major cities

Mainly in Central-Western Europe:

Mainly in Central-Eastern Europe:

Education

Central European countries are very literate. All of them have the literacy rate of 96% or over (for both sexes):

Country Literacy rate
(all)		 Male Female Criteria
-9e99 -9e99 !a -9e99
 World 84.1% 88.6% 79.7% age 15 and over can read and write (2010 est.)
 Liechtenstein 100% 100% 100% age 10 and over can read and write
 Poland 99.7% 99.9% 99.6% age 15 and over can read and write (2011 est.)
 Slovenia 99.7% 99.7% 99.7% (2010 est.)
 Slovakia 99.6% 99.7% 99.6% age 15 and over can read and write (2004)
 Czech Republic 99% 99% 99% (2011 est.)
 Germany 99% 99% 99% age 15 and over can read and write (2003 est.)
 Hungary 99% 99.2% 98.9% age 15 and over can read and write (2011 est.)
  Switzerland 99% 99% 99% age 15 and over can read and write (2003 est.)
 Croatia 98.9% 99.5% 98.3% age 15 and over can read and write (2011 est.)
 Austria 98% N/A N/A age 15 and over can read and write

Languages

Languages taught as the first language in Central Europe are: Croatian, Czech, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Romansh, Slovak and Slovenian. The most popular language taught at schools in Central Europe as foreign languages are: English, French and German. Proficiency in English is ranked as high or moderate, according to the EF English Proficiency Index:

Other languages, also popular (spoken by over 5% as a second language):

  • Croatian in Slovenia (61%)
  • Czech in Slovakia (82%)
  • French in Romania (17%), Germany (14%) and Austria (11%)
  • German in Slovenia (42%), Croatia (34%), Slovakia (22%), Poland (20%), Hungary (18%), the Czech Republic (15%) and Romania (5%)
  • Hungarian in Romania (9%), Serbia (5%) Slovakia (12%)
  • Italian in Croatia (14%), Slovenia (12%), Austria (9%) and Romania (7%)
  • Russian in Poland (28%), Slovakia (17%), the Czech Republic (13%) and Germany (6%)
  • Polish in Slovakia (5%)
  • Slovak in the Czech Republic (16%), Serbia (2%)
  • Spanish in Romania (5%)

Education performance

Student performance has varied across Central Europe, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment. In the last study, countries scored medium, below or over the average scores in three fields studied.

In maths:

The results for the 2012 "Maths" section on a world map.
  •  Liechtenstein (position 8) – above the OECD average
  •   Switzerland (position 9) – above the OECD average
  •  Poland (position 14) – above the OECD average
  •  Germany (position 16) – above the OECD average
  •  Austria (position 18) – above the OECD average
  •  Slovenia (position 21) – above the OECD average
  •  Czech Republic (position 24) – similar to the OECD average
  •  Slovakia (position 35) – below the OECD average
  •  Hungary (position 39) – below the OECD average
  •  Croatia (position 40) – below the OECD average
  •  Serbia (position 43) – below the OECD average

In the sciences:

The results for the 2012 "Science" section on a world map.
  •  Poland (position 9) – above the OECD average
  •  Liechtenstein (position 10) – above the OECD average
  •  Germany (position 12) – above the OECD average
  •   Switzerland (position 19) – above the OECD average
  •  Slovenia (position 20) – above the OECD average
  •  Czech Republic (position 22) – above the OECD average
  •  Austria (position 23) – similar to the OECD average
  •  Hungary (position 33) – below the OECD average
  •  Croatia (position 35) – below the OECD average
  •  Slovakia (position 40) – below the OECD average

In reading:

The results for the 2012 "Reading" section on a world map.
  •  Poland (position 10) – above the OECD average
  •  Liechtenstein (position 11) – above the OECD average
  •   Switzerland (position 17) – above the OECD average
  •  Germany (position 19) – above the OECD average
  •  Czech Republic (position 26) – similar to the OECD average
  •  Austria (position 27) – below the OECD average
  •  Hungary (position 33) – below the OECD average
  •  Croatia (position 35) – below the OECD average
  •  Slovenia (position 38) – below the OECD average

Higher education

Universities

Karolinum of the Charles University in Prague

The first university east of France and north of the Alps was the Charles University in Prague established in 1347 or 1348 by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and modeled on the University of Paris, with the full number of faculties (law, medicine, philosophy and theology). The list of Central Europe's oldest universities in continuous operation, established by 1500, include (by their dates of foundation):

Central European University

The entrance of the Central European University in Budapest

The Central European University (CEU) is a graduate-level, English-language university promoting a distinctively Central European perspective. It was established in 1991 by the Hungarian philanthropist George Soros, who has provided an endowment of US$880 million, making the university one of the wealthiest in Europe. In the academic year 2013/2014, the CEU had 1,381 students from 93 countries and 388 faculty members from 58 countries.

Regional exchange program

Central European Exchange Program for University Studies (CEEPUS) is an international exchange program for students and teachers teaching or studying in participating countries. Its current members include (year it joined for the first time in brackets):

Culture and society

Research centres of Central European literature include Harvard (Cambridge, MA), Purdue University

Architecture

Central European architecture has been shaped by major European styles including but not limited to: Brick Gothic, Rococo, Secession (art) and Modern architecture. Six Central European countries are amongst those countries with higher numbers of World Heritage Sites:

Religion

Central European major Christian denomination is Catholicism (map) as well as large Protestant populations
Jews in Central Europe (1881)

Central European countries are mostly Roman Catholic (Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia) or mixed Catholic and Protestant, (Germany and Switzerland). Large Protestant groups include Lutheran and Calvinist. Significant populations of Eastern Catholicism and Old Catholicism are also prevalent throughout Central Europe. Central Europe has been a centre of Protestantism in the past; however, it has been mostly eradicated by the Counterreformation. The Czech Republic (Bohemia) was historically the first Protestant country, then violently recatholised, and now overwhelmingly non-religious, nevertheless the largest number of religious people are Catholic (10.3%). Romania and Serbia are mostly Eastern Orthodox with significant Protestant and Catholic minorities.

Before the Holocaust (1941–45), there was also a sizeable Ashkenazi Jewish community in the region, numbering approximately 16.7 million people.

In some of these countries, there is a number of atheists, undeclared and non-religious people: the Czech Republic (non-religious 34.2% and undeclared 45.2%), Germany (non-religious 38%), Slovenia (atheist 30.2%), Luxembourg (25% non-religious), Switzerland (20.1%), Hungary (27.2% undeclared, 16.7% "non-religious" and 1.5% atheists), Slovakia (atheists and non-religious 13.4%, "not specified" 10.6%) Austria (19.7% of "other or none"), Liechtenstein (10.6% with no religion), Croatia (4%) and Poland (3% of non-believers/agnostics and 1% of undeclared).

Central Europe church buildings gallery

Cuisine

Central European cuisine has evolved through centuries due to social and political change. Most countries share many dishes. The most popular dishes typical to Central Europe are sausages and cheeses, where the earliest evidence of cheesemaking in the archaeological record dates back to 5,500 BCE (Kujawy, Poland). Other foods widely associated with Central Europe are goulash and beer. List of countries by beer consumption per capita is led by the Czech Republic, followed by Germany and Austria. Poland comes 5th, Croatia 7th and Slovenia 13th.

Human rights

History

Human rights have a long tradition in Central Europe. In 1222 Hungary defined for the first time the rights of the nobility in its "Golden Bull". In 1264 the Statute of Kalisz and the General Charter of Jewish Liberties introduced numerous rights for the Jews in Poland, granting them de facto autonomy. In 1783 for the first time, Poland forbid corporal punishment of children in schools. In the same year, a German state of Baden banned slavery.

On the other hand, there were also major regressions, such as "Nihil novi" in Poland in 1505 which forbade peasants from leaving their land without permission from their feudal lord.

Present

Generally, the countries in the region are progressive on the issue of human rights: death penalty is illegal in all of them, corporal punishment is outlawed in most of them and people of both genders can vote in elections. Nevertheless, Central European countries struggle to adopt new generations of human rights, such as same-sex marriage. Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland also have a history of participation in the CIA's extraordinary rendition and detention program, according to the Open Society Foundation.

Literature

Regional writing tradition revolves around the turbulent history of the region, as well as its cultural diversity. Its existence is sometimes challenged. Specific courses on Central European literature are taught at Stanford University, Harvard University and Jagiellonian University The as well as cultural magazines dedicated to regional literature. Angelus Central European Literature Award is an award worth 150,000.00 PLN (about $50,000 or £30,000) for writers originating from the region. Likewise, the Vilenica International Literary Prize is awarded to a Central European author for "outstanding achievements in the field of literature and essay writing."

Media

Press Freedom Index results.

There is a whole spectrum of media active in the region: newspapers, television and internet channels, radio channels, internet websites etc. Central European media are regarded as free, according to the Press Freedom Index, although the situation in Poland, Hungary and Croatia is described as "problematic". Some of the top scoring countries are in Central Europe include:

Sport

There is a number of Central European Sport events and leagues. They include:

Football is one of the most popular sports. Countries of Central Europe had many great national teams throughout history and hosted several major competitions. Yugoslavia hosted UEFA Euro 1976 before the competition expanded to 8 teams and Germany (at that times as West Germany) hosted UEFA Euro 1988. Recently, 2008 and 2012 UEFA European Championships were held in Austria & Switzerland and Poland & Ukraine respectively. Germany hosted 2 FIFA World Cups (1974 and 2006) and are the current champions (as of 2014).

Politics

Organisations

Central Europe is a birthplace of regional political organisations:

  • Central European Initiative Central European Initiative
  • Central European Defence Cooperation Central European Defence Cooperation
  • Visegrád Group Visegrád Group
  • CEFTA founding states CEFTA founding states
  • CEFTA members in 2003, before joining the EU CEFTA members in 2003, before joining the EU
  • Current CEFTA members Current CEFTA members
  • Central Europe according to Peter J. Katzenstein (1997)   The Visegrád Group countries are referred to as Central Europe in the book   countries for which there's no precise, uncontestable way to decide whether they are parts of Central Europe or not Central Europe according to Peter J. Katzenstein (1997)
      The Visegrád Group countries are referred to as Central Europe in the book  countries for which there's no precise, uncontestable way to decide whether they are parts of Central Europe or not
  • According to The Economist and Ronald Tiersky a strict definition of Central Europe means the Visegrád Group According to The Economist and Ronald Tiersky a strict definition of Central Europe means the Visegrád Group
  • Map of Central Europe, according to Lonnie R. Johnson (2011)   Countries usually considered Central European (citing the World Bank and the OECD)   Countries considered to be Central European only in the broader sense of the term. Map of Central Europe, according to Lonnie R. Johnson (2011)  Countries usually considered Central European (citing the World Bank and the OECD)  Countries considered to be Central European only in the broader sense of the term.
  • Central European countries in Encarta Encyclopedia (2009)   Central European countries   Slovenia in "south central Europe" Central European countries in Encarta Encyclopedia (2009)
      Central European countries  Slovenia in "south central Europe"
  • The Central European Countries according to Meyers Grosses Taschenlexikon (1999):   Countries usually considered Central European   Central European countries in the broader sense of the term   Countries occasionally considered to be Central European The Central European Countries according to Meyers Grosses Taschenlexikon (1999):
      Countries usually considered Central European  Central European countries in the broader sense of the term  Countries occasionally considered to be Central European
  • Middle Europe (Brockhaus Enzyklopädie, 1998) Middle Europe (Brockhaus Enzyklopädie, 1998)
  • Central Europe according to Swansea University professors Robert Bideleux and Ian Jeffries (1998) Central Europe according to Swansea University professors Robert Bideleux and Ian Jeffries (1998)
  • Central Europe, as defined by E. Schenk (1950) Central Europe, as defined by E. Schenk (1950)
  • Central Europe, according to Alice F. A. Mutton in Central Europe. A Regional and Human Geography (1961) Central Europe, according to Alice F. A. Mutton in Central Europe. A Regional and Human Geography (1961)
  • Central Europe according to Meyers Enzyklopaedisches Lexikon (1980) Central Europe according to Meyers Enzyklopaedisches Lexikon (1980)

Democracy Index

The Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy index map for 2016, with greener colours representing more democratic countries

Central Europe is a home to some of world's oldest democracies. However, most of them have been impacted by totalitarian rule, particularly Nazism (Germany, Austria, other occupied countries) and Communism. Most of Central Europe have been occupied and later allied with the USSR, often against their will through forged referendum (e.g., Polish people's referendum in 1946) or force (northeast Germany, Poland, Hungary et alia). Nevertheless, these experiences have been dealt in most of them. Most of Central European countries score very highly in the Democracy Index:

Global Peace Index

Global Peace Index Scores.

In spite of its turbulent history, Central Europe is currently one of world's safest regions. Most Central European countries are in top 20%:

Central European Time

This section possibly contains unsourced predictions, speculative material, or accounts of events that might not occur. Information must be verifiable and based on reliable published sources. Please help improve it by removing unsourced speculative content. (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Central European Time Zone (dark red)

The time zone used in most parts of the European Union is a standard time which is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is commonly called Central European Time because it has been first adopted in central Europe (by year):

In popular culture

Central Europe is mentioned in 35th episode of Lovejoy, entitled "The Prague Sun", filmed in 1992. While walking over the famous Charles Bridge, the main character, Lovejoy says: " I've never been to Prague before. Well, it is one of the great unspoiled cities in Central Europe. Notice: I said: "Central", not "Eastern"! The Czechs are a bit funny about that, they think of Eastern Europeans as turnip heads."

Wes Anderson's Oscar-winning film The Grand Budapest Hotel is regarded as a fictionalised celebration of the 1930s in Central Europe and region's musical tastes

See also

References

  1. ^ "The World Factbook: Field listing – Location". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  2. "Regions, Regionalism, Eastern Europe by Steven Cassedy". New Dictionary of the History of Ideas, Charles Scribner's Sons. 2005. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  3. Lecture 14: The Origins of the Cold War. Historyguide.org. Retrieved on 29 October 2011.
  4. "Central Europe — The future of the Visegrad group". The Economist. 14 April 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
  5. Agh 1998, pp. 2–8 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAgh1998 (help)
  6. "Central European Identity in Politics — Jiří Pehe" (in Czech). Conference on Central European Identity, Central European Foundation, Bratislava. 2002. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  7. "Europe of Cultures: Cultural Identity of Central Europe". Europe House Zagreb, Culturelink Network/IRMO. 24 November 1996. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  8. ^ Comparative Central European culture. Purdue University Press. 2002. ISBN 978-1-55753-240-4. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  9. "An Introduction to Central Europe: History, Culture, and Politics – Preparatory Course for Study Abroad Undergraduate Students at CEU" (PDF). Central European University. Budapest. Fall 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. Ben Koschalka – content, Monika Lasota – design and coding. "To Be (or Not To Be) Central European: 20th Century Central and Eastern European Literature". Centre for European Studies of the Jagiellonian University. Archived from the original on 3 March 2001. Retrieved 31 January 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. "Ten Untaught Lessons about Central Europe-Charles Ingrao". HABSBURG Occasional Papers, No. 1. 1996. Archived from the original on 14 December 2003. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  12. "Introduction to the electronic version of Cross Currents". Scholarly Publishing Office of the University of Michigan Library. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  13. "History of the literary cultures of East-Central Europe: junctures and disjunctures in the 19th and 20th centuries, Volume 2".
  14. "When identity becomes an alibi (Institut Ramon Llull)" (PDF).
  15. "The Mice that Roared: Central Europe Is Reshaping Global Politics". Spiegel.de. 26 February 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  16. "Which regions are covered?". European Regional Development Fund. Archived from the original on 3 April 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  17. 2010 Human Development Index. (PDF) . Retrieved on 29 October 2011.
  18. Paul Robert Magocsi (2002). "The development of Central Europe (Chapter 11)". Historical Atlas of Central Europe. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-8486-9.
  19. Kasper von Greyerz (22 October 2007). Religion and Culture in Early Modern Europe. Oxford University Press. p. 38 –. ISBN 0-19-804384-8.
  20. Jean W Sedlar (1994). East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000–1500. University of Washington Press. p. 161 –. ISBN 0-295-97291-2.
  21. Dumitran, Adriana (2010). "Uspořádání Evropy – duch kulturní jednoty na prahu vzniku novověké Evropy" [The shape of Europe. The spirit of unity through culture in the eve of Modern Europe] (in Czech). Czech Republic: Bibliography of the History of the Czech Lands, The Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |registration= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
  22. László Zsinka. "Similarities and Differences in Polish and Hungarian History" (PDF). Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  23. ^ Halman, Loek; Wilhelmus Antonius Arts (2004). European values at the turn of the millennium. Brill Publishers. p. 120. ISBN 978-90-04-13981-7.
  24. Source: Geographisches Handbuch zu Andrees Handatlas, vierte Auflage, Bielefeld und Leipzig, Velhagen und Klasing, 1902.
  25. Jackson J. Spielvogel: Western Civilization: Alternate Volume: Since 1300. p. 618.
  26. ^ ""Mitteleuropa" is a multi-facetted concept and difficult to handle" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  27. A. Podraza, Europa Środkowa jako region historyczny, 17th Congress of Polish Historians, Jagiellonian University 2004
  28. Joseph Franz Maria Partsch, Clementina Black, Halford John Mackinder, Central Europe, New York 1903
  29. F. Naumann, Mitteleuropa, Berlin: Reimer, 1915
  30. "Regions and Eastern Europe Regionalism – Central Versus Eastern Europe". Science.jrank.org. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  31. ^ "Between Worlds – The MIT Press". Mitpress.mit.edu. Archived from the original on 22 September 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  32. , and ; Géographie universelle (1927), edited by Paul Vidal de la Blache and Lucien Gallois
  33. ^ Deak, I. (2006). "The Versailles System and Central Europe". The English Historical Review. CXXI (490): 338. doi:10.1093/ehr/cej100.
  34. ^ Johnson, p. 165
  35. Hayes, p. 16
  36. Hayes, p. 17
  37. Johnson, p. 6
  38. ^ Johnson, p. 7
  39. Johnson, p. 170
  40. ^ Sinnhuber, Karl A. (1 January 1954). "Central Europe: Mitteleuropa: Europe Centrale: An Analysis of a Geographical Term". Transactions and Papers (Institute of British Geographers) (20): 15–39. doi:10.2307/621131. JSTOR 621131.
  41. "Kundera's article in PDF format" (PDF).
  42. "Central versus Eastern Europe".
  43. One of the main representatives was Oscar Halecki and his book The limits and divisions of European history, London and New York 1950
  44. A. Podraza, Europa Środkowa jako region historyczny, 17th Congress of Polish Historians, Jagiellonian University 2004
  45. Band 16, Bibliographisches Institut Mannheim/Wien/Zürich, Lexikon Verlag 1980
  46. Jerzy Kłoczowski, Actualité des grandes traditions de la cohabitation et du dialogue des cultures en Europe du Centre-Est, in: L'héritage historique de la Res Publica de Plusieurs Nations, Lublin 2004, pp. 29–30 ISBN 83-85854-82-7
  47. Oskar Halecki, The Limits and Divisions of European History, Sheed & Ward: London and New York 1950, chapter VII
  48. ^ Tiersky, p. 472
  49. ^ Katzenstein, p. 6
  50. ^ Katzenstein, p. 4
  51. Lonnie R. Johnson "Central Europe: enemies, neighbors, friends", Oxford University Press, 1996 ISBN 0-19-538664-7
  52. ^ Johnson, p.4
  53. ^ Johnson, p. 4
  54. Legvold, Robert (May–June 1997). "Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends". Foreign Affairs. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  55. "Selected as "Editor's Choice" of the History Book Club". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  56. Bucur, Maria (June 1997). "The Myths and Memories We Teach By". Indiana University. HABSBURG. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  57. "Europe". Columbia Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press. 2009.
  58. ^ Slovenia. Archived from the original on 31 October 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |work= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  59. "For the Record – The Washington Post – HighBeam Research". Highbeam.com. 3 May 1990. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  60. ^ "From Visegrad to Mitteleuropa". The Economist. 14 April 2005.
  61. Lonnie Johnson, Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends, Oxford University Press
  62. "In the Heavy Shadow of the Ukraine/Russia Crisis, page 10" (PDF). European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. September 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  63. "UNHCR in Central Europe". UNCHR. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  64. "Central European Green Corridors – Fast charging cross-border infrastructure for electric vehicles, connecting Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Germany and Croatia" (PDF). Central European Green Corridors. October 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015.
  65. "Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Homepage". Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE.
  66. Andrew Geddes, Charles Lees, Andrew Taylor : "The European Union and South East Europe: The Dynamics of Europeanization and multilevel governance", 2013, Routledge
  67. Klaus Liebscher, Josef Christl, Peter Mooslechner, Doris Ritzberger-Grünwald : "European Economic Integration and South-East Europe: Challenges and Prospects", 2005, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited
  68. Sven Tägil, Regions in Central Europe: The Legacy of History, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1999, p. 191
  69. ^ Klaus Peter Berger, The Creeping Codification of the New Lex Mercatoria, Kluwer Law International, 2010, p. 132
  70. "central europe romania – Google Search".
  71. United States. Foreign Broadcast Information Service Daily report: East Europe
  72. Council of Europe. Parliamentary Assembly. Official Report of Debates. Council of Europe. 1 October 1994. p. 1579. ISBN 978-92-871-2516-3. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  73. "Borders in Central Europe: From Conflict to Cooperation". Geopolitics of European Union Enlargement: The Fortress Empire. Routledge. 2007. p. 165. ISBN 978-1-134-30132-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  74. "Map of Europe". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  75. ^ "United Nations Statistics Division- Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications (M49)". Unstats.un.org. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  76. ^ "World Population Ageing: 1950–2050" (PDF). United Nations. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  77. ^ "Browse MT 7206 | EuroVoc". Eurovoc.europa.eu. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  78. Webra International Kft. (18 March 1999). "The Puzzle of Central Europe". Visegradgroup.eu. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  79. "Highlights of Eastern Europe (Vienna through Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic)". a-ztours.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  80. "Mastication Monologues: Western Europe". masticationmonologues.com. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  81. UNDP, About Serbia , UNDP in Serbia, 2013
  82. Irena Kogan: Delayed Transition: Education and Labor Market in Serbia , Making the Transition: Education and Labor Market Entry in Central and Eastern Europe, 2011, chapter 6
  83. Peter Shadbolt , CNN, Serbia: the country at the crossroads of Europe, 2014
  84. WMO, UNCCD, FAO, UNW-DPC , Country Report Drought conditions and management strategies in Serbia, 2013, pg.1
  85. Comparative Hungarian Cultural Studies. Purdue University Press. 2011. ISBN 9781557535931. Retrieved 24 November 2014. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  86. Bokros, Lajos (15 January 2013). "Accidental Occidental: Economics and Culture of Transition in Mitteleuropa, the Baltic and the Balkan Area". Central European University Press – via Google Books.
  87. Transcarpathia: Perephiral Region at the "Centre of Europe" (Google eBook). Routledge. 2013. p. 155. ISBN 1-136-34323-7. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  88. Paul Robert Magocsi (2002). Historical Atlas of Central Europe. University of Toronto Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-8020-8486-6. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  89. Danube Facts and Figures. Bosnia and Herzegovina (April 2007) (PDF file)
  90. Encyclopædia Britannica. "Dinaric Alps (mountains, Europe)". Retrieved 31 January 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  91. Juliane Dittrich. "Die Alpen – Höhenstufen und Vegetation – Hauptseminararbeit". GRIN. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  92. Wolfgang Frey and Rainer Lösch; Lehrbuch der Geobotanik. Pflanze und Vegetation in Raum und Zeit. Elsevier, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, München 2004 ISBN 3-8274-1193-9
  93. Louise Olga Vasvári (2011). Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek (ed.). Comparative Hungarian Cultural Studies. Purdue University Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-55753-593-1. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  94. "Proleksis encyclopedia". Proleksis encyclopedia. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  95. Geographical horizon (Scientific and Professional magazine of the Croatian Geographical Society), article; On the north border and confine of the Balkan Peninsula, No1/2008, year LIV, ISSN 0016-7266, p.30-33
  96. Geography of Development of Eastern Europe, CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY, Social Sciences Department, Spring, 2014, p.8-19
  97. Geographical horizon (Scientific and Professional magazine of the Croatian Geographical Society), article; On the north border and confine of the Balkan Peninsula, No1/2008, year LIV, ISSN 0016-7266, p.33
  98. Croatian society for Systems (Scientific and Professional articles), article; Central Southern Europe as new concept and the Balkan complex, Zagreb, 2017, p.89-115
  99. There is no data in the Liechtenstein of economic globalization
  100. "Demography report 2010" (PDF). Eurostat. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  101. "Główny Urząd Statystyczny / Spisy Powszechne / NSP 2011 / Wyniki spisu NSP 2011". 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  102. "Czech Republic: The Final Census Results to be Released in the Third Quarter of 2012" (PDF). Czech Statistical Office. 7 May 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  103. SAJTÓTÁJÉKOZTATÓ 2013 [PRESS CONFERENCE 2013] (PDF) (Press release) (in Hungarian). Hungarian Central Statistical Office. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2015. {{cite press release}}: Invalid |script-title=: missing prefix (help)
  104. "Swiss Statistics – Overview". Bfs.admin.ch. 27 August 2015. Archived from the original on 28 June 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  105. "Development in the number of inhabitants – 2011, 2001, 1991, 1980, 1970" (PDF). Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  106. "Central Bureau of Statistics". Dzs.hr. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  107. "Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia - Population, Slovenia, 1 January 2014 – final data". 2 May 2014. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  108. "Landesverwaltung Liechtenstein". Llv.li. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  109. "Total population, Candidate countries and potential candidates". Eurostat.
  110. "2016 KOF Index of Globalization" (PDF). KOF Index of Globalization. 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  111. "The 2016 Legatum Prosperity Index". Legatum Prosperity Index 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  112. "Corruption Perceptions Index 2015 – Infographics". Cpi.transparency.org. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  113. "Bribe Payers Index Report 2011". 2012. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  114. ^ Paul Robert Magocsi (2002). Historical Atlas of Central Europe. University of Toronto Press. p. 1758. ISBN 978-0-8020-8486-6. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  115. "Launch of railway projects puts Serbia among EU member states". Railway Pro. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  116. "Response to questionnaire for: Assessment of strategic plans and policy measures on Investment and Maintenance in Transport Infrastructure Country: Serbia" (PDF). internationaltransportforum.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  117. "Inland transport infrastructure at regional level – Statistics Explained". Epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  118. "Statistical Database – United Nations Economic Commission for Europe". W3.unece.org. 29 December 1980. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  119. "Spread of the Industrial Revolution". Srufaculty.sru.edu. 16 August 2001. Archived from the original on 23 January 2005. Retrieved 4 August 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  120. Gnel Gabrielyan, Domestic and Export Price Formation of U.S. Hops Archived 26 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine School of Economic Sciences at Washington State University. PDF file, direct download 220 KB. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  121. http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/G2012/pdf/G20122007.pdf
  122. "Serbia Overview". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  123. "Welcome centraleurope.org - Hostmonster.com". www.centraleurope.org.
  124. "The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011: Beyond the Downturn" (PDF). World Economic Forum. 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  125. Ewing, Jack (22 December 2013). "Midsize Cities in Poland Develop as Service Hubs for Outsourcing Industry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  126. "2013 Top 100 Outsourcing Destinations: Rankings and Report Overview" (PDF). Tholons. January 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  127. ^ "Special Eurobarometer 386: Europeans and Their Languages Report" (PDF). European Commission. June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  128. "Overview | EF Proficiency Index". Ef.co.uk. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  129. Robert Lindsay. "Mutual Intelligibility of Languages in the Slavic Family" (PDF). Last Voices/Son Sesler. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  130. "Hungarian language in Europe". Language knowledge. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  131. "PISA 2012 Results in Focus: What 15-year-olds know and what they can do with what they know" (PDF). OECD. 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  132. Joachim W. Stieber: "Pope Eugenius IV, the Council of Basel and the secular and ecclesiastical authorities in the Empire: the conflict over supreme authority and power in the church", Studies in the history of Christian thought, Vol. 13, Brill, 1978, ISBN 90-04-05240-2, p.82; Gustav Stolper: "German Realities", Read Books, 2007, ISBN 1-4067-0839-9, p. 228; George Henry Danton: "Germany ten years after", Ayer Publishing, 1928, ISBN 0-8369-5693-1, p. 210; Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius: "The German Myth of the East: 1800 to the Present", Oxford Studies in Modern European History Series, Oxford University Press, 2009, ISBN 0-19-954631-2, p. 109; Levi Seeley: "History of Education", BiblioBazaar, ISBN 1-103-39196-8, p. 141
  133. "About the Charles University". Charles University. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  134. "History of Jagiellonian University".
  135. "History of the University of Vienna". University of Vienna. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  136. "UP Story – 650 years". University of Pécs. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  137. "About the University". Heidelberg University. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  138. Meuthen, Erich (17 July 2015). "A Brief History of the University of Cologne". University of Cologne. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  139. "About the University of Zadar". University of Zadar. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  140. "Mission Statement of Leipzig University".
  141. ""Light of the North" – Between University of the Hansa and Mecklenburg State University". University of Rostock. 20 January 2015. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  142. "University of Greifswald". University of Pécs. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  143. "As Important Yesterday as Tomorrow: Intelligent Minds". University of Freiburg. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  144. "About the University". University of Basel. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  145. "About LMU Munich". Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  146. "History of the University". Archived from the original on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  147. Aisha Labi (2 May 2010). "For President of Central European University, All Roads Led to Budapest". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  148. "CEU Facts and Figures". Central European University. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  149. "Central European Exchange Program for University Studies". ceepus.info. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  150. "CEEPUS Member Countries and NCOs (2008)". ceepus.info. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  151. Faculty of Arts and Sciences Harvard College. "Central European Studies". Static.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  152. "Project MUSE – Comparative Central European Culture". Muse.jhu.edu. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  153. "pError". Go.hrw.com. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  154. "Map: The Religious Divisions of Europe ca. 1555". Pearson. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  155. "Map of Europe in 1560: Religion". Emersonkent.com. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  156. "The Jewish Population of the World (2010)". Jewish Virtual Library., based on American Jewish Year Book. American Jewish Committee.
  157. "Art of cheese-making is 7,500 years old". Nature News & Comment.
  158. "CIA Secret Detention and Torture". Open Society Foundations. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  159. "TRANSCEND MEDIA SERVICE". TRANSCEND Media Service. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  160. "In praise of writers' bloc: How the tedium of life under Communism gave rise to a literature alive with surrealism and comedy". The Independent. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  161. "Comparative Central European Culture". Thepress.purdue.edu. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  162. "Czech mates". Newstatesman.com. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  163. Archived 23 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  164. "Secondary Fields". Slavic.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  165. "Literatura Środkowoeuropejska w poszukiwaniu tożsamości". Usosweb.uj.edu.pl. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  166. "literalab". literalab. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  167. "Regulations". Angelus.com.pl. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  168. "About Vilenica". Vilenica Literary Festival. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  169. "Reporters Without Borders".
  170. "Central Europe Throwdown 2015". Central Europe Throwdown 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  171. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ - Qualifiers – FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  172. "Germany are FIFA World Cup Champions!". NDTVSports.com. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  173. James Richardson. "World Cup Football Daily: Germany crowned champions of the world". the Guardian. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  174. Johnson, pp. 16
  175. Robert Bideleux; Ian Jeffries (10 April 2006). A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change. Routledge. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-134-71984-6. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  176. Erich Schenk, Mitteleuropa. Düsseldorf, 1950
  177. "Democracy index 2012: Democracy at a standstill: A report from The Economist Intelligence Unit". The Economist. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  178. "Vision of Humanity".
  179. Since Poland was partitioned since 1922 (official adoption), the dates of introduction in Germany (1893) and Austria (1893) should be understood as de facto adoption
  180. "Lovejoy – Season 3, Episode 13: The Prague Sun – TV.com". TV.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  181. Richard Brody (7 March 2014). ""The Grand Budapest Hotel": Wes Anderson's Artistic Manifesto". The New Yorker. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  182. Los Angeles Times (22 February 2015). "Oscars 2015 live updates: J.K. Simmons, 'Grand Budapest Hotel' win first awards – LA Times". latimes.com. Retrieved 24 September 2015.

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

Earth's primary regions and subregions
Worlds
Hemispheres
Landmasses
Continents
Africa
Antarctica
Asia
Europe
North America
Oceania
South America
Islands
By continent
By ocean
Oceans
Other waterbodies
Rim
Polar
Global
European Union articles
History
Timeline
Predecessors
Defence policy
European Communities (1967–2009)
Central bank
Financial stability
Enlargements
Withdrawals
Geography
Bodies
Institutions
Legislature
Executive
Judiciary
Central bank
Supreme audit institution
Other
international-law
EU bodies
Independent
offices
Agencies
Advisory
bodies
Military
bodies
Law
Economy
Politics
Concepts
Policies
Foreign
relations
Culture
Lists
Europe articles
History
Chronology
By topic
Geography
Politics
Intergovernmental
European Union
Economy
Intergovernmental
Sovereign states by
Society
Culture
Demographics
Categories: