Thirteen European countries, from France, Germany, Spain and Italy's neighbours to Norway, the Netherlands, Czechia, Croatia and the Caucasus nations of Georgia and Armenia, with the inventions, traditions and records that make each unique.
Europe packs dozens of languages, cuisines and histories into a relatively small continent, and every country has stories that surprise even its neighbours. This collection visits thirteen of them: the big Western European nations France, Germany and Spain, the Atlantic and Mediterranean countries Portugal and Greece, Central Europe's Austria and Czechia, the Nordic and Low Countries Norway and the Netherlands, Croatia on the Adriatic, Türkiye between two continents, and Georgia and Armenia in the Caucasus.
Many everyday things turn out to have European origins you might not expect. The word "robot", the soft contact lens and the sugar cube all came from Czechia, the necktie from Croatian mercenaries, the cuckoo clock from Germany's Black Forest, the cheese slicer from Norway, and salmon sushi from a Norwegian marketing campaign. Tulips reached Europe from the Ottoman world.
The records are just as varied. France is the most visited country on Earth, Spain produces more than 40 percent of the world's olive oil, Portugal about half of its cork, and about a quarter of the Netherlands lies below sea level. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity, Georgia is the cradle of wine, Croatia has the world's smallest town, and Austria has the world's largest ice cave.
From Germany's 1516 beer purity law to Spain's lyric-free national anthem and Türkiye's 2022 name change, the articles below are full of surprises. Choose a country to read fifteen facts about it.
Every item on this page, with the one fact most people get wrong about it.
| Name | Where you'll meet it | The fact worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Armenia | South Caucasus | Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity. |
| Austria | Central Europe | Austria has the world's largest ice cave. |
| Croatia | Adriatic coast | The modern necktie originated with Croatian mercenaries. |
| Czechia | Central Europe | The word "robot" was coined by a Czech playwright in 1920. |
| France | Western Europe | France is the most visited country in the world. |
| Georgia | Caucasus | Georgia is the cradle of wine. |
| Germany | Central Europe | Parts of the Autobahn have no general speed limit. |
| Greece | Southern Europe | Women are banned from Mount Athos. |
| Netherlands | Western Europe | About a quarter of the country lies below sea level. |
| Norway | Scandinavia | Salmon sushi was invented by Norwegian marketers. |
| Portugal | Iberian Peninsula | Portugal produces about half of the world's cork. |
| Spain | Iberian Peninsula | Spain's national anthem has no official lyrics. |
| Türkiye | Europe and Asia | It officially changed its English name to Türkiye in 2022. |
Most Visited Country
France
France welcomes more international visitors than any other country in the world. France
Most Islands
1,200+
More than 1,200 islands line Croatia's coast, though very few are inhabited. Croatia
Biggest Bone Chapel
~40,000 people
A chapel at Kutná Hora in Czechia is decorated with the bones of up to forty thousand people. Czechia
South Caucasus
Armenia's capital is older than Rome, and the country is home to the world's oldest winery and oldest leather shoe. Chess is a compulsory school subject, and its national symbol, Mount Ararat, lies in another country. More Armenians live abroad than at home.
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Central Europe
Vienna regularly tops liveability rankings, and the Alps cover most of the country. Mozart was born in Salzburg, "Silent Night" was first performed in an Austrian village, and Schönbrunn Palace has more than 1,400 rooms. Austria declared permanent neutrality in 1955.
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Adriatic coast
More than 1,200 islands line Croatia's coast, and Zadar has a sea organ played by the waves. Nikola Tesla was born in a Croatian village, the Dalmatian dog comes from Dalmatia, and Hum is the world's smallest town. Thousands of people still live inside Diocletian's Roman palace in Split.
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Central Europe
Gregor Mendel discovered the laws of genetics in a Moravian monastery garden, and the soft contact lens was first built with a children's construction set. The sugar cube was invented after a refinery director's wife cut her finger. Charles University has operated since 1348.
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Western Europe
The Eiffel Tower was meant to be temporary and the Louvre began as a fortress. Teenagers discovered the Lascaux cave paintings in 1940, and Roquefort was the first cheese with legal protection. A French train holds the speed record for conventional trains.
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Caucasus
Europe's earliest human remains were found in Georgia, and its alphabet is unique. It claims Europe's highest inhabited village, and the myth of the Golden Fleece began there. Georgian polyphonic singing has even been sent into space.
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Central Europe
Germany's beer purity law dates to 1516, Oktoberfest began as a royal wedding celebration and Dresden's Christmas market dates back to 1434. The Black Forest gave the world the cuckoo clock. Neuschwanstein Castle was never finished.
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Southern Europe
Greece has thousands of islands and welcomes more than 30 million visitors a year. Democracy was born in Athens and the Olympic Games in Olympia. Santorini was shaped by a huge volcanic eruption, and Meteora's monasteries sit on rock pillars.
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Western Europe
A deadly flood in 1953 led to the Delta Works, and Schiphol Airport sits below sea level. There are more bicycles than people, and the Dutch are among the tallest people in the world. King's Day turns the whole country orange.
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Scandinavia
A king penguin at Edinburgh Zoo holds the rank of major general with the Norwegian King's Guard, and a village called Hell freezes over every winter. The cheese slicer was invented in Lillehammer, and Norwegians read murder mysteries at Easter. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo.
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Iberian Peninsula
Portugal has some of Europe's oldest borders and is part of one of the world's oldest alliances. The Douro was one of the first demarcated wine regions, and the University of Coimbra dates from 1290. Around 260 million people speak Portuguese.
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Iberian Peninsula
Spain produces over 40 percent of the world's olive oil and has the world's oldest restaurant. A magical mouse replaces the tooth fairy, and Buñol hosts the world's largest food fight. A Spanish engineer invented the modern mop and bucket.
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Europe and Asia
Türkiye lies on two continents and welcomes more than 50 million visitors a year. Göbekli Tepe is far older than Stonehenge, and Hagia Sophia has been a church, a mosque, a museum and a mosque again. Tulips reached Europe from the Ottoman world.
Read the full article →8 questions, every answer is somewhere above.
1. Which was the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion?
2. Where did the modern necktie originate?
3. Which word did a Czech playwright coin in 1920?
4. What does France's nickname "the Hexagon" refer to?
5. What did Oktoberfest begin as?
6. Who is banned from Greece's Mount Athos?
7. Which seafood dish was popularised by Norwegian marketers?
8. Which animal takes the place of the tooth fairy in Spain?
France is the most visited country in the world. Spain claims second place, and Greece and Türkiye welcome more than 30 million and 50 million foreign visitors a year respectively.
No. Holland refers to just two of the Netherlands' provinces, although the name is often used for the whole country. About a quarter of the Netherlands lies below sea level, protected by dikes and the Delta Works.
The country officially changed its English name to Türkiye in 2022, using the Turkish spelling. It lies on two continents, with land in both Europe and Asia.
Georgia is considered the cradle of wine, with the world's oldest winemaking tradition, while Armenia is home to the world's oldest known winery.
Czechoslovakia dissolved into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993 without any bloodshed, an event almost unprecedented in modern geopolitics.
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