The cultural-spatial borders of Europe according to the Standing Committee on Geographical Names, Germany. The map displays two different segment-bordering ways superimposed on each other.[1]
Central Europe is a geographical region ofEurope betweenEastern,Southern,Western andNorthern Europe.[3][4] Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity;[5][6] however, countries in this region also share certain historical and cultural similarities.[7][8]
Since theCold War, the countries that make up Central Europe have historically been and in some cases continue to be[18] divided into either Eastern or Western Europe.[19][20] After World War II, Europe was divided by theIron Curtain[21] into two parts, thecapitalistWestern Bloc and thesocialistEastern Bloc, although Austria, Switzerland andYugoslavia (encompassing the territories of present-day Croatia, Slovenia and various other South Slavic nations) declared neutrality. TheBerlin Wall was one of the most visible symbols of this division.[22] Respectively, countries in Central Europe have historical, cultural andgeopolitical ties with these wider regions of Europe.[23][24][25][26]
Central Europe began a "strategic awakening" in the late 20th and early 21st centuries,[27] with initiatives such as theCentral European Defence Cooperation, theCentral European Initiative,Centrope, and theVisegrád Four Group. That awakening was accelerated by writers and other intellectuals, who recognized the societal paralysis of decaying dictatorships and felt compelled to speak up againstSoviet oppression.[28]
In the early Middle Ages, Central Europe had a diverse landscape, with various ethnic groups inhabiting the region.Germanic tribes, among them theFranks,Alemans andBavarians, were predominantly situated in the west, andSlavic tribes were predominantly in the east.[29] However, the region encompassed a wide spectrum of additional tribes and communities.
From the late 6th century to the early 9th century, the area roughly corresponding to theCarpathian Basin was part of the Avar Khaganate, the realm of thePannonian Avars.[30][31] While the Avars dominated the east of what is now Austria, its north and south were under Germanic and Slavic influence, respectively.[32] Meanwhile, the territories now comprising Germany and Switzerland were under the influence of theMerovingian dynasty, and later theCarolingian dynasty.[33][34] Various Slavic tribes that inhabited eastern Central Europe established settlements during this period, primarily in present-day Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.[35] The territory of Lithuania was inhabited byBaltic tribes. Amongst them were theSamogitians,Lithuanians andCuronians.[17]
TheHoly Roman Empire was founded at the turn of the 9th century, following the coronation ofCharlemagne byPope Leo III.[36] At its inception, it incorporated present-day Germany and nearby regions, including parts of what is now Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland. Three decades later,Great Moravia, centred on present-day Czech Republic and Slovakia, became one of the first West Slavic states to be founded in Central Europe. In the late 9th Century, theHungarian tribes, originating eastward on theEurasian Steppe,[37][38] settled in the Carpathian Basin and established thePrincipality of Hungary.[39]
According to the historianJenő Szűcs, Central Europe at the end of the 1st millennium became influenced by Western European developments. Szűcs argued that between the 11th and 15th centuries, Christianization influenced the cultures within Central Europe, and well-defined social features were also implemented in the region based on Western characteristics. The keyword of Western social development after the turn of the millennium was the spread ofMagdeburg rights in some cities and towns of Western Europe. They began to spread in the mid-13th century in Central European countries and brought about self-governments of towns and counties.[44]
In 1386,Jogaila, theGrand Duke of Lithuania, converted to Christianity (specifically Catholicism) and subsequently became King of Poland through marriage toQueen Jadwiga of Poland. That initiated theChristianization of Lithuania and resulted in theUnion of Krewo, signifying a personal union between theGrand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland. The union commenced an enduring political alliance between the two entities and laid the foundations for the later establishment of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569.[46]
Between the 15th and the early 16th centuries, the Kingdom of Croatia, which was then inpersonal union with the Kingdom of Hungary, served as a significant maritime gateway of Central Europe, with its ports facilitating key trade routes between Central Europe and the Mediterranean.[47][48] TheRepublic of Ragusa emerged as a prominent hub for cultural exchange during this time.[47] Following the Ottoman and Habsburg wars of the 16th and 17th centuries, the Kingdom of Croatia,under Habsburg rule, began to regain its position as a significant trade route, restoring ports and revitalising commercial activity.
A view of Central Europe dating from the time beforeWorld War I (1902):[49]
Central European countries and regions: the German Empire and the Habsburg monarchy (withoutBosnia and Herzegovina andDalmatia)
Regions located at the transition between Central Europe and Southeastern/Eastern Europe:Romania
Before 1870, the industrialization that had started to develop in Northwestern and Central Europe and the United States did not extend in any significant way to the rest of the world. Even inEastern Europe, industrialization lagged far behind.Russia, for example, remained largely rural and agricultural, and its autocratic rulers kept the peasants in serfdom.[50]The concept of Central Europe was already known at the beginning of the 19th century,[51] but it developed further and became an object of intensive interest towards the 20th century. However, the first concept mixed science, politics, and economy and was strictly connected with the aspirations of German states to dominate a part of European continent calledMitteleuropa. At theFrankfurt Parliament, which was established in the wake of theMarch Revolution of 1848, there were multiple competing ideas for the integration of German-speaking areas, including themitteleuropäische Lösung (Central European Solution) propagated by Austria, which sought to merge the smaller German-speaking states with the multi-ethnic Habsburg monarchy, but was opposed by Prussia and others. An imperialistic idea ofMitteleuropa also became popular in theGerman Empire, which was established in 1871 and experienced intensive economic growth. The term was used when theUnion of German Railway Administrations established theMitteleuropäische Eisenbahn-Zeit (Central European Railway Time)time zone, which was applied by the railways from 1 June 1891 and was later widely adopted in civilian life; the time zone's name has been shortened to the present-dayCentral European Time.[52]
The German term denoting Central Europe was so fashionable that other languages started referring to it when indicating territories fromRhine toVistula or even theDnieper and from theBaltic Sea to theBalkans.[53] An example of this vision of Central Europe may be seen inJoseph Partsch's book of 1903.[54]
On 21 January 1904,Mitteleuropäischer Wirtschaftsverein (Central European Economic Association) was established inBerlin with economic integration of Germany and Austria (with eventual extension to Switzerland,Belgium and theNetherlands) as its main aim. Another time, the term Central Europe became connected to the German plans of political, economic, and cultural domination. The "bible" of the concept wasFriedrich Naumann's bookMitteleuropa[55] in which he called for an economic federation to be established after World War I. Naumann's proposed a federation with Germany and the Habsburg monarchy as its centre that would eventually unite all external European nations through economic prosperity.[56] The concept failed after the German defeat inWorld War I.[citation needed][dubious –discuss] The revival of the idea may be observed during theHitler era.[citation needed][dubious –discuss]
Interwar Central Europe according to Emmanuel de Martonne (1927)
CE countries,Sourcebook of Central European Avant-Gardes 1910–1930 (L.A. County Museum of Art)[57]
Theinterwar period (1918–1938) brought a new geopolitical system, as well as economic and political problems, and the concept of Central Europe took on a different character. The centre of interest was moved to its eastern part, particularly to the countries that had rappeared or reappared on the map of Europe. Central Europe ceased to be the area of German aspiration to lead or dominate and became a territory of various integration movements aiming at resolving political, economic, and national problems of "new" states, being a way to face German and Soviet pressures. However, the conflict of interests was too major, and neither theLittle Entente norIntermarium (Międzymorze) ideas succeeded. The Hungarian historianMagda Ádám wrote in her studyVersailles System and Central Europe (2006): "Today we know that the bane of Central Europe was theLittle Entente, military alliance ofCzechoslovakia, Romania andKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), created in 1921 not for Central Europe's cooperation nor to fight German expansion, but in a wrong perceived notion that a completely powerless Hungary must be kept down".[58] Theevents preceding World War II in Europe, including the so-calledWestern betrayal such as theMunich Agreement, were very much enabled by the rising nationalism and ethnocentrism that typified that period.
The interwar period brought new elements to the concept of Central Europe. Before World War I, it embraced mainly German-speaking states, and non-German speaking territories were an area of intended German penetration and domination, with German leadership being the 'natural' result of economic dominance.[51] Post-war, the Eastern part of Central Europe was placed at the centre of the concept. At the time, the scientists took an interest in the idea: the International Historical Congress inBrussels in 1923 was committed to Central Europe, and the 1933, Congress continued the discussions.[59]
According toEmmanuel de Martonne, in 1927, Central Europe encompassed Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Switzerland, northern Italy and northern Yugoslavia. The author uses both Human and Physical Geographical features to define Central Europe but failed to take into account the legal development or the social, cultural, economic, and infrastructural developments in those countries.[60]
The avant-garde movements of Central Europe contributed to the evolution of modernism and reached their its peak throughout the continent during the 1920s. TheSourcebook of Central European avantgards (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) contains primary documents of the avant-gardes in the territories of Austria, Germany, Poland (including western parts of present-dayBelarus andUkraine, and southern parts of Lithuania), Czechoslovakia (including the Czech Republic and Slovakia), Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia (including present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,Montenegro,North Macedonia,Serbia and Slovenia) from 1910 to 1930.[57]
With thedissolution of the Holy Roman Empire around 1800, there was a consolidation of power among theHabsburgs and theHohenzollerns as the two major states in the area. They had much in common and occasionally cooperated in various channels, but more often competed. One approach in the various attempts at cooperation, was the conception of a set of supposed common features and interests, and this idea led to the first discussions of aMitteleuropa in the mid-nineteenth century, as espoused byFriedrich List andKarl Ludwig Bruck. These were mostly based on economic issues.[61]
Mitteleuropa may refer to a historical concept or a contemporary German definition of Central Europe. As a historical concept, the German termMitteleuropa (or alternatively its literal translation into English,Middle Europe[62]) is an ambiguous German concept.[62] According toFritz FischerMitteleuropa was a scheme in the era of theReich of 1871–1918 by which the old imperial elites had allegedly sought to build a system of German economic, military and political domination from the northern seas to the Near East and from the Low Countries through the steppes of Russia to the Caucasus.[63] Later on, Professor Fritz Epstein argued the threat of a Slavic "Drang nach Westen" (Western expansion) had been a major factor in the emergence of aMitteleuropa ideology before the Reich of 1871 ever came into being.[64]
In Germany, the word's connotation was also sometimes linked to the pre-war German provinces east of theOder-Neisse line.[65]
The term "Mitteleuropa" conjures up negative historical associations among some people although the Germans have not played an exclusively negative role in the region.[66] Most Central European Jews embraced the enlightened German humanistic culture of the 19th century.[67] Jews at the turn of the 20th century became representatives of what many consider to be Central European culture at its best, but the Nazi conceptualisation of "Mitteleuropa" sought to destroy that culture.[68] The term "Mitteleuropa" is widely used in German education and media without a negative meaning, especially since the end of communism. Many people from thenew states of Germany do not identify themselves as being part of Western Europe and therefore prefer the term "Mitteleuropa".[citation needed]
During World War II, Central Europe was largely occupied by Nazi Germany. Many areas were a battle area and were devastated. The mass murder of the Jews depopulated many of their centuries-old settlement areas or settled other people there and their culture was wiped out. BothAdolf Hitler andJoseph Stalin diametrically opposed the centuries-old Habsburg principles of "live and let live" with regard to ethnic groups, peoples, minorities, religions, cultures and languages and tried to assert their own ideologies and power interests in Central Europe.[69] There were various Allied plans for state order in Central Europe for post-war. While Stalin tried to get as many states under his control as possible,Winston Churchill preferred a Central European Danube Confederation to counter those countries against Germany and Russia. There were also plans to add Bavaria and Württemberg to an enlarged Austria.[70] There were also various resistance movements aroundOtto von Habsburg that pursued that goal. The group around the Austrian priestHeinrich Maier also planned in that direction, which also successfully helped the Allies to wage war by, among other things, forwarding production sites and plans forV-2 rockets,Tiger tanks and aircraft to the United States.[71][72] Otto von Habsburg tried to relieve Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and northern Yugoslavia (particularly the territories of present-day Croatia and Slovenia) from German and Soviet influence and control.[73][74] There were various considerations to prevent German and Soviet power in Europe after the war. Churchill's idea of reaching the area around Vienna before the Russians via an operation from the Adriatic had not been approved by the Western Allied chiefs of staff.[75] As a result of the military situation at the end of the war, Stalin's plans prevailed and much of Central Europe came under Soviet control.[76][77]
FollowingWorld War II, parts of Central Europe became part of theEastern Bloc. The boundary between the two blocks was called theIron Curtain. Austria, Switzerland and Yugoslavia remained neutral.
The post-World War II period brought blocking of research on Central Europe in theEastern Bloc countries, as its every result proved the dissimilarity of Central Europe, which was inconsistent with theStalinist doctrine. On the other hand, the topic became popular in Western Europe and the United States, much of the research being carried out by immigrants from Central Europe.[78] Following theFall of Communism, publicists and historians in Central Europe, especially the anti-communist opposition, returned to their research.[79]
According to Karl A. Sinnhuber (Central Europe: Mitteleuropa: Europe Centrale: An Analysis of a Geographical Term)[80] most Central European states were unable to preserve their political independence and becameSoviet satellites. Besides Austria, Switzerland and Yugoslavia, only the marginal European states ofCyprus,Finland,Malta and Sweden preserved their political sovereignty to a certain degree, being left out of any military alliances in Europe.
The opening of theIron Curtain between Austria and Hungary at thePan-European Picnic on 19 August 1989 then set in motion a peaceful chain reaction, at the end of which there was no longer anEast Germany and the Eastern Bloc had disintegrated.[81][82] It was the largest escape movement from East Germany since the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. After the picnic, which was based on an idea byOtto von Habsburg to test the reaction of the USSR and Mikhail Gorbachev to an opening of the border, tens of thousands of media-informed East Germans set off for Hungary.[83] The leadership of the GDR in East Berlin did not dare to completely block the borders of their own country and the USSR did not respond at all. This broke the bracket of the Eastern Bloc and Central Europe subsequently became free from communism.[84][85][86]
According to American professorRonald Tiersky, the 1991 summit held inVisegrád attended by theCzechoslovak, Hungarian and Polish presidents was hailed at the time as a major breakthrough in Central European cooperation, but theVisegrád Group became a vehicle for coordinating Central Europe's road to the European Union, while development of closer ties within the region languished.[87]
American professorPeter J. Katzenstein described Central Europe as a way station in a Europeanization process that marks the transformation process of theVisegrád Group countries in different, though comparable ways.[88] According to him, in Germany's contemporary public discourse "Central European identity" refers to the civilizational divide between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.[88] He argued that there is no precise way to define Central Europe and that the region may even include Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia and Serbia.[89]
The issue of how to name and define the Central European area is subject to debates. Very often, the definition depends on the nationality and historical perspective of its author. The concept of "Central Europe" appeared in the 19th century. It was understood as a contact zone between the Southern and Northern areas, and later the Eastern and Western areas of Europe. Thinkers portrayed "Central Europe" either as a separate region, or a buffer zone between these regions.
In the early nineteenth century, the terms "Middle" or "Central" Europe (known as "Mitteleuropa" in German and "Europe centrale" in French) were introduced in geographical scholarship in both German and French languages. At first, these terms were linked to the regions spanning from the Pyrenees to the Danube, which, according to German authors, could be united under German authority. However, after the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, the French began to exclude France from this area, and later the Germans also adopted this perspective by the end of World War I.[90]
The concept of "Central" or "Middle Europe", understood as a region with German influence, lost a significant part of its popularity after WWI and was completely dismissed after WWII. Two defeats of Germany in the world wars, combined with the division of Germany, an almost complete disappearance of German-speaking communities in these countries, and the Communist-led isolation of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland and Yugoslavia from the Western world, turned the concept of "Central/Middle Europe" into an anachronism. On the other side, the non-German areas of Central Europe were almost universally regarded as "Eastern European" primarily associated with the Soviet sphere of influence in the late 1940s–1980s.
For the most part, this geographical framework lost its attraction after the end of the Cold War. A number of Post-Communist countries rather re-branded themselves in the 1990s as "Central European.", while avoiding the stained wording of "Middle Europe," which they associated with German influence in the region. This reinvented concept of "Central Europe" excluded Germany, Austria and Switzerland, reducing its coverage chiefly to Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania and Yugoslavia.[90]
The main proposed regional definitions, gathered by Polish historianJerzy Kłoczowski and others, include:[91]
West-Central andEast-Central Europe – this conception, presented in 1950,[92] distinguishes two regions in Central Europe: the German West-Centre and the East-Centre covered by a variety of nationsfromFinland toGreece, placed between the great empires ofScandinavia, Germany, Italy and theSoviet Union.
Central Europe as the area of the cultural heritage of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth – Ukrainian, Belarusian and Lithuanian historians, in cooperation (since 1990) with Polish historians, insist on the importance of this concept.
A concept putting the accent on links with the West,[citation needed][dubious –discuss] especially from the 19th century and the grand period of liberation and formation of Nation-states, an idea that is represented by theSouth-Eastern states, which prefer the enlarged concept of the "East Centre" expressing their links withWestern culture.[dubious –discuss][citation needed]
Former University of Vienna professor Lonnie R. Johnson points out criteria to distinguish Central Europe from Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern Europe:[96]
One criterion for defining Central Europe is the frontiers of medieval empires and kingdoms that largely correspond to the religious frontiers betweenCatholic Western and Central Europe andOrthodox Eastern Europe.[97] Following that criterion, the pagans of Central Europe were converted to Catholicism, but in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, they were brought into the fold of theEastern Orthodox Church.[97]
He also thinks that Central Europe is a dynamic historical concept, not a static spatial one. For example, a fair share ofBelarus andRight-bank Ukraine are in Eastern Europe today, but 240 years ago, they were in thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[97] Johnson's study on Central Europe received acclaim and positive reviews in the scientific community.[98][99] However, according to the Romanian researcherMaria Bucur, the very ambitious project suffers from the weaknesses imposed by its scope (almost 1600 years of history).[100]
The World Factbook[2] defines Central Europe as: Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.The Columbia Encyclopedia includes: Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland. While it does not have a single article defining Central Europe,Encyclopædia Britannica includes the following countries in Central Europe in one or more of its articles: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina,[101] Croatia,[102] the Czech Republic, Germany,[103] Hungary, Lithuania,[104] Poland, Romania,[104] Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.
TheFrenchEncyclopédie Larousse defines Central Europe as a region comprising Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.[105]
The German EncyclopaediaMeyers Grosses Taschenlexikon (Meyers Big Pocket Encyclopedia), 1999, defines Central Europe as the central part of Europe with no precise borders to the East and West. The term is mostly used to denominate the territory between theSchelde toVistula and from theDanube to theMoravian Gate.
The GermanStändige Ausschuss für geographische Namen (Standing Committee on Geographical Names), which develops and recommends rules for the uniform use of geographical names, proposes two sets of boundaries. The first follows international borders of current countries. The second subdivides and includes some countries based on cultural criteria. In comparison to some other definitions, it is broader, including Luxembourg, Estonia, Latvia, and in the second sense, theKaliningrad Oblast and parts of Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Italy, and France.[1]
According toMeyers Enzyklopädisches Lexikon,[106] Central Europe is a part of Europe composed of Austria,Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Hungary,Luxembourg,Netherlands, Poland,Romania and Switzerland, and northern marginal regions of Italy and Yugoslavia (northern states –Croatia andSlovenia), as well as northeastern France.
There is no general agreement either on what geographic area constitutes Central Europe, nor on how to further subdivide it geographically.[107]
At times, the term "Central Europe" denotes a geographic definition as theDanube region in the heart of the continent, including the language and culture areas which are today included in the states of Austria,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary,Moldova, Poland, Romania,Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia,Ukraine and usually also Germany.[108]
The terminology EU11 countries refer the Central,Eastern andBaltic European member states which accessed in 2004 and after: in 2004 Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, and Slovakia; in 2007 Bulgaria, Romania; and in 2013 Croatia.[109]
The EU-fundedInterreg region "Central Europe" includes the following countries and regions:[110]
The choice of states that make upCentral Europe is an ongoing source of controversy.[116] Although views on which countries belong to Central Europe are vastly varied, according to many sources (see sectionDefinitions) the region includes some or all of the states listed in the sections below:
Depending on the context, Central European countries are sometimes not seen as a specific group, but sorted as either Eastern or Western European countries.[126][127][128] In this case Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are often placed in Western Europe, while Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia are placed in Eastern Europe.[129][128][130][131]
TheDanube watercourse system throughout Central and Southeastern Europe
Geography defines Central Europe's natural borders with the neighbouring regions to the north across theBaltic Sea, namely Northern Europe (orScandinavia), and to the south across theAlps, theApennine peninsula (or Italy), and theBalkan peninsula[107] across theSoča–Krka–Sava–Danube line. The borders to Western Europe and Eastern Europe are geographically less defined, and for this reason thecultural and historical boundaries migrate more easily west–east than south–north.
South of theEastern Alps (spanning Austria, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovenia and Switzerland),[156] theDinaric Alps extend for 650 kilometres along the coast of theAdriatic Sea (northwest-southeast), from theJulian Alps in the northwest down to the Šar-Korab massif, north–south. According to theFreie Universität Berlin, thismountain chain is classified asSouth Central European.[157] The city ofTrieste in this area, for example, expressly sees itself as acittà mitteleuropea. This is particularly because it lies at the interface between theLatin,Slavic,Germanic,Greek andJewish culture on the one hand and the geographical area of theMediterranean and theAlps on the other. A geographical and cultural assignment is made.
Population density in Central European countriesPopulation density (people per km2) by country
Central Europe is one of the continent's most populous regions. It includes countries of varied sizes, ranging from tiny Liechtenstein to Germany, the second largest European country by population. Demographic figures for countries entirely located within notion of Central Europe ("the core countries") number around 173 million people, out of which around 82 million are residents of Germany.[159] Other populations include: Poland with around 38.5 million residents,[160] Czech Republic at 10.5 million,[161] Hungary at 10 million,[162] Austria with 9.2 million, Switzerland with 8.5 million,[163] Slovakia at 5.4 million,[164] Croatia with 4.3 million,[165] Lithuania with 2.9 million, Slovenia with 2.1 million[166] and Liechtenstein at a bit less than 40,000.[167]
If the countries which are sometimes also included in Central Europe were counted in, partially or in whole – Romania (20 million), Latvia (2 million), Estonia (1.3 million), Serbia (7.1 million)[168] – this would contribute around an additional 30.4 million, although this figure would vary depending on whether a regional or integral approach is used.[169] If smaller, western and eastern historical parts of Central Europe would be included in the demographic corpus, a further 20 million people of different nationalities would also be added in the overall count, surpassing a total of 200 million people.
Currently, the members of theEurozone include Austria, Croatia, Germany, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland use their own currencies (koruna,forint,Polish złoty, respectively), but are obliged to adopt the Euro. Switzerland uses its own currency (Swiss franc), as does Serbia (dinar) and Romania (Romanian leu).
World map by quartiles of Human Development Index in 2013:
Very High
Low
High
Data unavailable
Medium
In 2018, Switzerland topped the HDI list among Central European countries, also ranking No. 2 in the world. Serbia rounded out the list at No. 11 (67 world).
Legatum Prosperity Index demonstrates an average and high level of prosperity in Central Europe (2018 data).[171] Switzerland topped the index (#4 world).
Overview of the index of perception of corruption, 2015:
90–100
60–69
30–39
0–9
80–89
50–59
20–29
No information
70–79
40–49
10–19
Most countries in Central Europe tend to score above the average in theCorruption Perceptions Index (2018 data),[172] led by Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.
Central Europe contains the continent's earliest railway systems, whose greatest expansion was recorded in Austrian, Czech,German, Hungarian and Swiss territories between 1860-1870s.[173] By the mid-19th century Berlin, Vienna,Zurich,Pest andPrague were focal points for network lines connecting industrial areas ofSaxony,Silesia, Bohemia, Moravia and Lower Austria with the Baltic (Kiel,Szczecin) and Adriatic (Rijeka, Trieste).[174] By 1913, the combined length of the railway tracks of Austria and Hungary reached 43,280 kilometres (26,890 miles). By 1936, 70% of theSwiss Federal Railway network had undergone electrification.[175]
Rail infrastructure in Central Europe remains the densest in the world. Railway density as of 2022, with total length of lines operated (km) per 1,000 km2, from highest to lowest is Switzerland (129.2), the Czech Republic (120.7), Germany (108.8), Hungary (85.0), Slovakia (74.0), Austria (66.5), Poland (61.9), Slovenia (59.6), Serbia (49.2), Croatia (46.3) and Lithuania (29.4).[176][177]
Before the first railroads appeared in the 1840s, river transport constituted the main means of communication and trade.[174] Earliest canals included Plauen Canal (1745), Finow Canal, and alsoBega Canal (1710) which connectedTimișoara toNovi Sad andBelgrade via the Danube.[174] The most significant achievement in this regard was the facilitation of navigability on the Danube from theBlack sea toUlm in the 19th century.
The economies of Central Europe tend to demonstratehigh complexity. Industrialisation reached Central Europe relatively early beginning with Germany and theCzech lands near the end of the 18th century.[178]
The industrialization of the cities of Romania[179] and Serbia[180] started in theinterwar period, and did not make significant progress until the post ww2 era.
Central European countries are some of the most significant food producers in the world. Germany is the world's largesthops producer with 34.27% share in 2010,[181] Slovenia is one of the world's leading producers of honey.[182] Serbia is the world's 2nd largest producer ofplums and 2nd largest producer ofraspberries.[183][184]
Central European business has a regional organisation, Central European Business Association (CEBA), founded in 1996 in New York as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting business opportunities within Central Europe and supporting the advancement of professionals in America with a Central European background.[185]
Central European countries, especially Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland are some of the most competitive tourism destinations.[186]
Student performance has varied across Central Europe, according to theProgramme for International Student Assessment. In the 2012 study, countries scored medium, below or over the average scores in three fields studied.[187]
In 1991,Ernest Gellner proposed the establishment of a truly Central European institution of higher learning in Prague (1991–1995).[189] Eventually, theCentral European University (CEU) project was taken on and financially supported by the philanthropistGeorge Soros, who had provided an endowment of US$880 million, making the university one of the wealthiest in Europe.[190] Over its 30-year history CEU has become one of the most internationally diverse and recognisable universities in the world. For example, as of 2019, 1217 students were enrolled in the university, of which 962 were international students, making the student body the fourth most international in the world.[191] CEU offers highly selective programs with a student to faculty ratio of 7:1.[192] In 2021, the admission rate into its programs was 13%.[193] CEU has thus become a leading global university in Europe promoting a distinctively Central European perspective while emphasizing academic rigor, applied research, and academic honesty and integrity.[194] CEU is a founding member of CIVICCA, a group of prestigious European higher education institutions in the social sciences, humanities, business management and public policy, such asSciences Po (France),The London School of Economics and Political Science (UK),Bocconi University (Italy) and theStockholm School of Economics (Sweden).[195]
Central European major Christian denomination is Catholicism as well as largeProtestant populations. Click map to see legend.
Central European countries are mostlyCatholic (Austria, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia) or historically both Catholic andProtestant (theCzech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Switzerland). Large Protestant groups includeLutheran,Calvinist, and theUnity of the Brethren affiliates. Significant populations ofEastern Catholicism andOld Catholicism are also prevalent throughout Central Europe.Orthodox Christianity is a minority denomination observed to varying extents across Central Europe.
Central Europe has been the center of theProtestant movement for centuries, with the majority of Protestants suppressed and annihilated during theCounterreformation.[199][200]
Historically, people inBohemia in today's Czech Republic were some of the first Protestants in Europe. As a result of theThirty Years' War following theBohemian Revolt, manyCzechs were either killed, executed (see forOld Town Square execution), forcibly turned into Roman Catholics, or emigrated toScandinavia and theLow Countries. In the aftermath of theThirty Years' War, the number of inhabitants in theKingdom of Bohemia decreased from three million to only 800,000 from multiple factors, including devastating ongoing battles such as the significantBattle of White Mountain and theBattle of Prague (1648). However, in recent years, most Czechs report as overwhelmingly non-religious, with some describing themselves as Catholic (10.3%).
Islam has had a notable historical presence in Croatia and Hungary.Islam in Croatia dates back to the spread of theOttoman Empire in the Balkans, and today is represented mainly by ethnicBosniak,Albanian andTurkish Muslims.Islam in Hungary dates back to the foundation of the state, from which a sizeableBöszörmény community persisted for several centuries. Islam was revived in Hungary when the country fell under Ottoman rule. Additionally, Islam has had a historical presence in Poland and Lithuania, albeit limited. Communities ofTatar Muslims settled in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the 15th and 16th centuries. Tatar Muslim minorities remain in Poland and Lithuania to this day.
Before theHolocaust (1941–45), there was also a sizeableAshkenazi Jewish community in the region, numbering approximately 16.7 million people.[201] Poland and Lithuania had the largest Jewish populations in Europe as a percentage of their total populations, with Jews constituting 9.5% of the Polish population and 7.6% of the Lithuanian population in 1933.[202]
Certain countries in Central Europe, particularly the Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland have sizeableatheist andnon-religious populations. In 2021, 48% of the Czech population declared that they had no religion.[203] In 2022, 43.8% of the German population declared that they had no religion.[204] Meanwhile, 33.5% of the Swiss population stated that they were not affiliated with any religion.[205]
Central European cuisine has evolved over centuries because of social and political change and is generally diverse. However, the national cuisines of western Central Europe share notable similarities, as do the cuisines of eastern Central Europe. Sausages, salamis and cheeses are popular in most of Central Europe, with the earliest evidence of cheesemaking in the archaeological record dates back to 5,500 BCE (Kuyavia region, Poland).[206] Other popular food items in Central Europe include soups, stews, pickled and fermented vegetables.Schnitzel,goulash andcabbage rolls are popular in the region.
Another common feature among Central European cuisines, particularly Austrian, Croatian, Lithuanian, Slovenian and Swiss cuisine, is the use of wild ingredients in traditional dishes, spanning from wild herbs to mushrooms and berries. Beer consumption is also prominent in parts of Central Europe, where the Czech Republic has the highestbeer consumption per capita globally, followed by Austria, with Germany coming 4th. The cuisines of Central European countries that are included in broader definitions of Eastern Europe share similarities and traditions with other Eastern European cuisines. This is particularly evident in the cuisines of Lithuania and Poland, which feature dishes likeborscht,pierogi andsour rye soup.
Generally, the countries in the region have been progressive on the issue of human rights: death penalty is illegal in all of them, corporal punishment is outlawed in most of them and people of both genders can vote in elections. However, Central European countries are divided on the subject ofsame-sex marriage and abortion. Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland also have a history of participation in the CIA's extraordinary rendition and detention program, according to theOpen Society Foundations.[207][208]
Regional writing tradition revolves around the turbulent history of the region, as well as its cultural diversity.[209][210] Its existence is sometimes challenged.[211] Specific courses on Central European literature are taught atStanford University,[212]Harvard University[213] andJagiellonian University[214] as well as cultural magazines dedicated to regional literature.[215] Angelus Central European Literature Award is an award worth 150,000.00 PLN (about $50,000 or £30,000) for writers originating from the region.[216] Likewise, theVilenica International Literary Prize is awarded to a Central European author for "outstanding achievements in the field of literature and essay writing".[217]
Football is one of the most popular sports. Countries of Central Europe hosted several major competitions. Germany hosted two FIFA World Cups (1974 and2006) and two UEFA European Championships (1988 and2024). Yugoslavia hosted theUEFA Euro 1976 before the competition expanded to 8 teams. Recently, the2008 and2012UEFA European Championships were held in Austria & Switzerland and Poland & Ukraine respectively.
TheEconomist Intelligence Unit Democracy index map for 2022, with greener colours representing more democratic countries
Central Europe is a home to some of world's oldest democracies. However, most of them have been impacted bytotalitarianism, particularlyFascism andNazism. Germany and Italy occupied all Central European countries, except Switzerland. In all occupied countries, theAxis powers suspended democracy and installed puppet regimes loyal to the occupation forces. Also, they forced conquered countries to apply racial laws and formed military forces for helping German and Italian struggle against Communists. AfterWorld War II, almost the whole of Central Europe (the Eastern and Middle part) had been transformed intocommunist states, most of which had been occupied and later allied with theSoviet Union, often against their will through forged referendum (such as thePolish people's referendum in 1946) or force (northeast Germany, Poland, Hungary et alia). Nevertheless, those experiences have been dealt in most of them. Most Central European countries score very highly in theDemocracy Index.[219]
Central Europe is mentioned in the 35th episode ofLovejoy, entitled "The Prague Sun", filmed in 1992. While walking over the well-regarded and renownedCharles Bridge in Prague, the main character, Lovejoy, says: "I've never been to Prague before. Well, it is one of the great unspoiled cities in Central Europe. Notice: I said: 'Central', not 'Eastern'! TheCzechs are a bit funny about that, they think of Eastern Europeans asturnip heads."[221]
^abcJordan, Peter (2005)."Großgliederung Europas nach kulturräumlichen Kriterien" [The large-scale division of Europe according to cultural-spatial criteria].Europa Regional.13 (4). Leipzig: Leibniz-Institut für Länderkunde (IfL):162–173. Retrieved21 January 2019 – via Ständiger Ausschuss für geographische Namen (StAGN).
^Berglee, Royal (2016)."2.3 Regions of Western Europe".World Regional Geography. University of Minnesota. 2.16 Traditional Regions of Europe. Archived fromthe original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved23 August 2023.
^Shvili, Jason (10 May 2021)."Regions Of Europe".WorldAtlas. Retrieved23 August 2023.
^Cloet, Pierre-Robert; Legue, Benedicte; Martel, Kerstin (2018)."Hungary"(PDF).Institut Jacques Delors. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 15 December 2023. Retrieved15 December 2023.
^Frost, Robert (2015). "5".The Oxford history of Poland-Lithuania. Volume 1: The making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union, 1385-1569 (First published in paperback ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. pp. 47–57.ISBN978-0-19-880020-0.
^abKrekić, Bariša (1972).Dubrovnik in the 14th and 15th centuries: a city between East and West. Centers of civilization series. Norman: Univ. of Oklahama Press.ISBN978-0-8061-0999-2.
^"Dubrovnik".Remember Adrijo. Retrieved18 February 2024.
^Source: Geographisches Handbuch zuAndrees Handatlas, vierte Auflage, Bielefeld und Leipzig, Velhagen und Klasing, 1902.
^Jackson J. Spielvogel:Western Civilization: Alternate Volume: Since 1300. p. 618.
^Peter Broucek "Die österreichische Identität im Widerstand 1938–1945" (2008), p 163.
^Pirker, Peter (2012).Suberversion deutscher Herrschaft. Der britische Geheimdienst SOE und Österreich. Zeitgeschichte im Kontext. Vol. 6. Göttingen: V & R Unipress. p. 252.ISBN9783862349906.
^Olga S. Opfell "Royalty Who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe" (2001), p 133.
^Gerald Stourzh "Geschichte des Staatsvertrages 1945–1955" (1980), p 4.
^Wolfgang Mueller "Die sowjetische Besatzung in Österreich 1945–1955 und ihre politische Mission" (German – "The Soviet occupation in Austria 1945–1955 and its political mission"), 2005, p 24.
^One of the main representatives was Oscar Halecki and his bookThe limits and divisions of European history, London and New York 1950
^A. Podraza, Europa Środkowa jako region historyczny, 17th Congress of Polish Historians, Jagiellonian University 2004
^Sinnhuber, Karl A. (1954). "Central Europe: Mitteleuropa: Europe Centrale: An Analysis of a Geographical Term".Transactions and Papers (20). Institute of British Geographers:15–39.doi:10.2307/621131.JSTOR621131.S2CID133729155.
^Hilde Szabo:Die Berliner Mauer begann im Burgenland zu bröckeln (The Berlin Wall began to crumble in Burgenland – German), in Wiener Zeitung 16 August 1999; Otmar Lahodynsky:Paneuropäisches Picknick: Die Generalprobe für den Mauerfall (Pan-European picnic: the dress rehearsal for the fall of the Berlin Wall – German), in:Profil 9 August 2014.
^Ludwig Greven "Und dann ging das Tor auf", in Die Zeit, 19 August 2014.
^Miklós Németh in Interview, Austrian TV – ORF "Report", 25 June 2019.
^Otmar Lahodynsky "Eiserner Vorhang: Picknick an der Grenze" (Iron curtain: picnic at the border – German), in Profil 13 June 2019.
^Thomas Roser: DDR-Massenflucht: Ein Picknick hebt die Welt aus den Angeln (German – Mass exodus of the GDR: A picnic clears the world) in: Die Presse 16 August 2018.
^Andreas Rödder, Deutschland einig Vaterland – Die Geschichte der Wiedervereinigung (2009).
^abAleksov, Bojan; Piahanau, Aliaksandr (2020).Wars and Betweenness: Big Powers and Middle Europe, 1918–1945. Central European University Press. pp. 7–8.ISBN978-963-386-336-7.
^Jerzy Kłoczowski, Actualité des grandes traditions de la cohabitation et du dialogue des cultures en Europe du Centre-Est, in: L'héritage historique de la Res Publica de Plusieurs Nations, Lublin 2004, pp. 29–30ISBN83-85854-82-7
^Oskar Halecki, The Limits and Divisions of European History, Sheed & Ward: London and New York 1950, chapter VII
^Geddes, Andrew; Lees, Charles; Taylor, Andrew (2013).The European Union and South East Europe: The Dynamics of Europeanization and Multilevel Governance. Routledge.ISBN978-1-136-28157-0.[page needed]
^"Geographic Regions".United Nations Statistics Division. Retrieved15 December 2023.
^Bokros, Lajos (2013).Accidental Occidental: Economics and Culture of Transition in Mitteleuropa, the Baltic and the Balkan Area. Central European University Press. p. 2.ISBN978-615-5225-24-6.
^"About Serbia".UNDP in Serbia. United Nations Development Programme. 2018. Archived fromthe original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved13 November 2015.
^Irena Kogan: Delayed Transition: Education and Labor Market in Serbia[5], Making the Transition: Education and Labor Market Entry in Central and Eastern Europe, 2011, chapter 6
^WMO, UNCCD, FAO, UNW-DPC[6]Archived 17 November 2015 at theWayback Machine, Country Report: Drought conditions and management strategies in Serbia, 2013, p. 1
^Government of Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's speech at the Energy Forum following a joint meeting of the Serbian and Hungarian cabinets[7]Archived 23 December 2018 at theWayback Machine, Government of Hungary on Serbia, 2018
^"Sajtótájékoztató 2013" [Press Conference 2013](PDF) (Press release) (in Hungarian). Hungarian Central Statistical Office. 28 March 2013.Archived(PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved15 October 2015.
^Joachim W. Stieber: "Pope Eugenius IV, the Council of Basel and the secular and ecclesiastical authorities in the Empire: the conflict over supreme authority and power in the church", Studies in the history of Christian thought, Vol. 13, Brill, 1978,ISBN90-04-05240-2, p.82;Gustav Stolper: "German Realities", Read Books, 2007,ISBN1-4067-0839-9, p. 228; George Henry Danton: "Germany ten years after", Ayer Publishing, 1928,ISBN0-8369-5693-1, p. 210; Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius: "The German Myth of the East: 1800 to the Present", Oxford Studies in Modern European History Series, Oxford University Press, 2009,ISBN0-19-954631-2, p. 109; Levi Seeley: "History of Education", BiblioBazaar,ISBN1-103-39196-8, p. 141
^Faculty of Arts and Sciences Harvard College."Central European Studies". Static.fas.harvard.edu. Archived fromthe original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved24 September 2015.
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Ádám, Magda (1993).The Little Entente and Europe(1920–1929). Akadémiai Kiadó.ISBN963-05-6420-3.
Ágh, Attila (1998).The politics of Central Europe. Sage.ISBN0-7619-5032-X.
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'Mapping Central Europe' inhidden europe, 5, pp. 14–15 (November 2005)
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