Civilisation/World Geography - Europe
Albania
The symbol on the flag of Albania is a double-headed eagle
| Capital | Tirana |
| Largest cities | Tirana, Durres |
| Currency | Lek |
| Highest point | Mount Korab |
Durres is the main port of Albania
Vlore is the old capital of Albania. It is the city where the Albanian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in 1912
Albania is only European country with a 20th century Muslim monarch
In 1967 Enver Hoxha proclaimed Albania the world's first 'atheist state'
Andorra
| Capital | Andorra la Vella |
| Largest cities | Andorra la Vella |
| Currency | Euro |
| Highest point | Coma Pedrosa |
Andorra is a parliamentary co-principality with the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell (Catalonia, Spain), as co-princes. This peculiarity makes the President of France, in his capacity as Prince of Andorra, an elected reigning monarch
Andorra la Vella is the highest capital city in Europe
Catalan is the official language of Andorra
Andorra is divided into seven parishes
Armenia
| Capital | Yerevan |
| Largest cities | Yerevan |
| Currency | Dram |
| Highest point | Mount Aragats |
In August 1990, Armenia declared independence, becoming the first non-Baltic republic to secede from the Soviet Union
Armenia supports the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion
Austria
According to legend, the flag of Austria was invented by Duke Leopold V as a consequence of his fighting during the Crusades. After a fierce battle, his white battle dress was completely drenched in blood. When he removed his belt, the cloth underneath was untouched by it, revealing the combination of red-white-red
| Capital | Vienna |
| Largest cities | Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck |
| Currency | Euro |
| Highest point | Grossglockner |
Austria is a federal republic made up of nine states, known in German as Länder
St. Charles's Church (German: Karlskirche) is a church situated on the south side of Karlsplatz, Vienna. It is one of the most outstanding baroque church structures north of the Alps, and boasts a dome in the form of an elongated ellipsoid
Ringstrasse is a circular road surrounding the Innere Stadt district of Vienna
Hofburg Palace in Vienna currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria. It was the Habsburgs' principal winter residence
Graben one of the most famous streets in Vienna's first district, the city centre
Musikverein concert hall is the home to the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra
Prater is a large public park in Vienna. Oldest amusement park in the world
Wiener Riesenrad is a Ferris wheel at the entrance of the Prater amusement park in Leopoldstadt. Constructed in 1897 by the English engineer Lieutenant Walter Bassett Bassett, Royal Navy. Appeared in The Third Man
Belvedere is a historic building complex in Vienna, consisting of two Baroque palaces (the Upper and Lower Belvedere), the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. It houses the Belvedere museum
Zentralfriedhof (German for "Central Cemetery") is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, largest by number of interred in Europe and most famous cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. Beethoven is interred in this cemetery
Fuhrermuseum was an unrealized museum complex planned by Adolf Hitler for the city of Linz to display the collection of art plundered or stolen by the Nazis throughout Europe during World War II
Semmering is a mountain pass in the Eastern Northern Limestone Alps connecting Lower Austria and Styria, between which it forms a natural border
Brenner Pass connects Austria and Italy
Azerbaijan
The star on the flag of Azerbaijan has eight points
| Capital | Baku |
| Largest cities | Baku, Ganja |
| Currency | Manat |
| Highest point | Mount Bazardudu |
Lachin corridor is a mountain pass within de-jure borders of Azerbaijan, It is the shortest route which connects Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Baku is the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region
Baku is located 28 m below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world
Maiden Tower was built in the 12th century as part of the walled city of Baku. Together with the Shirvanshahs' Palace, dated to the 15th century, it forms an ensemble of historic monuments inscribed in 2001 under the UNESCO World Heritage List of Historical Monuments as cultural property
By the beginning of the 20th century almost half of world production of oil was being extracted in Baku
Oil Rocks is a town on the Caspian Sea, and was the first oil platform in Azerbaijan
Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is a landlocked exclave of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers 5,500 km2 and borders Armenia, Iran and Turkey
Belarus
| Capital | Minsk |
| Largest cities | Minsk, Homyel |
| Currency | Ruble |
| Highest point | Dzyarzhynskaya Hara |
Belarus is Europe’s biggest landlocked country
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed in Brest
From 1919 to 1991, after the Russian Revolution, Minsk was the capital of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union
Pinsk Marsges (also known as Pripet Marches) occupy most of the southern part of Belarus and the north-west of Ukraine
Belarus is the last country in Europe to still retain and use the death penalty
Belgium
The colours of the flag of Belgium were taken from the coat of arms of the Duchy of Brabant
| Capital | Brussels |
| Largest cities | Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liege |
| Currency | Euro |
| Highest point | Signal de Botrange |
Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region
Luxembourg is the largest of the ten provinces in Belgium
Flemish, French and German are the official languages of Belgium
NATO Headquarters are in Brussels
Atomium was originally built for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Designed by André Waterkeyn, it stands 102 m tall. It has nine steel spheres connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times
Brussels is on River Zenne/Senne, a tributary of the Scheldt
Grand Place or Grote Markt is the central square of Brussels
Manneken Pis is a small bronze sculpture (61 cm) in Brussels, designed in 1619
Palace of Justice is the most important court building in Brussels and the biggest courthouse in the world
Menin Gate is at Ypres
Zeebrugee is also known as Bruges-sur-mer
Antwerp is on the River Scheldt
Rubenshuis is the former home and studio of Peter Paul Rubens in Antwerp. It is now a museum
Belgium was known as “The Cockpit of Europe”, due to the number of battles fought there
Leuven is the capital of Flemish Brabant
Waterloo is in the province of Walloon Brabant
Lion's Mound is a large conical artificial hill raised on the battlefield of Waterloo to commemorate the location where William II of the Netherlands (the Prince of Orange) was knocked from his horse during the battle. It was ordered constructed in 1820 by his father, King William I of The Netherlands
Liege is situated in the valley of the Meuse River, near Belgium's eastern borders with the Netherlands and Germany. The city is the principal economic and cultural centre of Wallonia. Liege is the second most populous city in Wallonia, after Charleroi
Mechelen is a Dutch-speaking city and municipality in the province of Antwerp. It is one of Flanders' prominent cities of historical art
Baarle-Hertog is a Flemish municipality of Belgium, much of which consists of a number of small Belgian exclaves in the Netherlands. Baarle-Hertog is noted for its complicated borders with Baarle-Nassau, Netherlands
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The white stars on a blue background on the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina represent links with the EU
| Capital | Sarajevo |
| Largest cities | Sarajevo, Banja Luka |
| Currency | Mark |
| Highest point | Maglic |
Mostar Bridge (Stari Most, ‘old bridge’) is a 16th century Ottoman bridge that crosses the River Neretva in Bosnia and Herzegovina and connects two parts of the city. The Old Bridge stood for 427 years, until it was destroyed in 1993 during the Croat-Bosniak War. Subsequently, a project was set in motion to reconstruct it, and the rebuilt bridge opened in 2004
Miljacka River passes through Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for 20 km of coastline on the Adriatic Sea surrounding the city of Neum
Bulgaria
Sofia was originally a Thracian settlement
St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in Sofia
National Palace of Culture and Vitosha Boulevard are in Sofia
Plovdiv is the second largest city in Bulgaria
Varna is the third largest city in Bulgaria
Croatia
Zagreb lies on the Sava river
Trogir is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast. The centre of Trogir is a World Heritage Site
Byron called Dubrovnik the “pearl of the Adriatic”
Dubrovnik was known as Ragusa until 1909
Cres and Krk are the largest Croatian islands
Plitvice Lakes National Park is the oldest national park in Southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia
Split is the second largest city in Croatia
The Danube runs through the city of Vukovar in the extreme east and forms part of the border with Serbia
Karst topography makes up about half of Croatia and is especially prominent in the Dinaric Alps
Port of Rijeka is the largest port in Croatia
Cyprus
Cyprus is the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean
Mount Olympus is the highest point of the Troodos Mountains
Pedieos is the longest river on Cyprus
United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus is a demilitarised zone that was established in 1974 following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The zone runs for more than 180 km along what is colloquially known as the Green Line. Turkish forces built a barrier on the zone's northern side – this line is also referred to as the Attila Line
Akrotiri and Dhekelia is a British Overseas Territory on Cyprus
Czech Republic
Prague is known as the “City of a Hundred Spires”
Charles Square in Prague it is one of the largest squares in the world and was the largest town square of the medieval Europe
Wenceslas Square is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town of Prague
Dancing House, or Fred and Ginger, is the nickname given to the Nationale-Nederlanden building in Prague
Prague astronomical clock, or Prague orloj was first installed in 1410, making it the oldest astronomical clock in the world still working
Prague Castle is the official residence and office of the President of the Czech Republic
Located within Prague Castle and containing the tombs of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors, St Vitus Cathedral is an example of Gothic architecture
Karlovy Vary, known in English as Carlsbad, is a spa city situated in Bohemia, the western part of the Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. Carlsbad is named after Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370. Moser is a luxury, high-quality glass manufacturer based in Carlsbad
Spa triangle is an area in Czech Republic
Moravia occupies most of the eastern third of the Czech Republic
Czech Silesia is one of the three Czech lands and a section of the Silesian historical region. It is located in the north-east of the Czech Republic
Brno is the second largest city in Czech Republic
Vltava is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running north from its source near the German Border, through Prague, merging with the Elbe at Melník
Denmark
The Little Mermaid was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg. The sculptor Edvard Eriksen created the bronze statue, which was unveiled in 1913
Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen is the seat of the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Minister's Office and the Danish Supreme Court
Island of Bornholm is part of Denmark
Legoland is at Billund
Kastrup Airport serves Copenhagen
Aarhus is the second largest city in Denmark
Great Belt is a strait between the main Danish islands of Zealand and Funen (Fyn). Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the islands were connected by the Great Belt Fixed Link in 1998
Roskilde Cathedral is the burial site for Danish monarchs
Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde is the Danish national museum for ships. Around 1070, five Viking ships were deliberately sunk at Skuldelev in Roskilde Fjord in order to block the most important fairway and to protect Roskilde from enemy attack from the sea
The Faroe Islands have been a self-governing country within the Danish Realm since 1948
Streymoy and Esturoy are the largest of the Faroe Islands
Torshavn is the capital of the Faroe Islands. On the island of Streymoy
Estonia
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia
Soomaa National Park is national park in Estonia. Soomaa (‘land of bogs’) is a Ramsar site of protected wetlands
Saaremaa is the largest island of Estonia
Hiiumaa Island is in Estonia
Peipus is the largest lake in Estonia, and the fifth largest lake in Europe
Lake Peipus is the biggest transboundary lake in Europe on the border between Estonia and Russia
Finland
Helsinki Metro has bright orange trains and is is the world's northernmost subway
Turku was the capital of Finland until 1812
Espoo is the second largest city in Finland
Finland is the most sparsely populated country in the European Union
Saimaa is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth largest lake in Europe
Europe’s largest lake island is in Finland
Archipelago Sea is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Aland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it contains the largest archipelago (island group) in the world by the number of islands
Aland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous Swedish-speaking region of Finland
France
Largest cites in France – Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Nice
Gascony is currently divided between the Aquitaine region and the Midi-Pyrenees region
Loire is the longest river in France
Tarn is a tributary of River Garonne
Canal du Midi runs from the city of Toulouse down to the Mediterranean port of Sete
River Dordogne rises in Massif Central and unites with Garonne to form Gironde estuary
River Lot is a tributary of the Garonne
There are 27 regions, of which 21 are in continental metropolitan France –
Alsase
Capital – Strasbourg
Strasbourg is principal city of the Alsace region and is the official seat of the European Parliament. It is the capital of the Bas-Rhin departement
Aquitaine
Capital – Bordeaux
Bordeaux is on River Garonne. It is the prefecture of the Gironde department
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its cave paintings. The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. Since 1998 the cave has been beset with a fungus
Auvergne
Capital – Clermont-Ferrand
Auvergne is part of the Massif Central
Vichy is a spa town, famous for thermal baths. Connects the Garonne to the Mediterranean
Brittany
Capital – Rennes
Rennes is the historic capital of Brittany
Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon
Brest is noted for poultry
Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany
Carnac is famous as the site of more than 3000 prehistoric standing stones. The stones were hewn from local rock and erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany
Burgundy
Capital – Dijon
Beaune is the wine capital of Burgundy in the Cote d'Or department
Centre-Val de Loire
Capital – Orleans
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres is considered one of the finest examples in all France of the Gothic style of architecture. It has two contrasting spires – one, a 105 metre plain pyramid dating from the 1140s, and the other a 113 metre tall early 16th century flamboyant spire on top of an older tower
Chartres Cathedral was reconstructed after a fire in 1194
Fontevraud Abbey, near Chinon, was the site of the graves of King Henry II of England, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, their son King Richard I of England, their daughter Joan, their grandson Raymond VII of Toulouse, and Isabella of Angouleme, wife of Henry and Eleanor's son King John
Champagne-Ardenne
Capital – Chalons-en-Champagne
Reims played a prominent ceremonial role in French monarchical history as the traditional site of the crowning of the kings of France
Franche-Comte
Capital – Besancon
Franche-Comte was part of the Kingdom of Burgundy
Ile-de-France
Capital – Paris
Ile-de-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the 27 administrative regions of France. It consists mostly of the Paris metropolitan area
La Rive Gauche is the left bank of the River Seine in Paris
Distances from Paris are measured from Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Ile de la Cite in the fourth arrondissement. Construction began in 1163, during the reign of Louis VII
European Space Agency HQ is in Paris
Tuileries Palace stood in Paris, on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed in the upheaval of the Paris Commune. The site is now the location of the Tuileries Garden
France’s unknown soldier buried under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
Eiffel Tower was constructed for the Centennial Exposition in Paris in 1899, it is 986’ high (including the antenna, it is 1063’ high)
Eiffel Tower was world’s tallest building until the Chrysler building was constructed in 1930
Gustave Eiffel engraved on the tower 72 names of French scientists, engineers, and mathematicians in recognition of their contributions
Obelisk of Luxor in Place de la Concorde is not a ‘Cleopatra’s needle’
Palais Bourbon is the seat of the French National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French government
Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacre Coeur, is located at the summit of Montmartre, the highest point in the city. Built as a national penance for the supposed excesses of the Second Empire and socialist Paris Commune of 1871
Charles de Gaulle-Etoile is a Paris Metro station
Elysee Palace is the official residence of the French president
July Column is a monumental column commemorating the Revolution of 1830. It stands in the centre of the Place de la Bastille and celebrates the Trois Glorieuses – the ‘three glorious’ days of 27–29 July 1830 that saw the fall of King Charles X and the commencement of the ‘July Monarchy’ of King Louis-Philippe. It was built between 1835 and 1840
Louvre Museum is housed in the Louvre Palace which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection. Opened in 1793. During the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces
Place de la Concorde – largest Place in Paris. During the French Revolution the statue of Louis XV of Franc was torn down and the area renamed ‘Place de la Revolution’. Marie Antoinette was executed there
Place Charles de Gaulle, historically known as the Place de l'Etoile, is a large road junction in Paris, the meeting point of twelve straight avenues (hence its historic name, which translates as ‘Place of the Star’) including the Champs-Elysees which continues to the east. In the centre is the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon. Completed in 1836
Statue of Marianne is at the centre of the Place de la Republique
Gare St Lazare opened in 1837. First station in Paris
Pere Lachaise takes its name from Pere François de la Chaise, the confessor of Louis XIV, who lived in the Jesuit house rebuilt in 1682 on the site of the chapel. The cemetery was established by Napoleon in 1804
The original cast of the Statue of Liberty is in Luxembourg Gardens, in Paris
Musee Marmottan Monet is located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. It features a collection of over three hundred works by Claude Monet (with the largest collection of his works in the world)
Musee Grevin is a waxwork museum in Paris. The museum was founded in 1882 by Arthur Meyer
The Lido is a cabaret and burlesque show establishment on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, which opened in 1946, famous for its exotic shows
Stalingrad metro station opened in 1903. Changed name to Stalingrad in 1946
Les Invalides is a complex of buildings in Paris, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France. The most notable tomb at Les Invalides is that of Napoleon Bonaparte
La Defense is a major business district of the Paris Metropolitan Area. It is Europe's largest purpose-built business district
La Grande Arche in La Defense is a monument in the approximate shape of a cube
Tour First is the tallest skyscraper in La Defense
Paris is known the ‘City of Light’
Sainte-Chapelle is a royal medieval Gothic chapel, located near the Palais de la Cite, on the Ile de la Cite in Paris. It is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture. Its erection was commissioned by King Louis IX to house his collection of Passion Relics, including Christ's Crown of Thorns
The first-ever race run at Longchamp was in 1857. The Emperor Napoleon III and his wife Eugenie were present
Chateau de Malmaison is about 12 km from Paris. It was formerly the residence of Josephine de Beauharnais, and with the Tuileries, was from 1800 to 1802 the headquarters of the French government
The fountains at Versailles were fed by the Marly hydraulic machine, driven by the current of the Seine moving fourteen vast paddlewheels
Parc Asterix is a theme park near Paris
Disneyland Paris is at Marne la Vallee
Palace of Fontainebleau, located 55 kilometres from the centre of Paris, is one of the largest French royal châteaux
Languedoc-Roussillon
Capital – Montpellier
Musee Fabre – art and sculpture museum in Montpellier
Pont du Gard is an aqueduct in the south of France constructed by the Roman Empire, and located near Remoulins, in the Gard department, close to Nimes
Limousin
Capital – Limoges
Limoges is famous for porcelain
Limousin is situated largely in the Massif Central
Lorraine
Capital – Metz
Metz is the first regional outpost of the Pompidou Centre, opened in 2010
Metz is the capital of Lorraine, on the River Moselle
Last working coalfield in France was in Lorraine
Nancy was formerly the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine
Verdun Memorial is situated on the battlefield, close to the destroyed village of Fleury-devant-Douaumont in the department of Meuse
Lower Normandy
Capital – Caen
During the Hundred Years' War, the English made repeated assaults on the island of Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, but were unable to seize it due to the abbey's improved fortifications
Midi-Pyrenees
Capital – Toulouse
Millau Bridge is 270m high, and is the largest cable-stayed bridge in the world. Largest pylon is 343m high. A75 road over the River Tarn
Pech Merle, a hillside opening in the Lot department of Midi-Pyrenees region in France, east of Cahors, is the site of one of the prehistoric cave paintings remaining in France
Albi Cathedral – constructed from 1282 to 1480, built in the wake of the Albigensian heresy of the Cathars and the brutal crusade brought against it. This crusade, lead by Simon de Montfort, involved the burning of 400 Cathars
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Capital – Lille
Pas-de-Calais is a department in northern France. Its name is the French equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders
Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department
Nord is the most populous French department. Principal city is Lille
Pays-de-la-Loire
Capital – Nantes
Nantes is on the banks of the River Loire
Picardy
Capital – Amiens
Amiens Cathedral is the tallest Gothic cathedral in France
Aisne, Oise, and Somme are departments of Picardy
Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,191 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme with no known grave. Designed by Edwin Lutyens
Musee Conde is a museum located inside the chateau de Chantilly in Chantilly, Oise
During the Hundred Years' War, Ponthieu, now part of Picardy, changed hands a number of times, although the English claimed control of it from 1279–1369, and then later until 1435
Poitou-Charantes
Capital – Poitiers
The port of La Rochelle is in Poitou-Charantes
Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur
Capital – Marseille
Nice is the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes department
Largest Orthodox cathedral in Western Europe is in Nice
Promenada des Anglais is in Nice
Alpes-Maritimes was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC
Marseille was founded in 600 BC by Greeks from Phocaea as a trading port. Oldest city in France
Marseille is Europe’s largest Muslim city
Miramar restaurant is in Marseilles
La Ciotat, near Marseilles, was the setting of one the very first projected motion pictures, L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat filmed by the Lumiere brothers in 1895
L'Estaque is a fishing village just west of Marseille. Many artists of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist periods visited or resided there or in the surrounding area
Menton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region. It is nicknamed ‘The Pearl of France’
Pont Saint-Benezet, also known as the Pont d'Avignon, is a famous medieval bridge in the town of Avignon, in southern France. The bridge originally spanned the Rhone River between Avignon and Villeneuve-les-Avignon on the left bank. It was built between 1171 and 1185
The first museum in the world to be dedicated to Picasso is in Antibes
The military port of Toulon is the major naval centre on France's Mediterranean coast
Built in 90 AD, the Arles Amphitheatre was capable of seating over 20,000 spectators
Mont Ventoux is a mountain in Provence. Mistral wind speeds can reach 200 mph. Mont Ventoux has become legendary as the scene of one of the most grueling climbs in the Tour de France
Rhone-Alpes
Capital – Lyon
Lyon is the capital of Rhone department
Lyon is at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone
Lyon was historically known as an important area for the production and weaving of silk
Chauvet Cave in the Ardeche department of southern France became famous in 1994 after speleologists found that its walls were richly decorated with Paleolithic artwork, that it contained the fossilized remains of many animals, including those that are now extinct
Upper Normandy
Capital – Rouen
Rouen Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Gothic cathedral. Painted by Monet
Etretat is a resort in Normandy frequently painted by impressionist artists
Overseas regions
One is the island of Corsica, and five lie overseas (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion)
Corsica is known as ‘The Scented Isle’
Corsica is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean, after Sicily, Sardinia and Cyprus
Bastia – capital of Corsica until 1791. Second largest city of Corsica
Corsica is divided in two departements: Corse-du-Sud and Haute-Corse
Porto-Vecchio is a commune in Corsica
Monte Cinto is the highest mountain on Corsica
The French overseas collectivities are first-order administrative divisions of France. There are six collectivities – Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna, and French Polynesia
Saint Pierre and Miquelon is situated in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean near Canada
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France
The term overseas territory is an administrative division of France and is currently only applied to the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. Includes Kerguelen Islands and Amsterdam Island
Georgia
Georgia contains two de facto independent regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which gained limited international recognition after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War
Tbilisi is on the River Mtkvari (Kura)
Tbilisi was also capital of the Democratic Republic of Georgia from 1918 to 1921, the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1921 to 1991, and the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic from 1922 to 1936
Germany
Largest cities – Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt
Germany is a Federal Republic made up of 16 States, known as Lander. The term Bundeslander (‘states of the federation’) is commonly used as it is more specific. Three cities (Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg) are states in their own right, termed Stadtstaaten (‘city states’). The remaining 13 states are termed Flachenlander (‘area states’)
City states –
Berlin
Unter den Linden (under the lime trees) – area east of Brandenburg Gate
Adlon Hotel – historic hotel in Unter den Linden, Berlin
Brandenburg Gate – located on the Pariser Platz, consists of 12 Doric columns, above the gate is the Quadriga consisting of the goddess of peace driving a hour-horse chariot, design based on the Propylea (the gateway to the Acropolis)
The Pergamon Museum is one of the museums on the Museum Island in Berlin. It was planned by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann and was built over a period from 1910 to 1930. It houses original-sized, reconstructed monumental buildings such as the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus, and the Ishtar Gate, all consisting of parts transported from the original excavation sites
Neues Museum (New Museum) is a museum in Berlin located to the north of the Altes Museum (Old Museum) on Museum Island. The artifacts it houses include the iconic bust of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti
Berlin Central Station (Berlin Hauptbahnhof) began full operation in 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof
Archenhold Observatory in Berlin opened in 1896, and contained what was then the world's longest telescope, with a focal length of 21 meters
Berlin – old name ‘swamp town’
Tempelhof was designated as an airport in 1923. Tempelhof was one of Europe's three iconic pre-World War II airports, the others being London’s Croydon Airport and the old Paris – Le Bourget Airport
Cold war listening station in Berlin built on mountain of rubble from WWII (known as the ‘devils’ mountain’)
The Fernsehturm is a television tower in the city centre of Berlin. Close to Alexanderplatz and part of the World Federation of Great Towers (WFGT), the tower was constructed between 1965 and 1969
Tegel airport was built in 1948 for Berlin airlift. Tegel Airport is named after Otto Lilienthal, the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful gliding flights
Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport is a new airport under construction to the south of Berlin
Berlin orbital motorway (BAB 10) is 122 miles long, and is the longest orbital in Europe
Bremen
The state consists of two cities (Bremen and Bremerhaven) and is the smallest German state
River Weser flows through Bremen and Bremerhaven
Hamburg
Hamburg is officially known as the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
The port of Hamburg, on the river Elbe, is the second largest port in Europe (after the Port of Rotterdam)
The area of Reeperbahn in the quarter St. Pauli is Europe's largest red light district
Area states –
Baden-Wurttemberg
Capital – Stuttgart
Ulm is primarily known for its Ulm Munster (a Lutheran cathedral and the tallest church in the world, its steeple measuring 530 ft high) and as the birthplace of Albert Einstein. It lies on the Danube
Heidelberg is on Neckar river
The Rhine joins the Necker at Mannheim
Hockenheim – built to test Mercedes cars
Bavaria
Capital – Munich
Bavaria is the largest state in Germany
Neuschwanstein Castle is a 19th century neo-romantic castle. Located near Hohenschwangau and Fussen in southwest Bavaria, the castle was built by Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, as a retreat and as homage to Richard Wagner, the King's inspiring muse
Frauenkirche (‘Cathedral of Our Dear Lady’) is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Munich and Freising. It is a landmark and is considered a symbol of the Bavarian State Capital
Olympic Stadium in Munich was designed by the German architect Günther Behnisch and the engineer Frei Otto. Design included large sweeping canopies of acrylic glass stabilized by steel cables that were used for the first time in a large scale
Pilgrimage Church of Wies is an oval rococo church in Bavaria, designed in the 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann
Lindau is a Bavarian major town and an island on the eastern side of Lake Constance
Nuremberg is in Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia
Regensburg, historically also Ratisbon, is a city in Bavaria
Wurzburg Residence is a palace in Wurzburg. Balthasar Neumann, architect of the court of the Bishop of Wurzburg, was the principal architect. Giovanni Tiepolo, assisted by his son, Domenico, painted frescoes in the building
Brandenburg
Capital – Potsdam
Sanssouci is the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, in the state of Brandenburg. Sanssouci – means ‘without worries’
Hesse
Capital – Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is one of the oldest spa towns in Europe. Its name literally means ‘meadow baths’
Frankfurt is the largest city in Hesse
Frankfurt is home to the European Central Bank and the German Federal Bank
Frankfurt Stock Exchange is the largest in Germany
Messel Pit is a disused quarry near the village of Messel, close to Frankfurt. Bituminous shale was mined there. Because of its abundance of fossils, it has significant geological and scientific importance
Lower Saxony
Capital – Hanover
The northwestern area of Lower Saxony, which lies on the coast of the North Sea, is called East Frisia
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
State is also known as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in English
Capital – Schwerin
Mecklenburg – region between Berlin and Hamburg. Largest city is Rostock
Rostock – principal overseas port of the former GDR
Mecklenburg Lake District is sometimes called "the land of a thousand lakes"
Rugen is Germany's largest island. It is located in the Baltic Sea
Prora is a beach resort on the island of Rugen, known especially for its colossal Nazi-planned touristic structures. The massive building complex was built between 1936 and 1939
North-Rhine Westphalia
Capital – Dusseldorf
North-Rhine Westphalia is the most populous lander
Cologne Cathedral – largest Gothic cathedral rebuilt after WWII
In Cologne cathedral is the Shrine of the Three Kings, a large gilded sarcophagus dating from the 13th century, and the largest reliquary in the Western world. It is traditionally believed to hold the remains of the Three Wise Men
Cologne became acknowledged as a city by the Romans in 50 AD
Cologne Cathedral – From 1880 to 1884, it was the tallest structure in the world, until the completion of the Washington Monument. It has the second-tallest church spires, only surpassed by the single spire of Ulm Minster
Largest church bell is in Cologne Cathedral
The Rhine joins the Ruhr at Duisburg
Aachen Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in northern Europe
Rhineland-Palatinate
Capital – Mainz
Porta Nigra (Latin for ‘black gate’) is a large Roman city gate in Trier. It is today the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps and has been designated a World Heritage Site
Koblenz is at the confluence of Rhine and Moselle
Stolzenfels Castle is a castle near Koblenz on the Rhine
Lorelei – a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, which soars some 120 metres above the water line. It marks the narrowest part of the river between Switzerland and the North Sea
The wine festival called Wurstmarkt in Bad Durkheim is the largest wine festival in the world
Saarland
Capital – Saarbrucken
Apart from the city states, it is Germany's smallest federal state
Saxony
Capital – Dresden
The Dresdner Frauenkirche survived the firebombing of Dresden during World War II but was totally burned out and collapsed the next day. It was reconsecrated in 2005
Zwinger – a palace in Dresden and a major landmark of German baroque architecture
Dresden is known as the ‘Florence of the Elbe’ and the ‘Florence of the North’
Leipzig is the largest city in Saxony
Oflag IV-C (often referred to as Colditz Castle because of its location) was situated on a cliff overlooking the town of Colditz in Saxony
Chemnitz was known as Karl-Marx-Stadt between 1953 and 1990
Saxony-Anhalt
Capital – Magdeburg
Magdeburg lies on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe. Emperor Otto I lived during most of his reign in the town and was buried in the cathedral after his death
Brocken – the highest peak of the Harz mountain range and also the highest peak of Northern Germany
Schleswig-Holstein
Capital – Kiel
Heligoland – German island in the North Sea. Matches the description of Azkaban in the Harry Potter books
Kiel Canal links North Sea with Baltic. World’s busiest artificial waterway
Thuringia
Capital – Erfurt
Elephant Hotel, Weimar – visited by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, Johann Sebastian Bach, Leo Tolstoy and Thomas Mann
River Danube originates in the Black Forest in Germany as two smaller rivers: the Brigach and the Breg rivers
Meissen, Pardubice, Wittenberg, Dessau, Magdeburg and Cuxhaven are on the River Elbe
Swabia is normally thought of as comprising the former German state of Wurttemberg (with the Prussian Hohenzollern Province) and the administrative region of Bavarian Swabia
Harz National Park is a nature reserve in the federal states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. It comprises large portions of the western Harz mountain range
Reichenau Island lies in Lake Constance. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000 because of its monastery, the Abbey of Reichenau
Teutoburg forest – range of low forested mountains in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia
Lake Constance (German: Bodensee) is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee (‘upper lake’, the Untersee (‘lower lake’), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein. The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory
Strait of Gibraltar is 13 km wide
Gibraltar ruled by Britain since 1704. Named ‘Jebel Tarik’ by Moorish settlers
Europa Point is a lighthouse in Gibraltar
Gorham's Cave is a natural sea cave in Gibraltar, and is considered to be one of the last known habitations of the Neanderthals c. 25000 years ago
North Front airport serves Gibraltar
Greece
Parthenon is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their protector. Its construction began in 447 BC and was completed in 438 BC on the Athenian Acropolis, although decorations of the Parthenon continued until 431 BC. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered to be the culmination of the development of the Doric order
Syntagma Square (English: Constitution Square), is located in central Athens. The Square is named after the Constitution that King Otto was forced to grant to the people, after a popular and military uprising in 1843
Plaka is the old historical neighborhood of Athens, clustered around the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis, and incorporating labyrinthine streets and neoclassical architecture
Athens is known as the “violet crowned city”
The Philippeion in the Altis of Olympia was an Ionic circular memorial of ivory and gold, which contained statues of Philip's family and Alexander the Great. It was made by the Athenian sculptor Leochares in celebration of Philip's victory at the battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)
Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on Mount Parnassus
Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece
Palace of Knossos is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture
Heraklion is the capital of Crete
Mount Ida is the highest point in Crete
Chania is an old city and port on Crete
Euboea is the second largest of the Greek Aegean Islands and the second largest Greek island overall in area and population, after Crete
Lesbos is the third largest Greek island, Rhodes is fourth, Chios is fifth
Kefalonia (largest), Corfu (second largest), Lefkada, Zante and Paxos (smallest) – Ionian Islands
Argostoli is the capital of Kefalonia
Kerkira is the local name for Corfu
The north-eastern coastline of Corfu lies off the coast of Sarande, Albania
Ithica is an Ionian island
Naxos is the largest of the Cyclades
Naxos used to be the main source of emery
Andros is the northernmost island of the Cyclades archipelago
Akrotiri is an ancient city buried, and preserved by, the volcanic ash on the island of Santorini
Santorini is in the Cyclades
There are 14 Dodecanese Islands (12 major islands and two small ones)
Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese Islands
Faliraki is the primary seaside resort village on the island of Rhodes
Acropolis of Lindos is on the island of Rhodes
Santorini is a Greek island with large pumice deposits
The region of Argos, in Greece is called the Argolid. The inhabitants of Argos were called Argives
Cape Matapan is the southernmost point of Greek mainland
Piraeus is the largest port in Europe (and third largest in the world) in terms of passenger transportation, servicing 19,000,000 passengers annually
Thessaloniki or Salonica is Greece’s second-largest city and the capital of Macedonia, the largest region of Greece
Skopje Airport is named after Alexander the Great
Gulf of Corinth is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. In medieval times, the gulf was known as the Gulf of Lepanto
Corinth Canal connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland
Arcadia is a region of Greece in the Peloponnese. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas
Gavdos is the southernmost Greek island. It is also the most southerly point in Europe
Mycanae, in the Peloponnese, was Agamemnon’s capital, and is the the site of Lion Gate
Rion-Antirion Bridge is the World's longest multi-span cable-stayed bridge. It crosses the Gulf of Corinth near Patras, linking the town of Rion on the Peloponnese to Antirion on mainland Greece
Cadmea was the citadel of ancient Thebes, named after Cadmus
The city of Pavlopetri, underwater off the coast of southern Laconia in Peloponnese, is about 5000 years old, and is the oldest submerged archeological town site. It is unique in having an almost complete town plan
Mount Athos in Macedonia is self-governed state in the Hellenic Republic
Corinth was founded as New Corinth in 1858 after an earthquake destroyed the existing settlement of Corinth
Hungary
Budapest is the combination of the city names Buda and Pest, which were (together with Obuda) united into a single city in 1873
Budapest Metro is the second oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground. Opened in 1896
Szechenyi Lanchid Chain Bridge in Budapest was the first permanent bridge across the Danube. Designed by William Tierney Clark. Opened in 1849
Gellert Hotel is a spa hotel in Budapest
Keleti is the main railway station in Budapest
Memento Park is a museum in Budapest, including Statue Park with monumental statues from Hungary's Communist period
The ancient city of Aquincum was situated on the North-Eastern borders of the Pannonia province within the Roman Empire. The ruins of the city can be found today in Budapest
Debrecen is the second largest city in Hungary
Lake Balaton is the largest lake in Central Europe
Iceland
Mount Hekla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes
Vatnajokull (meaning ‘Glacier of Rivers’), also known as the Vatna Glacier, is the largest and most voluminous Icelandic glacier
Eyjafjallajokull lies 25 km west of another subglacial volcano, Katla, which is much more active and known for its powerful subglacial eruptions and its large magma chamber. Each of the eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull in 920, 1612, and 1821–1823 has preceded an eruption of Katla
Eyjafjallajokull erupted in 2010
Katla last erupted in 1918
Laki is a volcanic fissure situated in the south of Iceland. The system erupted over an 8 month period during 1783–84 from the Laki fissure and the adjoining Grímsvotn volcano, pouring out basalt lava and clouds of poisonous hydrofluoric acid/sulfur-dioxide compounds that killed over 50% of Iceland's livestock population, leading to famine which killed approximately 25% of the population
Iceland is located on both the Iceland hotspot and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which runs right through it
The Iceland Plume is an upwelling of anomalously hot rock in the Earth's mantle beneath Iceland whose origin probably lies at the boundary between the core and the mantle at c. 2880 km depth. It is generally thought to be the cause of the formation of Iceland and its volcanism
In 1973 a volcanic eruption of the mountain Eldfell began on Heimaey. Townspeople constantly sprayed the lava with cold seawater, causing some of it to solidify and much to be diverted, thus saving the harbour from destruction
Karahnjukar is Europe’s biggest dam and is part of a hydroelectricity plant
Surtsey, one of the youngest islands in the world, is part of Iceland. It rose above the ocean in a series of volcanic eruptions between 1963 and 1968
Italy
Largest cities in Italy – Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo
Italy is subdivided into 20 regions, including –
Apulia
Capital – Bari
Apulia (Italian: Puglia) is a region in southeastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its southern portion known as Salento, a peninsula, forms a high heel on the ‘boot’ of Italy
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia and is the main Italian naval base
Calabria
Capital – Catanzaro
Calabria – the ‘toe of Italy’s boot’
Campania
Capital – Naples
Capri is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region
Teatro di San Carlo is in Naples. It is the oldest continuously active venue for public opera in the world, opening in 1737
Sorrento overlooks the Bay of Naples as the key place of the Sorrentine Peninsula, and many viewpoints allow sight of Naples itself, Vesuvius and the Isle of Capri
Cape de Monte – in the district of Naples
Salerno is mostly known for its Schola Medica Salernitana (the first University of Medicine in the world)
Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed when Vesuvius erupted in 79
Vesuvius last erupted in 1944
Amalfi Coast – a stretch of coastline on the southern side of the Sorrentine Peninsula of Italy (Province of Salerno), extending from Positano in the west to Vietri sul Mare in the east
Emilia-Romagna
Capital – Bologna
Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport is an international airport serving the city of Bologna
Rimini airport is named after Federico Fellini
Ravenna is known as ‘city of the mosaic’
Lazio
Capital – Rome
The Arch of Titus is a triumphal arch with a single arched opening, located on the Via Sacra just to the south-east of the Forum in Rome. It was constructed by the emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus, commemorating the capture and sack of Jerusalem in 70
Pantheon – a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to the seven deities of the seven planets in the state religion of Ancient Rome, but which has been a Christian church since the 7th century. The original Pantheon was built in 27 BC – 25 BC under the Roman Empire, during the third consulship of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and his name is inscribed on the portico of the building. Agrippa's Pantheon was destroyed along with other buildings in a fire in 80, and the current building dates from about 125, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Pantheon has the largest un-reinforced concrete dome
The Colosseum or Roman Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre, is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of Rome, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering. Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign
Rome is built on Palatine Hill
The Roman Forum is located between the Palatine Hill and the Capitoline Hill
Quirinal Palace was built in 1583 by Pope Gregory XIII as a papal summer residence
Ponte Sant'Angelo, meaning the Bridge of Hadrian, is a bridge in Rome, constructed between 134 and 139 by Roman Emperor Hadrian, to span the Tiber, from the city centre to his newly constructed mausoleum, the Castel Sant'Angelo
Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Rome, initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family
Temple of Jupiter – on Capitoline Hill
Temple of Vesta is located in the Roman Forum between the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the Temple of Caesar, the Regia and the House of the Vestal Virgins. The temple's most recognizable feature is its circular footprint which is most likely a remnant of an ancient Latin or Etruscan shrine
La Bocca della Verita (‘the Mouth of Truth’) is an image, carved from marble, of a man-like face, located in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome. It was believed that if one told a lie with one's hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off
Stadium of the Marbles in Rome has Carrara marble steps lined by 59 marble statues in classical style portraying athletes
Trevi fountain was constructed in1762. Trevi means ‘three roads’. An estimated 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day
Spanish Steps – monumental stairway of 138 steps was built with French diplomat Étienne Gueffier’s bequeathed funds of 20,000 scudi, in 1723–1725, linking the Bourbon Spanish Embassy, and the Trinita dei Monti church that was under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France
Altare della Patria in Rome is a monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy
Trajan’s Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars
Ostia – harbour port of ancient Rome
EUR is a residential and business district in Rome. The area was originally chosen in 1930s as the site for the 1942 world's fair which Benito Mussolini planned to open to celebrate twenty years of Fascism
Ostia was the port city of Ancient Rome
Tivoli, the classical Tibur, is an ancient Italian town in Lazio, about 30 km east of Rome
Ligurua
Capital – Genoa
Genoa – largest commercial port in Italy
Imperia – a coastal city and comune in the region of Liguria
Lombardy
Capital –Milan
Biblioteca Ambrosiana is a historic library in Milan, also housing the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana art gallery. Named after Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan, it was founded by Cardinal Federico Borromeo
Mediolanum – Latin name for Milan
La Scala opened in 1778 with a performance of Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta
Pirelli Tower – second tallest building in Milan
Ducal Palace, Mantua – built between the 14th and the 17th century mainly by the noble family of Gonzaga as their royal residence in the capital of their Duchy
Stone carvings of Val Camonica constitute one of the largest collections of prehistoric petroglyphs in the world. The collection was recognized by Unesco in 1979 and was Italy's first recognized World Heritage Site. Include the world’s earliest map, known as the Bedolina Map
Monza is 15 km north-northeast of Milan
Marche
Capital – Ancona
Ducal Palace (Italian: Palazzo Ducale), Urbino is a World Heritage site
Piedmont
Capital – Turin
Piedmont – means ‘foot of the mountains’
Turin Shroud is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin
Tuscany
Capital – Florence
Ponte Vecchio – spans the River Arno in Florence. Means ‘old bridge’
The Palazzo Pitti, sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in Florence. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The Boboli Gardens, behind the Pitti Palace, the main seat of the Medici grand dukes of Tuscany at Florence, are some of the first and most familiar formal sixteenth century Italian gardens
The Vasari Corridor is an elevated path in Florence which connects Palazzo Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti, passing over the Uffizi Gallery and the Ponte Vecchio. It was built in five months by order of Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in 1565, under design by Giorgio Vasari
Bargello, also known as the Bargello Palace or Palazzo del Popolo (Palace of the People) is a former barracks and prison, now an art museum, in Florence
Laurentian library in Florence was designed by Michelangelo
Medici Chapel is a structure in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, Italy. It comprises two structures added to Brunelleschi's original design, each intended to celebrate the power of the Medici as Grand Dukes of Tuscany. One is the Sagrestia Nuova, the ‘New Sacristy’, designed by Michelangelo. The other is the Cappella dei Principi, the 16th and 17th-century ‘Chapel of the Princes’
Giotto’s Campanile is a free-standing campanile that is part of the complex of buildings that make up Florence Cathedral on the Piazza del Duomo in Florence
Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and Rossini, thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories
Piazza della Signoria is an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence
Carrara is a city in Tuscany notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there
Ducal palace of Mantua was built between the 14th and the 17th century mainly by the noble family of Gonzaga as their royal residence
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of Pisa. It is situated behind the Cathedral and it is the third structure in Pisa's Campo dei Miracoli (field of miracles). Although intended to stand vertically, the tower began leaning to the southeast soon after the onset of construction in 1173. The height of the tower is 186’. The tower has 294 steps and leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees before restoration work reduced the angle to 4 degrees. Construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa occurred in three stages across 177 years. Work on the first floor of the white marble campanile began in 1173
Elba is largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago
Umbria
Capital – Perugia
Umbria is a region of Central Italy, bordered by Tuscany to the west, the Marche to the east and Lazio to the south. The main towns are Perugia and Terni
The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi (St Francis), the mother church of the Franciscan Order, is a World Heritage Site in Assisi, Italy. The foundation stone was laid by Pope Gregory IX in 1228. Works by Giotto and Cimabue
Veneto
Capital – Venice
Venice is built on 118 islands
Grand Canal – at one end the canal leads into the lagoon near Santa Lucia railway station and the other end leads into Saint Mark Basin: in between it makes a large S-shape through the central districts (sestieri) of Venice
Rialto Bridge is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice. It is the oldest bridge across the canal, and was the dividing line for the districts of San Marco and San Polo. The present stone bridge, a single span designed by Antonio da Ponte, was completed in 1591
Rialto Bridge is the oldest bridge of Venice
Triumphal Quadriga or Horses of Saint Mark is a set of Roman or Greek bronze statues of four horses, originally part of a monument depicting a quadriga. It was originally erected in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, possibly on a triumphal arch, and is now in St Mark's Basilica in Venice
San Marco library – in Venice
Venice – Bride of the Sea
Venice is divided into six areas or sestiere
San Michele – Venice’s cemetery island
Lido – a sandbar located in Venice
Sant'Erasmo is an island in the Venetian Lagoon lying north of the Lido and north east of Venice
Murano – glass making centre, near Venice
Sicily
Catania is the second-largest city in Sicily
Mazzaro – beach in Sicily
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean
Trapani is a city in Sicily
Marsala in Sicily is famous for the landing of Garibaldi in 1860 (the Expedition of the Thousand) and its wine
Mount Etna – also known as Muncibeddu (beautiful mountain) in Sicilian and Mongibello in Italian
Messina was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami in 1908
Syracuse was founded by Ancient Greek Corinthians and became a very powerful city-state. Syracuse was allied with Sparta and Corinth, exerting influence over the entire Magna Graecia area of which it was the most important city
Sardinia
Sassari – second-largest city of Sardinia
Costa Smeralda – resort in Sardinia. Development of the area started in 1961, and was financed by a consortium of companies led by Aga Khan
Alghero is a town in Sardinia. The Catalan language is co-official in the city, unique in Italy
Islands
Aeolian Islands are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily. The largest island is Lipari, and the entire archipelago is known as the Lipari Islands. The other islands include Vulcano and Stromboli
Stromboli is known as “the lighthouse of the Mediterranean”
The island of Lampedusa belongs to Italy and is the largest of the Pelagie Islands, situated 205 km from Sicily and 113 km from Tunisia. It is a major route for Africans immigrating to Europe
Santo Stefano is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the west coast of Italy, and part of the Pontine Islands. It is dominated by an old prison built by the Bourbons, completed in 1797 and in use until 1965
Blue grotto – cave off the island of Capri
Ischia is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples
Ferdinandea is a submerged volcanic island (also known as Graham Island) that forms part of the underwater volcano Empedocles 30 km south of Sicily. Currently a seamount, eruptions have raised it above sea level several times before erosion has caused it to submerge again. It last rose above sea level after erupting in 1831
Mountains
Corno Grande is the highest point in the Apennines
The Julian Alps stretch from north-eastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2864 metres at Triglav. They are named after Julius Caesar and are part of the Southern Limestone Alps
Cortina d’Ampezzo is in the Dolomites
Dolomites is derived from the French mineralogist Deodat Gratet de Dolomieu who was the first to describe the rock, dolomite
Marmolada is the highest point in the Dolomites
Lakes
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland
Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy. It is the third largest lake in Italy. At over 400 m (1320 ft) deep it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe
Lake Como is shaped much like the character ‘Y’. The northern branch begins at the town of Colico, while the towns of Como and Lecco sit at the ends of the southwestern and southeastern branches respectively
Lake Lugano is between Como and Maggiore
Lake Trasimene is the largest lake on the Italian peninsula south of the Po River
Lake Avernus is a volcanic crater lake located in the Avernus crater in the Campania region
Seas
Ligurian Sea – between Corsica and Genoa
Strait of Messina is the strait between Sicily and Calabria
Strait of Bonifacio is the strait between Corsica and Sardinia
Rivers
The Po flows 405 miles eastward across northern Italy, from Monviso (in the Cottian Alps) to the Adriatic Sea near Venice. It is the longest river in Italy, and passes through many important Italian towns, including Turin
The Adige is the second longest river in Italy
River Tiber flows through Rome
River Arno flows through Florence and Pisa
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country by land area and the ninth largest country in the world
Kazakhstan was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991
Lake Balkhash is in Kazakhstan
After the capital of Kazakhstan was moved from Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, to Akmola in1997, the city was consequently renamed Astana in 1998
Bayterek is the most famous landmark in Astana. The legend behind this tower as a symbol is that it represents a poplar tree, where the magic bird Samruk laid its egg
Latvia
Riga was founded in 1201 and is a former Hanseatic League member
Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states
Riga has one of the largest collection of art nouveau buildings in the world
Yarni is a pagan festival in Latvia
Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia
Daugavpils is the second largest city in Latvia
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein is a constitutional monarchy with the rank of principality, headed by the Prince of Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked country bordered by Austria and Switzerland. The entire western border of Liechtenstein is formed by the Rhine
The principality of Liechtenstein is divided into 11 communes called Gemeinden. Five of them fall within the electoral district Unterland (the lower county), and the remainder within Oberland (the upper county)
Liechtenstein is one of the few countries in the world with more registered companies than citizens
Vaduz is on the River Rhine
Schaan is the largest city in Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Kaunas is the second largest city in Lithuania
On 11 March 1990, a year before formal break-up of the Soviet Union, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare itself independent
In 1995, the world's first bronze cast of Frank Zappa was installed in Vilnius
Luxembourg
Luxembourg comprises two principal regions: the Oesling in the north as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south
As a representative democracy with a constitutional monarch, it is headed by a grand duke, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and is the world's only remaining grand duchy
European Court of Justice is in Luxembourg
Luxembourg was known as the “Gibraltar of the North”
Three languages are recognized as official in Luxembourg: French, German, and Luxembourgish
Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is the final resting place of 5,076 American military dead, including General George S. Patton
Macedonia
Macedonia is officially the Republic of Macedonia. It became a member of the United Nations in 1993, but, as a result of an ongoing dispute with Greece over use of the name Macedonia, it was admitted under the provisional description of "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM)
Skopje is on the River Vardar
Skopje was known in the Roman period under the name Scupi
Malta
Malta is an archipelago 80 km south of Sicily across the Malta Channel. Only the three largest islands – Malta, Gozo and Comino – are inhabited
Malta is the closest commonwealth country to UK
Malta has two official languages: Maltese and English
Valletta, at 0.8 km2, is the smallest national capital in the European Union
Valletta contains buildings from the 16th century onwards, built during the rule of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, also known as Knights Hospitaller
Mdina served as the island's capital from antiquity until 1530, when the capital was moved to Birgu
Megalithic Temples of Malta are the oldest free-standing structures on Earth, even older than the Pyramids
Moldova
The name Moldova is derived from the Moldova River
Moldova declared itself an independent state in 1991. It is the poorest country in Europe
The largest part of the nation lies between two rivers, the Dniester and the Prut
The English language name for Chisinau is Kishinev
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west. This was the name by which Imperial Russia designated the eastern part of the Principality of Moldavia
Monaco
Monaco is a sovereign city-state and microstate. It is the second smallest and the most densely populated country in the world
Monaco is a principality governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, with Prince Albert II as head of state
The traditional national language is Monegasque, now spoken by only a minority of residents
Monte Carlo officially refers to an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco; informally the name also refers to a larger district, the Monte Carlo Quarter
Opera de Monte-Carlo was designed by Charles Garnier
Montenegro
Montenegro means “black mountain”
Montenegro declared itself independent of Serbia in 2006
The country has a segment of the Karst of the western Balkan Peninsula
Podgorica was known as Titograd from 1946 to 1992
Podgorica means “under the small hill”
Netherlands
Netherlands is divided into twelve provinces and three overseas public bodies (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba)
Largest cities in Netherlands – Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Eindhoven
Maastrict – capital of Limburg province
Haarlem – capital of North Holland province
The Hague – capital of South Holland province
Amsterdam is the largest city in North Holland province
Museumplein is a square in Amsterdam. The square is called “Museum Square” because four museums are located around the square: the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, and the Diamond Museum
Rijksmuseum (English: State Museum) has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art. It also displays the stern of the HMS Royal Charles which was captured in the Raid on the Medway
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is a museum of modern art
Anne Frank building is located on Prinsengracht canal
De Wallen, also known as Walletjes or Rosse Buurt, is a designated area for legalised prostitution and is Amsterdam's largest and most well known red-light district
Amsterdam Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange in the world
Royal Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam
Rotterdam is the largest city of South Holland province
The port of Rotterdam is the largest cargo port in Europe. Rotterdam is known as the “Gateway to Europe”
The Erasmus Bridge is a cable stayed bridge across the Nieuwe Maas river, linking the northern and southern halves of the city of Rotterdam. It was designed by Ben van Berkel and completed in 1996. The bridge has a 139 metre-high asymmetrical pylon, earning the bridge its nickname of “The Swan”
The Hague is the seat of Dutch government
International Court of Justice is located at Peace Palace in The Hague, and was funded by Andrew Carnegie
Mauritshaus art museum in The Hague houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which consists of 841 objects, mostly Dutch Golden Age paintings
Maastrict is on River Maas
Philips' presence is probably the largest single contributing factor to the major growth of Eindhoven
Vlissingen is also known as Flushing
Zuider Zee was dammed using boulder clay in 1932
Dutch dykes destroyed in 1953 storm
The Vaalserberg is the highest point in the Netherlands and is also the location of the tripoint between Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands
Ijsselmeer is a shallow artificial lake of 1100 km² in the central Netherlands. It is the largest lake in Western Europe
Norway
Largest cities in Norway – Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger
Bygdoy in Oslo has several museums, inckuding the Kon-Tiki Museum; the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History (Norsk Folkemuseum); the Viking Ship Museum; the Norwegian Maritime Museum and the ship Fram, used by Roald Amundsen
The main attractions at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo are the Oseberg ship, Gokstad ship and Tune ship
Oseberg ship is a well-preserved Viking ship discovered in a large burial mound at the Oseberg farm in Norway. The characteristic motif of the Oseberg style of animal ornamentation is gripping beasts
Sarpsfossen has the greatest flow of any waterfall in Europe, It is the last waterfall in the river Glomma, which is the longest river in Norway
Cape Nordkinn is the northernmost point of mainland Norway, and by extension the northernmost point of mainland Europe. In the county of Finnmark
Laerdal Tunnel is a 15 mile long road tunnel connecting Lærdal and Aurland in Sogn in Norway. It is the longest road tunnel in the world
Lofoten is an archipelago in the county of Nordland. Though lying within the Arctic Circle, the archipelago experiences one of the world's largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude. Target of oil and gas exploration
Utsira is a municipality in Rogaland county. Utsira (under the spelling Utsire) gives its name to North Utsire and South Utsire, two of the sea areas of the Shipping Forecast
Hammerfest claims to be the northernmost city in the world
Hurtigruten (“the Express Route”) is a daily passenger and freight shipping service along Norway's western and northern coast between Bergen and Kirkenes. Sometimes referred to as the Norwegian Coastal Express
Troll Wall is the tallest vertical rock face in Europe. The rock is gneiss
Jostedal Glacier (Norwegian: Jostedalsbreen) is the largest glacier in continental Europe
Svalbard (formerly known by its Dutch name Spitsbergen) is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is about midway between continental Norway and the North Pole
Longyearbyen, in Svalbard, is the world’s northernmost town
Bear Island is the southernmost island of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago
Jan Mayen is a volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean and a part of the Kingdom of Norway
The Antarctic Peter I Island is a dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land
Bouvet Island is an uninhabited subantarctic volcanic island and dependency of Norway located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote island in the world
Poland
Largest cities in Poland – Warsaw, Lodz, Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan
Warsaw international airport is named after Frederic Chopin
Warsaw is known as the “phoenix city”
Warsaw is located on the Vistula River
River Vistula empties into the Baltic Sea
Royal Castle was the official residence of the Polish monarchs. It is located in the Castle Square, at the entrance to the Warsaw Old Town
Krakow's John Paul II International airport in Balice is Poland’s second busiest after Warsaw
The main landmarks of Krakow include the St. Mary's Basilica and the Sukiennice Cloth Hall, the Wawel Castle, the Zygmunt Bell at the Wawel Cathedral, and the medieval St Florian's Gate with the Barbican along the Royal Coronation Route
Wieliczka salt mine, near Krakow, was built in the 13th century. It produced table salt continuously until 2007, as one of the world's oldest salt mines still in operation
Lodz translates literally as “boat”
Wroclaw is the capital of Lower Silesia in southwestern Poland, situated on the Oder River
Poznan has the oldest cathedral in the country, which contains the tombs of the first Polish rulers
Containing the painting known as the Black Madonna, the Jasna Gora monastery in the city of Czestochowa is a centre for Catholic pilgrims
Portugal
Aside from continental Portugal, the Portuguese Republic holds sovereignty over the Atlantic archipelagos of Azores and Madeira, which are autonomous regions of Portugal
The country is named after its second largest city, Porto
In 27 BC, Lusitania gained the status of Roman province. Later, a northern province of Lusitania was formed, known as Gallaecia, with capital in Bracara Augusta, today's Braga
Lisbon was built on seven hills
Belem Tower, Lisbon was commissioned by King John II to be both part of a defense system at the mouth of the Tagus River and a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon
Lisbon was known to the Romans as Felicitas Julia Olissipo
Vasco da Gama Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Tagus River in Lisbon. It is the longest bridge in Europe. It was built to alleviate the congestion on Lisbon's other bridge (25 de Abril Bridge)
Braga Munipical Stadium was carved out of a quarry (Monte Castro) that overlooks the city of Braga
River Tagus is the longest river in Portugal
River Douro enters the Atlantic near Porto
Serra da Estrela (English: Mountain Range of the Star) is the highest mountain range in Continental Portugal
Sintra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on account of its 19th century Romantic architecture
Most westerly point in mainland Europe is Cabo da Roca
Algarve is the southernmost region of mainland Portugal. The region has as its administrative centre the city of Faro
Sao Miguel is the largest of the nine volcanic islands of the Azores
Mount Pico, in the Azores, in Portugal’s highest mountain
Ponta Delgada is the capital of the Azores
Madeira is an archipelago located in the north Atlantic Ocean, west and slightly south of Portugal. It includes the islands of Madeira, Porto Santo, and the Desertas, administered together with the separate archipelago of the Savage Islands
Madeira is famous for Madeira wine and embroidery
Its annual New Year celebrations feature the largest fireworks show in the world
The main harbour is in Funchal, the capital of Madeira
Romania
Modern Romania emerged within the territories of the ancient Roman province of Dacia, and was formed in 1859 through a personal union of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The new state, officially named Romania since 1866, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877
The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest is the world's second largest administrative building, after the Pentagon
Cluj is the second largest city in Romania
Carpathian Mountains dominate the centre of Romania
Transylvania was part of Hungary until 1918
River Danube empties in Romania's Danube Delta
Danube Delta has three distributaries
Russia
Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the world's ninth most populous nation
Russia is a federation which, since 2008, consisted of 83 federal subjects. In 2014, Sevastopol and the Republic of Crimea became the 84th and 85th federal subjects
Federal subjects are grouped into nine federal districts
46 of the federal subjects are oblasts
Russia is the only country that borders the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea
St Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow was built in the 16th century on Red Square by Ivan the Terrible
Peter the Great Statue in Moscow was designed by the Georgian designer Zurab Tsereteli to commemorate 300 years of the Russian Navy, which was started by Peter I of Russia. It is the eighth tallest statue in the world. The statue is allegedly based on a design originally intended to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the first voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1992
The Federation Tower is a skyscraper currently under construction as part of the Moscow International Business Centre. Construction of the towers began in 2003. When completed in 2016, it will become the tallest building in Europe
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is on the northern bank of the Moskva River, a few blocks southwest of the Kremlin. With an overall height of 103 metres it is the tallest Orthodox Christian church in the world
Seven sisters a group of seven skyscrapers in Moscow designed in the Stalinist style
Great Assumption bell – in the Kremlin Boulevard Ring is Moscow's second centremost ring road (the first is formed by the Central Squares of Moscow running along the former walls of Kitai-gorod)
Boulevard Ring is Moscow's second centremost ring road (the first is formed by the Central Squares of Moscow running along the former walls of Kitai-gorod)
Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo are the international airports in Moscow
Moscow Metro was opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations. It was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 185 stations. The Moscow Metro is the world's second-most-heavily-used rapid transit system, afterTokyo's twin subway
Underground stations in Moscow are known as “people’s palaces”
Monument “To the Conquerors of Space” was erected in Moscow in 1964 to celebrate achievements of the Soviet people in space exploration. The main part of the monument is a giant obelisk topped by a rocket and resembling in shape the exhaust plume of the rocket. A statue of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the precursor of astronautics, is located in front of the obelisk
Moscow is known as the “Port of the Five Seas”
Lenin's Mausoleum is situated in Red Square in the center of Moscow. Aleksey Shchusev's diminutive but monumental granite structure incorporates some elements from ancient mausoleums, such as the Step Pyramid and the Tomb of Cyrus the Great
Shabolovka Radio Tower is a broadcasting tower in Moscow designed by Vladimir Shukhov. The 160-metre-high free-standing steel structure was built in the period 1920–1922, during the Russian Civil War. It is a hyperboloid structure
Ostankino Tower is a free-standing television and radio tower in Moscow. Standing 540 metres tall, Ostankino was designed by Nikolai Nikitin. It is currently the tallest in Europe
Tatlin’s Tower or The Monument to the Third International was a grand monumental building envisioned by the Russian artist and architect Vladimir Tatlin, but never built. It was planned to be erected in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, as the headquarters and monument of the Comintern (the third international)
The Lubyanka is the popular name for the headquarters of the KGB and affiliated prison on Lubyanka Square in Moscow. It has a facade of yellow brick, designed by Alexander Ivanov in 1897 and augmented by Aleksey Shchusev from 1940 to 1947
Saint Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703
Saint Petersburg was known as Petrograd from 1914 to 1924, and Leningrad from 1924 to 1991
Mariinsky Palace was the last Neoclassical imperial palace to be constructed in Saint Petersburg
State Hermitage Museum was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852
Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of Saint Petersburg, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740
Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs
Alexander Column is the focal point of Palace Square in Saint Petersburg. The monument was erected after the Russian victory in the war with Napoleon's France. The column is named for Emperor Alexander I
Saint Petersburg is on River Neva
Catherine Palace was the summer residence of the Russian tsars, located in the town of Pushkin (formerly known as Tsarskoye Selo), 24 km south of Saint Petersburg. The residence originated in 1717, when Catherine I of Russia engaged the German architect Johann-Friedrich Braunstein to construct a summer palace. Empress Elizabeth found her mother's residence outdated and in 1752 asked her court architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli to demolish the old structure and replace it with a much grander edifice in a flamboyant Rococo style
Volgograd was known as Tsaritsyn from 1598 to 1925, and Stalingrad from 1925 to 1961
The Motherland Calls is a statue in Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad
Nizhny Novgorod was known as Gorky from 1932 to 1990
Astrakhan is the principal port on River Volga
Archangel is on the White Sea
Ekaterinburg – largest city in Urals, is the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast
Anadyr is a town in far northeastern Russia. It lies on the southern shore of the estuary of the Anadyr River, which empties into the Bering Sea
Norilsk in Siberia is known for nickel mining
Birobidzhan is a town and the administrative centre of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, located on the Trans-Siberian Railway
Sakha Republic is the largest subnational governing body by area in the world at 1,190,555 sq miles and the eighth largest territory in the world. Its capital is Yakutsk
Yakutsk is the coldest city on earth
Novosibirsk is the third most populous city in Russia after Moscow and St. Petersburg and the most populous city in Asian Russia
Great Patriotic War Monument is the large statue in Murmansk
Samara lies on the River Volga. Chosen to be the capital of the USSR should Moscow fall to the invading Germans during World War II
Mount Narodnaya is the highest peak of the Urals in Russia
Kamchatka has around 30 active volcanoes
Kalmykia is the only region in Europe where Buddhism is the main religion
Vladikavkaz is the capital of North Ossetia-Alania
Magas is the capital of Ingushetia
Grozny is the capital of Chechnya
Makhachkala is the capital of Dagestan
Derbent is a city in the Republic of Dagestan. It is the southernmost city in Russia. Often identified with the legendary Gates of Alexander, Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia
Kaliningrad Oblast is an exclave of Russia surrounded by Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea
Konigsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946
Museum of the World’s Ocean is in Kaliningrad
Franz Josef Land is an archipelago located in the far north of Russia. Discovered in 1873 and named in honour of the Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Joseph I
Solovki – first Gulag, was located on the Solovetsky Islands, in the White Sea
Novaya Zemlya (Russian: New Land) is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in the north of Russia and the extreme northeast of Europe, the easternmost point of Europe lying at Cape Flissingsky. Novaya Zemlya consists of two major islands, separated by the narrow Matochkin Strait. The two main islands are Severny (northern) and Yuzhny (southern). Novaya Zemlya separates the Barents Sea from the Kara Sea. It was used as a nuclear test site in the Cold War. It was the site of the 1961 explosion of Tsar Bomba, the largest, most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated
Seas and rivers
River Volga is the longest river in Europe (2,290 miles) and empties into Caspian Sea
Lake Baikal, in Southern Siberia is the deepest and oldest lake in the world as well as the largest (by volume) freshwater lake. It contains over 20% of the world's liquid fresh surface water and more than 90% of Russia's liquid fresh surface water. It is a World Heritage Site. Olkhon, by far the largest island in Lake Baikal, is the second largest lake-bound island in the world (the largest being Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron)
River Angara is the only river flowing out of Lake Baikal
Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe
Neva is the only river flowing from Lake Ladoga
Lake Onega is the second largest lake in Europe
Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean (the other two being the Ob River and the Yenisei River)
Ob It is the westernmost of the Siberian rivers. The Gulf of Ob is the world's longest estuary
Yenisei is the largest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean
Don River rises southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,220 miles to the Sea of Azov
Kolyma River is in northeastern Siberia and is 1,323 miles long. It is frozen for 250 days each year
San Marino
San Marino is also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino
San Marino is a microstate surrounded by Italy. It claims to be the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, as the continuation of the monastic community founded in 301, by stonecutter Marinus of Arba
Dogana is the largest city in San Marino
San Marino is is the only country with more vehicles than people
Serbia
Serbia became landlocked after Montenegro declared independence in 2006
The province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbia immediately condemned the declaration and continues to deny any statehood to Kosovo
Air Serbia is the flag carrier and largest airline of Serbia. The airline was formerly known as Jat Airways until it was renamed in 2013. The airline has its hub at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport
Belgrade lies at the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers. Means “white city”
Novi Sad is the second largest city in Serbia
Slovakia
Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia
Bordering Austria and Hungary, Bratislava is the only national capital that borders two independent countries
Bratislava was known as Pressburg
Pressburg flourished during the 18th century reign of Queen Maria Theresa, becoming the largest and most important town in “the Kingdom of Hungary”
Kosice is the second largest city in Slovakia
Vah is the longest river in Slovakia
Slovenia
In 1991, Slovenia split from Yugoslavia and became an independent country. In 2004, it entered NATO and the European Union; in 2007 became the first former Communist country to join the Eurozone
Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport is named after the leader of the Democratic Opposition of Slovenia between 1989 and 1992
Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia
National flag includes the coat of arms – a shield with the image of Mount Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak
Spain
Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities including –
Andalusia
Capital – Seville
Cordoba is known as the “Athens of the west”
Cordoba was the most populous city in Europe in 1000
Mezquita is a mosque in Cordoba, completed in 11th century. The building is most notable for its giant arches, with over 1,000 columns of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite
Alhambra (“red castle”) is an ancient palace and fortress complex of the Moorish monarchs of Granada, in southern Spain (known as Al-Andalus when the fortress was constructed during the mid 14th century). It was the residence of the Muslim kings of Granada and their court, but is currently a museum exhibiting Islamic architecture. Court of the lions – fountain supported by the figures of twelve lions in white marble
Federico Garcia Lorca airport serves Grenada
Seville is on River Guadalquivir
Almería is a province of the Autonomous Community of Andalucia. It is bordered by the provinces of Granada, Murcia, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is the city of Almería
Pablo Picasso airport serves Malaga
Costa del Sol (“Sun Coast”) is a region in the south of Spain, in Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns along the Mediterranean coastline of the Malaga province. It includes the towns of Torremolinos and Marbella
Most southerly point in mainland Europe is Punta de Tarifa
Aragon
Capital – Zaragosa
Zaragoza is on river Ebro
Zaragoza was founded by Emperor Augustus
Pico d’Aneto is the highest point in Pyrenees and in Aragon
Asturias
Capital – Oviedo
Gijon is a seaport and the largest city in Asturias
Basque Country
Capital – Vitoria (de facto)
Basque Country includes the Basque provinces of Alava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories
Almost half of the inhabitants of the Basque Autonomous Community live in Greater Bilbao
San Sebastian is also known as Donostia
Cantabria
Capital – Santander
Altamira is a cave famous for its Upper Paleolithic cave paintings featuring drawings and polychrome rock paintings of wild mammals and human hands. It is located near the town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria. The cave with its paintings has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO
Castile-La Mancha
Capital – Toledo
La Mancha is the largest continuous wine growing region in the world
La Mancha's windmills were immortalized in the novel Don Quixote
Castile and Leon
Capital – Valladolid
Castile and Leon is the largest autonomous community in Spain
Burgos Cathedral is the burial place of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid)
Catalonia
Capital – Barcelona
Sagrada Familia is the unfinished Gaudi cathedral in Barcelona
Park Guell is in Barcelona. Garden complex designed by Gaudi
Barcelona El-Prat airport is the second largest in Spain behind Madrid Barajas Airport
Barcelona was known as Faventia in Roman times
A tree-lined pedestrian mall, La Rambla in Barcelona stretches for 1.2 km connecting Placa de Catalunya in the centre with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell
Dali Theatre and Museum is in Figueres, near Barcelona
Costa Brava is a coastal region of northeastern Catalonia, in the province of Girona. Costa is the Catalan and Spanish word for 'coast', and Brava means 'rugged' or 'wild'. It includes the town of Lloret de Mar
Galicia
Capital – Santiago de Compostela
Galicia takes its name from the Gallaeci, the Celtic peoples living north of the Douro river
Way of St. James is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried. The scallop shell, often found on the shores in Galicia, has long been the symbol of the Camino de Santiago
Vigo is a city in Galicia
Madrid
Madrid is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third largest in the European Union after Paris and London
Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of the King of Spain in the city of Madrid, and it is only used for State Ceremonies
Philip II named Madrid as the capital of Spain in 1561
Puerta del Sol is a square in Madrid
Plaza de Colon is located in Madrid. This plaza and its fountain commemorate the explorer Christopher Columbus, whose name in Spanish was Cristóbal Colón
Madrid is located on the Manzanares River
Las Ventas, in Madrid, is the largest bullring in Spain
Golden Triangle of Art in Madrid comprises the Prado, Reina Sofia, and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums
Valley of the Fallen (Spanish: Valle de los Caídos) is a Catholic basilica and a monumental memorial in the municipality of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, near Madrid, conceived by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco to honour and bury those who fell during the Spanish Civil War
The Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a palace, Augustinian monastery, museum, and library complex located at El Escorial, a town 45 km northwest of Madrid
Navarre
Capital – Pamplona
Bull running in Pamplona is part of the San Fermin festival, held in July
Valencian Community
Valencia is known as the “city of 100 bell towers”
La Tomatina is a festival that is held in the Valencian town of Bunol, in which participants throw tomatoes at each other
Costa Blanca (English: White Coast) refers to the over 200 kilometres of coastline belonging to the Province of Alicante. The name Costa Blanca was devised as a promotional name used by BEA when they launched their air service (for £38.16s.-) between London and Valencia in 1957. It includes the major tourist destinations of Benidorm and Alicante
Balearic Islands
Capital – Palma de Mallorca
Palma de Mallorca is on Majorca
The four largest islands are Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. There are many minor islands and islets in close proximity to the larger islands, including Cabrera, Dragonera and S'Espalmador
Pityusic Islands, or commonly but informally the Pine Islands, is the name given collectively to Ibiza, Formentera and a number of small islands
Ibiza is closest to the mainland
Large portions of Ibiza are registered as UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Mahon is the capital of Minorca
Canary Islands
Capital – Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, commonly known as Las Palmas is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands
Playa de las Américas is a purpose-built holiday resort in Arona Municipio, in the south of Tenerife
Mount Teide is a volcano on Tenerife. Its 3,718 m summit is the highest point in Spain
Fuerteventura is the oldest island in the Canary Islands dating back 20 million years to a volcanic eruption from the Canary hotspot. It is the second largest island
El Hierro is the smallest and westernmost Canary Island
Lanzarote is the easternmost Canary Island
Fire Mountain is on Lanzarote
Arrecife is main town on Lanzarote
La Palma is the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands
Cumbre Vieja is an active volcanic ridge on the volcanic ocean island of Isla de La Palma in the Canary Islands. A future failure of the western flank of the Cumbre Vieja may cause a mega-tsunami
Canary Islands means “Islands of the Dogs”
Ceuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of Africa, sharing a western border with Morocco. Ceuta, like Melilla, was a free port before Spain joined the European Union. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean
Melilla
Melilla is an autonomous city of Spain and shares a border with Morocco and is and across the sea from the Spanish provinces of Granada and Almería
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is a Spanish rock in North Africa off the Moroccan coast
Ebro is the longest river in Spain
Río Tinto is notable for being very acidic (pH 2) and its deep reddish hue is due to iron dissolved in the water
Mulhacen is the highest mountain in continental Spain and in the Iberian Peninsula. It is part of the Sierra Nevada range
Picos de Europa is a mountain range in Spain
Sweden
Vasa Museum in Stockholm displays the 64-gun warship Vasa that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628
The Stockholm metro, opened in 1950, is well known for its decoration of the stations; it has been called the longest art gallery in the world
Museum of World Culture is in Gothenburg
Gothenburg is situated by the Kattegat, and is the second largest city in Sweden
Gota Canal provides a route from Gothenburg on the west coast to Söderköping on the Baltic Sea. 118 miles long
Malmo is the third largest city in Sweden. Together with Copenhagen, it constitutes the transnational Oresund Region
HSB Turning Torso is the tallest skyscraper in Sweden and the Nordic countries, situated in Malmo. The project was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava
The Oresund Bridge is a combined two-track rail and four-lane road bridge across the Oresund strait. The bridge-tunnel is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe and connects Copenhagen and Malmo. The bridge ends in the middle of Oresund, on an artificially built island, called Peberholm. The connection between Peberholm and the nearest populated part of Denmark is through the Drogden Tunnel. Opened in 2000
Kiruna is the northernmost town in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland. The city's vicinity shares a long history with the indigenous Sami people
ICEHOTEL near the village of Jukkasjärvi, Kiruna is the first and most famous of the ice hotels
Visby is main town of Gotland, which is Sweden’s largest island
In 1999, the world's largest Viking silver treasure, the Spillings Hoard, was found in a field in Gotland
Vanern is the largest lake in Sweden, the largest lake in the European Union and the third largest lake entirely in Europe after Ladoga and Onega in Russia
Oland is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden
Switzerland
Officially the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Berne as the seat of the federal authorities, the so-called Bundesstadt ("federal city")
The establishment of the Swiss Confederation is traditionally dated to1291
Historically each canton in the then confederation was a sovereign state, with its own borders, army, and currency until the current federal structure was established in 1848
Graubunden is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland
Jura is the newest (created in 1979) of the Swiss cantons
Switzerland has four official languages – German, French, Italian, and Romansh
Largest cities in Switzerland – Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Berne, Lausanne
Zurich has the highest population of the cantons
Zurich was known as Turicum in Roman times
Most of Zurich's sites are located within the area on either side of the Limmat river, between the Main railway station and Lake Zurich
Geneva is located at the south-western end of Lake Geneva, where the lake flows back into the Rhone River. It is surrounded by two mountain chains, the Alps and the Jura
Lake Geneva – largest alpine lake
Geneva is known as ‘The Protestant Rome’
Geneva is the headquarters of many of the agencies of the United Nations and the Red Cross
CERN is based in a suburb of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border
Palais des Nations in Geneva was built between 1929 and 1936 to serve as the headquarters of the League of Nations
Basle is on the Rhine, where Swiss, French, and German borders meet
Canton of Berne is the second most populous of Switzerland's cantons
The Aare flows in a wide loop around the Old City of Berne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva
Vevey is the site of the world headquarters of the food giant Nestle, founded in 1867
Suisse romande or Romandie is the French-speaking parts of western Switzerland
Interlaken is located between Lake Brienz to the east and Lake Thun to the west. The Aare River flows through the town connecting the lakes
Vindonissa was a Roman camp in Switzerland
Lotschberg Base Tunnel is a 21.5 mile long new railway tunnel cutting through the Alps of Switzerland some 400 m below the existing Lotschberg Tunnel. It is the longest land tunnel in the world
Reichenbach Falls are near Meiringen
Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern
Eiger is near Grindelwald in the Bernese Alps
Lake Neuchatel is the largest lake entirely in Switzerland, as the larger Lake Geneva (Lac Leman) is shared with France, and Lake Constance (German: Bodensee) with Germany and Austria
Lake Maggiore is divided between the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy and the Swiss canton of Ticino
Lake Lucerne (‘Lake of the Four Forest Cantons’) is a lake in central Switzerland, the fifth largest in the country
Jungfraubahn is a rack railway which runs 9 km from Kleine Scheidegg to the highest railway station in Europe at Jungfraujoch. The railway runs almost entirely within a tunnel built into the Eiger and Monch mountains
Jungfrau is one of the main summits in the Bernese Alps. Together with the Eiger and Monch, the Jungfrau forms a massive wall overlooking the Bernese Oberland
Jungfrau – German for maiden/virgin
Rhine Falls is the largest plain waterfall in Europe. The falls are located on the Upper Rhine near the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland
Zermatt lies at the foot of the Matterhorn
Monte Rosa is the highest mountain in Switzerland. Its main summit is named Dufourspitze
Turkey
Largest cities in Turkey – Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa
Hagia Sophia (‘holy wisdom’), now known as the Ayasofia Museum, was an early Christian Church, and later an Eastern Orthodox Church which was transformed into a mosque in 1453 by the Turks, and converted into a museum in 1935. It is located in Istanbul. It was constructed from 532 to 537, at the orders of Emperor Justinian I and designed by Isidore of Miletus. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Medieval Seville Cathedral in 1520
Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul was built on the order of sultan Suleiman I (Suleiman the Magnificent) and was constructed by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. The construction work began in 1550 and the mosque was finished in 1557
Diamond of Istanbul is the tallest building in Istanbul and Turkey currently being built in the city's Maslak business district. It is also the country's first steel skyscraper
Galata Tower is a medieval stone tower in Istanbul
Taksim Square is considered the heart of modern Istanbul. Taksim is Arabic for ’division’ or ‘distribution’. The Taksim square was originally the point where the main water lines from the north of Istanbul were collected and branched off to other parts of the city (hence the name)
Golden Horn is a fresh-water estuary in Istanbul dividing the city of Istanbul. Crossed by several bridges, most notably the Galata Bridge. Galata was a colony of the Republic of Genoa between 1273 and 1453
Ankara was historically known as Angora
Ankara has many well-preserved remains of Ottoman and Roman architecture, the most remarkable being the Temple of Augustus and Rome
Hisarlik (‘Place of Fortresses’), is the modern Turkish name for the ancient site of Troy, also known as Ilion, and is located in Turkey (known throughout history as Anatolia)
Topkapi Palace museum – Istanbul. Includes the Court of Janissary and the Black Eunuchs dormitory
Cappadocia region is largely underlain by sedimentary rocks formed in lakes and streams, and ignimbrite deposits erupted from ancient volcanoes approximately 9 to 3 million years ago. The rocks of Cappadocia near Göreme eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms
Goreme is a town in Cappadocia, located among the ‘fairy chimney’volcanic tuff formations. Early homes were carved straight into the rock formations
The Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, Turkey, was commissioned by Sultan Selim II and was built by architect Mimar Sinan between 1568 and 1574. It was considered by Sinan to be his masterpiece and is one of the highest achievements of Islamic architecture
Edirne is a city in Thrace, the westernmost part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1457, when Constantinople (Istanbul) became the empire's new capital. Founded by the Romans as Adrianople
Sardis was an ancient city at the location of modern Sart in Turkey. Sardis was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, one of the important cities of the Persian Empire, the seat of a proconsul under the Roman Empire, and the metropolis of the province Lydia in later Roman and Byzantine times
Gobekli Tepe is a Neolithic (stone-age) hilltop sanctuary erected at the top of a mountain ridge in southeastern Anatolia. It is the oldest known human-made religious structure. This is where modern wheat was first domesticated
Library of Celsus is an ancient Roman building in Ephesus, Anatolia, now part of Selcuk, Turkey. It was built in honour of the Roman Senator Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus
Rize – tea producing province in Turkey
Bosphorus connects Black Sea to Sea of Marmara, It is the world's narrowest strait used for international navigation
Dardanelles link Aegean and Sea of Marmara. Formerly known as Hellespont
Marmaray is an undersea rail tunnel being constructed to link the European and Asian sections of Istanbul, running under the Bosphorus strait. When completed, it will be the world's deepest undersea immersed tube tunnel
Lycia was a geopolitical region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Mugla on the southern coast of Turkey
Turquoise Coast is the southwest Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Also known as the Turkish Riviera
Tigris and Euphrates both rise in Turkey
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey
Taurus Mountains are in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau
Ukraine
Ukraine is is the largest wholly European country
Ukraine’s only mountains are the Carpathian Mountains in the west
Kiev is on the Dnieper River
Kiev Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery. Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1015 the Lavra has been a preeminent centre of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe
The largest cave in Europe is in Ukraine
Simferopol is the capital of Crimea
Livadia Palace was a summer retreat of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, and his family in Livadiya. The Yalta Conference was held there in 1945, when the palace housed the apartments of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and other members of the American delegation
Prypiat is a ghost town near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Kiev Oblast of northern Ukraine, near the border with Belarus
Lviv was previously known as Lemberg and Lwow. It has been occupied by Poland, Germany, and the Soviet Union
Kharkiv is the second largest city of Ukraine
Vatican City
Vatican City is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. With an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of 842, it is the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world by both area and population
The name "Vatican" predates Christianity and comes from the Latin Mons Vaticanus, meaning Vatican Mount
Vatican City is currently the only widely recognized independent state that has not become a member of the United Nations. The Holy See, which is distinct from Vatican City State, has permanent observer status
Sistine Chapel is in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope. Originally known as the Cappella Magna, the chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored it between 1477 and 1480. There are five sibyls on the roof of the Sistine Chapel
St. Peter's Basilica is a Late Renaissance church located within Vatican City. It is the largest church in the world. Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini
States with limited recognition –
Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia. The Georgian government, United Nations and the majority of the world's governments consider Abkhazia a part of Georgia's territory, though Georgia is not in control of it The capital is Sukhumi
Kosovo is a partially recognised state that declared independence from Serbia in February 2008 as the Republic of Kosovo. While Serbia recognises the Republic's governance of the territory, it still continues to claim it as its own Autonomous Province
Mitrovica is mainly Albanian
North Mitrovica is mainly Serbian
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), a de facto independent republic which is recognized as a part of Azerbaijan
Since the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994, representatives of the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been holding peace talks on the region's disputed status
Stepanakert is the largest city and capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The city comprises about 50,000 Armenians
Northern Cyprus is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Recognised only by Turkey, Northern Cyprus is considered by the international community as part of the Republic of Cyprus
Transnistria is landlocked and borders Moldova to the west and Ukraine to the east. It is a narrow valley stretched in the north-south direction along the banks of the Dniester River. The capital is Tiraspol
Transnistria is designated by the Republic of Moldova as the Transnistria autonomous territorial unit with special legal status
South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia in 1990, calling itself the Republic of South Ossetia. The Georgian government responded by abolishing South Ossetia's autonomy and trying to re-establish its control over the region by force. The crisis escalation led to the 1991–92 South Ossetia War. The capital is Tshkinvali
Regions
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe, today located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg, and Poland
Pomerania is located on the south coast of the Baltic Sea, divided today between Germany in the west and Poland in the east by the Polish-German border. While its boundaries have varied, and are somewhat differently interpreted, Pomerania can be said to stretch roughly from Stralsund in the west to Gdansk in the east, centered on the Oder River delta
Karelia is currently divided between the Russian Republic of Karelia, the Russian Leningrad Oblast, and Finland (the regions of South Karelia and North Karelia
Jutland forms the mainland part of Denmark, and the German state of Schleswig-Holstein
Galicia is currently divided between Poland and Ukraine
Cerdanya, or Cerdagne, is a historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain
Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. Currently split between Estonia and Latvia
Macaronesia consists of Azores, Madeira Islands, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde Islands
Rivers
Longest rivers in Europe – Volga, Danube, Ural, Dnieper, Don
Capital cities on Danube – Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bratislava
River Sava is a tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia, along the northern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina, through Serbia, discharging into the Danube in Belgrade
Iron Gates is a gorge on the Danube River. It forms part of the boundary between Romania and Serbia
River Meuse rises in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea. The Meuse is one of the oldest rivers in the world
River Douro flows from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto
Ural River rises in the southern Ural Mountains and ends at the Caspian Sea. Its total length is 1511 miles making it the third longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube
River Dnieper flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine (including Kiev), to the Black Sea
River Daugava rises in Russia and drains into the Gulf of Riga in Latvia
Seas
Baltic Sea is the world’s largest pool of brackish water
Gulf of Riga and Gulf of Finland are inlets of Baltic Sea
Usedom is a Baltic Sea island since 1945 split between Germany and Poland
Market is an uninhabited island in the Baltic Sea divided between Sweden and Finland
Graeco-Roman tradition refers to the Black Sea as the “Hospitable Sea”
Sea of Azov is a northern section of the Black Sea, linked to the larger body through the Strait of Kerch. It is bounded on the north by Ukraine, on the east by Russia and on the west by the Crimean peninsula
Strait of Kerch connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula in the west from the Taman Peninsula in the east
Skagerrak is a strait running between the southeast coast of Norway, the southwest coast of Sweden, and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area, which leads to the Baltic Sea
Kattegat separates Sweden and Denmark, and is a continuation of the Skagerrak
Bering Strait is 53 miles across at narrowest point
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Apennine peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges
Istria is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner. Istria lies in three countries: Croatia, Slovenia and Italy
Aegean Sea is a sea arm of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus
Caspian Sea borders Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan
North Sea was known as the German Sea
Ionian Sea is is connected to the Tyrrhenian Sea by the Strait of Messina, and to the Adriatic Sea by the Strait of Otranto
Calypso Deep, located in the Ionian Sea south-west of Pylos, Greece, is the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea. At the Calypso Deep, the African Plate slides under the Eurasian Plate, creating the Hellenic Trench
Strait of Otranto separates Italy from Corfu and Albania
Denmark Strait separates Iceland and Greenland
Strait of Sicily is between Sicily and Tunisia
Laptev Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Siberia
Mountains
Highest summit in Europe is Mount Elbrus (5,642 m/18,510 ft) in the Caucasus
Dykh-Tau is is the second highest of the Caucasus Mountains, after Mount Elbrus, and is the second highest peak in Europe
Caucasus run from Black Sea to Caspian Sea
Tatra Mountains form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains
Urals are usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia
Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each. The mountain range is located in France, Switzerland, and Germany
Pindus mountain range is located in northern Greece and southern Albania
Dinaric Alps are between Croatia and Albania
Matterhorn (German), Cervino (Italian) or Cervin (French), is a mountain in the Pennine Alps. With its 4,478 m high summit, lying on the border between Switzerland and Italy, it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps
Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and the highest peak in Europe outside of the Caucasus range. It rises 4,810 m above sea level, lying on the border between France and Italy
