Skip to content

Questions about Central Europe

Short answers, pulled from the story.

What is the origin of the term Central Europe and when did it first appear in print?

The word Central Europe appears in a 1903 book by Joseph Partsch. No single map has ever captured its borders since that initial publication.

Which countries are included in the EU11 group for Central Europe today?

Today, the European Union lists eleven countries as part of the EU11 group including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia. Some definitions stretch from the Pyrenees to the Danube while others stop at the Vistula River.

When was the Pan-European Picnic held and what impact did it have on Eastern Bloc countries?

The Pan-European Picnic took place on the 19th of August 1989 when hundreds of East Germans crossed into Austria through an open border gate. This event triggered a chain reaction that ended the Eastern Bloc without violence and freed Central Europe from communism.

How does rail density compare between Switzerland and Germany in Central Europe as of 2022?

As of 2022, rail density ranked highest in Switzerland at 129.2 kilometers per thousand square kilometers. Germany follows closely behind with 108.8 kilometers.

What percentage of Czechs declared no religion in 2021 compared to Germans?

In 2021, forty-eight percent of Czechs declared no religion while forty-three point eight percent of Germans did the same. Most countries remain Catholic or historically Protestant though large atheist populations exist in both nations.