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DIRECTIONAL DIVISIONS

Groupings by compass directions are the hardest to define in Europe, since (among other issues) the pure geographical criteria of "east" and "west" are often confused with the political meaning these words acquired during the Cold War era. For more details on this matter, see the articles on the following:



HISTORICAL DIVISIONS

Europe can be divided along many differing historical lines, normally corresponding to those parts that were inside or outside a particular cultural phenomenon, empire or political division. The areas varied at different times, and so it is arguable as to which areas fell into certain areas (e.g. can Germany or Britain be considered Roman Europe as they were only part of the Empire for a brief period, or can Yugoslavia be considered part of Eastern Europe as, even though it was Communist , it was not in the Warsaw Pact .
  • Roman and non-Roman Europe: those parts that were inside the Roman Empire .

  • ) Roman Empires.

  • in the Middle Ages .

  • .

  • .

  • Civil Code and Common Law Europe: Those parts that adopted a Napoleonic Code style system and those that retained a Common Law system.

  • .

  • .



LINGUISTIC-CULTURAL REGIONS IN EUROPE

This can often be a controversial division, as often in Europe areas have more than one language, such as the Canton Of Fribourg in Switzerland , or linguistic and cultural ties are not analagous, such as in Scotland in the UK , or where there are competing theories as to cultural and linguistic ties, such as Hungary 's relationship to Finland , Turkey , Central Asia and Central Europe :


Germanic Europe

Germanic Europe is where the Germanic languages are predominantly spoken. This area corresponds more or less to north-western Europe and some parts of central Europe. This region consist of: United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, German-speaking Switzerland, Alto-Adige and the Flemish part of Belgium.


Latin Europe

Latin Europe , where the Romance languages are spoken. This area corresponds more or less to south-western Europe, with the exception of Romania and Moldova which are situated in Eastern Europe. This area consists of Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Romania, Moldova, French-speaking Belgium, and French and Italian speaking Switzerland.


Slavic Europe

Slavic Europe , where the Slavic languages are spoken. This area corresponds more or less to Eastern Europe. This area consists of: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bulgaria.


Celtic Europe

See Also: Celtic Europe


, Wales , Cornwall (within the United Kingdom), the Isle Of Man (a British Crown Dependency ), Ireland , and Brittany (within France ). These are all nations where a Celtic Language is spoken, or was spoken into modern times, and there is a degree of shared culture (see Pan Celticism ).


Outside of this classification

Outside of these four main groups we can find :

Europe". They are sometimes associated with the Latin countries, due to the geographical and cultural ties to the Mediterranean Sea , and sometimes to the Slavic-Orthodox part of Europe due to the importance of the Orthodox Church in both.

Hungary , whose language is distantly related to Finnish and Estonian . Due to its geographical location Hungary is more often related to other central or Eastern European countries.

Finland and Estonia , whose languages are closely related and more distantly related to Hungarian . Despite this connection, Finland is often referred to simply as a country of Nordic Europe . However, because of its language and culture, it is not a Scandinavian country.

Latvia and Lithuania , two linguistically Baltic countries (as opposed to the poltical concept which also incldes Estonia).

Malta , which has close linguistic ties to the Arabic World , yet close cultural ties to Italy and Catholic Europe .

Turkey , which speaks an Altaic language that is not related to other European languages.

The Basque Country , where the Basque Language has continued while Indo-European Languages have displaced other languages in Europe over the past 5000 years.


PENINSULAS

  • Balkan Peninsula

  • : The Balkan peninsula is located in southeast Europe and contains the following countries:

: Greece , Bosnia And Herzegovina , Croatia (some parts), Albania , Bulgaria , Romania (some parts) Republic Of Macedonia , Serbia And Montenegro , Turkey (European part)








OTHER GROUPINGS










: Austria , Switzerland , Liechtenstein , Slovenia


: Romania , Bulgaria , Serbia , Slovakia , Croatia , Hungary , Austria , Moldova , Ukraine and Germany .

  • Visegrad Group

  • : A central European group representing an historical alliance.

: Poland , Czech Republic , Slovakia , Hungary


: Spain , France , Italy , Slovenia , Croatia , Bosnia And Herzegovina , Serbia And Montenegro , Albania , Greece , Turkey , Cyprus and Malta

  • Golden banana

  • :Describing the concentration of the wealth/economic productivity of Europe in a Banana -shaped band running from London, through Benelux, eastern France, western Germany to northern Italy.



SEE ALSO