The 7 Cultural Regions of Europe and their Characteristics

1983
Egbert Haynes

The multicultural character that the European Union has today is a mixture of cultural traditions from various regions that make up the continent and the large number of immigrants that continues to multiply.

Currently 7 cultural regions are known on the European continent: Western Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Balkans, Baltic, Scandinavia and the British Isles.

The cultural manifestations, heritage and linguistic diversity of these regions have in common the construction of the multicultural Europe that we know today.

The cultural regions of Europe

Western Europe

Made up of countries such as Andorra, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, San Marino and Vatican City. The most striking thing about this cultural region is the great diversity that emerged during years of evolution, which has left multiple monuments and diverse traditions scattered throughout its lands..

In this region you can visit important symbols of the Roman Empire, such as Pompeii or the Colosseum, while vestiges of the Arab rule are also appreciated in Andalusia..

Romanticism and its art can be found in Paris, great icons of the Renaissance in Florence, and also Modernism, a multicultural mix and modernity in cities like Lisbon and Madrid..

Central Europe

It is made up of Latvia, Estonia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, among others. They are countries with a high richness in culture and modern advances.

Central Europe is the region that comprises the central part of Europe. The concept of Central Europe is based on a common historical, social and cultural identity.

Although the region's economy shows large income disparities, all Central European countries are classified by the Human Development Index as very highly developed.

Eastern Europe

Also known as the Eastern Mediterranean, this cultural region is occupied by inhabitants of Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, among others, where ruins, temples and other ancient monuments lie alongside astonishing islands..

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of the European continent. There is no consensus on the precise area it covers, in part because the term has a wide range of geopolitical, geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic connotations..

Although the eastern geographical borders of Europe are well defined, the boundary between eastern and western Europe is not geographical but historical, religious and cultural. The Ural Mountains, the Ural River and the Caucasus Mountains are the land geographic boundary of the eastern edge of Europe.

Balkans

Made up of countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria.

The Balkans, or the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which stretch from the border between Serbia and Bulgaria to the Black Sea..

The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the northwest, the Ionian Sea in the southwest, the Aegean Sea in the south and southeast, and the Black Sea in the east and northeast..

Baltic

Surrounding the Baltic Sea, it includes territories of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. They offer great attractions for their geography and medieval cities, as well as for their languages ​​that make up their linguistic wealth.

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a region of northern Europe, characterized by a common ethnocultural heritage of northern Germany and northern Germanic languages.

It is made up of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Finland, countries that not only share wonderful landscapes, but are also close to the Arctic.

While the term "Scandinavia" is traditionally related to the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, there is some ambiguity regarding the ethnic aspect of the concept in the modern era..

Traditionally, the term specifically refers to the majority of the peoples of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, their states, their Germanic languages, and their culture..

British Isles and Ireland

The last region of Europe is an archipelago of islands located to the northwest of the coast of the continent, with two larger islands that are Ireland and Great Britain, and a large number of small islands that make them up..

With a fascinating history, this European region has a very modern, dynamic, varied and influential culture. London is the heart and metropolis, as well as former industrial cities like Manchester.

Reference:

  • Ingrid Projets. Why the Baltic region? Recovered from conferen.eu
  • Russo, Antonio Paolo (2008) European regions and their cultural capital. Approach to the study of the territorial effects of heritage. Recovered from ub.edu
  • Monchito (2017) Europe en.wikivoyage.org

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