What do you think about this map?

Mzungu mchagga

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This is a map frequently found on German Wikipedia. It tries to devide Europe into six sub-regions, namely Western Europe, Southern Europe, South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe and Central Europe. Please note that cultural borders don't necessarily fit with national borders.
One thing I do criticize here is that it neglects to show crossing regions. Moreover sometimes it is really tough to find similarities between regions within the same cultural zone on the opposite end, e.g. what puts Alsace closer to western Ukraine than to the rest of France, or Crotia closer to the North Sea than to Serbia? (And especially Central Europe is the hardest case!)
What is your opinion?
 
Or to go further, if we stick to these six regions, what words (whatever!) come to your mind to each of them?
 
That's the first time I see this map....and I'm lost trying to figure out the logic behind creating it. I can't find one, lol. I think it was made by folks that love labeling and categorizing things. As nice as it is, and in tune with human brain that loves labeling everything to understand the world order of things. But life and nature in general doesn't care for the labeling and always throw us the curve balls with stuff that falls in between the labels, and makes us to accommodate the gaps with subcategories, and even smaller subgroups, etc, etc.
Therefore we ended up with conundrums, like you arrived at, with bordering provinces of regions being more alike with other bordering provinces or other regions, than having similarities with a region that someone categorized them in. It's complicated as my writing, lol.
This is not much different than some European countries having regions that want to separate, because they feel much different than the rest of a country. Even if you create one united Europe, one doesn't know where the true borders should be. Is Turkey European or just part of it? What about Greenland or Canary Islands, and should we include whole Russia or we stop at Urals. And this is the real life, the labels never fit perfectly.
Looking at this map, the regions should fit better as economic centres. Maybe united Europe should have gone through smaller groups transition, before tried running as one whole Europe? This could have been easier and safer.

Now for naming, hmmmm.....
Sudeuropa - Roman
Westeuropa - ...Waterloo?
Nordeuropa - Pipi Longstocking Empire
Osteuropa - Tsar
Sudosteuropa - Orthodox
Center - Wurst/Kielbasa/cabbage/and whole dairy empire, lactose tolerance center and whatever Battle Axe culture brought in.

There are not huge cultural differences in these regions, but the hardest to unite would be the Balkan bunch of Sudostan.

Later
 
The map is ok, even though it is schematic and oversimplified. You shouldn't try to find similarities between the extremities in each region, but rather look at the "centre of gravity" for the region.

The Middle Europe region obviously matches the boundaries of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire + Germany, Poland and the Baltic. Personally, I would have put Estonia in North Europe with Finland, while Latvia, Lithuania and eastern Poland would have gone to Eastern Europe with Russia. But if the map was made by Germans, I understand that they attempt to widen their own sphere of influence. ;) I would have also added a chunk of northern Germany into North Europe.

I also don't understand why western Turkey is not in the same group as Greece and Bulgaria.
 
The map is quite correct.
Though, I would put Adriatic cost of Croatia and Montenegro in Sudeuropa together with Italy.
The borders of cultural regions are not so strictly defined, but, generally speaking, this is it-divison of Europe in cultural zones.
 
The Middle Europe region obviously matches the boundaries of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire + Germany, Poland and the Baltic. Personally, I would have put Estonia in North Europe with Finland, while Latvia, Lithuania and eastern Poland would have gone to Eastern Europe with Russia. But if the map was made by Germans, I understand that they attempt to widen their own sphere of influence. ;) I would have also added a chunk of northern Germany into North Europe.
:grin: This was excactly my thought, too. But I didn't dare to mention it already in my first post. The main thing all places within the Central European Region have in common is that at some point in history they have been under domination of some Prussian, Austrian or other German speaking elite. And the creators of this map were German...

Same as you mentioned, I would have put at least Estonia also to Northern Europe. And as Iapodos said, Croatia to South Eastern Europe. I think with Lithuania, Latvia and Poland it's ok. They haven't been affected that much from Orthodox faith but therefore stood more under the influence of Western Enlightement.

I also don't understand why western Turkey is not in the same group as Greece and Bulgaria.

If you look again it actually is. The cultural border goes through the Bosporus. Only if we take nations as a whole Turkey is not within South Eastern Europe.

With the rest, I also agree on what LeBrok said!
 
Personal impressions of mine, as being taught were I come from, not meant to offend anyone!:


Western Europe
-synthesis of Roman-Celtic-Germanic heritage
-powerful nations of recent centuries
-oversea colonial powers
-cradle of Western Enlightement and industrialization

Southern Europe
-Roman languages
-(heritage of) Catholic faith
-strong sea trading nations of the Mediterranian and abroad
-living life, arts, food and seduction etc...

Northern Europe
-Protestant and Germanic heritage (or at least influence like in Finland)
-high rate of individualism combined with social forward thinking
-leading to the classic welfare nations
-Arctic sea powers

Eastern Europe
-Slavic Nations under Russian dominance
-Orthodox Faith
-strong hierarchy with celebration of icons (religious or political)
-widely absence of Western Enlightement (with few exceptions like for example St.Petersburg etc...)

South Eastern Europe
-historical dominance of Ottoman Empire
-huge ethnic and religious diversity with high tensions and disputed landmarks
-low trust into governments (and I mean very low!)
-both leading to the outside perception of unrest, hatred, violence, war, crime, brutality and love of destruction in general

Central Europe
-good question!
-as mentioned above dominance of German speaking elites at some point in history
-everything in the middle of Europe that doesn't really match into any other group, but with some influences of all of them
 
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Central Europe, it is also roughly a territory that was under Slavic Expansion/control from 5th to 10th century. Dominance and forces change with time. No reason to get paranoid and upset because of recent German strength.
 
Yes, perhaps mixture of Germanic and Slavic culture. Originally it was also very Celtic, but unlike to Western Europe that feature hasn't contriuted very much until today. But then we also shouldn't forget Baltics and Magyars. Oh my, perhaps Wurst and cabbage is really the essential connection... lol :LOL:
And for sure, these "Zones" aren't constant either, they change with time.
 
Some associations of mine:

Eastern Europe
-Slavic Nations under Russian dominance
-Orthodox Faith
-strong hierarchy with celebration of icons (religious or political)
-widely absence of Western Enlightement (with few exceptions like for example St.Petersburg etc...)

South Eastern Europe
-historical dominance of Ottoman Empire
-huge ethnic and religious diversity with high tensions and disputed landmarks
-low trust into governments (and I mean very low!)
-both leading to the outside perception of unrest, hatred, violence, war, crime, brutality and love of destruction in general

Very open minded opinions with no prejudice at all, especiallly the part "strong hierarchy with celebration of icons (religious or political)". I am an Orthodox Christian and since I was born I couldn't find that connection in my mind, my cultural deviation to celebrate icon of Jesus Christ and Joseph Stalin at the same time. Thanks for enlightment.
 
Spanish As I have always been geographically in the West, southern Europe is always in your mouth the rest of Europeans must think we worked three hours a day and the rest is dedicated to living life and seduce, as Utopia is not bad, but if I can indicate the direction of that wonderful place I'd appreciate it, I dunno, but in the West, for you southern wine and roses we get the dog to pee three times a day, suffer from congestion and to give us heart attacks viagra eat also, so it's a place so filthy as anywhere else in the world.
 
Yes, perhaps mixture of Germanic and Slavic culture. Originally it was also very Celtic, but unlike to Western Europe that feature hasn't contriuted very much until today. But then we also shouldn't forget Baltics and Magyars. Oh my, perhaps Wurst and cabbage is really the essential connection... lol :LOL:
And for sure, these "Zones" aren't constant either, they change with time.

Lol, throw kartoffel in the mix and you can unite the region with the common kitchen. In central region you can find languages very contrasting, but the kitchen is very similar.
 
@iapodos & Carlitos

Sorry guys ;)
Yes, I used prejudices! I admit to have written what came to my personal mind very first, that doesn't mean that it is correct, ok? And even if there was a tiny historical truth about it somewhere, you didn't really think that I expect iapodos to worship Stalin or Carlitos to work only three hours per day? :LOL:
Now keep cool and sorry again!
 
^^
Do not worry, simply opine on the subject, but I feel geographically and Spanish in the West and the map says that France is in the West, but Spain did not, when Spain is further west than France.
 
well, Iberia is not just southern, but also Western, considering Portugal has the westernmost point of continental Europe, and also culturally we are Western (celtic influence, megalithic cultures, atlantic cultures, atlantic climate in northwest Iberia, cultural movements found only in Western europe such as gothic architecture, etc)
 
Regarding the north-south divide within Western Europe, French people agree that it lies around the 45th parallel (roughly at the latitude of Lyon). So the map should include all south-west France (as far north as Cognac and Limoges) into southern Europe, or more correctly south-west Europe.
 
Instead of clearly defined borders, overlapping colours would suit better. So the Iberian peninsula and southern France should be something West and South in colour. Same to most other places on the map.
 
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mapa_asia.jpg


In Europe there is no one more Western Iberian Peninsula. Or to see if we are so powerful now that we are able to modify the geography as it suits us and discriminatory socioeconomic and cultural interests.
 
In Europe there is no one more Western Iberian Peninsula. Or to see if we are so powerful now that we are able to modify the geography as it suits us and discriminatory socioeconomic and cultural interests.

Nope! The westernmost tip of Ireland is even a little further west than the one of Portugal. And don't forget about Iceland!
Anyways, don't get too deep into geographic terms! These regions in Europe could aswell be called completely different. We already said that Spain is a Western AND Southern country.

If I close my eyes, take a pen and draw randomly a line through Europe, in the end I will find either a historical or cultural or political or economic or genetic or climatic or botanic border for sure!
 
Nope! The westernmost tip of Ireland is even a little further west than the one of Portugal. And don't forget about Iceland!
Anyways, don't get too deep into geographic terms! These regions in Europe could aswell be called completely different. We already said that Spain is a Western AND Southern country.

If I close my eyes, take a pen and draw randomly a line through Europe, in the end I will find either a historical or cultural or political or economic or genetic or climatic or botanic border for sure!
Of continental Europe , Portugal was the most western tip.
 

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