Central Europe - countries, description, composition and interesting facts. Which countries are part of the European Union

List of Central European countries. Tourism: capitals, cities and resorts. Maps of foreign states of the Central Europe region.

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The center of the Old World and the brainchild of two great medieval empires - the Habsburgs and the Commonwealth, Central Europe today "breaks up" into two parts, gravitating towards different poles. Austria and Switzerland keep a snobbish isolation - it is customary here to offer all the best and immediately, of course, at the appropriate price. More democratic, rather frivolous and somewhere even slovenly (but so dear!) Views reign in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary - perhaps as part of the former socialist camp, perhaps as a result of historical belonging to Eastern European culture. Strictly speaking, the term “Central Europe” itself is not used so often: the countries included in the region can easily be attributed to the West and East, respectively.

So, why are the countries of Central Europe interesting from the point of view of a tourist? Firstly, the fact that it is here that there are undoubtedly such tourist destinations as Switzerland and Austria - and this is the happy occasion when the winter stream is in no way inferior to the summer one and even surpasses it. "Skiing", excursions and "non-hot" rest - this is how you can briefly characterize the "chips" of these countries.

Let's not forget to mention high-quality treatment - and not in the field of relaxation coatings, but real "heavy artillery" - operations on internal organs, excellent orthopedics, plastic surgery, dentistry. Finally, these states enjoy the well-deserved attention of businessmen - Austria and Switzerland are among the ten most popular business travel destinations. And, of course, there are plenty of tidbits for "highly specialized" tourists - music lovers, for example, who rush to the concerts of the Vienna Philharmonic or performances of the Vienna Opera with lust in their eyes, fans of cheese, chocolate, Mozart, Swarovski and Swiss watches.

Tour of Central Europe

Let's face the East. Poland and Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia can offer for the most part high-quality and, which is especially pleasant, inexpensive vacation - among lakes and mountains, in the open spaces nature reserves, on the coast of the gentle sea under the cool rays of the sun, and finally, in the bowels of boarding houses and sanatoriums, where they are guaranteed to bring you to life after working days.

In addition, at the local ski resorts you can have a good ride on very well-groomed slopes and at the same time not fly into the pipe. Yes, and the atmosphere here is the most friendly, even if you first got up on skis and began to write out unstable zigzags in front of other skiers.

The sightseeing wealth of these countries is, first of all, numerous medieval buildings (there are only more than two thousand castles in the Czech Republic alone, and there are no count of cathedrals, town halls, bell towers and houses), as well as interesting museums, galleries ... breweries, finally! Let's not forget about the healing wealth of the region. First of all, this mineral water with almost all useful trace elements known in balneology, as well as other gifts of the earth - mud, hydrogen sulfide sources, etc.

So if you are looking for a varied vacation at reasonable prices, while in a comfortable climate and with a lot of interesting local “chips”, you won’t find a better destination in Central Europe!

The term Central Europe is used much less often than, for example, Northern, Eastern, Western or Southern Europe, since many countries can be easily attributed to other regions, moreover, Central Europe is more of a historical and ideological territory than a geographical one, there are no borders that could naturally divide nations, there are no mountain ranges, seas, rivers that would fence off this area from the rest of the world, the only exception to this rule is the Baltic Sea.

For many centuries, Central Europe was formed under the influence of the Habsburg Empire and the Commonwealth, Central Europe, represented by Germany, wanted to become a single whole, and in some years even become the whole world, now shameful Germany can only shake the world with economic achievements and quality of life. After the Second World War, the public of united Central Europe was shocked by the division into the Western capitalist and Eastern socialist parts of the rightfully victorious USSR. Socio-economic situations followed in the society of Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, for half a century half of Europe was stolen by Russia and returned to its place after the stupefaction of the early 90s.

The politicians of Western Europe have considered and are now considering Russia as a source of instability and a threat to European security, Central or Eastern Europe has become a big cordon on the way of fencing off Russia from the laws of life. Here we can add the export of gas and oil from Russia, mutual investments, and on the other hand, the ideological and political background of the case, which pulls in the other direction, this moment has become especially aggravated after Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Resorts of Central Europe

Central Europe includes such countries as Austria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Lithuania, Serbia, Russia, Germany and Ukraine. Of particular interest to tourists from Russia is Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the more economical Czech Republic and Croatia.

Countries such as Switzerland, Austria and Germany can be visited both in winter and in summer, in winter it is ski resorts, and in the summer, an interesting excursion program for architectural and natural attractions along with balneological treatment and prevention.

Countries such as Poland and Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia can boast the opportunity to relax in picturesque nature, balneological resorts, beautiful cities, meaning Prague, the closer to Germany, the more likely it is to see the preserved castles, palaces and cathedrals. Croatia can be considered a summer resort, although the beaches here are mountainous, the same can be said about the Baltic beaches, but the northern disadvantage lies no longer on the mountain coast, but in a cold climate.

Having received a Schengen visa, you can visit almost all of Central Europe without problems, pay with one currency, there is a choice of other directions, so close to the Mediterranean, Scandinavia or the Benelux countries.

Central Europe has common cultural roots, also applies to architecture, religion, cuisine. Thus, Central Europe is characterized by a wide variety of cheeses and sausages, the Czech Republic and Germany are leaders in brewing.

Central Europe is the birthplace of Brick Gothic, Rococo, Secessionism and modern architecture, for example in Germany there are 38 objects that are included in the list world heritage, in Poland 15, in the Czech Republic 12 and Switzerland 11.

Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Slovenia. Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland are members of the European Union, the Schengen visa is valid here, but the euro currency does not always work, so the zloty goes in Poland, the forint in Hungary, the krone in the Czech Republic, the kuna in Croatia, this is big disadvantage in tourism. It is interesting to rank the countries of Central Europe by success, for example, Switzerland is the leader in the Prosperity Index, followed by Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Serbia is in last place. The corruption index is similar. The leader in globalization is Austria, Hungary and Switzerland, in last place is Liechtenstein, which is far behind even Serbia. The leader in the Human Development Index is Germany, Switzerland and Austria, while Serbia and Romania graze behind.

Central Europe is the most densely populated part the globe, here are the countries of giants and dwarfs, the most populated country in Europe Germany and the smallest Liechtenstein. The total population of Central Europe is 165 million, half of which is in Germany.

The countries of Central Europe form a continuous territorial array between Western and Eastern Europe, stretching from the Baltic to the Black and Adriatic Seas.

By political map determine the composition of the region. Remember what changes took place on the political map of Central Europe in the 90s of the XX century.

The geographical position of the Central European countries can be defined as very advantageous. It is characterized by:

1. compact location in the center of Europe. On the one hand are the developed countries of Western Europe, which largely determine economic policy countries at the regional and global levels, and on the other hand, the CIS countries, which are beneficial economic partners for the countries of Central Europe;
2. access to the sea by most countries of the region, which makes it possible to carry out extensive contacts with outside world. The Danube flows through the territory of five countries of the region, partially compensates for Hungary and Slovakia their isolation from the World Ocean and has an integrating value;
3. neighboring position. Central European countries are mostly small in size and have good transport accessibility. Their territory is crossed in all directions by railways and highways, pipelines, power lines.

The Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) actively integrated into Central Europe in the 1990s, so they are considered within the boundaries of this region. By state system All countries are republics.

Natural resource potential of Central European countries

Land resources are distributed fairly evenly among the countries. There are great contrasts in the placement of other resources. Fuel resources in the northern part of the region, ore resources in the south.

Of the fuel and energy resources, lignite is the most common. On the coal rich Poland and the Czech Republic, there are oil and gas provinces in Romania, Albania and Croatia (partially in Hungary and Serbia). Country Balkan Peninsula rich in water resources.

Basic stocks iron ore contained in the countries of the Balkan Peninsula (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia). Albania produces the most chromite ores in the world.

Much better region provided with non-ferrous metal ores, which are both in the north and in the south. copper ores more in Poland, bauxite - in Hungary. From non-metallic raw materials, potash and table salt(Poland, Romania), sulfur (Poland).

Population of Central European countries

The population of Central Europe is almost a quarter of the population of all of Europe. At the same time, Poland has the largest population (about 40 million people), the smallest - Slovenia and Macedonia (about 2 million people). The countries of the region differ in the main characteristics of the population, but also have some common features. First, the demographic processes here are largely due to the consequences of the Second World War. Secondly, the restructuring of the economy on an industrial basis led to the development of urbanization processes and related changes in the reproduction of the population, the nature of its settlement.

In general, the countries of Central Europe are characterized by the first type of population reproduction. Therefore, the process of "aging" of the population is taking place here, and in Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and the countries of the former Yugoslavia during the 90s of the XX century. the population was decreasing. Only in Albania the natural increase in the population is quite high (20 people per 1,000 inhabitants).

In the post-war period, the process of urbanization intensified sharply in the countries of the region, as a result of which urban population in all countries (except Albania) 50% prevails. The most urbanized country is the Czech Republic. A striking example of the concentration of population in a large city is the capital of Hungary - Budapest (40% of the urban population). In addition to Budapest, such agglomerations as Bucharest, Prague, Upper Silesia, Warsaw, Sofia, Belgrade are developing in Central Europe.

The population is distributed unevenly. The Czech Republic, Poland, Albania, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia and Montenegro have the highest population density, the Baltic countries have the lowest.

Single-ethnic countries predominate among the countries of Central Europe. In the countries of the former Yugoslavia escalated ethnic conflicts arising from religious differences. V ethnic composition population is heavily dominated Slavic peoples. From other nations, numerous Romanians, Albanians and Hungarians.

The region's population is predominantly employed in industry (40-50%), agriculture- 20-50% and in the non-manufacturing sector - 15-20%, the role of the latter is constantly growing. The unemployment rate is 5-15% and fluctuates depending on the results of the ongoing reforms.

General characteristics of the economy of the countries of Central Europe

Two stages can be distinguished in the post-war socio-economic development of Central Europe. The first (the second half of the 40s - the end of the 80s) is the stage of socialist development, the important features of which were the domination public forms ownership of fixed assets and planned and administrative regulation of the economy.

Practice has shown that this approach is quite effective in the presence of extensive factors of development and the need to create the main industries in a short time. But such a system can provide intensive growth on the basis of scientific and technological progress became especially evident in the 1970s and 1980s in the form of economic, scientific and technical lagging behind countries with a developed market economy.

A point on the surface of the earth, designated as the center of a country or continent, has great potential in terms of tourism business. In the age of selfies, fixing your location in the center of some part of the world is a matter of honor for any traveler.

The center of Europe today does not have a generally recognized location; several villages and cities in different countries claim its title.

Calculation methods

The ambiguity of the definition of the geographical center stems from the variety of ways to calculate it. They come down to several options:

• Calculation of the position of the center of gravity of an area of ​​certain outlines.
• Projection of the center of gravity onto the surface of the Earth, taking into account the sphericity of the planet.
• Finding a point equidistant from the boundaries of the territory.
• Calculation of the location of the intersection point of the segments connecting in pairs the extreme northern and southern, western and eastern point, is the median center.

The last way was determined by the geographical center of Europe in 1775 by the court astronomer and cartographer of the Polish king August Shimon Anthony Sobekraysky. The point of intersection of the lines connecting Portugal and the Central Urals, Norway and Southern Greece was located at a point with coordinates 53 ° 34 "39" N. sh., 23°06"22"E e. In this place, in the town of Sukhovolya, near Bialystok, on the territory of modern Poland, a memorial sign was erected.

Calculations in the 19th century

In 1815, the center of Europe was placed at a point with coordinates 48 ° 44 "37" N. sh., 18 ° 55 "50" in. d., which was located near the town of Kremnica, at the Baptist Church of St. John, on the territory of modern Slovakia. The calculation methods have not been preserved, but there is a version that this is the center of the smallest circle inscribed in the outlines of Europe. How its boundaries were determined is also unknown.

In 1887, the geographers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when laying new railways in Transcarpathia, a marker was installed with coordinates 48°30" N, 23°23" E. by defining it as the midpoint of the extreme values ​​of the latitude and longitude of the Old World. The center of Europe in their version is located on the banks of the Tisza, near the Ukrainian village of Delovoy. V Soviet time the truth of the calculations was confirmed, and a whole propaganda campaign was carried out to convince everyone of the truth of this version of the geographical center of Europe.

• 12 countries (1987) - Saint-André-le-Coq's village central region France, after the reunification of Germany (1990) moved 25 km to the northeast, to the town of Noirete.
• 15 countries (2004) - the town of Virouanval, Belgium.
• 25 States (2007) - Kleinmaischeid village, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
• 27 countries (2007) - after the accession of Romania and Bulgaria - near the city of Geinhausen, Hesse, Germany.
• 28 countries (2013) - forty kilometers from Frankfurt, where the headquarters of the European Central Bank is located, which is even symbolic.

They are located in the middle of this part of the world. The concept of "Central Europe" during World War I was introduced by the German liberal Friedrich Naumann (Mitteleuropa, German). He, in his book of the same name, outlined Central Europe as an area of ​​German interests and influence after the end of the war, and called it Central Europe.

Central Europe

An interesting fact is that the concept of Central Europe is a German interpretation of the name of a group of European countries. The common name is Central Europe. There are no definite borders separating one part of Europe from another. It's not real geographical area, but, most likely, a historical and political group of countries located in the center of this part of the world. Indeed, until the 19th century, these territories were conquered and were part of the Habsburg Empire. They are united by common historical traditions and events.

List of countries

In different sources, the list of countries in Central Europe will be different depending on the concepts. Until today, there is no definite point of view, and this issue remains the subject of constant discussion. This should not be surprising, since, for example, Hungary or the Czech Republic consider themselves countries of Central Europe (Central), in some sources they are classified as Eastern European countries. The same thing happens with Austria, which is sometimes referred to as Central, then to Western Europe.

Countries in Central Europe

Since there are no clear boundaries and rules for defining the concept of "Central Europe", in this article we will consider a group of countries that have a historical commonality. These are mainly small areas of Europe, excluding Germany and Poland. So what is the list of Central European countries? It includes:

• Germany. Officially called the Federal Republic of Germany. Location - Central Europe. The area is 357.4 thousand square kilometers, where 82.2 million people live. Its capital is the city of Berlin. Received the unofficial name "Great Power", which, due to its political and economic influence, plays a decisive role in the world. This is one of the most economically developed countries in Europe and the world, with a high standard of living for citizens. Germany is the largest country in Central Europe.
• Poland. The official name is the Republic of Poland. The area of ​​the territory is 312.7 thousand square kilometers. The total population is 38.6 million people. The capital is Warsaw.
• Czech. Officially called the area of ​​​​the territory - 78.8 thousand square kilometers. The population is 10.5 million people. The capital is Prague.
• Slovakia. Officially called the Slovak Republic. The territory is 48.8 thousand square kilometers. The population is 5.4 million people. The capital is Bratislava.
• Austria. The official name is the Republic of Austria. The territory is 83.9 thousand square kilometers. The population is 8.7 million people. The capital is Vienna. It is also considered one of the richest countries in the world. High level life of the population of the country.
• Belgium. Officially called the Kingdom of Belgium. The territory is 30.5 thousand square kilometers. The population is 11.4 million people. Capital Brussels.
• Netherlands. Officially called the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The territory is 41.5 thousand square kilometers. The population is 17 million people. The capital is Amsterdam.
• Switzerland. Officially called the Territory - 41.2 thousand square kilometers. The population is 8.2 million people. Bern is conditionally considered the capital, since this city has no official status.
• Luxembourg. Geographical name - Territory - 2.5 thousand square kilometers, Population - 0.576 million people. The capital is Luxembourg.
• Liechtenstein. Officially called the Dwarf State with an area of ​​162 square kilometers and a population of 33.3 thousand people. The capital is Vaduz.

In addition to large countries such as Germany and Poland, the central group includes the middle Europe: Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The rest of the countries have a small territory. However, despite this, they are all developed countries not only Europe, but the world. The standard of living here is very high. The population density is high. These are industrial countries with a very developed economy.

Location

As mentioned above, the boundaries encircling the territory are purely conditional. The northern borders of the group of Central European countries pass through the Baltic and North Seas. The mountain ranges of the Pyrenees and the Alps are taken for the South. From the east it passes through the Carpathian mountains. In some sources, the western border reaches the Bay of Biscay. Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands go to North Sea, Poland and Germany - to the Baltic. Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Slovakia are located inside the territory.

What unites countries

What was the unifying principle that made it possible to connect such a large territory and a group of countries? What kind common features give the right to consider them as a whole, say, from a geographical point of view. The countries of Central Europe are located in temperate latitudes. Considered from this point of view, here it is necessary to include most France, Great Britain and Ireland. From a historical standpoint, these countries cannot belong to Central Europe.

natural conditions

If you look at physical map Europe, you can see what prevails here mountainous relief. Part of the territory foreign countries Central Europe, mainly southern, is located in young mountain ranges - these are the Carpathians and the Alps. The arc of the Alpine massif has a duration of 1200 km. The Alps are the most high mountains Europe. The climate is temperate continental.

Most of the Central European countries are occupied by old mountains with valleys. These include the Black Forest, Vosges, low, maximum height 1.5 kilometers. Between the massifs are plains. This part of the territory is rich in minerals, mainly coal, metal ores. The climate is continental, with large quantity precipitation.

The northern territories of Central Europe are located on the Central European Plain, which starts from the shores of the Northern and Baltic Seas. The climate of this natural area temperate continental. Once upon a time, the plain was covered with dense forests that were cut down. The original forests have been preserved in the form of massifs called forests. Belovezhskaya Pushcha in Belarus can serve as an example.

Natural resource potential

Being large industrial states with powerful machine-building enterprises, and not having their own natural resources, apply the countries of Central Europe foreign raw materials. Ferrous metallurgy uses imported raw materials, which make up 2/3 of the total consumption. Only Austria has a sufficient natural reserve of metal ores.

The Netherlands has no natural resources other than gas. Switzerland and Austria have sufficient hydropower resources, with virtually no natural resources. Poland and Germany have coal deposits, but the main generation of energy resources is based on imported raw materials.

Which countries are included in Central Europe (optional)

As mentioned above, all scientists agree on the composition of the countries of Central Europe. But when it comes to the German name, the list varies from several countries to almost all European states. Based on historical and cultural ties, some researchers include in the countries of Central Europe the following states or their individual areas:

• Croatia, which geographic location most geographers rank among the countries of South-Eastern Europe.
• Romanian regions of Transylvania and Bukovina.
• Baltic countries. Most scientists attribute them to Northern Europe. But following the German concept, some researchers classify them as Central Europe.
• The Benelux countries belonging to Western Europe, following the interpretation of Germany, are ranked as Middle.
• Parts of Italy, namely Trieste, Gorizia, Trento, South Tyrol, Friuli, which were once part of Austria-Hungary.
• Parts of Ukraine such as Galicia, Transcarpathia and Ukrainian Bukovina.

The concept of Central (Central) Europe

The idea of ​​unification central countries Europe under the influence of Germany has preoccupied Western politicians since the 1980s. It is clear that such major countries, like France, Great Britain, Spain do not at all want to be under someone's leadership. These self-sufficient countries at all times of their existence were the largest powers, which always saw Germany as their opponent, if not an adversary.

Therefore, Germany puts forward a hundred-year-old concept of the historical and spiritual unity of the small countries of Central Europe, which were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which included most of the countries of modern, so-called Central Europe. It is clear why the old geographical name Central Europe does not fit. Some believe that the name does not depend on anything. But it's not. Remember the saying "as you call a yacht, so it will float." It's not about the name. In discussions about which countries are included, it is convenient to carry out your ambitious ideas.

The national liberation movements in the countries that were part of the Habsburg Empire (Austria-Hungary) are completely silent. The idea of ​​the historical unity of these peoples under the influence of Germany is put forward. Russia in this story is represented by an eastern enemy who dreams of conquering these countries. The role of the liberating country in the Second World War is more conveniently interpreted as the role of an invader, a “stealer of Europe”.