At the centre of Europe

Yesterday’s terrorist attacks in Brussels have been immediately described as “terrorism in the heart of Europe“, “an attack in the centre of Europe” and so on. Is Brussels really the centre of Europe? And if the centre of Europe is not in Brussels, where is it? Previously, I’ve looked into the definition of “Central Europe” but I think that is not the same as the “Centre of Europe”.

Numerous attempts were made to define the geographical centre of Europe. The difficulty in agreeing on the “centre” is due to the unclear definition of Europe – the Eastern boundary is simply arbitrary. Other questions are whether islands are to be included or just the mainland. As one can expect, the EU has its own “midpoint”, the location of which is also not undisputed. But if you want to know more about this, just read the Wikipedia page about the topic.

The political centre of Europe is a completely different story. Brussels is often described as the political centre, since many European institutions are located there. However, the European parliament divides its time between Brussels and Strasbourg, the European Central Bank has its headquarters in Frankfurt, Europol is in the Hague, Frontex is in Warsaw – I guess its clear what I mean. Or not, but its Europe, so get used to it.

I propose a different view on the “centre of Europe”, a more statistical one. Where is the centre of a country? In its capital, naturally. Europe does not have a capital, despite all attempts to create one (previous contenders include Paris, Berlin, Rome and Moscow). Therefore, I looked up the location of the capitals of European countries, and calculated the median and mean of their latitude and longitudes. The median and mean are both close to where the borders of Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic meet.

Map generated using Scribble Maps

The exact location depends on what counts as “European country”, but will not shift by much. Personally, I find this location quite fitting my expectations of the centre of Europe. It also simplifies the definitions of Eastern, Northern, Western and Southern Europe. This definition will not satisfy everyone, but at least it’s obvious that the centre of Europe is not in Brussels. Ain’t that a relief.

Maps that will not help you understand Europe, but may get you started appreciating its complexity

I love maps. Am absolutely fascinated by maps. As a boy I had a map of the moon and a map of Mars decorating the walls of my room. Yes, I know. I am a nerd and am proud of it, too. Recently, I have read a book about maps, “How the world was mapped”, a book I can absolutely recommend. A bit Eurocentric, even Britocentric, at times, but what can you do – the heydays of mapping the world were the heydays of the British empire, too. But that’s not my point here. My point is that the main thing I’ve learned from that book is that maps are never objective. All maps are not more than bits of misinformation, incomplete, biased, not to be trusted sketches, that represent the wishful thinking of those who ordered them, the limited knowledge and abilities of those who made them and are perceived through the expectations of those who look at them.

Political map of Europe – the boundaries are not telling you a lot
http://www.worldatlasbook.com

As an example, here are a few maps that will not help you understand Europe but will perhaps help you appreciate its complexity.

As continents come, Europe is relatively small. But it has a rather odd shape, with huge penninsulas sticking out in the North, South-West and South-East, and it is jammed into the huge mass of Asia in the East, so there is no “climate of Europe” to speak of. In the far north, there are polar deserts, around the Kaspian Sea there are “proper” deserts. The Western edges of Europe are soaking wet, while the steppes in the East are dusty and dry.

Climates of Europe (one way to look at them)
http://www.graphatlas.com

Culture is above all language. Europe has a long history of nation-states, longer than any continent. That history includes repeated attempts to suppress and extinct cultural minorities, either physically, by shifting boundaries or by enforcing the dominant culture (and, thus, language). Despite all this, most European countries still poses a significant linguistical (and, thus, cultural) minority. The depth of this rift is best illustrated by Ukraine, where language boundaries are literally front lines.

The complex patchwork of languages in Europe
http://teacherweb.ftl.pinecrest.edu

Europe is the most densely populated continent. That, however, is just the average number. As in other continents, Europe’s population is largely concentrated in a small area, with swaths of relatively sparsely populated land in between. And even in the most populated countries, there are thinly inhabited areas, like the Belgian Ardennes, or the Massif Central in France.

As you can see, huge parts of Europe are rather empty of people
http://media.web.britannica.com/

For centuries, the politics of Europe has been, above all, politics of religion. East vs West, Christianity vs Islam, Catholics vs Protestants, everyone against the Jews. These ancient conflicts and fault lines are still there, even if they only masquerade as social, economic or ideological conflicts.

Conflict lines in Europe still follow religious divides
http://commons.wikimedia.org

The division of Europe into regions is a mess. Just a few years ago it was clear – you had the Iron Curtain neatly dividing Europe in two. Nowadays? It’s anyone’s guess. Call Poland Eastern Europe and they’d claim they are Central Europe. I recently got in trouble for naming Finland a Baltic state. The CIA factbook does probably the most comprehensive job, dividing Europe into 7 regions, that, at least to me, make a lot of sense.

The CIA factbook excludes Caucasus and Cyprus from their definition of Europe
http://commons.wikimedia.org

Let it snow in Europe (or not…)

Winter in Europe sounds so romantic… Snow-covered castles, jolly Christmas markets, evenings by the fireplace – all the ingredients of a Disney classic.

Winter in Europe as you imagine it would be…

The not-so-cold truth is, that Western Europe, the destination most people associate with a European vacation and with the classic images of castles and such, has a mild oceanic climate (see map below). In plain language this means winter weather here is best described as “disgusting”.

Climate zones of Europe (from http://go.grolier.com/atlas?id=mtlr026)

Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna – in January, the coldest month, typical weather in these European capitals is just above or just below freezing. Precipitation is mostly rain, occasionally wet snow, and only accidental snow cover to give you the opportunity to make that classic photo.

This week’s snowfall in my neighbourhood – pretty, isn’t it?

This is what it looks like up close…

Snow in Western Europe rarely stays for long. It usually starts to melt immediately as it falls, leaving you wading in ankle-deep muck. As the temperatures drop below freezing during the night, semi-molten snow and fresh rain freeze on the surface, turning the roads into an icy death-trap for pedestrians and motorists.

I wouldn’t dream driving over this skating ring, I barely dare walk here.

Even in the Scandinavian capitals Oslo and Stockholm winter is by no means a guarantee of snow due to their location on the sea shores. I’m not even talking about the Southern regions of Europe – the chances of seeing snow in Rome or Barcelona are close to zero, and you will probably spend most of the winter there being cold and wet nevertheless. In many parts of Europe, winter is indeed full of snow and frostbites. Its just not the parts your are likely to visit as a tourist. Take a look at the map below, showing average January temperatures in Europe.

Europe, temperature-January (from http://go.grolier.com/atlas?id=mtlr029)

The darker areas are colder, and parts that are below -5 Celsius are likely to see permanent snow during most of the winter. Mountain areas (like Schwarzwald, shown in the first photo) will probably be snowy regardless of their location. But most of Europe to the West of the line Warsaw-Belgrade will probably be freezing cold but rather grey and very, very moist. For the Americans among you – Seattle is probably your closest weather “parallel” to North-Western Europe. I don’t mean to discourage anyone but if you plan on a snowy trip to Europe, you better be going to Zermatt or Moscow. And check out the handy charts at http://weatherspark.com/, like the ones for temperature and precipitation in Amsterdam shown below. As you can see, November to March will be either cold or freezing, and there’s a high chance of rain at some point of the day. Welcome to Europe and have a nice stay!

Fraction of Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands in Amsterdam.

Probability of Precipitation at Some Point in the Day in Amsterdam.