Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Ewa Lewandowska, Sławomira Kuśmierz, Michał Maludziński, Leszek Baj
Note: papers submitted have been shortened. Majority of pictures [and tables] have been erased, too. If you wish to recall the latter use the internet pages indicated as
Sources. A paper
will be displayed separately.
To answer questions below combine different papers and materials distributed earlier.
.
EUROPEAN LANGUAGES AND ETHNIC GROUPS
1 Jonathan Adams, Marcel Otte ,”Did Indo-European languages spread before farming?”, www.esd.ornl.gov.
2 Piotr Gąsowski’s Indo-European Page: www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/2190/Indo-European.html
3 Piotr Gąsowski’s Indo-European Page: www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/2190/Indo-European.html
4 Jonathan Adams, Marcel Otte ,”Did Indo-European languages spread before farming?”, www.esd.ornl.gov.
5 Celts Historical Background, www.ibiblio.org/celts/celtshistory.html,
1
Introduction – the roots of European languages
1. Indo-Europeans
It is not exactly known, how the family of Indo-European languages spread into Europe and western
Asia. Migrations and conquest may have caused this group to be present in central northern, southeastern Europe as well as in the Near and Middle East ples.
1 . There are several hypotheses about an event before the spread of Indo-European languages, that caused these movements of cultures and peo-
According to one of the hypotheses (called “Pontic steppe hypothesis”), the war-like culture called
Battle-Axe or Kurgan spread through conquest of passive farming populations. The main proponent of this theory was Lithuanian-born American archeologist Maria Gimbutas. She suggested that horseriding warlike Kurgan had invaded Europe in the forth millennium BC and had given rise to secondary homeland of the Celtic, Italic, Germanic, Balto-Slavic Greek and other European branches, while conquests in the south and east produced Indo-European languages of India, Persia, Asia Minor, etc.
2 . Before the invasion of Kurgan Riders Europe was inhabited by agrarian tribes.
Map 1: Invasions of Indo-Europeans
Source: article “March of the Titans…”, www4.stormfront.org/whitehistory/hwr5.htm
An alternative theory by British archaeologist C. Renfrew indicates a population wave (due the increasing carrying capacity of the farming lifeway) that flooded the hunter-gatherer groups speaking the non-Indo-European languages who inhabited Europe. He located the original homeland of Pre-
Indo-Europeans in Anatolia (modern Turkey). In his vision of expansion a slowly-growing population of farmers dispersed in Europe as early as 7000 BC 3 .
The Indo-Europeans who invaded (or dispersed in) Europe can be divided into four groups: [1] Celts,
[2] Germans, [3] Balts and [4] Slavs. They arrived to Europe in waves from 4000 BC to 500 BC. Their original Homeland (according to booth “Pontic steppe” and Renfrew hypotheses) was the Black Sea
Basin. Some theories mention the sudden climatic changes after the Glacial age as a reason for the migrations of Indo-Europeans.
In fact the climate changes may have had a little role in spreading of the farmers or post-neolithic warriors. Different processes could coincidentally have aided the spread of the Indo-European language family, at different times. Sudden climate change could have been the primary cause of migrations of Indo-European-speaking neolithic farmers or horse riding warriors.
4
Map 2: Possible origin of Proto-Indo-Europeans
Source: http://www.verbix.com/documents/pie/
One of the first waves of Indo-Europeans who arrived in Europe were Celts or proto-Celts, for it is difficult to define when Celts became a culture unto themselves 5 . Around 15000 –1000 BC, the Celts lived in an area which today is mostly in Eastern France. Until 600 BC Celts called Britanni occupied much of today’s France, parts of Belgium and Holland, Britain and Spain. The names Brittany and
Britain are delivered from this group. The name Celts itself is much younger it comes from the world
Keltoi, given to the Celtic tribes by Greeks. The Romans called Celts Galli or Gallus. The Celts Migrating westwards from their original homeland found the area inhabited by Old Europeans. In most regions Celts assimilated with the indigenous inhabitants. In France and Spain they mixed with well

established Mediterranean population 6 . The Celts of Eastern Europe being fragmented came under the domination by the Germanic peoples. In medieval and modern times the Celtic tradition and languages survived in Brittany (Western France), Cornvall, Galicia (North Western Spain), Galatia
(Central Turkey), Wales, The Scotish Highlands, Isle of Man and Ireland, and to lesser extent in
Norse/Celtic culture of Iceland 7 . From 1800 to 400 BC Celts in southern Germany and Austria developed two advanced metalworking, named after the places where their artifacts were found. These cultures were Urnfield and Hallstatt 8 .
In the first half of first millennium BC Gauls (of Celtic origin) from beyond the Alps began to penetrate the Northern Italy. In 8 th century BC the tribe of Etruscans (who were of the Non-Indo-
European origin) began to take form in Central Italy. Already in the Copper Age the area of the Alban
Hills, to the south of the month Tiber, was inhabited by an Italic agricultural and pastoral tribe called
Latini (possibly of the Celtic origin). And it was due to them 9 towards the middle of the 8 th depressions surrounding the river.
in all probability, that Rome was founded
century BC on one of the numerous hills (the Palatine) in the marshy
The first group of Indo-Europeans to enter the Greek mainland were Mycenae 10 . They absorbed the group of Old European Mediterranean types. Myceanean are regarded as the forerunners of the classical Greek civilization. Another Indo-European tribe called Dorics invaded and destroyed the city of Mycenae 1100 BC. The later Greek language in the historical period divides itself into several dialects which are largely mutually intelligible, but these are in turn replaced by politically dominant
Athens with Attic Greek, the language of the culture from then on 11 .
Map 3: Indo-European tribes
Source: http://www.verbix.com/documents/pie/
The next wave of Indo-Europeans invading Europe were Germans. They settled in today’s Denmark and southern Scandinavia and moved south to central Europe. By the 7 century BC they had begun a division into many peoples. They did not call themselves Germans, the origin of the name is uncertain. Although the earliest mention of the Germans is by a Greek navigator who saw them in Norway and Jutland in the 4 century BC, their real appearance in history began with their contact (1 st century
BC) with the Romans. As the centuries passed the Germans became increasingly troublesome to the
Roman Empire. The Vandals in the west and the Ostrogoths in the east were the first to attack the empire seriously. The Ostrogoths were a part of the Gothic people, often called the East Germanic, whose language (Gothic) was the first written Germanic language. The Goths apparently moved south-eastwards from the Vistula River to the Balkans, then westwards across Europe 12 .
Map 4: Dispersion of Indo-Europeans
Source: http://www.verbix.com/documents/pie
The group of Indo-Europeans who settled closest to their original homeland were Slavs. The region where they settled first was today’s Ukraine and Byelorussia. It was an ideal place for cereal farming, which encouraged the settlers to turn to agriculture rather than war or conquest. By 1000 BC they started to move westwards, occupying territory around the Vistula River. Around 700 BC, the territory occupied by Slavs was conquered by another Indo-European tribe, the Scythians who came from the south. By 100 BC, Scythians mastered the area, outfighting the agricultural Slavic farmers. By 200 BC another Indo-European invaders, called Sarmatians began to replaced the Scythians as masters of the Slavic lands. The Scythians were absorbed by new conquerors. In 600 BC an Indo-European tribe of Goths came from the Northern Europe and conquered the Sarmatians occupying Eastern Europe.
6 “Many of those Celtic/Mediterranean peoples in Spain were later to be occupied by Arabic Islamic armies during the first thousand years AD. Intermingling with the Arabic conquerors produced many people in Spain who are actually Celtic/Mediterraenian/Arabic mixes…” - “March of the Titans…” www4.stormfront.org/whitehistory/hwr5.htm
7 member.rivernet.com.au/manxman/Celts/historycelts.htm
8 “March of the Titans…”, www4.stormfront.org/whitehistory/hwr5.htm
9 Windows on Italy – The Early Italic Tribes, italic.org/aratxt5.htm
10 “March of the Titans…”, www4.stormfront.org/whitehistory/hwr5.htm
11 William Harris “The Indo-European background”, www.middlebury.edu/~harris,
12 http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/history/A0858397.html
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
As the Roman Empire began to unravel at the seams, the Slavs started moving westwards, first penetrating Balkan peninsula and then into central Europe. By 650 AD the Slav seized the coastline along the Adriatic Sea opposite Italy. They also later penetrated as far south as Turkey, where these elements were swallowed up into a larger mass occupying that country.
2. Finno-Ugrian languages
The Finno-Ugrian or Uralic language family includes a group of languages (mainly) in northern Eurasia. (According to the traditional terminology, Uralic means both main branches of the language family, the Finno-Ugrian and the Samoyedic languages, but some colleagues use "Finno-Ugrian" as a synonym for "Uralic".)
The greatest Finno-Ugrian languages are Hungarian (ca. 14 million speakers), Finnish (ca. 5 million) and Estonian (1 million). Other Finno-Ugrian languages are smaller, practically all of them more or less endangered. Some hypotheses have been made concerning the possible genetic relationship between Uralic and other language families (Altaic, Indo-European or even Basque, for example), but
Finnish Uralicists at least take a very reserved attitude towards them.
Since language is not inherited genetically, linguistic relationship does not necessarily imply a genetic relationship between speakers (no more than there is, for example, between all the speakers of present-day Indo-European languages). The present-day peoples speaking Uralic languages do not share especially many genetic characteristics: there is no "Uralic race". Physically, and also culturally, most "Uralic peoples" have more in common with their neighbours (e.g. Finns with Swedes) than with each other 13 . The ways of living are very different, too: e.g. the Saami and the Nenets have traditionally supported themselves with reindeer breeding, hunting and fishing; most Uralic-speaking peoples in Europe have been farmers; the Hungarians, in their earliest history, were horse nomads of the steppe.
All the Uralic languages originate from a common proto-language, but down the centuries, they have branched off into separate offshoots. The precise origins and geographical range of Progo-Uralic nevertheless remains a point of academic contention. Previously it was assumed that Proto-Uralic, or
Proto-Finno-Ugric, originated from a narrowly confinded region of eastern Russia. Linguistic differentiation was believed to occur as these Proto-Uralic peoples migrated their separate ways. One of other theories postulates that the origins of Proto-Uralic are in continental Europe. The "contact theory," again, suggests that the proto languages of the language families of today developed as a result of convergence caused by close interaction between speakers of originally different languages.
However many linguists support the notion that the Uralic languages have so many points in common in their basic structures - both in grammar and vocabulary - that these similarities cannot plausibly be attributed to interaction between unrelated language groups across such a broad geographical range.
Rather we must presume that they share a common point of origin whence they derive their characteristic features and whence their geographical range began to expand: as it expanded, speakers of other languages who fell within its range presumably changed their original language in favour of
Proto-Uralic 14 .
The origin of the Hungarian language is one of the several mysteries that surround the early history of the Magyars. For long it has been believed that Hungarian belongs to the Ugric branch of the
Uralic language family based on a relatively large number of words (~300-400) of Finno-Ugric origin in the language. Hungarian, like other Finno-Ugric languages is agglutinative, which means word meanings are modified by adding different and multiple endings or suffixes to the words, rather than using prefixes like, for example, in English. On the other hand, several linguists believe that Hungarian is related to Turkic, rather than to Finno-Ugric languages. Turkic languages are also agglutinative, but they are classified into the Altaic language family. They form a sister group with the Finno-Ugric language family, and supposedly both groups originated from the same Ural-Altaic proto-language, although this idea has also been challenged. The most closely related language to Hungarian is spo-
2
13 http://www.helsinki.fi/hum/sugl/fgrlang.html
14 http://sydaby.eget.net/swe/jp_finns.htm

ken on the eastern side of the Ural Mountain in western Sibiria by Khanty and Manshi people. Finnish,
Estonian, and some other smaller languages within the Finno-Ugric language family are much more distantly related to Hungarian 15 .
Map 5: Indo-European Languages
Source: www.verbix.com/imag/map_indoeuropean.gif
II. European languages and ethnic groups at present
1.The Romance languages area in Europe
The Romance languages are spoken by about 600 million people across the globe. All of these languages derive from Latin and came into being between 5 th and 8 th century. Latin was the official language of the Roman Empire. After brake up of this country in 5 evolve into different new languages. th century, the Latin began to
Nowadays there are five national standard languages that are recognized including French, Spanish,
Italian, Portuguese and Romanian (diagram 1). There are also several dialects/languages as well, such as Catalan, Occitan, Romansh, Galician, Corsican, Sicilian and Rhaeto-Romance, but language status is accorded in different ways, and usually on cultural grounds.
The modern Romance languages have a high number of lexical overlap. French and Italian share
89% lexical similarity, as do Spanish and Portuguese. (It should be noted that Sicilian is as different from standard Italian as Portuguese is from Spanish.). However, Spanish and Portuguese have borrowed from Arabic, French from Germanic, and Romanian from Slavic because of historical and geographical reasons.
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It is impossible to write about all ethnic groups and their languages in Europe because of its variety.
Therefore only some of them would be described in this study.
Diagram 1: Simplified Proto-Indo-European language tree.
Source: http://www.danshort.com/ie/iecentum_c.shtml
1.1. Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula is dominated by Romance languages from the Ibero-Romance group of languages.
Two national languages – Portuguese and Spanish are widely spoken not only in these two countries, but also in other parts of the world. Other languages evolved from the same base and are more or less similar to Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or French. On the map 6 we can see location of several main languages and dialects. Galician (about 3,5 million speakers in Spain and Portugal) and Asturian
(100,000 first language speakers, plus 450,000 second language speakers able to speak or understand it) in north-western part of peninsula.
Map 6: Languages on Iberian Peninsula
Source: http://www.ethnologue.com/show_map.asp?name=Spain&seq=1
Extramadurian spoken in Autonomous region of Extremadura in western Spain by 200,000 active speakers, plus 500,000 people able to use it, out of 1,1 million people in the ethnic group. Aragonese is spoken in the north-eastern part of Spain near the Pyrenees. The ethnic group of is estimated on 2 million people, but there are only about 11,000 active speakers and additional 20,000 people use it as second language. 17
Catalan
Catalan language has 87% lexical similarity with Italian, 85% with Portuguese and Spanish, 76% with
Rhaeto-Romance, 75% with Sardinian, 73% with Romanian. It is spoken in northern-eastern part of
Spain, on Balearic Islands, in south France, it is official language in Andorra (with French). There are about 6,4 million mother tongue speakers (1996), plus 5,000,000 second or third language speakers
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] in Spain.
18
Catalonian history and culture is very different from that of the Spanish south: Catalonians don’t appreciate bull fighting, don’t dance the flamenco, don’t retain in their social life the feudal attitude found in other parts of Spain, and they don’t think of themselves as Spaniards, but Catalonians first and foremost. Catalonia is one of the richest regions in Spain. Catalonians are proud of their country and try to show their independence in every aspect of life. Good example of such urge for independence are labels on the back of the cars showing its proprietor country of origin. In Catalonia it is often not “SP” but “CAT”. Although it is part of Spain, sometimes it is very hard to communicate in Spanish, not because Catalonians don’t speak this language, but because they just don’t like to do it. At the opening of the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992 the Catalonian flag was displayed and national anthem was played before those of Spain.
Basque
If considering main ethnic groups in this region, we can see that only the Basques who live in northern Spain (map 6) and southern France (map 7) have different roots. The Basque language, euskara or euskera, is unique. Its origins are still unknown. Scholars have concluded that it predates the migrations from the East, which brought the Indo-European languages into Europe some 3,000 years ago.
The first written records for the Basques are from the Romans. At that time there were four tribes in the Basque country, the Vascones, the Vardulos, the Caristios, and the Autrigones. The Romans loosely ruled the region, yet with persistent rebellion. Also the Visigoths engaged in repeated wars against the Basques, but never actually ruled them. So the Basques resisted domination from the beginning of their history. Basque people have lived under centuries of semi-autonomous rule. During
Franco's régime, however, this autonomy was drastically restricted. As a result, Basque nationalists, in conjunction with the newly-formed (1959) Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA) began to carry out acts of violence against a variety of targets.
Today the Basque Country has autonomy, its own tax system, police, parliament, regional government and Basque language is taught in schools. About 650,000 people speak Basque language. But terrorism became a serious problem in this region. Nationalists from ETA, whose goal is national liberation and self-determination, has dominated the society and instilled a constant fear in the citizens and the leaders of the country. The interesting thing is the fact that only about 5 to 10 % of the population follow the same kind of nationalism as members of ETA.
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1.2.
Regions with Francophone domination
French is spoken by 51 million people in France as a first language. Total population in all countries where French is spoken as a first language is estimated at 77 million, 128 million including second language speakers. In Europe French is official language in France, Belgium (with Dutch and Standard German), Switzerland (with Standard German, Italian, Rhaeto-Romance), Luxembourg (with
Standard German and Luxembourgeois), Andorra (with Catalan-Valencian-Balear) and in Monaco.
In France there are several dialects which are widely spoken especially in the southern part of the country, but generally everybody treats French as the first language.
Dialects in France
Provençal is spoken fluently by about 250,000 people in south-eastern France, but also by about 100 thousand people in Italy and 4,500 in Monaco. Regional French has a lot of Provençal influence. Most
Provençal speakers are over 50 years old. Regional pride and increasing status of Provençal as a literary language provoke strong demand for teaching in school and printing books in Provençal.
Frederic Mistal, French poet and Provençal patriot, who wrote in Provençal, was given in 1904 the
Nobel Prize for Literature.
15 http://www.utexas.edu/students/husa/language.html
16 http://www.ielanguages.com/eurolang.html
17 http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Spain
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18 http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=CLN
19 http://www.geocities.com/freedomforeuskadi/

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Languedocien is a separate language from Provençal. About 10% of the population in the region speaks this language fluently, but usually it is used as a second language to talk to family and close friends. It is mainly spoken in rural communities by people over 50. In the past there were some attempts to standardize Languedocien for all languages of southern France, but it has not been accepted by speakers of other dialects.
Another dialect is Gascon. Gascon speakers have some intelligibility of Provençal, but rather limited intelligibility of Languedocien. In 1990 there were about 250,000 speakers of Gascon in France, living mostly in the south-western part of the country.
20
Map 7: Languages in France
Source: http://www.ethnologue.com/show_map.asp?name=France&seq=1
Corsican
French is the official language of Corsica, but a large number of Corsicans speak Corsican - C orsu. It has no current legal status, but there are some proposals of French Government for a new Corsican statute.
Corsican is not a dialect of French. It is an Indo-European language of Romance or Latin origin, influenced by Tuscan. It was an oral language and it was only at the end of the 19 th century that it came to be written. Being orally transmitted, it has many variations, even from village to village. To the untutored ear, it sounds a bit like Italian and the Corsicans and Italians can understand each another.
21
Breton
Breton is a language of completely different roots than Romance languages and is spoken in France in Brittany. The Breton language is the only Celtic language spoken on the continent and it is now in a strongly contrasting situation. It was spoken by more than a million people at the beginning of the
20th century. Recent surveys (in the absence of a real census) show that 250,000 people speak the language daily and 600,000 people are capable of understanding it. There are about 800,000 schoolgoing children in Brittany. Only 5,700 of them can benefit from bilingual schooling (Breton-French).
But the number of pupils in the bilingual schools is progressing every year by 15 to 20 %.
22
One of the most interesting habits of Bretons is Breton wrestling (gouren), which was practiced in the court of Arthur, is still a Breton most famous and the noblest of sports. In the Middle Ages, the lords used it as good training for war. A Celtic hand to hand fight, "ar gouren" reached its peak in the last century. The combat was begun often during popular festivals and pardons. A man who wished to fight got up, took the trophy (handkerchief, silver or a sheep), and walked around the special circle.
If one of his adversaries shouted to him in the following manner: "chom't ho sao! (stay where you are) and touched his shoulder, he took up the challenge. To be victorious, he had to make his adversary fall on his two shoulder blades, and once again he had to challenge the wrestlers until only one valiant fighter remained. During fight the crowd often became heated and excited so the organizer had to be armed with a whip or a black bottomed frying pan to keep order.
23
1.3.
Regions with Italian domination
Italian is the official language in Italy, Switzerland and San Marino. It is also spoken in former Italian colonies and in countries with Italian immigrants. There are about 55 million mother tongue speakers and about 62 million if counting ethnic groups using Italian as second language.
The Italian language displays historical and contemporary influences. While Standard Italian is the official language of the country, Italy is still divided into distinct regions with dialectical varieties, evolving mainly from Latin. At the time of the Unification of Italy in 1861, most of its citizens were monolingual, speaking only the dialectical variety of their region. Seventy years later, due to the strong influence of the army and schooling systems, the dialect spoken in Tuscany had spread throughout the country as the common language. Despite attempts to standardize, the majority of
Italians today continue to be bilingual, speaking their dialects in social situations, and using Standard
Italian in formal occasions.
Some of the dialects like Venetian or Emilia-Romagna are quite similar to Standard Italian. Other differ from Tuscan dialect so much that people speaking in these dialects cannot understand each other.
The evolution of dialects, for example Sardinian, Sicilian and Calabrian was mainly provoked by the domination of different cultures over these regions. Latin largely influences Sicilian dialects, despite this region's volatile history: it was conquered both by Greek and Arabic speaking countries. As churches began using Latin in their masses, the Arabic language was discarded. In the Northern parts of the island, the Greek language did not die out until the 16th Century. There are still words and place names such as Taormina that leave clues about its previous rulers. Today, there are still towns using dialects that draw from Greek.
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Albanian
The Albanian dialect of Italy, a language that now bears little resemblance to the standard language of Albania, which is called Shqip, is spoken over a wide area comprising 49 towns and villages, a veritable archipelago of linguistic islands extending from the Abruzzi Appenines to the south of Italy and to Sicily and situated mainly in mountainous or semi-mountainous regions.
Various sources put the number of Albanian speakers in Italy at around 100,000, although it has not been possible to obtain reliable statistics since 1921, when Italy discontinued the practice of collecting census data on linguistic minorities. Moreover, the most reliable sources suggest that between 10 and 20% of the ethnic Albanians in Italy no longer speak the language, which would reduce this figure to between 80,000 and 90,000. In addition, there is a marked, if not quantifiable, decline in the use of Albanian for social interaction among young people, who prefer to use Italian or the Romance dialects of the various regions in which they live.
The Albanian communities, mainly rooted in semi-rural and rural regions of southern Italy, are experiencing the same depopulation phenomenon as is observable in the Italian- and Greek-speaking communities of the region. Massive emigration to the industrial centres of Italy and western Europe is due to a lack of job opportunities and to the gradual and increasingly rapid abandonment of traditional economic activities (cultivation, crafts and trades, livestock farming). The emigration process was particularly intense during the fifties and sixties. Calculations undertaken at the time reveal that the regions where ethnic Albanians live lost almost 20% of their total population during that period.
25
In Italy there is a huge problem of Albanian immigration from Albania to Italy through Adriatic Sea.
In 1991 24,000 Albanian refugees arrived in Italy within three days. The Ministry for Italians Communities Abroad and for Immigration gave the Albanians work permits. Yet when 15,000 Albanians arrived later that year the reception was less than welcoming, because they were sent back to Albania. The problems has been compounded since the 1999 invasion of Kosovo and the subsequent
NATO air strikes when 800,000 ethnic Albanians left their homes.
Rhaeto-Romanic
Rhaeto-Romanic is a collective term for three dialects of the Romance family spoken in north-eastern
Italy and south-eastern Switzerland. Of about 600,000 speakers of Rhaeto-Romanic, about 90 percent are in Italy, but there the language has no official status. The Swiss dialect on the other hand, known as Romansch, is one of Switzerland's four official languages, despite the fact that it is spoken by only one percent of the population.
26
20 http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=France
21 http://www.corsica-isula.com/public.htm#Corsica Today
22 http://www.brittany-bretagne.com/pg/langue.htm
23 http://www.brittany-bretagne.com/pg/lutte.htm
4
24 http://italianminds.healthekids.net/course.phtml?course_id=417
25 http://www.uoc.edu/euromosaic/web/homean/index1.html
26 http://lakrabo.tripod.com/romansch.htm

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
1.4.
The Romance enclave in Romania
The official language of Romania is Romanian which is spoken by about 20,5 million people in Romania and 26 million if counting total population in all countries. Romanian has 77% lexical similarity with Italian, 75% with French, 74% with Sardinian, 73% with Catalan, 72% with Portuguese and
Rhaeto-Romance, 71% with Spanish. It is also official language in Moldova.
Romanian has four dialects - Daco-romanian - generally referred as Romanian, Istro-Romanian,
Megleno-Romanian, and Macedoromanian. It is thought that the Romanian language appeared north and south of the Danube. All the four dialects are offsprings of the Romance languge spoken before the settlement of the Slavonian tribes both in the North and South Danube.
Most words in Romanian vocabulary (about 65%) are of Latin origin, but it also contains many words borrowed from its Slavonic and Turkish neighbours (about 20%) and more recently French, German and English words entered the spoken language.
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Romani
There are more than twelve million Roma (Gypsies) located in many countries around the world.
There is no way to obtain an exact number since they are not recorded on most official census counts. About 250 thousand Gypsies live in Romania. Many Roma themselves do not admit to their true ethnic origins for economic and social reasons. The Roma are a distinct ethnic minority, distinguished at least by Rom blood and the Romani language, whose origins began on the Indian subcontinent over one thousand years ago. The roots of this Indo-European language comes from ancient
Punjabi or Hindi.
No one knows for certain why the original Roma began their great migration from India to Europe and beyond, but they have dispersed worldwide, despite persecution and oppression through the centuries.
The word Gypsies come from insufficient knowledge of Roma history. Because Roma arrived to Europe from the East, they were thought by the first Europeans to be from Turkey, Nubia or Egypt, or any other acknowledged non-European places, so they were called “Egyptians” or “Gyptians”, which is where the word "Gypsy" comes from.
The spoken Romani language is varied, but all dialects contain some common words in use by all
Roma. Based on language, Roma are divided into three populations. They are the Domari of the
Middle East and Eastern Europe (the Dom), the Lomarvren of Central Europe (the Lom), and the
Romani of Western Europe (the Rom). There is no universal written Romani language in use by all
Roma. However, the codification of a constructed, standardized dialect is currently in progress by members of the Linguistic Commission of the International Romani Union.
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2.
Languages of Northern Europe
Map 8: Language groups in the area inhabited by the Sami
Source: (The Sami people 1990)
2.1. Sami minority in Finland, Sweden and Norway.
The native territory of the Samis is situated in the northern part of Fennoscandia, Sweden, along the coast of the Arctic Ocean over Norway and Finland to the central part of the Kola Peninsula in Russia.
This area, extending over four countries, is 2000 km long, covering almost 400,000 sq. km. In the past the Sami territory used to reach farther South, but under the pressure of other peoples they have been forced to move northwards. There has been introduced a definition of Sami, which is primarily based on linguistic criteria. So in Finland a "Sami" is a person who identifies himself or herself as a Sami and he himself or herself, or at least one of his or her parents or grandparents, learnt Sami as their first language. In Norway and Sweden the basic criterion is the relation to reindeer-herding. In these countries citizenship is not separated from nationality, and therefore the num-
27 http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_language
28 http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/history.htm
5 ber of Samis cannot be determined unambiguously. According to the Sami Council there are 30,000-
70,000 Samis in Scandinavia.
The main problem of the Samis is their dispersion in four different countries. It has been unfavourable for their consolidation and for the formation of a national administrative unit. The vast territory has contributed to the development of dialects into separate languages. Because of the rapid modernisation on the way of their life in the 20th century, Samis have problems in adaptation into their new environment (e.g. national industrialisation projects).
The Sami language belongs to the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic family, and is closely related to the Baltic Sea-Finnish languages, such as Finnish and Estonian. There are a number of theories as to the origins of the language. One of these is that the Sami previously spoke a quite different language, known as Proto-Lappish. Others believe that the ancestors of the Sami, who are generally believed to have come from the east, spoke an entirely different language, which was related to Baltic Sea Finnish, and that this language was strongly influenced by contact with Finnish. 29
"The Sami language" is a misleading term in that there are three distinct languages: East Sami,
Central Sami and South Sami. Central Sami includes North Sami, Pite Sami and Lule Sami. The main dialects are generally believed to be the following; South Sami, Ume Sami, Pite Sami, Lule Sami,
North Sami, Inari Sami, Skolt Sami, Kildin Sami and Ter Sami
Within the past few decades there has been a notable upsurge of national feelings and selfconfidence of the Samis. Very important is the growing importance of Sami as the language of instruction at schools. The unified system of orthography of Northern Sami (introduced 1978) enables to link the educational and cultural life of Samis in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Today there are laws of the Sami language in Norway, Finland and Sweden, which help regulate the functioning of
Sami as the language of education and management. The literary Kildin Sami language has been revived on the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet (1982). The Sami language is taught at Lujavr (Lovozero)
School on the Kola Peninsula. Linguistic research and regulation of the usage of Sami have intensified; Sami fiction and film have emerged.
30
2.2. The Celtic Languages
At the beginning of the Christian era the whole of the British islands were doubtless occupied by
Celtic-speaking peoples, though the earlier inhabitants had by no means been exterminated.
Even at this early period Irish differed very greatly from the languages of Gaul and Britain. This old
Celtic tongue belonged to the great Indo-European family of languages and showed affinity to the cognate dialects of Italy, chief amongst which was Latin.
The Celtic languages form a branch of the Indo-European family tree. In UK Celtic languages fall into two significant divisions: the Gaels of Ireland, Man and Scotland and the speakers of Welsh, Cornish and Breton. The Celtic languages which survived in modern times may be classified as follows:
Goedelic [Irish, Manx, Scottish, Gaelic] and Brythonic [Welsh, Cornish, Breton] 31 The original Indo-
European tongue possessed a peculiar Q sound which was treated differently by the various groups.
We may therefore speak of p-Celts and q-Celts, the former being also known, as far as our islands are concerned, as Brythons, the latter as Goidels.
Welsh in United Kingdom
Wales is a country with two languages: Welsh and English. Welsh is spoken by around 19% of the population. Most of the Welsh-speakers live in the north west of the country. There are several dialects of Welsh. The road signs are bilingual, giving both the Welsh and English versions of the text and place-names. The language continues to flourish within Wales thanks to Welsh-medium education, a lively media industry and the enthusiasm of people living in Wales. The rights of the language
29 http://www.suri.ee/eup/samis.html
30 http://www.finland.org/saameng.html
31 http://www.gaelicscottish.com/docs/celtic_languages.htm

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] have also been helped by bilingual and language policies made by the Government. 32
The language of Wales, more properly called Cymraeg in preference to Welsh (A Germanic word denoting "foreigner"). Welsh is related to Irish and Scots Gaelic and a closely to Breton. In the Western and Northern regions, (Gwynedd and Dyfed particularly) the Welsh language remains strong and highly visible. Regional differences in spoken Welsh do not make speakers in one area unintelligible to those in another (as is so often claimed), standard Welsh is understood by Welsh speakers everywhere.
Scottish in United Kingdom
Scottish is also called Scots Gaelic, or Erse, and belongs to the Goidelic group of Celtic languages. It is spoken along the northwest coast of Scotland and in the Hebrides islands. Scottish Gaelic is a recent offshoot of the Irish language. It was introduced into Scotland about AD 500 (displacing an earlier Celtic language). However, a truly distinctive Scots Gaelic did not appear before the 13th cent
Scots Gaelic is the language of about 60,000 persons in the Highlands of Scotland. Most of these people also speak English. 33
Manx is a dialect of Scots Gaelic that was once spoken on the Isle of Man, but it has almost entirely died out there. First recorded in writing in the early 17th century, Manx does not have an important literature. It is written in the Roman alphabet and shows a strong Norse influence.
The Scottish language has a wide range of dialects. In Shetland and Orkney, there is strong Norse influence, as indicated above. Mainland Scotland has three main dialect divisions: Northern, Central and Southern. Central is further divided into East Central (north and south of the Forth), West Central
(Glasgow and surrounding area) and South-West (mainly Dumfries and Galloway). Southern covers most of the Borders area. Scots is also spoken in Northern Ireland, the result of many crossings of the waters by populations over the centuries, in particular from the settlements of the early seventeenth century. Many of these Scots later moved on to North America, where they were known as the
Scotch-Irish; their language has added significant Scots features to some North American dialects. 34
3. Languages and ethnic groups of Eastern Europe
3.1. The Slavs
Prehistorically, the original habitat of the Slavs, as of all Indo-Europeans, was Asia, from which they migrated in the 3rd or 2nd millennium BC to populate parts of eastern Europe. Subsequently, these
European lands of the Slavs were crossed or settled by many peoples forced by economic conditions to migrate. In the middle of the 1st millennium BC, Celtic tribes settled along the upper Odra River, and Germanic tribes settled on the lower Vistula and lower Odra rivers, usually without displacing the
Slavs there. Actually the land at the Elbe, Odra and Vistula Rivers was all recorded as Magna Germania 1900 years ago and later. Finally, the movement westward of the Germans in the 5th and 6th century A.D. necessitated by the onslaught of people from the Far East: Huns, Avars, Bulgars, Hungarians, started the great migration of the Slavs, who proceeded in the Germans' wake westward into the country between the Odra and the Elbe-Saale line, southward into Bohemia, Moravia, Hungary, and the Balkans, and northward along the upper Dnieper River. When the migratory movements had ended, there appeared among the Slavs the first rudiments of state organizations, each headed by a prince with a treasury and defence force, and the beginning of class differentiation, who pledged allegiance to the Frankish and Holy Roman Emperors.
35
There were two theories in history about original homeland of Slavs: first, called autochtonic, was based on assumption that Slavs had lived north of the Carpathian Mountains since 1000 BC. Second, called allochtonic, assumed that Slavs came there in 5th-6th century AD. Both theories were used as tools of political propaganda by Germans and different Slavic nations, with great harm to science.
32 http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/about/culturefaq.shtml
33 http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/Celticla_Goidelic.asp
34 http://www.electricscotland.com/si/features/scots/intro.htm
35 http://www.slavism.com/slavic/
6
Some scientists consider both theories absurd, because they think that Slavs as such appeared and differentiated from other tribes after AD. There is theory that there were two waves of Slavs: Proto-
Slavs, called Wenetes or Veneds, and Slavs proper, and that two groups created today's Slavs. That theory at least tries to deal with very complicated question arising from archeological findings in the area. Nobody also is sure where was Slavic homeland before they start their big expansion. Slavs have first been recorded in the Pripjet Marshes area.
In religion, the Slavs traditionally divided into two main groups: those associated with the Eastern
Orthodox Church: (Russians, most Ukrainians, some Belarusians, Serbs, Bulgarians and Macedonians
Slavs) and those associated with the Catholic Church (Roman Catholic Church and Greek Catholic
Church): Poles, Sorbs, Czechs, Slovaks, Croats, Slovenes, some Ukrainians, and most Belarusians).
The division is further marked by the use of the Cyrillic alphabet by the former (but including all
Ukrainians and Belarusians) and the Roman alphabet by the latter. There are also many minority religious groups, such as Muslims, Protestants, and Jews.
36
3.2. Slavic Languages
Slavic languages are a subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages. The Slavic group of languages seems to be closer to the Baltic group than to any other, that is why some scholars combine the two in a Balto-Slavic subfamily of the Indo-European languages. The total number of people for whom a Slavic language is the mother tongue is estimated at more than 300 million; the great majority of them live in Russia and Ukraine.
The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe, residing chiefly in eastern and south-eastern Europe but extending also across northern Asia to the Pacific
Ocean. Slavic languages belong to the Indo-European family.
The Slavic subfamily has three divisions: East Slavic, West Slavic, and South Slavic. Members of the East Slavic branch are Russian, or Great Russian; Ukrainian, also called Little Russian or Ruthenian; and Belarussian, or White Russian. Together they claim close to 225 million native speakers, almost all in the former USSR. The West Slavic branch includes Polish, Czech, Slovak, Lusatian,
Kashubian, and the extinct Polabian. The living West Slavic languages can claim approximately 56 million speakers, chiefly in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The South Slavic tongues consist of Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian, Slovenian, and Macedonian, together with the liturgical language known as Church Slavonic. The first four are native to more than 30 million people, largely in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, and Bulgaria.
37
All Slavic tongues are believed to have evolved from a single parent language, usually called Proto-
Slavic, which, in turn, is thought to have split off much earlier (possibly c.2000 B.C.) from Proto-Indo-
European, the original ancestor of the members of the Indo-European language family. Proto-Slavic was probably still common to all Slavs in the 1st cent. B.C., and possibly as late as the 8th A.D., but by the 9th century A.D. the individual Slavic languages had begun to emerge. In the opinion of linguists, probably even in X-XII century all Slavs spoke generally the same language, with very slight differences.
The spoken Slavic tongues resemble one another more closely than do those of the Germanic and
Romance groups; yet, although Slavic languages have much in common in basic vocabulary, grammar, and phonetic characteristics, they differ with regard to such features in many instances. One feature common to most of them is the relatively large number of consonant sounds. Grammatically the Slavic languages, with the exception of Bulgarian and Macedonian, have a highly developed inflection of the noun, with up to seven cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, locative, instrumental, and vocative). The Slavic verb usually takes one of three simple tenses (past, present, and future), but it is further characterized by a complex feature called aspect, which can be either imperfective (showing continuous or repeated action) or perfective (denoting a completed action).
Participles and gerunds are often employed where in English clauses would be used. The article is
36 http://www.slider.com/enc/49000/Slavs.htm
37 http://www.slavism.com/slavic/ stan na dzień 6.04 2003

lacking in all Slavic languages except Bulgarian and Macedonian. Members of the Slavic subfamily are more conservative and thus closer to Proto-Indo-European than languages in the Germanic and
Romance groups, as is witnessed by their preservation of seven of the eight cases for the noun that
Proto-Indo-European possessed and by their continuation of aspects for the verb. The vocabulary of the Slavic languages is substantially of Indo-European origin; there is an important Balto-Slavic element as well. Loan words or loan translations can be traced to the Iranian and Germanic groups and also to Greek, Latin, and Turkish. More recently, Italian and French have had some measure of influence. Slavic languages have also borrowed from each other. They tend, however, to translate and imitate foreign words rather than directly absorb them. It is in writing, perhaps, that the most dramatic differences among the Slavic languages occur. Some Slavic languages (notably, Czech, Slovak,
Slovenian, and Polish) are written in differing versions of the Roman alphabet because their speakers are predominantly Roman Catholic. Other Slavic languages (such as Russian, Ukrainian, Belarussian,
Macedonian, and Bulgarian) use variations of the Cyrillic alphabet as a result of the influence of the
Orthodox Eastern Church. The single language Serbo-Croatian is called Serbian when it is written by
Serbs in the Cyrillic alphabet and Croatian when it is written by Croats in the Roman alphabet.
3.3. Languages of Slavic countries
Languages of Ukraine
National or official language: Ukrainian. 50,861,000. The number of languages listed for Ukraine is
11. Of those, 10 are living languages and one is extinct.
Ukrainian is an East Slavic language closely related to Russian but with some regular differences. The
Ukrainian language is currently emerging from a long period of disuse. Although there are almost fifty million ethnic Ukrainians worldwide, including roughly 38-39 million in Ukraine (three-quarters of the total population), only in western Ukraine is the Ukrainian language commonly spoken. In Kyiv and central Ukraine Russian is spoken almost as much as Ukrainian, although there is a shift towards
Ukrainian; in eastern Ukraine, Russian is dominant and a Russified Ukrainian spoken in some circles, while in the Crimea Ukrainian is almost absent. Use of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine can be expected to increase, as the rural population of Ukraine (still overwhelmingly Ukrainophone) migrates to Ukrainian cities and the Ukrainian language enters into wider use in central Ukraine.
38
Languages of Russia (Europe)
National or official language: Russian, 153,655,000. The number of languages listed for Russia (Europe) is 59. Of those, 58 are living languages and 1 is extinct.
Russian 39 (Russian Русский язык) is the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages. It is primarily spoken in Russia and other nations of the former Soviet Union, and was also widely taught in schools in member countries of the Warsaw Pact. In Soviet times, Russian was often strongly promoted to the detriment of other local languages. While many of the countries of the former Soviet Union are now promoting their local languages rather than Russian, Russian remains widely spoken in these areas and is often used for intercommunication between these countries.
Russian is written using the Cyrillic alphabet.
Russian speaking population totals in all countries 167,000,000 as first language speakers (1999);
277,000,000 including second language users (1999 ).Russian is one of the official languages of the
United Nations.
Languages of Belarus
National or official language: Belarusan. 10,315,000 (1998 UN). The number of languages listed for
Belarus is 1. Belarusian, spoken in and around Belarus, is one of the three East Slavic languages. It is also written "Belarusan", "Belorussian", "Byelorussian", and other ways. The present government prefers "Belarusian".
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
The Belarusian language has evolved considerably from its early roots, as the dialects of Ruthenian (East Slavic Orthodox) spoken in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A standardized version of Ruthenian became the official language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. By the 16th century, the term "Ruthenian" referred to the language spoken in modern-day Ukraine and Belarus; a process of divergence that accelerated in the 17th century created a new division between the languages spoken in the south (Ukraine) and north (Belarus) of Ruthenian-speaking territory.
Like Ukraine, Belarus and the Belarusian language has been subject to heavy Russification. Unlike
Ukraine, Belarus has historically lacked a strongly nationalistic population, which tends to identify itself as a close associate of Russia (if not Russian outright). This lack of a strong ethno-linguistic identity, along with the popular association of Belarusian dialects as rural peasant languages as opposed to Russian's modern/urban connotations, is seen by some to threaten the eventual extinction of the Belarusian language in Belarus. The Russophile foreign policy orientation of Aleksandr
Lukashenko’s government in Belarus is seen as further threatening the Belarusian language.
Perhaps the largest center of Belarusian cultural activity in the world, in the Belarusian language, is in the Polish city of Bialystok, home to a long-established Belarusian minority. 40
Languages of Bulgaria
National or official languages are Bulgarian and Turkish. The number of languages listed for Bulgaria is 12. Of those, 11 are living languages (Albanian, Bulgarian, Crimean, Turkish, Gagauz, Macedonian,
Romani and others).
Bulgarian ( български) is an Indo-European language, a member of the South branch of the Slavic languages, along with Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian, and Slovene. It is the oldest written Slavic language. Historically it is divided into Old Bulgarian (9th to 11th century), Middle Bulgarian (12th to
15th century) and Modern Bulgarian (16th century onwards). Present-day written language was standardised in the 19th century. In the past, Bulgarian was written in the Glagolitic alphabet but during the Old Bulgarian period it was replaced by the Cyrillic one, which is still in use, in its modern form.
41
Languages of former Yugoslavia
The Serbo-Croatian language ( Srpsko-Hrvatski or Hrvatsko-Srpski) is a language of the Western group of the South Slavic languages. It is the main language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro and is also spoken and understood in Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. The language is also spoken by Serbian and Croatian minorities in Austria, Hungary and Romania. There are currently four standard written versions of the language, Croatian, Serbian,
Bosnian and BCS (Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, a version used at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia). A fifth, Montenegrin version is emerging.
Serbo-Croatian is the common name for three large dialect groups, Shtokavian, Kajkavian and
Chakavian. These have nothing to do with various standard versions, which are all based on the
Shtokavian dialect. Furthermore, differences in the usage of dialects and variants is geographical, not ethnic. They have enough differences to be at times mutually unintelligable, but all share the same basic grammar.
The language can be written in both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. Serbian and Bosnian standard version use both alphabets, while Croatian uses only Latin.
In Yugoslavia there is also Romano-Serbian language which comes from Western group of South
Slavic languages. It is spoken by Gypsies in Serbia. It is related to Serbian with influences from Romani.
Spoken Living Languages on the territory are: Albanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Romani, Romanian,
38 http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languages
39 http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languages
7
40 http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languages
41 http://www.slavism.com/slavic/

Romano-Serbian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovak, and others.
42
Languages of Macedonia [FYROM]
National or official language is Macedonian (1,999,000). Spoken Living Languages in Macedonia are:
Adyghe, Albanian, Balkan, Gagauz, Turkish, Macedonian Romani, Romanian, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish.
The Macedonian language is a language in the Eastern group of South Slavic languages. It is spoken by two million people in Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia and other countries where Slavic emigrants of this region live. A modified Cyrillic script is used for writing.
Languages of Czech Republic
National or official language is Czech with 10,282,000 speakers (1998 UN). Spoken Living Languages are: Bavarian Czech German Polish Romani Silesian.
The Czech language is one of the West Slavic languages, along with Slovak, Polish and Sorbian. It is spoken by most people in the Czech Republic and Czechs dispersed all over the world (about 11 million native speakers in total).
Due to its complexity is said to be a difficult language to learn.
Slavic Languages of Germany
The Polabian language was a group of Slavic dialects spoken in present-day northern Germany -
Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, eastern parts of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein.
Became extinct in the 18th century. There are known Polabian texts writen in Hanover Wendland
(Luechow-Dannenberg) in XVII and XVIII centuries. Polabian was one of the Lekhitic languages.
The Sorbian language is a member of the West Slavic branch of languages. It is also known as
Wendish. It is similar to Czech, Polish and Slovak, but still it is a completely different language that has kept some of the elements of the old language of the Slavs. It is spoken in a small area in Germany called Lusatia ( Luzica or Lausitz). Therefore the name of its speakers is Luzicki Srbi. There are
2 important dialects which are sometimes described as separate languages, Upper Sorbian and Lower
Sorbian language.
Sorbian is also spoken in a small Wendish settlement in Lee County, Texas, and until recently newspapers were published in Wendish there. It has been heavily influenced by surrounding speakers of
German and English.
 Sorbian, Lower - 14,000 or fewer speakers (1991 Elle) out of a larger ethnic group in Niederlausitz (Dolna Luzica) in eastern Germany, Cottbus (Chosebuz) the main town. The ethnic group has over 60 towns and villages.
 Sorbian, Upper 55,000 (1991 Elle). 15,000 are reported to be primary users. 40,000 to 45,000 others have some knowledge of it (1996). Upper Saxony, eastern Germany, principal towns
Bautzen (Budysin, Catholic) and Kamenz (Protestant). Perhaps a few in Texas, USA. 43
Languages of Poland
The Polish language (together with Upper and Lower Sorbian, and other Lekhitic languages) as well as Czech-Slovak, belongs to the West Slavic branch of Slavic languages. It has several dialects that correspond in the main to the old tribal divisions; the most significant of these (in terms of numbers of speakers) are Great Polish (spoken in the northwest), Little Polish (spoken in the southeast),
Mazovian, and Silesian. Mazovian shares some features with Kashubian, whose remaining speakers
(estimations vary from 100,000 to over 200,000) live west of Gdansk near the Baltic Sea. Elsewhere,
Polish has been influenced by contact with foreign languages. In Great Poland and especially Silesia the inimitable regional patois contains a mixture of Polish and German elements. Since 1945, as the result of mass education and mass migrations, standard Polish has become far more homogeneous, although regional dialects persist. In the western and northern territories, resettled in large measure
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] by Poles from the Soviet Union, the older generation came to speak a language characteristic of the former eastern provinces. Small numbers of people also speak Belarusian, Ukrainian, and German as well as several varieties of Romany.
Kashubian is one of the Lekhitic languages. In 2000, it has some 200,000 speakers mainly in north central Poland
The Slovincian language became extinct in the 20th century. It was one of the Lekhitic languages.
Its users lived in parishes of Schmolsin and Garde in Pomerania in present-day Poland. Slovincian was so closely related to Kashubian that it must be regarded as its dialect, but it is conventionally treated separately. Slovincians regarded themseves as Kashubs-Lutherans and their language as Kashubian.
Spoken living languages are Belarusan 230,000, German, Standard 500,000, Kashubian A few thousand speakers. Most of the ethnic group of over 100,000 speak a regional variety of Polish.
Population total both countries 3,000 or more, Polish, 36,554,000 in Poland, 98% of the population
(1986). Population total all countries 44,000,000, Romani, Baltic 30,000, Romani, Carpathian, Romani, Sinte, Romani, Vlax 5,000 Lovari in Poland, Silesian, Lower Dolny Slask (Lower Silesia), Ukrainian
1,500,000 in Poland 44
Languages of Slovakia
Slovak language ( Slovenčina) is a West Slavic language spoken in Slovakia. It is closely related to
Czech in written form, but differs both phonetically and grammatically. Slovak uses a modified Latin alphabet.
Spoken Living Languages are: German, Hungarian Polish Romani Rusyn Serbo-Croatian Slovak
Ukrainian
Languages of Slovenia
Slovene language is the westernmost language in the south Slav branch of the Slavi languages group. It is spoken by about 2.2 million people, the Slovenes who live mostly in Central Europe in their native land Slovenia, plus the Slovenes in Venetian Slovenia ( Beneška Slovenija) in Italy, in
Austrian Carinthia ( Avstrijska Koroška) in Austria, in Croatian Istria (Hrvaška Istra) in Croatia, in some southern parts of Hungary and the Slovenes dispersed all over the world (specially American Slovenes, or even Kansas Slovenes, Argentinian Slovenes, Canadian Slovenians, Australian Slovenes,
South African Slovenes). It is one of the rare Slavic languages that have preserved the dual grammatical number (like the Upper and Lower Sorbian language) and it has a very difficult noun case system.
Spoken Living Languages are Hungarian, Italian, Slovenian.
45
Ending
Europe with more than 700 million people is the third (after Asia an Africa) most populated continent in the world. As we look on the map of Europe we can see many countries with many ethnic groups which speak many different languages. But only about 3% of living languages of the world is spoken in Europe.
Across the centuries ethnic groups and their languages have been modifying. Wars, natural disasters, economic migrations and many others factors influenced on the present view of Europe. That is why the nations of Europe range nowadays from ethnically homogenous (like in Poland) to ethnically pluralist (such as in Belgium) and to ethnically heterogenous (such as in Spain and Italy).
Probably in the future the map of European ethnic groups and languages, due to heavy migrations, integration and globalisation processes, will be changing more quickly and only the strongest cultures will not have problems in keeping their ethnic and language identity. On the other hand EU countries try to help minorities in cultivating their habits and learning their languages and this can be a chance for them to resist.
42 http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languages
43 http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languages
8
44 http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languages
45 http://www.slavism.com/slavic/

Ewa Glezman (Editor), Anna Dzienis, Jakub Nowacki, Tomasz Kula
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
MULTILINGUAL COUNTRIES IN EUROPE
Main information about Luxembourg
Luxembourg is a country, which is not even big enough, to contain the letters of its name on most maps of Europe. This respected member of the European Union, has an area of 2586 sq km, with a population of about 430000 citizens. About 70% of the Luxembourgs population are nationals and the rest 30% consist of foreigners such as Belgian, French, German, Italian and Portuguese. This constitutional monarchy is ruled by the Grand Duke Henri. There are three main languages used in Luxembourg, which are Luxembourgish, French and German.
46
Language in the past
In the Middle Ages, the great dividing line between Latinia and Germania, already underlying the treaty concluded at Meerssen between the grandsons of Charlemagne in 870, exactly constituted the territory of old Luxembourg, which had first entered on the historical stage in the year 963. Throughout the Ancien Regime, and even under Maria-Theresia of Austria, the country of Luxembourg was composed of a Walloon area and a Germanic region. These designations, which may be read on geographical charts of the era, make reference to the linguistic usage of the population, and of an administration which published all its edicts and laws in bilingual form, French and German.
Moreover the dialect still developed. The Luxembourgish language is referred to a Letzebuergesch by the inhabitants of the Grand Duchy, the Letzebuerger. Historically it finds its origins in the migrations of the Germanic tribes during the late Empire, of whom the salian Franks (from the North Sea) and the riparian Franks (from the Rhine) settled in the region of Luxembourg, at the foot of the Ardennes
(and the Eifel in Germany) from the end of the third century of the Christian era. The Germanic language of Luxembourg is the result of a linguistic symbiosis which lasted for several centuries between these Frankish populations and the Gallo-Romans of the North East Gaul.
47
From the point of view of German dialectology, which considers Luxembourgish as one of its most westerly and one of its most archaic dialects, Letzebuergesch finds itself classed among the dialects of Middle German (mitteldeutsch). The earliest written evidence of Luxembourgish appears in the biography of Countess Yolanda of Vianden (c.1290). However, some scholars suggest it would be more prudent to recognize the first written expression of Luxembourgish in a French survey of the language in 1806. Until the twentieth century, the official use of Luxembourgish was sporadic, and its speakers did not see themselves as having a separate linguistic identity. In 1848 Luxembourgish was first used at a meeting of the Estates (a forerunner of the parliament of Luxembourg). In 1896 the poet Caspar Mathias Spoo gave his inaugural speech in parliament in Luxembourgish 48 .A number of attempts have been made to establish Luxembourgish as a written language. In 1912 according to a Education Law Luxembourgish was introduced into primary schools. This system never became official, though a generation of Luxembourg school children became familiar with it. In 1941 Nazi occupiers sought to have Luxembourgers declare German their native language and identity, but the people defiantly declared “Luxembourgish” instead. In 1950, a new dictionary of the Luxembourg language was commissioned. First the orthography had to be invented, that would have been more transparent than that of felters, and closer to the German.
49 In 1975 the first official orthography of
Luxembourgish was adopted and the dictionary Luxemburger Wörterbuch was published. In 1984 parliament voted to designate Luxembourgish as the national language, while stipulating that legislation would continue to be written in French. All other administrative or judicial acts may be written in
Luxembourgish, French, or German, but in practice mostly are written in French. This trilingualism in administrative matters is reflected in daily life, where individuals remain free to use the language of their choice. Thus, Luxembourgers today write in any of these languages, and sometimes even in
English.
The use of three languages in Luxembourg today
Strictly speaking Luxembourgish cannot be considered a minority language. It is spoken as a native language by nearly the entire Luxembourg population (about 290,000 speakers). However, a considerable number of foreigners (110,000 residents, 65,000 working along the border) neither speak nor understand Luxembourgish 50
The utilisation of Luxembourgish (spoken and written) in public life is becoming more and more widespread in the Grand Duchy, while German seems to be losing momentum and French enjoys a certain prestige! With English, French tends more and more to be used alongside Luxembourgish since the majority of foreigners living and working in Luxembourg express themselves in international languages. Therefore the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg basically presents a trilingual image. The use of these three languages is extremely complex..
French may be considered as a official language of the authorities. Parliamentary documents, proposed bills, procedures in court, administrative and judicial acts, are held and written in French, but the synoptic accounts of parliamentary debates (themselves carried out in Lëtzebuergesch or in
French) are printed in German (Analytischer Kammerbericht) because they are distributed to all households in the country.
51 Speeches at political rallies and other public occasions are in
Lëtzebuergesch. Certain texts are multilingual, depending on the need to make sure that information is brought to all levels of the population.
Luxembourgish is used as a teaching medium at pre-primary level, and partly also at primary level. At secondary level, Luxembourgish is not taught as a subject, but used in practical courses. The language is not taught or used as a medium of teaching in higher education except in teacher training colleges where future pre- and primary school teachers a follow courses in teaching methods for
Luxembourgish and Luxembourgish literature. Adult courses in Luxembourgish do exist. Education give the students a unique opportunity to learn many languages and thus gives access to many cultures. From the second year of primary school onwards, French is added as a discipline to the general program of education which, at this stage is still taught in German. Over the years, however, and particularly in secondary education, French gets an ever bigger share until it completely replaces
German as the language of instruction, German being limited to the specialised courses in German language and literature. English too, it should be added, is required as a compulsory language throughout most of secondary education, and students choosing language studies also have the option to add Latin and/or ancient Greek.It appears therefore that the Luxembourg intellectual is mainly orientated towards French cultural values through his education, the more so since he will most probably attend University either in Belgium or in France (attendance at German Universities is statistically in third place). Tradition, natural sympathy and education all concur to put the Luxembourg élite within the French cultural orbit: 52
The Catholic church, the leading denomination in Luxembourg, uses German in the majority of its written communications, while sermons and even liturgy are spoken more and more often in Luxembourgish.
53
Audio-visual media are concerned, the Luxembourg viewer is able to receive thirty or more foreign and local stations as a consequence of the country's central geographical location. The radio programme in the Luxembourg language, was joined in October 1991 by a daily television magazine programme. There is an exception to this process of mixing languages in the Luxembourg press:
46 http://www.lonelyplanet.com.destintions/europe/luxembourg/
47 ibidem
48 http://www.gov/rr/european/luxbro/luxbroch1.html
49 http:/www.luxembourg.co.uk/lingua.html
9
50 http://www.eurolang.net.state/luxembourg.htm
51 http://www.luxembourg.co.uk/lingua.html
52 http://www.eurolang.net.state/luxembourg.htm
53 http://www.shape.nato.int/COMMUNITY_LIFE/1998/190398/lux.htm

official notices from the government and from the administration are drawn up in French, the traditional language of government and administration. A full radio service operates in the language all day.
54 Most of the written press is in German. There are no daily or weekly newspapers in Luxembourgish, but some newspapers in French or German do carry articles in the language. There are a number of periodical publications in Luxembourgish
Basic information about the Netherlands
The Netherlands is a country, which is quite small, with a territory of 41526 sq km and a population of 16105000 citizens. It is a constitutional monarchy with a Queen Beatrix van Oranje Nassau being a head of state. Over 95% of this country population are Dutch (Germanic and Gallo-Celtic stock), most of the rest are Indonesian, Surinamese and Moroccan. 60% of citizens are Christian, mainly
Roman Catolics and Protestants, 3% are Muslims. The main languages of that country comes from
Netherlandic branch. These are Deutch and Flemish. Other languages spoken are Frisian, Low saxon,
Limburgish, Zeeuws and Brabantish.
55
The Netherland's early history is linked with Belgium and Luxembourg; the three were known as the
'Low Countries' until the 16th century, when the present-day Netherlands' boundaries were roughly drawn. Originally the land was inhabited by tribal groups: the Germanic Batavi drained the sea lagoons while the Frisii lived on mounds in the remote north.
In the late 16th century the region's northern provinces, inhabited by recent converts to Protestantism, united to fight the Catholic Spanish rulers. Philip II of Spain sent the cruel Inquisition to enforce
Catholicism, and war broke out in 1568. The revolt of the Netherlands was led by Prince William of
Orange, nicknamed William the Silent for his refusal to enter into religious arguments. After 80 years of conflict Holland and its allied provinces expelled the Spaniards in 1648, and Holland became synonymous with the independent country that emerged in this corner of Europe (a bit like saying England when you mean Britain). The first king, King William I of Orange, was crowned in 1814, and the
House of Orange rules to this day. In 1830 the Belgians rebelled and became independent; Luxembourg did the same soon after.
56
Netherlands languages
Frisian
It is Westerlauwer Frisian that most people mean when they say “Frisian.” Westerlauwer Frisian
(Westerlauwersk Frysk, Frisian west of the Lauwer river) is used in the Netherlands’ province of
Friesland and in the western parts of the Netherlands’ province of Groningen. Outside the Netherlands, these varieties tend to be known as “West Frisian,” but in the Netherlands this name (Westfries) refers to certain, strongly Frisian-influenced Dutch dialects.Frisian dialects survive in some emigrant communities, particularly in North America 57 .
The Netherlands province of Friesland has more than 600,000 inhabitants, about 450,000 of whom are able to speak Frisian. Approximately 350,000 use it as a native language. The estimated number of Frisian speakers in the province Groningen is 3,000. A 1994 survey revealed that 94% of Friesland’s population can understand Frisian, 74% can speak it, 65% are able to read it, and 17% can write it. Westerlauwer Frisian speakers are large majorities in rural communities. They are small minorities in the cities, on the Frisian Islands and in two Lowlands-Saxon-dominated southeastern municipalities of Friesland.
Friesland has been an officially (Frisian and Dutch) bilingual province for a few decades now. In 1996, the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages was ratified by the Netherlands, and this included Frisian. In 2001, a Covenant on Frisian Language and Culture between the Netherlands’
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] government and the province of Friesland was signed. This covenant is the implementation instrument of the Charter. In 1995, the right to use Frisian in the local and provincial assemblies was confirmed by statute. In 1980, Westerlauwer Frisian became a mandatory subject in Friesland’s elementary schools, and in 1993 it became mandatory in early secondary education. Already in the 1970s,
Friesland’s students were able to choose Frisian as an examination subject in secondary education and in teacher training. The provincial government and the councils of several municipalities have begun to afford equal rights to Frisian and Dutch. “Friesland” (rather than Dutch “Friesland”) is now the official name of the province, and some Frisian place names in the province have been declared the only official ones.
58
There are no printed newspapers totally in Frisian. Newspapers tend to carry some Frisian articles on cultural matters, and in Dutch articles Frisian speakers are usually quoted in their language. A small number of literary periodicals are published totally in Frisian.
Frisian used to be covered rarely and sparsely in the North German media. Some local newspapers and newsletters carry Frisian articles and columns. Some regular Frisian radio broadcasting was introduced recently.
Literary production in Westerlauwer Frisian is considerable, fairly meager in other Frisian language varieties. There are several Frisian museums, libraries, archives and cultural centres in both countries.
Westerlauwer Frisian radio and television is broadcast all over the Netherlands. There is some production of Westerlauwer Frisian musical compact disks and lately also of films.
59
Low saxon
There are several varieties of Low-Saxon in the Netherlands. The main differences exist in the province of Drenthe, between eastern parts of the province of Overijssel, and between east and west in the province of Gelderland. The Stellingwerfs variety is spoken in the municipalities of Oost- en
Weststellingwerf in Friesland and adjacent parts of Drenthe and the Northwestern part of Overijssel.
Low-Saxon in the Netherlands is linguistically related to Low-Saxon/Low-German in northern Germany 60
Limburgish
Limburgish is spoken in the two provinces of Limburg (Netherlands & Belgium), and in a few border villages in a small neighbouring part of Germany (the Selfkant area).
There are many varieties of Limburgish. Each village and city has its own dialect, but they are all mutually intelligible. The dialects in the north of Dutch Limburg are not considered Limburgish. The north boundary of the language is roughly marked by the "ik-ich isogloss". In this area, a lot of linguistic boundaries converge. In the east, there is a gradual transition to the Rhenish dialects (Kerkrade-Aachen, Sittard-Selfkant, Venlo-Krefeld).
Research has shown that approximately 75% of the inhabitants of the Dutch province of Limburg are able to speak the language. In a population of 1,200,000 people, this makes ± 900,000 speakers.
The number of speakers is higher in the south, and lower in the northern parts and the city of Heerlen. The number of speakers in Belgian Limburg (675,000 inhabitants) is not exactly known. It is spoken in the entire province, but in a less extensive range of situations.
61
Since 1997, the Limburgish language has been recognized as regional language by the Netherlands' government, according to Article 2, paragraph 1, of the "European Charter for Regional or Minority
Languages". Because of this, the Dutch Government is obligated to encourage the use of the language, although no specific rules or arrangements have been set.
With regard to social status, Limburgish is better off than many other regional languages. Not only
54 http://www.lonelyplanet.com.destintions/europe/luxembourg/
55 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/netherlands/
56 Skoczny Tadeusz (red.), Holandia-Unia Europejska, Centrum Europejskie Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warszawa 1997
57 http://members.chello.nl/~w.vanwoerkom/eng/
10
58 http//www.eurolang.net/languages/frisian.htm
59 ibidem
60 http://www.eurolang.net/state/netherlands.htm
61 http://members.chello.nl/~w.vanwoerkom/eng/

the common people, but also the middle classes and the elite speak Limburgish.
62
Zeeuws
Zeeuws or Zeelandic is a regional language with a lot of North Sea Germanic features and is therefore related to Frisian, Scots and English. Some of these features can be found in Frisian as well, but others are exclusive to Zeeuws. As a reslut of continuing influence on Zeeuws by the Dutch standard language since the 17th century, a lot of these features have disappeared and made way for more
'Hollandic' forms. If this official recognition would go through in West and French Flanders as well, a huge linguistic area would become to exist with more than 1,2 million speakers. Zeeland and French
Flanders are allready on their way.
It is the dialects of the Netherlands’ province Northern Brabant (Noord-Brabant) and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (Antwerpen) and Flemish Brabant (Vlaams-Brabant) that are considered Brabantish. Of course, the isoglosses do not exactly coincide with the provincial boundaries. There are three smaller areas in Northern Brabant where non-Brabantish dialects are used: the Westhoek around Dinteloord with dialects that are rather more Hollandish, Budel and environs, that is Dommellands (d.h. Northwestern Belgian Limburgish), and the region of Cuijk where Kleverlandish is used, thus being more connected with the northern parts of Netherlands Limburg and southeastern Gelderland. Furthermore, there are a few transitional areas in which no exact boundary can be determined.
The dialects of the Bommelerwaard to the north of eastern Northern Brabant strongly resemble the
Brabantish dialects south of the Maas River. Flemish Brabant borders the Eastern Flemish dialect area in the west; the dialects in the transitional area, the Denderstreek, are also more or less Brabantish.
Flemish Brabant borders Belgian Limburg in the east; the dialects of the transitional area, the Geteland, are also more or less Brabantish. In these three problematic cases, the provincial boundaries are referred to for the sake of convenience, although this is not quite correct in terms of dialectology.
Important features of Brabantish dialects include umlauting, diminutive forms with -ke, and 2nd person pronouns with g- (ge, gij, gellie).
63
Ethnic minorities
At the beginning of the Modern Age, the national State imposed a rigid ethnic, religious and cultural homogenization. After expelling the two most important minorities, the Jews exiled by the Catholic
Monarchs in 1492, and the Moriscos banished by Felipe II in 1609, there remained a religiously homogeneous population that was oblivious of its ethnic origins (at least until the appearance of the late 19th century Basque nationalism) and easily assimilated the small immigrant minorities ( African slaves brought to Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries and the Germans who settled in the Sierra
Morena in the 18th century). There has always existed some differentiated groups, for example the
'agotes' in Navarra or the 'vaqueiros de alzada' in Asturias, however the only clearly traditional ethnic minority are the Gypsies, who seemed to have arrived in Spain at the end of Middle Ages.
Their nomadic way of life has dispersed them all over the country, although the greatest number,
Gypsy communities, are to be found in Madrid, Barcelona and the larger southern cities.
As in other countries, Spanish gypsies have for centuries managed to preserve their own culture and social organization, based on classes and lineages. The traditional pattern of segregation is increasingly difficult to maintain in urban areas, where their integration poses conflicts in schools, neighbourhoods and even in local communities.
Recent immigration is giving rise to new ethnic minorities as of yet not clearly defined. While Europeans have no incorporation problems whatsoever, and the assimilation of Latin Americans presents few difficulties owing to their cultural affinity to Spanish, the integration of Africans and Asians is more problematical.
64
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
The Spanish languages that are officially recognized by the Statutes of the Autonomous Communities are: Euskera (País Vasco and Navarra), Gallego (Galicia), Catalan (Cataluna and Islas Baleares) and
Comunidad Valenciana where, as stated at the Dictionary of the Real Academia, this variety of Catalan is called Valenciano. Other Statutes give special protection for the following Spanish languages:
Bable in Asturias and the linguistic diversity in Aragón. 65
Castilian
“Castilian is the official language of the State. All Spaniards have the duty to know it and the right to use it”.
66
Castilian, which is spoken in all the national territory, Equatorial Guinea, the former Spanish territory of Sahara, Central and South America (except Brazil and the Guyanas) and parts of the Philippines, is the official and cultural language of some 350 million people the world over. Of these, nearly 300 million speak it as their mother tongue. These figures make the official language of the Spanish State the most widely spoken Romance Language, an expressive instrument of a community which embraces two different worlds and which is spoken by people of different races.
Declared the official language of Spain by Philip V in 1714, it is usually known as Spanish, a name that was already used in the Middle Ages in Castile, and frequently by the grammarians and authors of the 16th and 17th centuries. The Spanish Royal Academy preferred to say Castilian until the 1925 edition of its Dictionary, when it adopted the name of Spanish. The Real Academia Espanola located in Madrid, is entrusted with "purifying, clarifying and giving splendour" to the language, in close contact with other Latin American academies, and mitigating the problems arising from the use of a language spoken in such a large geographic expanse.
most prestigious literary creators and erudites.
67 Its members are recruited from among the
Catalan
Catalan is a Romance Language of the West branch. It has common aspects with the Iberianromance languages - such as its morphology - and the Gauleromance languages - such as its phonetics and some vocabulary. It is quite similar to the Occitan language. Catalan’s the earliest literary text, the
Homilies d'Organya, dates back to about the middle of 12th century. In the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, Catalan literature flourished, first under the influence of Provençal literature and later as the producer of its own thematic and formal resources. From the 16th to the 18th centuries it underwent a period of decline, from which emerged in the 19th century with the movement known as the
Renaixença, Renaissance. Its modern linguistic normalization was brought about with the creation in
1907 by Prat de la Riba of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans, whose principal pursuit was higher scientific research of all the elements of the Catalan culture. In the Institut d'Estudis Catalans, Pompeu Fabra effected the regulation and grammatical systematization of the unifying norms for its spelling
(1913).
68 Both Castilian and Catalan (since 1979) are the official languages of Catalunya and the
Balearic Islands (since 1983) and in Valencia the Catalan is called Valenciano, denomination which is recognized by the Statute of Autonomy. "The two official languages of the Autonomous Community are the Valenciano and the Castilian. Everyone has the right to know and use them".
69 The old Kingdom of Valencia was set up as an Autonomous Community in 1982, and the Law for the linguistic nomalization of the Valencian language was approved on 23 November, 1983 (B.O.E. Number 20th of
20 January, 1984).
70 Taking under consideration Catalan’s linguistic domain it is also spoken in some areas of Aragon and Murcia and, outside Spain, in the French Roussillon region, the Principality of
Andorra and in the Italian city of Alguer (Sardinia). It is the mother tongue of some 5 to 6 million persons. Furthermore many Castilian or Spanish speaking people who live in any of the aforementioned areas speak and understand it.
64
62 http://www.intschools.hl/general.htm
63 http://members.chello.nl/~w.vanwoerkom/eng/
Direccion General de Relaciones Culturales, Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, 28071 MADRID
11
69
65 Ibidem.
66 The Article 3 of the Spanish Constitution, http://www.spainemb.org/information/constitucionin.htm.
67 REAL ACADEMIA ESPANOLA, Felipe IV, 4, 28071 Madrid (Spain)
68 MINISTERIO DE CULTURA, Secretaria General Tecnica, 'Guia de Servicios Culturales', Abdon Terradas, 7, 28015 MADRID
70
In Article 7.1 of the Statute of the Comunidad Valenciana which includes the provinces of Alicante, Castellon and Valencia.
INSTITUT D'ESTUDIS CATALANS, Carme, 47, 08071 BARCELONA (Spain)

71
Specifically, this is its domain: (In Spain): Catalonia 5.980.000 inhabitants 3/5 Valencian Country
3.350.000 in. Balearic islands 755.000 in. East part of Aragon 48.000 in. El Carxe (in Murcia) 2.000 in.
(Andorra): Andorra 38.000 in. (In France): North Catalonia (in the South of France) 330.000 in. (In
Italy): L'Alguer (in Sardinia island) 37.000 in.
71
All these figures are just approximate, but the total population of Catalan speakers is about
10.540.000 people. From the linguistic point of view, these countries border on: Spanish - in the West and South- , Occitan -in the North and North-East- and Italian -in the East-. But the main influence is from: Spanish, French and Italian, official languages in the countries where Catalan is spoken. Catalan is found in the 21st place (out of 56)in number of speaker people if we compare it with other
European languages, such as Danish, Norvegian, Eslovac, Eslovenian, Basque, and so on. As an example, its territory is bigger than Holland, Belgium, Denmark and Switzerland.
According to the demands made in a historic speech by the new leader of Catalonia's ruling nationalists, Artur Mas, there should be added pressure for an extensive rewrite of the rules that have governed Spain since the transition to democracy 25 years ago. Futhermore Catalonia would also have to be formally recognised by the rest of Spain as "a nation", he said.
72
Galician
GalicianPortuguese originated in Galicia at the beginning of the Middle Ages, and was carried by the
Christian reconquerors outhwards, that is, to present day Portugal. Its first literary and notarial text date from the 12th century. In the second half of the 14th century, after producing a splendid literature, the language split into Galician and Portuguese, for historical and political reasons. It was the
War of Independence against Napoleon, and even more the ensuing struggles between absolutists and liberals, that encouraged a certain literary renaissance of Galician, especially of a politicial nature, with pieces in verse and dialogues or prose speeches, which are of interest today from the standpoint of the history of the language and society of the region. The true renaissance did not come till halfway through the 19th century, especially via poetry. It became the co-official language of Galicia in
1981 but it is also spoken in areas of Asturias and Castilla-León. Approximately two million people speak Galician, although due to its similarity to Castilian and the multiple interferences derived from a practically universal bilingualism, it is very difficult to make an exact calculation. To this figure we must add the Galician communities living in ences in dialect are not too profound.
Latin American countries that use it.
73 The Real Academia
Galega, founded in Havana (Cuba) in 1905, dictated its official standardization although the differ-
Basque (Euskera)
Euskera, or the Basque language, is nowadays written with Latin alphabet. There are about 600,000 speakers in the north of Spain, the entire province of Guipúzcoa, in addition to the provinces of Vizcaya and Navarra and some areas in Alava, and in the western part of the French Atlantic Pyrenees
(approximately 100,000 speakers).
With regard to the origin of the Basque tongue, there have been a number of hypotheses. It has been suggested that the language of the ancestors of the Basques was introduced into this part of
Europe by immigrants from Asia Minor at the beginning of the Bronze Age (i.e. round about the year
2000 BC).
Basque and Castilian entered History together, since the first text preserved in Castilian, the Código
Emilianense, c.977, is also written in Basque.
74 Euskera is the official language of the Basque provinces since 1982, together with Castilian. The orographic features of the region have contributed to maintaining its linguistic diversity, which cause some linguists, based on the intercommunicative difficulties, to claim the existence of seven different Basque languages. To overcome this fragmentation the Royal Academy of the Basque Language was created in 1919, and in 1968, a standardized
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Basque grammar called batúa was adopted for official purposes.
As far as regional nationalists in Catalonia and the Basque country are concerned they claim to have histories that run separate to a Spain dominated by Castilian monarchs. However, Mr Aznar's government, has mounted a vigorous campaign against the Basque proposals for a referendum on selfdetermination.
75
Main information about Kingdom of Belgium
Kingdom of Belgium is quite a small country with a territory of 30,518 sq km and a population of 10,2 millions. Belgium is a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. Over 55% of the population are Flemish
(of Teutonic origin) 33% are Walloons (French Latin) and about 10% are foreigners. Over 75% of the population are Roman Catholic. The main languages are Flemish, French and German, and to a much lesser extent Luxembourgish and Walon. 76
The languages spoken in Kingdom of Belgium
Belgium's tangled tongues date back to when Christ was a toddler and Franks were forcing Celts and
Gauls into the land's southern regions, making an early form of Dutch the norm in the north. And so it remains, with French the accepted language in the south. Brussels, stuck in the middle, is one of the world's few officially bilingual capitals.
77
From the time of the Franks through to the post war period, the dominant language politically and culturally had been French. This is the native tongue of the Walloons (there is also a Walloon dialect), who are to be found in French Brabant and the provinces of Hainaut, Ličge, Namur and Luxembourg, whose neighboring namesake, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, also has French as its official language.
Most Belgians have some knowledge of French, which is taught nationwide, but the number of native speakers is now down to 40 percent of the population and that minority has lost its pre-war intellectual and social predominance.
78 Thus the French language is somewhat cushioned by the linguistic enclave of Brussels (which accounts for 8 percent of the native French speakers).
The Flemings speaking Flemish now constitute 60 percent of the Belgian people due to a high birth rate coinciding with a tremendous growth in regional economic prosperity. Though the Flemish language movement dates from the end of the last century, its continuous rise in status essentially started in 1932, when French was ousted as the official language in Flanders. Originally Flemish was a collection of dialects varying from region to region, but now although the Flemings are said to speak Flemish, Dutch is its proper title, because the language, its grammar, spelling and vocabulary, is shared with that of the neighboring Netherlands. The Provinces of East and West Flanders, Antwerp and Limburg are Dutch speaking, as is newer Flemish Brabant. In Brussels, with some 10 percent of the total population of Belgium, about 15 percent are Dutch speaking.
German is spoken in a geographically discontinuous area which stretches for about 100 kilometres along the border with Germany and Luxembourg. When describing the situation of German in Belgium, it is necessary to make a distinction between the areas awarded to Belgium in 1918 following the Treaty of Versailles (the cantons of Eupen, Malmedy and St. Vith), and those German-speaking areas which have been part of Belgium since its creation in 1830 (Montzener Land, an area around
Montzen/Welkenraedt), or since 1839, following the division of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
(Areler Land, which corresponds to the administrative district of Arlon, near the border with Luxembourg). The latter region is now generally considered a part of the Letzebuergesch-speaking area, as the local Germanic speech is effectively the same as the national language of the Grand Duchy of
Luxembourg. According to estimates, the number of speakers ranges from between 95,000 and
MINISTERIO DE CULTURA, Plaza del Rey, 1, 28004 MADRID,
72 „Catalonia echoes Basque call for autonomy“, Giles Tremlett in Madrid, The Guardian, Wednesday October 23, 2002.
73 REAL ACADEMIA GALLEGA, Tabernas, 11, 15071 La Coruna (Spain)
74 REAL ACADEMIA DE LA LENGUA VASCA-EUSKALTZAINDIA, Arbieto, 3, 48071 Bilbao (Vizcaya), (Spain)
12
75 „Catalonia echoes Basque call for autonomy“, Giles Tremlett in Madrid, The Guardian, Wednesday October 23, 2002.
76 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/belgium
77 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/belgium
78 http://pespmc1.rub.ac.be/Belgium

100,000 (69,000 speakers in the officially recognized areas, and 20,000/25,000 speakers in the other unrecognized areas) 79 .German is one of the three official languages of Belgium (alongside Dutch and
French). However, it is officially recognized only in the nine municipalities of the region of Eupen and
St. Vith (German-language community). Consecutive constitutional reforms in the 1970s, 1980s and
1990s have given the German-language community in this area certain legal powers, similar to the other linguistic communities in Belgium, although more limited in scope. The German-language community (with its executive body and community council) can act autonomously in matters relating to culture, health, education etc. However, the German-language community forms part of the territory of the region of Wallonia, and is dependent on decisions from the regional Walloon Council in important socioeconomic matters such as economic policy, environment, public works, transport, energy etc.
80 In the official German-language community all public services are carried out in German, documents are available in German and French and public officials must have a knowledge of German.
The use of German is allowed in local courts and in the appeal court in LiPge. Public signs are usually in German. Some roadsigns, however, are bilingual (French-German) 81 .In the area around
Montzen/Welkenraedt and in the municipalities of Malmedy and Waimes certain 'facilities' are given to members of the public who want to use a language other than French in their dealings with the public administration. However, this opportunity is seldom availed of. In the official German-language community education is entirely in German, from pre-primary to higher level. Primary school teachers are trained in German. There is no German-language university in Belgium. German-speaking students either go to universities in Germany or take courses at Belgian universities through French or
Dutch. Those who wish to enter German-language secondary school teaching, but who studied at a
Belgian university first need to pass a linguistic test. There is an extensive network of adult language classes in German. A certain number of primary schools offer German from the third year on.There are no television services in German. There is, however, one public radio service entirely in German, and there are also a number of local radio stations which broadcast in the language. There is one daily newspaper in German. A large number of periodical publications covering a wide variety of interests are published in German.Books, theatre productions, libraries, cultural centres, museums are only some of the many cultural activities and facilities in German 82
Approach to other than official languages
Luxembourgish is of Indo-European origin: Germanic, but classified as Moselle-Frankish (Westmoselfränkisch) or Luxembourgish-Frankish by certain philologists and linguists.Luxembourgish is spoken in the administrative area of Arlon/Arel (Areler Land) which is adjacent to the Grand Duchy of
Luxembourg. There is no diaspora. Arelerland is a historical and toponomical unit.There are no official figures on the number of speakers of Luxembourgish. Estimates mention a figure of 24,000.In 1990 a decree concerning the protection and promotion of the regional languages was passed by the Council of the French Community of Belgium. Following the adoption of the decree, a Council of Regional
Languages was created to act as a consultative body in all matters relating to these languages 83 .
Luxembourgish is officially represented.The official language of provincial and communal administration is French. In the last few years a certain number of bilingual street signs have been erected in
French/Luxembourgish or Luxembourgish only. This was done by the local authorities in response to legal obligations in this area.The official language of the education system is French. More demands are now made for the introduction of Luxembourgish in schools. In one pre-primary school the language is used as a teaching medium as part of a pilot programme. The teaching of Luxembourgish to adults is very much in demand, especially among people working across the border in the Grand-
Duchy of Luxembourg, but it is very much hampered by a lack of qualified teachers.
Walon (including the other regional languages of Oïl: Champenois, Lorrain and Picard,etc.) is of
Indo-European origin: Romance.In addition to French, there are also a variety of regional languages
79 http://www.oecd.org/statistics/belgium.html
80 Ibidem
81 http://diplobel.fgov.be/en/belgium/default.asp
82 Ibidem
83 http://www.eurolang.net/state/
13
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] spoken on an occasional and informal basis in the French Community of Belgium. Walloon is spoken by an estimated 600,000 people in the greater part of the province of Liège, in the French-speaking part of the province of Brabant, in the province of Namur, in the northern part of the province of
Luxembourg and in the eastern part of the province of Hainaut. Picard is spoken by an estimated
200,000 people in the western part of the province of Hainaut. Lorrain is spoken by an estimated
20,000 people in the south of the province of Luxembourg and Champenois is spoken in a few villages in the west of the provinces of Namur and Luxembourg.
84
In 1990 a decree concerning the protection and promotion of these regional languages and granting them co-officiality was passed by the Council of the French Community. Following the adoption of the decree, a Council of Regional Languages was created to function as a consultative body in all matters relating to these languages.The aim of the decree is to develop the presence of the regional languages in the education system. At present, the languages are offered as voluntary subjects in various primary and secondary schools, and in third-level non-university establishments. 85 It is, however, not possible (and not intended by the decree) to introduce the regional languages as languages of instruction, as this would be against the Belgian language acts. Adult courses are being set up in many places, and Walloon is offered as an optional subject in Romance Philology at several universities (Brussels, Liège and Louvain-La-Neuve).The French-language public radio and television service (RTBF) broadcasts some programmes in the regional languages. There are also a number of local radio and television stations doing the same. Some articles appear in the French-language press in the regional languages. Several local associations publish periodicals dealing with the literature and linguistic make-up of these languages.There is a great theatrical and literary tradition in Walloon: there are now two Walloon theatres and numerous publications appear in the language.
Main information about Switzerland
Switzerland is a small country, situated in the heart of Europe. The area of the country amounts to
41 290 sq. km., while its population accounts for 7 301 994 (in July 2002) 86 . Although the territory of the country is rather small, it is populated by four main ethnic groups: German (65%), French (18%),
Italian (6%) and Romansch (Rhaeto-Romanic) (1%) 87 . Each of these groups has different mother tongue: German (spoken as a native language by 65,9 % of population), French (19,5%), Italian
(6,6%) and Romansch (called also Rumantsch or Rhaeto-Rumantsch) (0,5%). More than 9 % citizens of Switzerland use another language as their mother tongue (English, Croatian, Serbian etc.) 88 . Multilingualism is one of the main features of the country. This result in four official names of the country:
“Die Schweiz” in German, “La Suisse” in French, “La Svizzera” in Italian, “La Svizra” in Romansch, as well as “Confederatio Helvetica” with its origin in ancient Latin. In principle all four main languages have equal rights. However, French, German and Italian are Swiss official languages, whereas Romansch is used in the official communications with Romansch speakers, who in turn have the right to use their native language in addressing the central authorities.
89
When we are likely to understand Swiss multilingualism, we have to acknowledge some facts from the history of Switzerland. The Swiss Federation appeared in 1291, when the three states Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden - the so called "Ur-Kantone" united against the surrounding aggressors. A citizen of each state sweared on august, 1st 1291 on a small mountain named "Rütli": "we will be a one and only nation of brothers ...". This lead to the term confederation ("Eidgenossenschaft"). However, within the next three centuries Switzerland was dependent on the Holy Roman Emperors. The situation changed in 1648, when Switzerland declared independence. From 13 th to 19 th century the country territory was growing, next cantons were joining the federation, until it reached its final bounda-
84 http://www.eurolang.net.state/belgium.htm
85 http://www.cfwb.be/gb/presentationcommunatute/pg.002.html
86 http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sz.html
87 http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sz.html
88 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/switzerland
89 http://www.schweiz-in-sicht.ch/en/4_fod/4_fs.html

ries in 1815. Since this time new cantons have appeared only through division of the existing ones.
Swiss population by mother tongue
22 from among 26 Swiss cantons are monolingual. German is native language for citizens of 17 cantons in northern, central and eastern Switzerland. French-speaking cantons are Geneva, Jura,
Neuchatel and Vaud in the western part of the country. Italian is spoken in Ticino.
Three cantons in western Switzerland are bilingual, French and German. These are Bern, Fribourg and Valais. In these cantons sometimes the language barrier reaches across a town, for example,
Fribourg/Freiburg and Biel/Bienne, where even street signs are bilingual. The only trilingual canton is
Grisons. Most of its inhabitants speak German, however there are Italian-speakers and Romanschspeakers living in the alpine valleys.
There are many foreigners resident in Switzerland, who brought with them their own languages, which taken as a whole outnumber both Romansch and Italian. In 2000 the census showed that speakers of Serbian/Croatian are the largest foreign language group with 1.4% of the population.
English was the main language for 1 % 90 .
The German-speaking region
The term "German speaking Swiss" is not really correct, they actually speak Swiss-German
("Schweizerdeutsch"). Swiss-German is very different form the German spoken in Germany or Austria.
Even more surprisingly, there is no written Swiss-German at all. People in Austria, Germany and Switzerland share the same written German language, known as "High German" ("Hochdeutsch") - however, the term "written German" ("Deutsche Schriftsprache ") is far more accurate. The written German is very different form the Swiss-German, it is almost a foreign language. The German-speaking
Swiss learn “written German” at school, however it always retains an element of strangeness for them.
People in each canton have their own, very distinct dialect. The dialects vary so much that it is possible to determine where a speaker comes from, but generally they are not so different as to be incomprehensible to other Swiss-German speakers. The dialects which give the most difficulty are those spoken in the southern canton of Valais, but with a bit of effort from both sides even these can be understood by speakers of other Swiss-German dialects. The language changes gradually from north to south and from east to west. Even though the French and the Italian spoken in Switzerland are not absolutely the same as in the neighboring countries, they are not as different as the Swiss-German from the German-German or the Austrian-German. This poses a problem within Switzerland: French and Italian speakers who learn German at school are taught the standard language, and find they still cannot communicate with their compatriots.
Radio and television allow the dialects plenty of scope, and they are also used to a certain extent in churches and schools.
91
The French-speaking region
French-speaking part of Switzerland is called “Romandie”. It also used to have its dialects, but the church and schools suppressed them in the rural districts. The French spoken in western Switzerland has some regional characteristics, but otherwise the Romands (French-speaking Swiss) speak French as it is spoken in France. In fact, it is the Geneva reformer Jean Calvin who played a decisive role in shaping the cultural and linguistic identity of these cantons.
The Italian-speaking region
In Italian-speaking Switzerland, however, dialects are part of the citizens` linguistic repertoire. The standard language is used in writing and in public, whereas the dialect is mainly reserved for the private sphere. While the construction and development of international traffic routes (St.Gotthard
Pass) and tourism from the north brought economic prosperity to what used to be the impoverished southern part of Switzerland, it also resulted in a threat to the region's cultural identity. The rich local
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] dialects have remained intact, particularly in rural areas. Artists and writers tend to look toward nearby Milan, the cultural center of northern Italy. Of course, Italian is also spoken in other parts of Switzerland by a relatively large Italian population which migrated to Switzerland as guest workers especially in the '50s and '60s.
92
The Romansch-speaking region
The many valleys of Rhaetia (today's Grisons) were conquered in 15 B.C. by the Romans, and this resulted in the latinization of the original inhabitants. The isolation of the numerous valleys led to the development of at least five distinguishable idioms besides Italian (each with its own written tradition and each with several dialects) in three southern valleys--a unique linguistic phenomenon in such a small area with no major cultural and commercial center. Rural migration around 1200 by the Germanspeaking “Walser” from Valais, and in the 19 th and 20 th century large migration to the economic centers of German-speaking Switzerland, as well as the influx of tourists have constituted a great threat to this linguistic phenomenon. In order to protect the language and culture of Romansch-speakers, there was established an organization, the Lia Rumantscha 93 .
An artificial standard Romansch language, "Rumantsch Grischun", was created in 1982, as a compromise between the existing idioms. It is used mainly for administrative purposes. However, in the media and for literary works, most speakers prefer to use their own idiom. In 2001 a cantonal referendum in Grisons approved Rumantsch Grischun as the form to be used in official election material and the legal code.
Romansch is considered to be “dead” language, because it doesn`t change anymore. They don`t introduce new words for new things, instead they borrow terms from the German.
The multilingual approach
Language rights are enshrined in the Swiss constitution. German, French, Italian and Rhaeto-
Romansch all have the status of national languages (but only the first three are considered as official). Everything from the list of the ingredients on the package of the groceries to the manual of the most complicated TV set has to be printed in at least three different languages.
Foreigners usually assume that the fact that there are four national languages in Switzerland means that every Swiss speaks four languages, or at least three. However, the reality is very different.
Although there are no central regulations for education, traditionally children in schools learn their mother tongue (its official version) and one of other national languages. In German-speaking region this second language is usually French, while in Italian- and French-speaking regions it is German. In
Romansch-speaking areas both French and German are learned during compulsory schooling. In
German-speaking cantons children have traditionally started French from the age of 9.
However, the approach has been changing within the last years. Although the Swiss can be proud of their linguistic proficiency and many understand the other languages of their fellow countrymen very well. However, proficiency in the national languages is decreasing in favour of English. Quadrilingual
Switzerland is apparently becoming a two-and-a-half-language Switzerland. People speak their mother tongue and English and understand a second national language.
94 In 2002 Ticino (Italian-speaking canton) deided to make English a compulsory subject, alongside French and German. In 2000 Zurich`s education minister provoked a wide debate by announcing that his canton intended to make
English the first foreign language rather than French. He argued that English is more useful in the world and moreover, since the motivation is an important ingredient in language learning, pupils are likely to learn English more successfully than the do French. Opponents see that idea as a threat to the unity of Switzerland. Moreover, they fear that French- and Italian-speakers will be disadvantaged because they will still need a good standard of German to rise in their careers within Switzerland 95 .
90 http://www.schweiz-in-sicht.ch/en/4_fod/4_fs.html
91 http://www.eda.admin.ch/washington_emb/e/home/culedu/cultur/langua.html
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92 http://www.eda.admin.ch/washington_emb/e/home/culedu/cultur/langua.html
93 http://www.liarumantscha.ch
94 http://www.schweiz-in-sicht.ch/en/4_fod/4_fs.html
95 http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=1458797

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Learning other national languages than the mother tongue is the necessity especially for the minorities, such as Romansch- and Italian-speakers. The 50000 Swiss, whose mother tongue is Romansch all speak German too. Thev have no other choice, as they form only a small language enclave within the Swiss-German region (Chur – the capital of Grisons is German-speaking). The numerical and economic superiority of the German-spaeking region of Switzerland increasingly means that Italianspeakers are also forced to speak German if they want their region to have a say and survive economically.
Although for national languages are officially equal, there can be observed the growing domination of
German. Nearly all citizens of Switzerland speak or at least understand German. The investigation into the proportion of non-German-speakers employed in federal offices and agencies revealed that
German was the usual working language. Moreover, research has shown that earnings are considerably affected by a worker`s mother tongue, with Italian-speakers at a particular disadvantage. This facts cause that linguistic minorities consider their cultures to be threatened by German-speakers.
The evidence show, that some dialects are dying out: for example the Ticinese-Italian dialect, which has been spoken there since centuries, now is used only by 6% of school children in the region 96 .
Cultures together or side by side?
Switzerland lies at the intersection of three great European linguistic cultures. Language regions have easy access to the culture of the neighbour countries, but at the same time they have also access to the culture of other parts of Switzerland. Radio and TV programs in all four languages can be received across the whole country. However, people usually tune the programs in their mother tongue.
Moreover, Swiss writers complain that very few books have a readership outside their own language region.In fact, language boundaries in Switzerland are not cultural or denominational boundaries. For some issues – a new abortion law, for example – different boundaries apply. Then, the Catholic populations (46% of Swiss are Catholics 97 ) stick together, whichever part of Switzerland they live in.
In some cases there are also fewer differences between the language regions than between urban and rural regions. Language boundaries run between villages which celebrate the same festivals and whose houses look similar. They run straight through the centers of towns with centuries of history.
The fact that boundaries and interests overlap holds Switzerland together and instills its people the sense that they can only exist and retain their sovereignty collectively.
Is there such a thing as Swissness?
Here arises another vivid question: is there such a thing as Swissness. Switzerland is in the highly unusual situation of being the home of three of Europe's major languages, but apart from Rumanstch
- spoken by only 0.5% of the population - it has no language of its own. Whichever language group they belong to, the different Swiss communities have linguistic and cultural ties with one of their larger neighbours. It's easier for someone from Geneva to speak to a Parisian than to a fellow Swiss from Berne, or for a native of Ticino to read Milan's Corriere della Sera than the Neue Zürcher
Zeitung.
The language communities eat different things and have different traditions and customs. Even their shared history only goes back about two centuries. Before the Napoleonic invasion of 1798, some of the cantons even ruled other parts of Switzerland. The inhabitants of what is now Canton Vaud, for example, were the subjects of Berne, and did not enjoy the same rights as the Bernese.
The Swiss themselves are sometimes puzzled about what they have in common apart from their passport, what it is that makes them Swiss. The Swiss say they are held together by the desire to stay united. The general attitude is summed up in the formula "unity, but not uniformity."
Elżbieta Łupkowska, Magda Kaczmarczuk, Jakub Borowiec, Michał Markowski /the Editor/
THE BALKANS.
THE BACKGROUND, THE WAR AND THE SPLIT
INTRODUCTION
For ages one of the hottest spot on the European continent were the Balkans. This territory, among other things because of its strategic location, was the object of various conflicts between many countries and nations. The region experienced also some periods of stabilization, but the real and deep causes of the disputes seemed never to find final and effective solutions.
The dissolution of the communist system in Eastern Europe proved to be a watershed for Yugoslavia, encouraging nationalist sentiments in its republics and laying the groundwork for the election of several separatist-minded governments by 1990. Soon the old and almost forgotten ethnic conflicts were revived. All this circumstances led to bloody wars and finally the split of the Yugoslavian Republic.
Wars, which had broken out in result of the falling apart of the Yugoslav Federation in 1991, were the most tragic and longest armed conflict in Europe since World War II in 1945. They caused the death of over 80 thousand people. The intensive work of international institutions and the involvement of the USA and other western countries did not put a definitive end to these wars, either. In Bosnia,
Herzegovina and Kosovo, only the presence of UN peacekeepers somewhat contained the situation.
The present work will deal the history of the Balkans, the wars of the 90’s and their consequences.
The work consists of two parts. In the first one the Balkans background and a brief history of those territories will be presented. The second one deals with the wars in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and
Kosovo conflict. The situation in that region is still dynamic and it seems that all the current solutions are temporary after all. For that reason and due to the contents of resource accessible the work concentrates and analyses more precisely only the period up to the year 2000.
This paper has been based on various Polish and foreign books (especially by Maciej Kuczyński,
Krwawiąca Europa. Konflikty zbrojne I punkty zapalne w latach 1990-2000. Tło historyczne i stan obecny), press releases from Polityka but mainly on information from various Internet pages.
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The conflicts in Yugoslavia were the next act in the Balkan wars; the result of long, tragic and complicated history of this region, which caused the inhabitation of this small territory by many different nations, who were often forced to live within the borders of one country, while still remembering the many wars and sufferings of the past.
THE BALKANS BEFORE THE RISE OF THE YUGOSLAV FEDERATION (UNTIL 1918)
1. OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF YUGOSLAVIAN LAND AND PEOPLE UNTIL 1874
The present territory of Yugoslavia was conquered by Rome in the II century B.C. In the year 395
A.D. Emperor Theodosius the Great divided his country between two of his sons, Honorius and Arcadius, creating the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) and the Western Roman Empire. The division line ran through the middle of future Yugoslavian land. In time this caused that part of the Balkan nations were baptized by the Byzantine and the rest by the Romans, which divided the two groups for long centuries to come. The fall of the Eastern Empire in 476 A.D. and the weakening of the
Byzantium caused the conquest of this land by Mongolian people. Until the end of the 7 th century,
Slavs had been throwing out the Mongolians, becoming masters of this region, as well as settling on the whole land of present Yugoslavia. At the end of the 7 th century the Slav people divided themselves into smaller tribes, which later became nations. The Slaves settled the furthest north, while more to the south were the Croatians and in the south-eastern part were the Serbs. The furthest
96 http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=111&sid=586451
97 http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sz.html
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south, on the border with Greece, were the people later called the Macedonians.
98
At the end of the 8 th century Slavs and Croatian lands became dependant by Charles the Great. Slovenia from this moment until the year 1918 had become a part of the German Reich, and later Austrian. However, after German rule, the Hungarians had conquered Croatia in the year 1102. Both of these countries accepted baptism from Rome.
99
The Serbs and Macedonian ancestors accepted baptism from Byzantine and to present day they are faithful to their Orthodox religion. The Serbs were the only people who managed to keep their land.
However, Macedonia was divided into Byzantine and Bulgaria. In the 11 th century, Byzantine formed a separate nation on its own land, called Bosnia, which was inhabited by Serbs. In the 11 th century
Montenegrins, (mountaineers who were settled on the mountains bordering with Albania) separated from Serbia. Around the year 1400, Bosnia fell apart and then, among others Herzegovina was created (occupied by Serbs and Croatians).
Near the end of the 14 th century, the Turkish had started their conquest of Balkan territories. Although, there was resistance the Turkish successively conquered nation after nation. Until 1528, almost the whole Balkan region, except for Slovenia was under Turkish rule. 250 years of horrific
Muslim slavery and unsuccessful uprisings were awaiting Christians of these Balkan areas.
The Turkish fought against Christian defiance by moving the populations from revolting areas and replacing them with Muslims. Intensive works of converting Christians to Islam were also led. The majority of the population, which converted to Islam, was in Albania and in Bosnia. Those who were converted (Serbs and Croatians from Bosnia and Albanians) became the key element allowing for
Turkish domination, actively helping in the suffocation of Christian uprisings. The Serbs and Croatians remembered this role played by local Muslims very well.
At the end of the 18 th century, Montenegro was able to free itself from Turkish rule. The Serbs, encouraged by this example, also gained independence at the beginning of the 19 th century.
100
After Napoleon succeeded in Austria, he then in 1809 formed from parts of Slovenia and Croatia
(Caryntia, South Istrian Peninsula, Croatia, Dalmatia and Raguza) Ikra provinces, which were included into France. They existed until 1813, when an Austrian army had taken them over, but later they played a large role in Balkan politics. The Yugoslavian idea finds its origin here - the thought of forming one country from all southern Slovenians. After the Viennese Congress in 1815 the provinces were divided between Austria and Turkey. As the Turkish rule in the Balkans weakened, other nations fought for their autonomy or independence.
2. RESISTANCE AGAINST AUSTRIA-HUNGARIAN HEGEMONY AND THE RISE OF
YUGOSLAVIA (1875-1918)
The uprising in Bosnia in 1874 against Turkish domination prompted other nations (Bulgaria, Albania,
Serbia and Montenegro) to armed demonstrations against the aggressor. In 1878, Russia entered war against Turkey, pushing the Turkish army out to Constantinople.
On the strength of the peace negotiations from 1878, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro gained independence. Austria-Hungary gained the right to temporarily occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to the rising danger from Austria, but also from Turkey many Serbs, Croatians and Slovenians started to think about joining into one nation by gathering most of the southern Slovenians
(without Bulgarians). The Austrian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina differed the Croatians from the Serbs and Bosnian Muslims. In contrast to the Croatians, who thanks to the actual joining of these regions into Austria-Hungary found themselves within the borders of one country. Bosnian
Muslims were against the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
101
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
98 For this section look: Maciej Kuczyński, Krwawiąca Europa. Konflikty zbrojne i punkty zapalne w latach 1990-2000. Tło historyczne I stan obecny, Dom Wydawniczy Bellona, Warszawa 2001.
99
100
Zlatko Osakovic, Democratization, democracy and ethic conflicts in the Balkans, Copenhagen 2000.
101
http://www.nytimes.com/specials/bosnia/context/index.html
Ibidem.
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Serbia not being able to accept the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, formed a confidential organization, “Unification or Death,” later called “Black hand,” at the beginning of 1911. Its purpose was to act against Turkey, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria, in order to join Bosnia and Macedonia with
Serbia.
At the beginning of 1912, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece entered a military alliance and on
October 8 th they attacked Bulgaria. In result of this war, also called the first Balkan war, Turkey lost almost all of its property, mainly to Greece and Bulgaria. However, Serbia and Montenegro gained very little territory. In consequence, together with Greece they demanded that Bulgaria give up a part of the conquered land. In response, on 29 June 1913, Bulgaria declared war on them, starting the second Balkan war. At the same time, Turkey and Romania turned against Bulgaria. The war ended with the defeat of Bulgaria, and Serbia acquiring most of the territories of Macedonia, however, the rest of the conquered land was divided between Greece and Romania.
THE RISE AND FALL OF YUGOSLAVIA
1. WORLD WAR I AND THE RISE OF YUGOSLAVIA (1914-1918)
In 1914 Serbia and Montenegro started negotiations concerning the creation of a confederation, which would be the origin of a future nation, then called for the first time “Yugoslavia.” The successes of Serbs and Montenegrins considerably increased the pro-Yugoslavian state of mind among Croatians, Slovenians and Bosnians.
102
28 June 1914 in Sarajevo, a group of assassins belonging to a terrorist group “Young Bosnia” manipulated by the “Black Hand” killed the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne, arch prince Franz Ferdinand and his wife, princess Sophie. In result, on 28 July Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
The existing military alliance system in Europe caused the quick expansion of World War I onto the whole of Europe and its colonies.
Despite Austria-Hungary’s advantage, Serbian and Montenegrin troops were resistant and only after
German and Bulgarian armies entered in September 1915 were they defeated. In December 1915, most of the Serbian army and civilians retreated over the Albanian mountains and to the sea, where they were evacuated by the British-French fleet to Greece. This winter “death march,” in which around 250 thousand people died due to hunger and cold, is the key element of Serbian national memory.
The Serbs, who were evacuated to Greece formed a regular army and government under supreme power of the regent, prince Alexander Karadjordjevic. After long negotiations regent Alexander and the Serbian prime minister, Pasic came to an understanding on 20 July 1917 with the emissaries of the Yugoslavian Committee (Croatian and Slovenian) in London, in order to create the nation of
Yugoslavia after the war, under the rule of the Karadjordjevic dynasty. After the capitulation of the
Central Powers, on 1 December 1918 in Belgrade, regent Alexander announced the formation of the
Kingdom of Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia.
2. THE FIRST YUGOSLAVIAN NATION (1918-1941)
The Kingdom of Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia was a nation of many nationalities. Among 12 million residents, besides the three main nationalities there were 500 thousand Germans, 470 thousand
Hungarians, 440 thousand Albanians, 231 thousand Romanians and 150 thousand Turks revealed in the 1921 census. Including the Jews, Gypsies, Greeks and Bulgarians the minorities counted about 2 million people. The Macedonian population was not then distinguished. 49% of the population was
Orthodox (Serbs, Romanians, Bulgarians) and 38% was Catholic (Croatians, Hungarians, Slovenians and Germans). Muslims, who determined 11% of the population, were Bosnians, Albanians from
Kosovo and Montenegro, as well as Turks and Macedonians.
103
From the very beginning, the kingdom’s government had to confront many conflicts concerning the countries’ intricate ethnic structure. From 1920, the number of terrorist attacks organized by Croatian
102 For this section look: Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit.
103 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] extremists and communists, as well as by the Macedonian independence organization, VRHO significantly were increasing. On 16 August 1921, Alexander Karadjordjevic took up the throne. He was a decided partisan of centralism and he depended mainly on the Serbs and the dominated by them army. The instability of the following governments, the terrorist attacks and the bad economic situation resulted in the dissolution of the parliament by king Alexander and his taking up full control. In addition, in order to break away from the past he changed the name of the country to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
Croatian and Macedonian extremists continued their bloody attacks, using the help of Yugoslavian enemy countries, like Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria. Croatian Pravases turned out to be especially dangerous. Their leader was Ante Pavelic, who in the year 1930 formed a terrorist organization,
“Ustashe” (Insurgent) with the alliance of Italy and Hungary.
In agreement with the Macedonians from VMRO, Ustashe assassinated king Alexander and the French
Foreign Affairs Minister, Barthou on 9 November 1934. The death of the king deeply weakened the central government in Yugoslavia and deprived the country of a strong leader in the following years.
Peter Karadjordjevic, became the new king, however, in his replacement the government formed a 3person regency.
Despite the rise in power of the III Reich and the increasing tension in all of Europe, an agreement between Serbia and Croatia was made in August 1939. Banovina Croatia was formed within the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia on the strength of this agreement. In effect, Pavelic’s radical nationalists were pushed on the side of political life, while the Yugoslavian government strengthened its position. The main goal of the Yugoslavian government during World War II was to maintain neutrality, when the country was surrounded from all sides by potential enemies: the III Reich controlling Austria; Hungary, Bulgaria and Italy presenting territorial pretensions. This type of politics was presenting good results until the beginning 1941, when it was Yugoslavia who entered the Three Monarchy Pact
(Germany, Italy and Japan). Its goal was the formation of a new order in the world.
However, the pact with Germany was unpopular, and on the night of 26 March 1941 conspiracy creators lead by general Dusan Sinovic, performed in Belgrade a coup d´état (attack on the nation).
The revolution was supported by the English intelligence, which wanted to involve Hitler in the Balkan conflicts. The new government accepted the countries entrance into the Three Monarchy Pact however; they also made a pact concerning friendship and peace with the USSR.
Hitler saw this as a sign of open provocation and one day after signing this pact (6 April 1941), the axis countries attacked Yugoslavia from the north, east and south. Meanwhile, the Ustashe caused an uprising in Croatia. The first day of war, thousands of bombers attacked Belgrade killing one thousand people. On 17 April the Yugoslavian army surrendered, while the prime minister and king fled to
Greece.
3. WORLD WAR II ON YUGOSLAVIAN LAND (1941-1945)
Yugoslavia was divided between the victorious and their allies, where a large part was awarded to the
Italians. They acquired a part of Slovenia and Dalmacia, as well as, the western part of Macedonia and Kosovo, which were later joined to the Italian “Great Albania”.
104
Germany, Bulgaria and Hungary received smaller parts of the country, however, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were given to Ante Pavelic’s Ustashe, who formed a Croatian nation on this land, leaving it under protection of Germany and Italy. In Serbia, the commanding officer of the German occupational army took control. The Serbian government of Milan Nedice was under rule of the German leader.
The Italian army occupied Montenegro. Occupants created many collaborate formations, which led to the quick breakout of a bloody domestic war. Together with the regular Croatian army and the Ustashe formations they were used for the pacification and mass murders of the civil population.
104 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
17
The emigration government in London announced the continuation of the war by the alliance side.
Colonel Draza Mihailovic took control of the resistance movement. His troops mainly Serbian soldiers took on the name “Tchetnics”. The resistance against the occupants was rather symbolic, because the Tchetnics were only starting to organize themselves. The communists, who were loyal to Stalin’s command, stopped all actions, in order to avoid upsetting of the Germans.
It was not until Germany’s attack on the USSR on 22 June 1941 that the communists under the rule of Joseph Broz, known as Tito, turned to military attack. Not long after, a national uprising broke out in Montenegro against the Italians.
The most critical attacks started in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Pavelic Regime established the elimination of some of the ethnic groups in the recently formed nations, especially Jews, Gypsies and
Serbs. The Croatians set up concentration camps, in which the one in Jasenovac was the worst, where tens of thousands people were murdered. Mihailovic’s “Tchetnics” quickly came with help, however they didn’t have a chance against the militarised Croatian army, who had the support of
Germany and Italy. In this horrific war between 200,000-250,000 Serbs, Jews and Gypsies most likely died.
Pavelic and the Ustashe are mainly responsible for the long-term prevention of enabling the Yugoslavian nations to exist within the boundaries of one country. The memory of the slaughtering of Serbs,
Jews and Gypsies in the years 1941-1943 and the role that the Croatians and Muslim-Bosnians played in it, became in the future one of the most important factors of the wide-range nationalism, which put and end to the existence of Yugoslavia.
105
In 1942 the Tchetnics and the communists who at first fought together on the same side, later turned on each other and despite the fact that Mihailovic’s troops were greater in number they were eventually defeated. The Tchetnics’ leader made a crucial mistake in 1943, trying to fight on two fronts by contacting the Italians in order to make local cooperation possible against the communists. This allowed him to obtain some support, however in the future it gave his enemies a serious argument treating him as a collaborator, which was then presented to the allies.
106
Tito’s armies were the most active of all resistant movement groups and were quickly growing in power. However, due to the transfer of the well known troops Wehrmacht and Waffen SS, Italians and Croatians for a few months to Bosnia, the Tito communists lost a large amount of troops. On the other hand, there was a short-term victory, when the Italians announced capitulation. Consequently,
Italian troops who were stationed in Yugoslavia surrendered, concurrently giving up their weapons to more active communists. Thanks to the gained weaponry, equipment and the new recruits, Tito achieved an advantage over the Tchetnics. Further conflicts between the Tchetnics and the communists broke out. In this situation Mihailovic made the same mistake, agreeing on aid from the
Germans. This caused parts of the western alliance to get to Tito, who at this time already received aid from USSR. Thanks to this the communists defeated Mihailovic’s army with no greater effort. In
October 1944 Tito’s army, working together with the Soviet army attacking from Romania, took over
Belgrade.
In March 1945 Tito officially formed the Yugoslavian government. In April his armies, equipped by the
Soviets and the United States, attacked the German and Croatian armies. In May Pavelic and his government fled to Austria. Revenge of the partisans and local Serbs on Croatians and Muslims from
Bosnia was horrifying. In mass murders over 100 thousand people died, not just Ustashe and Croatian soldiers, but also civilians.
When Tito’s armies were approaching Slovenia, general Rupnik (leader of the Slovenian formation cooperating with the occupants) on 3 May announced the revolution of the independent Slovenian country. It survived 2 days, after which Tito’s armies conquered the entire country. The Yugoslavian army next entered to Italian Trieste to finish the shocking slaughter of civilians, Italian as well as
Slovenian (5-10 thousand people died).
105 http://members.tripod.com/Balkania/#history
106 Antoni Giza, Narodziny i rozpad Jugosławi, Szczecin 1994.

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Tito’s victory was also completed in Serbia. In May 1945, when the battles were over in Kocevje in
Slovenia, on Tito’s orders about 30 thousand Slovenian captives, Ustashe, Croatian soldiers and
Montenegrins and Serbian Tchetnics were gathered. All of these people were killed in Kocev Rog gorge. This mass murder ended World War II in the Balkans.
From 1941 to 1945 over 16 million inhabitants died, about 12% of the population, in this 400 thousand of Tito’s partisans, Mihailovic’s Tchetnics, soldiers from pro-German formations, and over 1 million civilians! What’s worse, the country was divided with the memory of the battles and the most horrific war in the history of Yugoslavian lands.
THE SECOND YUGOSLAVIAN NATION UNDER TITO’S CONTROL (1945-1980)
The new leader of Yugoslavia knew that the country was divided into aggressive ethnic groups, so he decided that it was essential to create such a country structure that would weaken the strongest ethnic groups and also please the needs of various ethnic groups. This is why the new country was supposed to be a federation of 6 republics: Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Montenegro as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Tito’s main priority was to weaken the position of the Serbs, being about 40% of the population. Tito created 2 autonomic regions: Kosovo inhabited mainly by Albanians, and Vojvodina with a mosaic of nationalities (Serbs, Hungarians, Ukrainians, Slovakians, Gypsies). To end this Serbian-Croatian conflict and to weaken both nationalities, Tito created a separate republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
107
The element that finished off the construction of the new Yugoslavia was the classification of Islam living in Bosnia as a new independent nationality, Muslims (earlier some were known as Serbian
Muslims, or as Croatian Muslims). Because of the continuous slaughters of Serbians and Croatians,
Islam in 1945 was the largest in number in Bosnia and Herzegovina (about 45%).
108
However, this would not be enough to ensure the end of the ethnic conflicts, if it weren’t for the conflict between Tito and Stalin and the Soviet threat towards Yugoslavia. From the beginning of his command, Tito was not pleased with the trust towards Moscow, since together with the Albanian leader Enver Hodza, he was the only communist leader in Eastern Europe, and by staying in alliance with Stalin he concurrently kept his independence. Tito, afraid of invasion by the Soviets quickly made contacts with the West and gained aid from USA armies.
Tito allowed for much wider and stronger contacts with the West and for more allowance in their economy than in other communist countries, and this also resulted in the fact that Yugoslavia was wealthier than the countries belonging to the Warsaw Pact. Slovenia and Croatia especially developed since they had the easiest contact with the West and had a more traditional economy than the isolated and constantly under the influence of wars and terror Bosnia, Serbia or Macedonia.
109
Conflicts between nationalities were weakened by force, but the complicated ethnic structure inside the country was still noticeable. In 1966, Tito removed the vice president of Yugoslavia, Serb Alexander Rankovic from all of his functions, who was also in charge of the secret police. He was openly accused of “panserbism”; desire to once again subordinate all of the Yugoslavian nationalities to the
Serbs. Amongst Yugoslavian communists a phenomenon occurred, which concerned the infiltration of social ideologies to one organization, which had the right to take up politics. Due to this the period of
Tito’s rule was supposed to be unique in the history of Yugoslavian nations.
In 1971 Tito led the reform of public institutions, putting in power a committee of 8 delegates representing the republics and regions, in order to prevent the growth of nationalism. Each one of these delegates successively became chief of the committee and took power over the country for a oneyear period. Despite the increasing rights of republics and regions, Tito was still in high command.
110
During the crisis in the late 1970’s in Western Europe, income from tourism and the export of resources in Yugoslavia greatly decreased. Another problem was Tito’s catastrophic self-management system, which concerned the empowerment of employees in firms. When in 1980 Tito died, Yugoslavia had already been influenced by a severe economic crisis.
FROM THE ECONOMIC TO POLITICAL CRISIS (1980-1989)
For the first time in many years in 1981 there was a lack of nourishment in stores. Strikes and street manifestations began arising and emigration increased. In the mid 1980’s inflation reached 140% annually, there was over 1 million unemployed and Yugoslavia with great trouble paid off interest from foreign debts, which were estimated at $19 billion. With the rise of discontent, serious incidents broke out in Kosovo. In 1986 the general atmosphere among citizens was becoming critical. The communist party LCY (League of Communists of Yugoslavia) with the federal army was quickly losing power. After the death of Tito, there was no longer a person who would continue the unification of the nation. That is why local parties, who concentrated people of the same nationality, were constantly growing in power, while the federal government and the collective presidency had less actual power. The economic crisis strengthened these tendencies, since every republic tried to retain the majority of their profits and their potential. The key factor in the future breakdown of Yugoslavia was the rebirth of Serbia, which began in 1981 with different events in Kosovo, especially the coming into power of Slobodan Milosevic of the Serbian local party, LCY.
111
In 1987 the leader of LCY in Serbia, Stambolic sent Milosevic to control the situation in Kosovo and called to order local Serbian nationalists. Instead of fighting off nationalists he became their leader.
In 1987 Milosevic became leader of LCY in Serbia by using common anti-Albanian ideologies and their will to keep Kosovo at any cost.
Milosevic wanted to achieve 2 goals: abolish Kosovo’s and Vojvodina’s autonomy and strengthen their power, in order to dominate the entire federation. His pursuit to changes in the constitution caused uneasiness in public opinion and local parties. Slovenians, Croatians and Macedonians feared that these changes were the first steps towards restoration of a centralized nation controlled by the Serbs.
The fall of communist regimes in south-eastern Europe and the weakening of USSR in 1989 considerably increased the development of events. The intervention of soviet armies no longer was a threat to
Yugoslavia therefore eliminating the key element in cementing the federation. The communist authority was then questioned by new political movements that weakened another element in the unification. What’s more, this proved that other small nations would be able to successfully fight for their independence.
112
MARCH TOWARDS WAR (1989-1991)
The modification of the Yugoslavian constitution from 28 March 1989 by which Kosovo’s and Vojvodina’s autonomy was almost completely abolished caused great concern in other republics, especially in
Slovenia and Croatia. The situation worsened by the economic crisis and hyperinflation – in 1989 it reached 2500%. LCY, one of few elements unifying the federation, ceased to exist.
The federal government continued to do what was in its power to prevent the federation from falling apart. Milosevic was now aware of the fact that Yugoslavia was going to collapse and unable to prevent this he believed that Serbia during these times should keep all lands inhabited by Serbs in
Croatia and Bosnia, as well as Macedonia.
In April, Milan Kucan was elected president of Slovenia. For the first time in May there were free elections to the parliament in Croatia. Franjo Tudjman’s Croatian Democratic Union was victorious, and later he was elected for president. Tudjman, a former partisan and general of the Yugoslavian army, spent 9 years in jail for “Croatian nationalism”. His goal was independence for his country and unification of all territories inhabited by Croatians. Tudjman and Kucan quickly started to cooperate, officially in order to change Yugoslavia from a federation to a confederation. By the summer of 1990
107 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/map/yugoslavia/
108 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
109 Antoni Giza, op. cit.
.
110 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/map/yugoslavia/
18
111 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
112 Antoni Giza, op. cit..

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] they started to prepare the declaration of independence and war in its defence.
113
Tito, in fear of invasion by the Soviets and in need of support for his authority, created a mighty army. However in 1969, after the USSR invasion on Czechoslovakia, the Yugoslavian dictator called upon a different formation, territory defence. In 1990 local territorial defence units and police in
Slovenia and Croatia were under republic control and became the origin of the national armies of both countries.
Milosevic decided to threaten Tudjman with secession of regions of Croatia inhabited by Serbs –
Kraina and Slavonia. August 19 Croatian Serbs announced autonomy of the province Kraina.
From this moment on in Kraina and Slavonia, violent incidents constantly broke out. Both Serbs and
Croatians gathered weapons and prepared for conflict. Milosevic gathered more and more power only for himself. The Serbian leader was keen on gaining full control over the country only for himself and
Serbia. Milosevic supported the Croatian Serbs. Their plan to make Serbia a dominating power was to be realized by including Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Croatian Slavonia, Kraina and Dalmacia, as well as Macedonia.
114
On December 23 in Slovenia, a referendum was held in which 88% voted for independence. 3 days later Milan Kucan announced independence of Slovenia, however underlining that this would be possible only if the negotiations concerning the establishment of the confederation would fall through. He was supported by Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Macedonia, however federal and Serbian governments rejected this proposition.
115
On March 15, the Serbian republic of Kraina announced secession of this province and started to determine the boundaries of their country. Serbs living in eastern Slavonia also started to prepare for secession.
On April 1, Serbs from Kraina announced their accession into Serbia. From this moment in Kraina and
Slavonia there was not one day of peace. Serbs and Croatians fortified their villages, hamlets and regions; they set up barricades on roads and introduced patrols on their territories.
116
On May 19, there was a referendum in Croatia – 95% voted for an independent and sovereign country. However, on May 28 Tudjman called for national military forces (national guard) and openly began preparations for defence.
117
On 25 June 1991, at 20.00 Slovenia and Croatia concurrently announced their independence. In response the federal armies began their military operations in order to gain control over these rebellious regions. These series of events gave birth to the conflicts in former Yugoslavia lasting till present day.
Yugoslavia’s population in 1991
Yugoslavia: total population - 23.5 million, Serbs –8.6 million (36.3%), Croatians – 4.6 million
(19.8%), Muslims – 2.1 million (8.9%), Albanians – 1.9 million (7.7%), Slovenians – 1.8 million
(7.8%), Macedonians – 1.4 million (6%), Yugoslavians – 1.2 million (5.1%), Montenegrins – 600 thousand (2.6%), Hungarians – 500 thousand (1.9%), Turks – 100 thousand (0.5%), Romanians – 100 thousand (0.5%), other nationalities (Gypsies, Bulgarians, Slovenians, Italians,
Greeks, etc) – 600 thousand (2.6%)
Serbia (with Vojvodina and Kosovo): total population – 9.3 million, Serbs – 66.5%, Albanians – 19.6%, Hungarians – 5%, Muslims, as well as Montenegrins, Romanians, Slovenians, Gypsies and Russians
Croatians: total population – 4.6 million, Croatians – 75%, Serbs – 12%, as well as Hungarians, Gypsies, Montenegrins and Muslims
113 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/map/yugoslavia/
114 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
115 http://members.tripod.com/Balkania/#history
116 Antoni Giza, op. cit..
117 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
19
Bosnia and Herzegovina: total population – 4.1 million, Muslims – 44%, Serbs – 31.5%,
Croatians – 17%, as well as Gypsies and Montenegrins
Macedonia: total population – 2 million, Macedonians – 67%, Albanians – 20%, Bulgarians –
4%, Turks – 3 %, Serbs – 2.5%, as well as Gypsies and Muslims
Slovenia: total population – 2 million, Slovenians – 90.5%, Croatians – 3%, Serbs – 2.5%, as well as Italians
Montenegro: total population – 630 thousand, Montenegrins – 68.5%, Muslims - 13.5%, Albanians – 6.5%, Serbs – 3.5%
Source: Maciej Kuczyński, Krwawiąca Europa. Konflikty zbrojne i punkty zapalne w latach 1990-2000.
Tło historyczne I stan obecny, Dom Wydawniczy Bellona, Warszawa 2001.
THE WAR AND THE SPLIT
WAR IN SLOVENIA
The military action against Slovenia began on 27 June 1991 and was conducted by the federal army.
It had 20 thousand soldiers in the regional bases but only 3 thousand were ready to fight, while the military ability of Slovenia was over 40 thousand.
118
Just after the beginning of the war, almost every federal unit was immediately surrounded. That made the federal authorities sent the aircraft to bomb the Slovenian barricades. The bomb attack appeared to be a failure and the federal units surrendered or simply ran away. The rest of the soldiers, staying in the bases, were blocked.
The human cost of the first stage of fights was only 60 dead soldiers and 2 thousand jailed. Belgrade could not sent any military help to support the already fighting army, as all additional units would have to be delivered by sea or cross the Croatian territory. The last attempt of the federal soldiers to support the surrounded was carried out on 7 July, when special armored units left their garrison in
Croatia, but they were caught in the trap set by the Slovenian.
119
During the whole war, there were only 100 people killed and few hundred wounded. Belgrade was not focused on fighting with Slovenia, as the authorities wanted to take over Croatian territories inhabited by the Serbs. The peace treaty was signed on the island Brioni on 8 finally won its independence and the war has not affected this country again.
120
June 1991. Slovenia
FIRST WAR BETWEEN SERBIA AND CROATIA
The position of Croatia in the very beginning of the fights was much worse than the one of Slovenia.
First of all, there were more federal forces staying on the Croatian territory. Moreover, the local
Serbia military groups also controlled some parts of the country. These units could be supported anytime by the additional detachments from Bosnia or Serbia.
Serbian army had 28 thousand troops in the region, comparing to 75 thousand of Croatian armed forces (police and soldiers). The fights began on 26 June. Croats learnt quickly that Serbia and the federalists tried to hide their cooperation. And while the forces of Croatia and Serbia were fighting, the federal troops usually intervened to allow the Serbs to run away.
Although the EC wanted to stop the conflict, trying to persuade Belgrade to withdraw the troops from the fights, on 7 July the federation frankly supported the Serbia rebels in the battle near Osijeck.
Croatia was forced to conduct the war both with Yugoslavia and Serbia.
121
From 22 July, Serbia was backed by the federal aircraft. Already on 1 August Tudjman announced the creation of the government of national unity, which included also representatives of other ethnic groups. At the same time the Croatian proposed negotiations, as they wanted to win some more time to switch their industry on the military production and to buy more weapon.
118 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
119 Ibidem
120 Steve Fallon, Słowenia. Praktyczny przewodnik, Pascal, Warszawa 1999.
121 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
On 15 August Serbia minority announced a creation of autonomy in the Western Slavonia. That meant the third front for the Croatian army (after Kraina and Eastern Slavonia). It is worth mentioning that criminals, taken to the Serbia army, supported rebels. The most notorious were “Captain
Dragan” and “Arkan”- Zeljko Raznatovica.
The lack of the armoured vehicles among Croats made it impossible for them to strike back. Till the beginning of September the whole region of Kraina was taken over by the Serbs. Nevertheless, they also suffered their first defeat as Croatia won their battles in the towns of Sisak and Karlovac. Finally
Serbia managed to gain the control over whole eastern zone in Croatia (from Knina in the south to
Pakraca in the north). Furthermore the federal navy started to attack Croatian position on the cost and block their harbours.
To get an armament the Croats decided to take over the garrisons and the ammunition, weapon and vehicles being held there. After these battles the federal army began a big offensive. A total war had begun, what resulted in an action taken by the UN. The Security Council imposed an embargo on arms shipments in the Balkan region. Despite this fact, the war began for good. Almost whole territory of Croatia was under fire.
122
In November Serbia started the evacuation of its garrisons. In the same time the federal navy stopped its harbour blockade under the EC pressure. And while eyes of the world’s public opinion where focused on Osijeck, the Croatian army started the strike back. The initiative came back to
Croatia, as its troops started to win, the Serbs were forced to withdraw some forces to Bosnia and
Kosovo. Finally, Germany acknowledged the independence of Slovenia and Croatia, and EC imposed sanctions on whole Yugoslavia. On 3 January 1992 special representative of the UN managed to negotiate an armistice.
123
This agreement gave the Serbs whole territory they had occupied. But Croatia understood the necessity of more time to get the lost land back. Furthermore Mr Milosevic knew that Serbia had achieved everything they had wanted. Longer war could bring only problems. The Yugoslavian economy was already exhausted and Bosnia started to draw the attention and efforts of the federation. On 15
January 1992 the countries of the EC accepted the independence of Slovenia and Croatia.
124
The UN forces - UNPROFOR (14 thousand) were located in Croatia to keep peace, while all Serbs were told to leave Croatian territory. The first stage of this war was closed, but the definite solution was postponed till 1995.
WAR IN BOSNIA AND THE SECOND WAR BETWEEN SERBIA AND CROATIA
Along with the democratisation process all over the Eastern and Central Europe, also in Bosnia and
Herzegovina new political parties started to emerge. One of the firsts was Muslim Party of Democratic
Action (Stranka Demokratske Akcije – SDA), with the leadership of Alija Izetbegovic and Ejub Ganic.
Another fraction was a nationalistic Serbia Democratic Party (Srbska Demokratska Stranka – SDS), with Radovan Karadzic as a leader. The third party was Croatian Democratic Party (Hrvatska Demokratska Zajednica – HDZ). These tree parties cooperated strongly to win elections with the communists in Bosnia in 1990. They managed to create coalition and to take over the power and all positions in public administration (government, police, army etc.).
125
This coalition appeared to be a disaster in the very short time. Every minister questioned the decision of another one. Money was spent on different aims than planed. SDS supported the idea of federation with Yugoslavia, HDZ – a big autonomy in the framework of federation; SDA hesitated between these two proposals. It simply led to the conflict. But soon SDA and HDZ started to talk about independence.
In March 1991 SDA created secret Patriotic League – a military wing of Muslim. Also the Croatians organized military fraction Croatian Defense Council – HVO. Following these facts, Serbs created military units too.
126
After secession of Slovenia and Croatia, Bosnia announced its neutrality in the conflict. On 15 October
1991 the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina accepted the declaration of the independence of the republic. That unleashed real storm of conflicts.
In referendum in November 1991, Bosnian Serbs were for independence of their region – Karadzic announced the creation of Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The leaders of three parties decided that on 29 February and 1 March, the referendum on independence would take place. But just few days before the voting, the military groups started to build barricades and the future lines of republic division already appeared. The Muslims overwhelmed in the center of the country and in
Sarajevo and Tuzla, while the Croatians controlled Western Herzegovina and Serbs Eastern Herzegovina and Western Bosnia.
127
On 1 March 1992, just before announcing the results of referendum, the war began. These were mainly the fights of the local military units. The biggest problem for the leaders appeared to be a lack of support from many people living in Bosnia (three ethnic groups; people often lived in mixed marriages and they did not identify with a certain group). The creation of the native states had been postponed, as the leaders understood the necessity of building strong military position. The negotiations were stopped till the end of March, generally, without being interrupted by any king of serious, military incident.
128
The real war started with the beginning of April. During a peace manifestation in Sarajevo, military units were shooting and killing innocent people, who just wanted new elections. After this sad accident the governments of the EC and the USA accepted the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At the beginning the military initiative belonged to the Serbs, who took control over a half of territory.
The prisoners where held in the concentration camps, probably the biggest hell on earth during the whole conflict. A big, long-lasting battle began in Sarajevo between the Serbs and Muslims. The
Serbs had been supported by the federal army, which after the creation of the New Yugoslavia was withdrawn from the territory of Bosnia. But they left some of their machines and ammunition to the
Bosnian Serbs.
On 1 July the Special Forces of the UN landed in Sarajevo to secure the local airport and make it finally possible to deliver humanitarian aid in the region. News about a cruelty in the conflict started to reach the public opinion of the world. The estimations show that probably between 4 to 8 thousand civilians and prisoners had been killed by the Serbs. The report of the UN special representative
– Pole Tadeusz Mazowiecki proved the ethnic cruelty among every group and contributed to the steps taken by the UN and Western countries to soften the crisis.
In October a new kind of war began. Everybody against everybody. Almost 2 million people were forced to leave their homes between May and October. Moreover, a lot of humanitarian aid was stolen and sold on the black market. Even the enemies were able to stop fighting for few days to allow the rivals to gather money or food, so that they could trade and earn money. This procedure had completely destroyed the economy and society of Bosnia. Furthermore ethnic cleansing came back in 1992, when 25 thousand of civilians were killed.
First serious peace initiative was presented in the UN on 2 January 1993. It was called Vance–Owen plan. In the framework of this project Bosnia was to be demilitarised and divided into 10 regions.
Every minority would get 3 and the tenth would be Sarajevo – inhabited by every group and administrated by the UN. Furthermore, the UN forces would also control the rest of autonomies, but the country would stay united and ruled by a president. The negotiators could work out a final solution so the new initiative failed soon.
122 http://www.nytimes.com/specials/bosnia/context/index.html
123 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
124 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/map/yugoslavia/
125 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
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126 Ibidem
127 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/overview/overview.htm
128 http://www.nytimes.com/specials/bosnia/context/index.html

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Serbia army dominated the front what made Izetbegovic and Boban accept the Vance-Owen plan.
Because of the fact that agreement was giving only 43% of the territory to Serbs the Serbian Parliament in Pale rejected to accept it.
129
The situation of the Serbs started to deteriorate. Many troops deserted, Yugoslavia couldn’t send new ones because of the uncertain internal situation. On the contrary the Muslim army was enriched with the new soldiers and weapon supply from the Arab countries.
Mr Milosevic realized that they should accept the plan. He understood that after the creation of the autonomy Serbia region could be incorporated into Yugoslavia. Nevertheless Karadzic didn’t share
Milosevic’s opinion, as he wanted the creation of the independent country. This difference in opinions influenced the future stages of the war.
On 20 July 1993 new peace project called Owen–Stoltenberg plan was announced. It considered
Bosnia and Herzegovina to be divided into Serbia, Muslim and Croatian Republic. But the initiative failed again, as the fighting groups did not agreed. Although the war continued and the world public opinion exerted the pressure on their governments, the UN and NATO did not want to interfere.
In 1994 the USA started to support the built of the Muslim–Croatian alliance. Finally, in February
NATO used its F-16 for the first time. The first sign of peace appeared on 1 March when Croatia and the Muslims worked out a solution in Washington, which resulted in building a federation in Bosnia with 2 presidents, common parliament and government.
Already on 23 June the new government of Bosnia federation was created, which was also a government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. After few days the foreign ministers of the USA, Russia and the EU announced their peace project. In the framework of this plan 49% of territory was given to the Serbs, the rest to the new federation of the Muslim and Croatians. Milosevic supported this solution but couldn’t make Izetbegovic accept it. In order to avoid further sanctions Milosevic broke all contacts with fighting Serbs and imposed Yugoslavian sanctions on Bosnia. Nevertheless sanctions, which previously had been imposed on Yugoslavia hadn’t been erased.
On 1 May 1995, Croatian forces attacked the Serbs in Western Slavonia. This offensive allowed the
Croats to take over the region in just 4 days. But this success changed nothing in Bosnia. Moreover the fights affected more innocent, including the UN forces, as Serbs started to arrest them. Fortunately in just a month they were fretted. That fact made the US government to increase help for
Croatia, as it perceived Croatia, as the only force strong enough to stop Serbia.
130
On 4 August, Croatian army attacked Serbia position in Kraina. Milosevic could not send any additional units, as he could be facing then more serious American sanctions. He understood that Kraina had been lost. That made Serbia troops realize that Yugoslavia wouldn’t help. The morale of Serbia soldiers decreased significantly.
131
On 18 August, Richard Holbrooke announced his new peace project for Bosnia. The country was to be divided into Serbia and Muslim–Croatian parts. Sanctions on Yugoslavia were to be lifted. In case of Serbia rejection of the solution, NATO was to help the Bosnian army. Moreover, the US promised the Serbia region to confederate with New Yugoslavia, if they ever would like. But just few days after this announcement Karadzic rejected to accept the idea as his army again won some battles against the Muslims and Bosnians. That decision made the Western countries furious and they decided to attack the Serbia position till they accept Holbrooke’s plan. NATO finally supported Muslims in Bosnia.
Soon Milosevic received all the rights from Karadzic to negotiate in the name of the Bosnian Serbs.
The talks began on 1 September, without any brake in NATO attacks on Serbia position. Finally on 8
September in Geneva the peace negotiations among the chefs of the Foreign Offices of Croatia,
Bosnia and Yugoslavia took place. Yugoslavia accepted the independence of Bosnia with the borders from 1992; the government in Sarajevo accepted the Serbia Republic in Bosnia. The Muslims and
Croatians got 51% of the territory, while Bosnian Serbs kept only 49%. On 26 September the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia, Croatia and Yugoslavia gathered in New York to agree that Bosnia would remain one country, a federation of Serbia and Croatian – Muslim republic. This decision was a starting – point for further negotiations.
Surprisingly the Serbs stroke back again what made the NATO air force bomb their positions. And finally on 12 October the armistice came into the force. It was 36 th armistice and this war and the first one that had been obeyed. 22 October was the first day of peace.
132
NEGOTIATIONS IN DAYTON, PARIS TREATY AND THE END OF CONFLICT
The talks took place in Dayton on 23 October. One of the first issues to discuss was the future of the war criminals like: Karadzic, Mladic, Martic and Blaskic. They were abandoned to take part in the political life of the future country.
Another consensus was reached between Croatia and Serbia separatists, who agreed that Kraina would come back to Croatia after two years of the UN control.
Probably the most important agreement was signed on 21 November 1995. It described the future of
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main ideas were: 133 134 one country consisting of two federations (Croatian–Muslim and Serbia);
Sarajevo – a new united capital within the Croatian–Muslim territory; a collective presidency, one central bank, two–chamber Parliament, Court of Justice; guarantee of free flow of people within the territory; every republic could have an own constitution, government, police and army; civil part of the agreement was to be controlled by the special UN representative: Carl Bildt (he was substituted by Carlos Westendorp in 1997) peace was to be secured by IFOR (Implementation Force) in the number of 60 thousand troops including 20 thousand from America, under American leadership; the Americans promised to train Croatian–Muslim army so that they could face Serbia soldiers.
Peace treaty, which repeated the conditions of agreement from Dayton, was signed in Paris on 14
December 1995. UNPROFOR finished its mission in former Yugoslavia on 20 December, being substituted by the IFOR forces subordinated to NATO.
BOSNIA AFTER THE WAR (1995-1999)
1. 1 JANUARY – 30 JUNE 1996
Summing up the 3.5-year long war in Bosnia this conflict resulted in ca. 80-90 thousand killed (within almost 60 thousand Muslims) and at least the same number of cripples; 1.7 million citizens were forced to leave their homes and over one million left the country itself. Moreover the whole land had been heavily destroyed by the military actions, soldiers and looters. There were also mines everywhere. The next problem was a wide access to the weapon of various kinds. All of that negatively affected the future of the country.
135
At the beginning of 1995 the IFOR troops began its mission to Bosnia. This powerful force amounted to 60 thousand people, was well-organized and supported by NATO air forces from Italy and American aircraft carriers on the Adriatic Sea.
The aim of Paris treaty was to finish with the division of the country. Meanwhile none of the sides wanted the unification. The proof for that was a mass exodus of Serb civilians from Muslim districts of
Sarajevo. Moreover, there happened everywhere various bloody incidents between the ethnic groups
129 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/map/yugoslavia/
130 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
131 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/overview/overview.htm
21
132 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit.
.
133 Ibidem
134 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/map/yugoslavia/
135 http://members.tripod.com/Balkania/#history

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] and their forces.
136
However, there were also positive changes. On 9 January the air bridge with the humanitarian aid to
Sarajevo was closed. In the cities under the control of IFOR an ordinary live was coming back. Furthermore, all sides began to release the captives.
Surprisingly, on 21 January Bosnian Prime Minister, Haris Silajdzic, resigned. This bright and moderate politician appeared to be inconvenient for conservative and more Islamic Izetbegovic and SDA.
His successor was Hasan Muratovic, supported strongly by Izetbegovic. This way the president, SDA and the radical Islamists had strengthened their position in the country. Relations between this group and the opposition were very bad.
Meanwhile the difficulties with the implementation of Paris Treaty were arising. The protests followed each arrests of war criminals (Serbs) or new division plans of Bosnian cities (Croats in Mostar). Moreover, IFOR was still discovering and eliminating many Muslim secret military training-camps and arsenals. At that time it was also proved that Bosnian Muslims were supported by officers of Iranian secret service.
Facing that situation the Contact Group for Yugoslavia (Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Russia and the United States) called a meeting in Rome for 17-18 February. Tudjman, Milosevic and Izetbegovic were forced there to make some concessions, concerning war criminals, Mostar case and expelling of
Iranian officers.
However, the declarations did not cure the problems. Due to deadlock in Mostar the EU administrator, Hans Köschnik resigned. The paradox was that this the faster rebuilt and dynamic developing city
- due to the EU funds - still couldn’t cope with the ethnic problem, and the conflict, this time between
Muslims and Serbs against Croatians, arose.
In March the Americans began the next stage of implementation the peace plans in Bosnia – creation of the common Croatian-Muslim army. The USA supposed that in the future the most possible military conflict might break out between Muslims and Serbs willing to win back their territories in Kraina and districts in Sarajevo. Therefore there was a need to reinforce the Bosnian army, especially the Muslim troops. This investment was to be financed mainly by the USA and Arabic countries and the training issues fell to Turkey.
137
The real situation in Bosnia showed that the declaration from Dayton left only on the paper. Each ethnic group did not tolerate another one. Each one just tried to gain control over a city or a territory.
The return of the refuges was a fiction. Locally the two-national coalitions arose, but their only aim was the fight with the third party. Under these circumstances no solid peace was possible and the internal diversification had deepened.
138
In that time among Bosnian Serbs a new internal conflict was arising. The counter parts were the main fraction of SDS: on the one hand, president Radovan Karadzic and Mamcilo Krajsnik (with centre in Pale and Eastern Bosnia), and on the other hand, Prime Minster Rajko Kasagic and Predrag
Radic (the region of Banja Luka). The latter group had good relations with Milosevic in Belgrad and insisted on dismissal of Karadzic, accused of war crimes. Karadzic, alarmed by this situation, decided to dismiss Kasagic. This step met a dissatisfaction of the West.
139 140
On 13 June an international conference was held in Florence to sum up the first months of the peace in Bosnia. All the conflict sides were also forced there to sign the permitted armament quotas and accept the date of 15 September as a day of parliamentary and presidential elections in Bosnia.
On 30 June under the pressure of western countries Karadzic resigned, but before he pointed Biljana
Plavsic, his associated, as the successor. On the same day in Mostar the voting for the city council was held. According to the expectations in national districts won the ethnic parties. Summing up, the unification affords of the West failed and after half a year of the peace the conflicts were still alive.
2. 1 JULY – 31 DECEMBER 1996
In July due to the beginning of the trial in the Hague and questioning of witnesses an international arrest warrant for Radovan Karadzic and general Ratko Mladic was released. The both ones were forced to be hiding.
141
The summer of 1996 in Bosnia was the time of preparation to the elections. Simultaneously it was one of the calmest period for a long time. The first refuges started to come back from abroad. But at the same time many citizens of Bosnia were leaving for the USA, Canada or Australia.
The Americans began also the training of the Muslim army.
With the day of the voting coming the atmosphere turned more tense. In the regions of Serbs and
Croats it was peaceful, because the ethnic parties did not have any competitors. However, in the
Muslim areas Izetbegovic started a violent campaign against Silajdzic’s and Beslagic’s opposition. The raiding parties, the police, the authorities and also the press controlled by the radical Muslims fought against the opponents of SDA in various ways.
The elections to the Bosnian executives once more confirmed that the peace plan was unrealistic.
Usually the ethnic minorities were not allowed to vote and the result was as expected. In national regions the winners were national parties: SDA, SDS and HDZ. The Bosnian presidency fell to Serb
Krajsnik, Croatian Kresimir Zubaka and Muslim Izetbegovic, who with the highest number of votes became the head of the presidency.
The elections to the both parts of Bosnia were also dominated by the ethnic parties. SDA and HDZ won in Croatian-Muslim federation, and SDS won in the Serb parliament in Pale. As the president of the Croatian-Muslim federation Kresimir Zubak (HDZ) was elected, and as the Serb head – Biljana
Plavsic.
After the elections the Contact Group decided that the international forces will remain in Bosnia at least till the end of 1997, but reduced to 25 thousand soldiers. Their name was changed to SFOR
(Stabilization Force).
142
In November the main theme was the conflict among Serbs over the control of the Serb army. Hiding
Ratko Mladic competed with the new official chief, Gen. Pero Culicia.
There also occurred some military actions against Muslim civilians.
3. 1 JANUARY – 31 DECEMBER 1997
In 1997 we should focus on the situation in the Yugoslavia itself. Milosevic did not recognized there the results of the elections to regional councils which were won by the opposition. In answer people came out in the streets. Finally demonstrations forced him to accept the success of the opposition.
Moreover this conflict had weaken the international position of Belgrade and its possible influence on the situation in Bosnia.
Meanwhile in Bosnia Croatians and Serbs developed and tightened the contacts with their origin countries – Croatia and Yugoslavia, what indicated the plans of the future integration of those Bosnian territories with the neighbours.
143
In spring 1997 an official visit to Bosnia was paid by Pope Jan Paul II. The mass in Sarajevo was unfortunately a great opportunity for catholic Croatians to manifest their nationalism. That had worsen the Croatian-Muslim relations additionally.
In the same time in Washington one tried to find out an effective solution to the impasse in Bosnia
(no unification, no refuges returning home, no results in hunting for war criminals). As a main cause
136 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
137 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
138 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/contents.htm
139 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
140 http://www.nytimes.com/specials/bosnia/context/index.html
22
141 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
142 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
143 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/contents.htm

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] of this unfavourable situation the government in Pale, led de facto still by Karadzic, was seen. Therefore the USA decided to support the authorities in Banja Luka with president Biljana Plavsic then opposing to him and to make her power real.
144
The Serb society in this conflict was divided. Most of the army, the police, the Serbs from eastern territories and Yugoslavia itself supported Krajsnik (and Karadzic). Plavsic gained the support also from a part of the police and the army and moreover from the Serbs from western region, and finally, what’s the most important, from SFOR troops. The atmosphere became even more tense as Pale group tended to gain the power by force. Eventually Plavsic maintained her position, but only due to the presence and active operations of the international forces. However, the involvement of SFOR make Karadzic’s camp even more popular in the society.
On 13 and 14 September in Bosnia the elections to local councils were held. And again there were won by ethnic and nationalistic parties. Only in Srebrenica, Drvar and Mostar, where the refuges were allowed to vote, won the parties of the ethnic minorities. That had complicated the situation additionally.
145
On 21 September the parliamentary elections took place in Serbia. The winner was again Milosevic’s party, next to Seselja’s nationalists. Milosevic couldn’t be the Serbian president for the third time, so he became the president of Yugoslavia. His first step was achieving an agreement between Serbian leaders in Bosnia – Krajsnik, Karadzic on one side and Ms Plavsic on another one. Actually, Plavsic’s opponents had no choice facing alternatively the intervention of SFOR.
However, the results of parliamentary elections in the Serb Republic in Bosnia, won by the nationalists were an unpleasant surprise for the West.
4. 1998-2000
January 1998 was a crucial moment for the whole Balkans. On 15 January Croatia took control over western Slavonia with Vucovar. That meant that Serbs and Croatians had no longer conflict and could even cooperate. Moreover, in Serbia and Yugoslavia the chaos “at the top” finished. The elections decided that new president would be Milan Milutinovic, supported by Milosevic. The order within
Serbian and Yugoslavian authorities seemed necessary in the face of two new circumstances. Firstly, in Kosovo Albanian guerrillas started an open conflict with the Yugoslavian army and the police.
Secondly, the power in Montenegro was taken over by president Milo Djukanovic, Milosevic’s opponent and supporter the confederational concept of Yugoslavia. Therefore Milosevic facing that two serious internal problems was forced to make concessions in Bosnia.
146
Meanwhile in Bosnia the Serbs stayed in deadlock, not able to choose the government after the elections. Finally after the treat of UN representative Westendorp that they would be given the head by force they constructed a government, of course - to the wish of the West - supported by Biljana
Plavsic’s party. As a Prime Minster Milorad Dodik was appointed. He was rather “west-orientated” and willing to implement decisions of the Dayton Treaty, to expel war criminals and to get the power back from Karadzic’s group. Moreover, he moved the Serbian capital to Banja Luka and started cooperation with Muslims.
147 148
Westendorp attempted also to unify the whole Bosnia. He insisted on acceptance of a common flag, one passport, a single currency. He hoped to weaken the nationalistic movements in perspective of parliamentary and presidential elections in September.
However, his affords turned out to be vain. The September voting was won by ethnic parties again.
That result met a high dissatisfaction of Westendorp and he even threatened to take the power by himself on UN behalf. Indeed he cut off a part of Serbian territory and gave it under UN control. That decision caused serious protests of the Serb society, a resignation of Dodik’s cabinet and a demission
144 http://members.tripod.com/Balkania/#history
145 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
146 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/overview/overview.htm
147 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
148 http://www.nytimes.com/specials/bosnia/context/index.html
23 of the president – nationalist Poplasen. Eventually, using SFOR forces Westendorp bring order to the republic. Dodik came back to his duties but the presidential position remained empty. Later on, the tension also arose after arrests of Serb general Momir Talic and a political leader Krajsnik by international forces.
149
Summing up the year 1999 in Bosnia, the country was still in a deep crises, the refuges had not come back yet and none of the ethnic groups supported the unification process. Despite the removal of
Karadzic’s group from the political stage, both in Serb republic and in other regions the national parties were the leaders. In that situation the integration of the whole territory seemed impossible.
Moreover, Serbs and Croats were willing to connect their territories with homelands 150 , and both of them, as well as Muslims, remembered about their lands lost for other fighting parties. The next actual problem was also a dynamic and radical Islamic movement in Bosnia. Meanwhile due to American help the Bosnian Muslims possessed the most powerful army in the republic. All of that might lead to possible future conflicts.
KOSOVO
The most recent military conflict on the Balkans was a war in Kosovo. But to understand that war, one must look back into the history.
In the 14 th century Kosovo was the center of the Serbian empire and site of its most sacred churches and monasteries. In 1389, the Serbs lost the land to the Ottoman Turks in a decisive battle fought in
Kosovo Polje. Over the next 500 years, neighboring Albanians continued to leave their homeland to settle in the region. By the time the Serbs reclaimed Kosovo in the Balkans Wars of 1912 to 1913, ethnic Albanians made up a significant portion of the population. They became a majority by the
1950s as their birth rate boomed and Serbs continued to migrate north. In the 90’s 1.8 million ethnic
Albanians outnumber Serbs in Kosovo nine times – a fact that combined with events of recent history compel ethnic Albanians to proclaim the land theirs.
151
Although Kosovo was granted self-rule since Tito and the Communists founded the Yugoslavian federation in 1945, the constitutional revision gave ethnic Albanians in Kosovo control over local affairs and the Albanian language equal footing with Serbo-Croatian. But Tito's death in 1980 offered opportunity to Slobodan Milosevic, then a rising politician who became leader of the Serbian communist party in 1986. Capitalizing on the Serbian resentment toward ethnic Albanians and Tito, Milosevic used the Kosovo issue to stir nationalism. In rallies, he exhorted Serbs to fight for the province that he declared they would win back.
152 153
When Milosevic became president in 1989, he stripped Kosovo's autonomy, and later forced Albanians from their state jobs, shut down their media and suppressed the Albanian language. He also dismantled the legislative assembly after ethnic Albanian legislators declared independence.
154
In the early 90’s Belgrade “forgot” about the province as the federation started to break up. The
Albanian leaders took advantage of such situation and created an underground state with the whole administration. The ethnic majority operated a parallel government which staged its own elections.
The government collected money to fund social services from Albanians in Kosovo, Albania and abroad. Ethnic Albanians also ran their own schools and universities and got their news from Albanian-language sources; simultaneously Serbians relied on Serbian TV and Belgrade newspapers.
155 156
The Albanian political leader was Ibrahim Rugova, a writer and political intellectual voted "president" during the 1992 shadow government elections. However, his nonviolent stance against Serbian rule
149 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
150 After the death of Croatian president Tudjman elected president Stipe Mesic announced that his country officially resigned from the territories in Bosnia. That was a move necessary in a perspective of integration of Croatia with the EU.
151
152
A. Magdziak-Miszewska /RED./, Świat po Kosowie, Warszawa 2000.
153
154
A. Magdziak-Miszewska /RED./, op. cit..
Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
155
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/contents.htm
156
Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/contents.htm

irritated the formation of an armed guerrilla group who finally decided to take matters into their own hands.
157
In 1996, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA, established around 1991) claimed responsibility for a series of violent attacks and started warfare with Serbian troops, which soon forced thousands of
Albanians to flee into neighboring Albania. By February 1998, a new Serbia military offensive against the separatists was launched during which many civilians suffered from the ethnic cleansings.
158
In the months following Milosevic's renewed attacks, the Contact Group responsible for negotiating peace in the Balkans leveled sanctions against Yugoslavia. However, the Kosovo turmoil revealed staunch political differences among members of the international community. The USA and Western allies condemned repression against ethnic Albanians, but did not support the KLA's aspirations of autonomy; the Albanians supported a NATO attack and an autonomous Kosovo. Russia, which shares religious and cultural ties to the Serbs, opposed NATO intervention and saw the conflict as Yugoslavia's affair. Meanwhile, the West, including the Clinton administration, came under fire for inaction and failing to carry out threats of military action against Milosevic.
159
After peace negotiations, sanctions, and the threat of NATO military intervention failed to halt the conflict, NATO renewed its threat of air strikes in October 1998, after reports that the massacre of ethnic Albanian civilians was committed by Serbian troops. On 13 October Milosevic and US envoy
Richard Holbrooke agreed to a cease-fire that required partially withdrawing government forces, and allowing 2,000 inspectors under the aegis of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) to monitor the cease-fire and activities of both sides. The truce temporarily ended the eightmonth offensive that killed more than 1,000 people and left over 125,000 homeless. Milosevic refused a request for an investigation into the killings of civilians by the UN war crimes tribunal. His hard-line stance against pleas to end the fighting revived the threat of NATO air strikes.
160 161
Fearing that the civil war in Kosovo could provoke a wider Balkans war that could destabilize neighboring Albania and Macedonia, which in turn may pull in Turkey and Greece, Western allies pushed
Serbian officials and ethnic Albanian representatives to meet for peace talks in Rambouillet, France.
After negotiations the ethnic Albanians signed the peace accord but Milosevic rejected to do that because he opposed a provision allowing for peacekeeping troops in Yugoslavia.
162
As a result of Milosevic's new offensive launched in March 1999 against Kosovo Albanians, and his rejection of peacekeeping troops as outlined in the peace accord, NATO approved punitive air strikes against Yugoslavia. Faced with its gravest challenge since World War II, on 24 March the Alliance mounted its first attack against a sovereign nation in its 50-year history.
163 164
NATO bombs pummeled Serbia and Kosovo for 78 days, while on the ground, Yugoslav troops began expelling ethnic Albanians from the region into neighboring countries. Approximately 860,000 fled their homeland to refugee camps in neighboring Albania and Macedonia.
165
Finally, Yugoslavian representatives met with NATO military commanders in Macedonia to work out a peace plan that would halt NATO strikes and allow the safe return of the refugees. On 9 June Yugoslavia signed an agreement that allowed for the withdrawal of their forces from Kosovo and the implementation of a 50,000-member international peacekeeping force into the Serbian province. The contingent, known as KFOR, was expected to stabilize the region and made possible a massive relief effort planned by the European Union, the United States and other countries.
166
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
But in the very beginning of KFOR presence in Kosovo it was almost helpless to secure the Serbs from the Albans taking a bloody revenge on them. Even in 2000 the situation was very unstable, KFOR hadn’t still managed to disarm KLA and the Serbs continued to be attacked by the
Albanians.
SUMMARY
Summing up, it can be surely said that the Balkan tragedy of the 90’s was the largest and the most bloody conflict in Europe after World War II and it has highly influenced the situation of the whole
Europe. The war made the European leaders aware that the existing security mechanisms are highly ineffective and a new European defence and foreign policy is a necessity. Moreover, the conflict deeply shocked the society of Europe because of such an inhuman brutality at the turn of the 20 th and 21 st century. It also indicated the power of the media, which created some widely believed myths on the Balkan war, like the overestimated number of victims, Serbs seen as the only guilty of mass crimes, solely negative opinion on international leaders – their inactivity.
167
The stability of the situation on the Balkans remains highly doubtful. The presented picture of Bosnia after the war indicate that nationalistic moods are still alive and what’s more very danger. Only the countries which are rather ethnically uniform, like Croatia or Slovenia are developing peacefully.
Some future problems may result also from the strong position of KLA and the situation of Albanians
(Kosovo, Macedonia). Moreover, the stabilization is needed in the New Yugoslavia itself. Milosevic has been caught and is being charged for the crimes against humanity in front of the International Court of Justice in the Hague. However, many war criminals, not only Serbs, are still free. Despite breaking with Milosevic’s regime the nationalists in Serbia are still powerful and willing to influence the political stage (the recent assassination of Prime Minister Dzindzic). Furthermore the authorities of Montenegro used to consider the possibility of separation from Serbia. The autonomy has become also a core aim of the Hungarian from Vojvodiana and Muslims from Sangacu.
In that situation no detail forecasts for the region are possible but most probably the peace will eventually visit those lands and in a long period its citizens will also profit from the benefits of the European Integration. One should hope this positive scenario come true because the instability on the Balkans for ages has influenced negatively not only that very region.
Appendix: Map 1: Ethnic groups, Map 2: 1815 to 1839: After the Congress of Vienna, Map 3: 1914: Eve of the First
World War, Map 4: Between the Two World Wars, Map 5: Nov. 1942: Height of Axis Occupation, Map 6: 1945 to
1990: Cold War Stability, Map 7: 1991 to 1995: Open Warfare, Map 8: Ethnic groups according to the Dayton agreement, Map 9: International forces in Bosnia, Map 10: Balkan states nowadays
157 A. Magdziak-Miszewska /RED./, op. cit..
158 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/overview/overview.htm
159 A. Magdziak-Miszewska /RED./, op. cit..
160 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
161 Miroslav Hadzic, Security ranges of NATO. Intervention in Kosovo, 1999.
162 A. Magdziak-Miszewska /RED./, op. cit..
163 Andrzej Nowosad, Wojny po wojnie. Jak ułożyć Bałkany od nowa, Polityka nr 25/1999.
164 Andrzej Nowosad, Bałkańskie domino. Po interwencji w Kosowie – wojna w Macedonii?, Polityka nr 15/1999.
165 Miroslav Hadzic, op. cit..
166 Maciej Kuczyński, op. cit..
24
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/specials/bosnia/context/index.html & http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpsrv/inatl/longterm/balkans/contents.htm
167 Andrzej Nowosad, Kocioł kipi, Polityka nr 40/1999.

Agata Bzyl, Marta Kowalczyk, Jakub Maczel
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
THE FLEMISH-WALOON CONFLICT IN BELGIUM
Historical Background of the conflict
Long long time ago…
Belgium has existed essentially in its present form since 1830, when an uprising led to independence from The Netherlands. However, the country's name goes back to a Celtic tribe, the Belgae, whom
Julius Caesar described as the most courageous tribe in all of Gaul. The Belgae were overwhelmed, however, by Caesar's legions around 50 BC, and for 300 years the area was a Roman province. Some scholars believe that the southern part of Belgium was the northernmost area of true Roman cultural penetration, beyond which Latin never really took hold. The proto-Dutch language, spoken by the
Frankish invaders who swept through the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD, took hold north of that line 168 .
Throughout most of the Middle Ages, life in the area centered on the quasi-independent trading and manufacturing towns of Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp and Liege. After centuries of war and many accidents of dynastic succession, the area that had come to be known as the Lowlands - comprising the approximate modern territories of Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg - came into the possession of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor in the early 1500s 169 .
Religion matters
The arrival of Protestantism polarized the Lowlands into two hostile camps. Religion has been another source of division in Belgium's history, with the people in the north of the country inclining towards
Protestantism and the teachings of Luther. In the religious wars, the split became geographic and political as the Protestants succeeded in establishing the United Provinces of the Netherlands in the north. The remaining Catholic territory after these wars, which did not have the same incentive for revolt, is roughly equivalent to modern Belgium 170 .
The New Kingdom
After two centuries of Spanish rule, the Austrian Hapsburgs gained control of the country after the
Treaty of Utrecht (1713). Napoleon annexed it to France in 1794. After his defeat in 1815, Belgium was awarded to The Netherlands.
However, after 15 years of chafing against Dutch administrative and economic reforms, the Belgian people revolted and declared the independent state of Belgium in 1830. A progressive, almost republican constitution, was created, and the state was successfully launched with Leopold I, a German prince, as the first King of the Belgians.
For 84 years, Belgium remained neutral in an era of intra-European wars until German troops overran the country during their attack on France in 1914. King Albert, the constitutional commander-in-chief of the armed forces, rallied what remained of his troops and, after joining the French Army, was able to retain a tiny corner of Flemish Belgium near the sea throughout the war. Some of the fiercest battles of World War I were fought on "Flanders' Fields.
The inter-war period
The inter-war years saw an unprecedented blooming of Flemish culture in northern Belgium and a sharpening of ethnic rivalry between the northern Dutch-speaking Flemings and the southern Frenchspeaking Walloons 171 . In fact it weren't the Flemish but the French speaking Belgians who, in the
1930's, insisted on unilingual regions and rejected general bilingualism.
The reason? The French speaking bourgeoisie refused to be obliged to learn "Vlaams". From a feeling of superiority they didn't see why they should use a language of workmen, farmers and servants. For in 1830 they were misled. Belgium would be French-speaking or it wouldn't be at all.
The Flemish movement - that indeed was mostly a language movement - came to put a spoke in the wheel and shattered that dream. As early as 1912, the Walloon socialist Jules Destrée, got the message: "Ils nous ont volé la Flandre... ils nous ont volé notre langue", he wrote. ("They have stolen
Flanders from us, they have stolen our language") Rather than be obliged to learn a language of little influence, they chose to withdraw into their own language region 172 .
2 nd World war and post-war period
Belgium was occupied by the Germans in 1940. While the cabinet and other political leaders established a government-in-exile in London, the King remained in Belgium for the entire war. The King's controversial behavior during the German occupation forced him, in 1951, to abdicate in favor of his son, Baudouin, who reigned until his death in 1993. The current King is Baudouin's brother, Albert
II 173 .
It was during the 1950s that new economic structures were established, which initially were to favour the Walloons. But by the end of the decade the reverse was increasingly the case. The Walloon mines began to close, related heavy industry suffered setbacks, regional development organisations were established and American industry began to get a stronger foothold on the Continent. Whilst in Flanders these developments were greeted enthusiastically, as the port of Antwerp boomed, in Wallonia they mapped the beginnings of a cycle of decline 174 .
In 1962-1963, a democratic majority laid down the language boundary and established unilingual regions. The same democratic majority - sometimes even a two-thirds majority and a majority in each language group - granted limited language facilities to the French-speaking and entrusted the official guardianship to the Flemish government. The constitutional revisions of the 1970s and 1980s, and the accompanying legislation, were all designed to preserve the language, culture, lifestyle and spiritual beliefs of the different groups within the country 175 .
Belgian Model
Peaceful “conflicts” between Flemish and Walloon politicians are part of Belgium’s history. They regularly break out on various grounds and sometimes bring the government to the edge of the precipice but since the birth of the Belgian state, there have never been any confrontations between the populations and not a single drop of blood has ever been shed.
All the problems involving Belgium’s linguistic communities have always been solved through political negotiations and compromises. Due to the complexity of the political and linguistic landscape, the
Belgian governments of the past few decades have had to show ingenuity in the elaboration of the institutional engineering and safety mechanisms meant to protect linguistic minorities against majorities at various places in the country and at different levels of the Belgian political institutions. Conflict solving mechanisms have also had to be worked out.
The main characteristic of the Belgian solutions to language and community problems is the concern for the protection of linguistic minorities. This dimension of the “Belgian model” and the basic components of the reform of the institutional architecture can certainly be a source of inspiration to solve peacefully local conflicts between linguistic communities in other parts of the world.
Several reforms of the state and of the constitution have transformed Belgium into a federal state.
Territorial federalism has solved most linguistic problems. The Flemish and Walloon regions are monolingual, Dutch-speaking and French-speaking respectively, while the Brussels-Capital Region is bilingual 176 .
168 http://www.worldrover.com/history/belgium_history.html.
169 http://www.ebelgiumhotel.com/info.html.
170 http://www.worldinfozone.com/country.php?country=Belgium.
171 http://www.worldrover.com/history/belgium_history.html.
25
172 http://www.vvb.org/fps/en/tekst/hfdstk64.htm.
173 http://www.worldrover.com/history/belgium_history.html.
174 http://www.expat-online.com/moving/belgium/ History/history_since_1945.cfm.
175 http://www.vvb.org/fps/en/tekst/hfdstk64.htm.
176 http://www.hrwf.net/newhrwf/html/ b_n_minorities_Introduction.html.

Background of the conflict
Territorial conflict in Belgium has primarily pitted the Flemish region against the Walloon region—with a Brussels center standing in the middle, and a small, peripheral German region as bystander. Disruptive, non-violent territorial protest was widespread in the 1950s and 1960s and it topped in the late
1970s, but it has declined considerably since Belgian and regional identities have become more inclusive since the 1970s.
177
Territorial conflict in Belgium has linguistic roots. Dutch (or Flemish) has always been the mother tongue of a majority of the population, even while in the nineteenth century French was the dominant official language. The origins are fairly recent. French, the court language of the Habsburg monarchy, became the language of the administrative and cultural elite of Flanders and Wallonia during Austrian rule in the eighteenth century. This process was reinforced by the French revolutionary occupants and their Napoleonic heirs. Meanwhile the peasants of Flanders continued to speak
(though less frequently read or write) a range of local Flemish dialects. Despite a shared language base, Flemings and Dutch were divided by religion; the Flemish Catholics’ suspicion of the Protestant ambitions of the Dutch monarchy contributed to their initial welcome for an independent Belgian state. Domination by French speakers was reinforced by early-nineteenth-century industrialization; impoverished Flemish peasants flocked to Wallonia, the heartland of Belgium’s wealth in coal, steel, and textiles.
178
So until 50s, political, economic and social power rested primarily with francophones, even in the northern area now contained in the Flemish Region. Economic development enhanced the power of the southern region known today as Wallonia. Parts of the southern region were early beneficiaries of the industrial revolution, and developed heavy industries. The social and political status of the
French language promoted a strong Francophone presence in Brussels.
179
Language has always been a socio-economic marker. In the 19 th century, those with power, money or aspirations spoke French. The roles are reversed in contemporary Belgium. After the Second
World War, the reversal of Walloon economic fortunes and the rapid economic growth in the Flemish region reinforced linguistic conflict between the two regions, and this consolidated the territorialization of Flemish-Francophone conflict. The tide began to turn in the 1950s. Economic success in the
Walloon region had depended to a large extent on heavy steel and coal industries, which were rapidly losing importance. Flanders, meanwhile, has boomed. Unencumbered by old industry or an unemployable workforce, towns like Antwerp and Ghent have flourished with the growth of service technology and commerce.
Table 1: The Regional Structure of the Belgian Economy
Flemish region Walloon region Brussels Belgium
Agriculture 1949
Industry
Services
1995
1949
1995
1949
1995
GDP/capita 1949
1963
1988
1995
15.5
1.9
51.6
32.6
32.9
65.5
88
90
102
101
9.3
2.2
62.3
27.6
28.4
70.2
103
93
81
80
1.5
0.0
46.6
19.2
52.1
80.8
132
148
153
161
10.5
1.7
54.4
29.2
35.1
69.1
100
100
100
100
Source: Nationaal Instituut voor Statistiek; Jones (1998a.)
In 1947 over 20 percent of the Flemish workforce was still in agriculture; today fewer than 3 percent of Dutch-speaking Belgians derive their income from the land. There are more Dutch speakers than
French speakers in the country (by a proportion of three to two), and they produce and earn more per capita.
180 This process, whereby the Belgian north has overtaken the south as the privileged,
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] dominant region, has been gathering speed since the late Fifties-accompanied by a crescendo of demands from the Flemish for political gains to match their newfound economic dominance.
181 Wage rates are significantly higher in Flanders. Unemployment is 10.5 per cent in Wallonia but only 6 per cent in Flanders. Long-term unemployment is more serious in Wallonia too. Flanders has created far more jobs and lost far fewer. Health costs, often an indirect indicator of social problems, are higher and rising faster in Wallonia and Walloon life expectancy is lower.
Taken together, there has been a complete reversal. Wallonia has lost its sense of direction and dynamism. Wallonia has an image of being a ‘loser’, with a self-image of low esteem, paralysis, outmoded and inflexible attitudes and institutions, poor adaptability and dependency on the state and a particracie seen as more endemic there than in Flanders. By 1970 the conflict had been transformed from one between Dutch-speakers and French-speakers into one between the Flemish region on the one hand and the Walloon region and primarily French-speaking Brussels on the other hand.
182 However, territorial conflict has only occasionally given rise to disruptive protest. The conflict as such was most disruptive and most mobilizing in conjunction with religious or socio-economic non-territorial issues.
Next we want to focus on influence of other factors on the level of territorial conflict.
Economic factors.
Models of uneven economic development link territorial conflict to economic backwardness and exploitation of a region by the rest of a country. What is important is to specify the conditions under which economically backward groups are likely to become separatist as opposed to economically affluent groups. A more straightforward economic explanation links ups and downs in territorial conflict to the business cycle. A grievances-based explanation would suggest greater conflict in times of economic downturn because competition for scarce resources is sharper. A resource-based explanation would expect intensification of conflict during economic prosperity because there are more resources available for the mobilization of territorial protest. Neither model provides a sufficient explanation for the dynamics of territorial conflict in Belgium. However, a cursory comparison of table 2 with economic indicators does not provide support for either hypothesis. Territorial conflict was highest in the 1960s—a period of unparalleled prosperity—and in the late 1970s-early 1980s—a period of negative or stagnant growth, high unemployment and government deficit spending. 183
European integration .
Territorial conflict is usually seen primarily as a domestic matter. But the rise in regionalism and separatism is also often connected with the erosion of national sovereignty by economic globalisation and international institutions. The most tangible expression of these twin transnational developments for Belgium has been European integration. EU membership has intensified the Flemish-Walloon conflict because it has exacerbated divergent economic developments between the regions. But we have seen that Flemish-Walloon conflict is only partly fueled by divergent economic interests. Though it is correct that European integration as a market-making process has made the preferences of
Flemish and Walloon actors more divergent, it has also lowered the stakes of territorial conflict. It has eased the terrain for federal reform, and as a polity-building exercise it has increased incentives for cooperation among these territorial units. An independent Flemish or Walloon region will incur smaller efficiency losses from separation within a European Union where free trade can be enforced across countries. That is why some have predicted that a country like Belgium is more likely to break up when it is an integral part of a single European market.
184 But the potential benefits of separatism for political actors in terms of policy autonomy are also considerably smaller than in a world of sovereign nation states. European regulations limit the range of policy choices at domestic level, whether that is the federal, regional or community level. At the extreme, incentives for separation may evaporate.
177 http://www.unc.edu/hooghe/downloads/princeton_final.doc.
178 http://www.thevoice.student.kuleuven.ac.be/articles/belgium_history.htm#top.
179 http://www.geocities.com/vykintas/m2nre.html.
180 http://www.thevoice.student.....
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181 http://www.geocities.com/vykintas/m2nre.html.
182 http://www.unc.edu/.....
183 http://www.unc.edu/......
184 http://www.unc.edu/....

The rules of EU decision making induce Flemish and Walloon actors to search common ground in the
European arena. The most important formal institutional constraint is that the European Union recognizes only member states, which makes it difficult for the regions or communities to act officially.
185
Membership of the European Union is a double-edged sword for territorial conflict in Belgium. On the one hand, EU membership provides the most powerful external discipline on territorial conflict in
Belgium. It reduces the expected benefits of separatism; it constrains policy divergences among
Belgian actors; and it induces moderate and co-operative behavior among subnational and federal actors. At the same time, it reduces the cost of separatism as the benefits of free trade vary no longer with country size. Small countries such as Ireland or Luxembourg benefit as much from European integration as Germany or Spain.
Generations’ turnover .
Some sociologists argue that generations’ turnover may weaken the support base for territorial conflict. Survey data of the mid-1990s demonstrate that the generation younger than 40 years is distinctly less interested in Flemish-Walloon conflict. However, the implications for regional nationalism are different for Flemish and Walloons.
For Flemish citizens, there appears a still relatively weak, but growing interaction effect between age and education. Young and educated people tend to feel more Belgian (or European) than the average
Flemish citizen. This seems to point to the emergence of a pro-Belgian movement among Flemish intellectuals, and that while Flemish nationalism has been historically strongest among intellectuals.
The effect of age is more pronounced in Wallonia, and it works in the other direction. Walloon regional identity is significantly stronger among the younger than the older generation. That effect is present across all educational or occupational categories, but Walloon nationalism is much less concentrated in intellectual circles than it is in Flanders. Anti-unitarist sentiment is strongest among uneducated workers and radical regionalism is powerful among self-employed. Moreover, there is a shift from moderate to radical regionalism among younger Walloons, though few regionalists are yet willing to embrace separatism.
The fact that, in Flanders, defenders of Belgian unity are primarily found among progressive political actors but, in the Walloon region, mainly associated with traditionalist, ethnocentric values impedes the mobilisation of a national pro-Belgian counter movement. Some Flemish and Walloons feel strongly about maintaining Belgian unity, but they promote very different models of Belgian society.
Finally, there are strong institutional incentives in the Belgian system of dual federalism that continue to induce politicians to emphasise territorial conflict and de-emphasise co-operation.
186
Colonialism
The roots of conflict stick also partly in experience of colonization of Congo. It aroused very specific, even strange effects and interactions in Belgian society. The shadow of blame gathered with economic diversities and claims bred surprising reactions and expectations in groups of conflict. 187
So we may say that to some extent the Belgian identity has been the effect of the contact with the
Congolese, a product of the colonial adventure. As this adventure came to an end, the Belgian had to get rid of his story on someone else, and he told it to himself, that is, to an other Belgian. For the
Flemish this other came to be the Walloon and vice versa. Self-evidently they had told this story always already also to each other, but only at the decolonization of Congo they were really thrown onto each other’s company. There were no escape routes left now. No less self-evidently one of both had to be the colonizer, the other decolonised. Curiously enough the former colonizers, whether
Flemish or Walloon, only wanted to pass for the colonized. There was no one who in the motherland wished to assume for themselves the position of the colonizer. The awareness that something had been wrong with colonization all this time grew strong. Actually the awareness had always been
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] there, and for the time being they wanted to take advantage of this new-recovered sense. In postcolonial Belgium there is a symbolic struggle for the cherished position of the colonized, the exploited, the oppressed, the black person. At all price one wanted to be black.
188
Phenomenons that support stabilization and the ones supporting separatism.
In Belgium there are several factors that fuel both tendency to stabilization and separatism. We can mention economic, political, psychological, religious, social background.
What factors will tend to hold the system in a stable balance and what factors will tend to undermine the system and perhaps push it towards separatism? First, stabilising factors:
Political investment
The political parties have invested considerable political capital in the process for a long time. They will not wish to forfeit that lightly. With the exception of the far right, all parties have at least some investment in the process, whether or not they are in government. Indeed the Green parties have never been in government, but they supported the St Michael’s Day Agreement of 1993 which was the latest stone in the procces.
Flemish self-confidence
Increasing Flemish self-confidence can lead to longer-term stabilization, as it could mean that the
Flemish numerical majority would lose its dangerous psychological sense of minority status: in Belgium you have a majority with a minority complex and a minority with a majority complex. Were that to become over time established accommodation between the communities-based on some concessions to the Walloons going beyond their numerical rights - might become possible, creating a climate of greater mutual confidence.
Regionalisation
This will permit asymmetrical coalitions and greater flexibility in policies to take account of regional differences, reducing tensions within the system - as each community can go its own way - and potentially simplifying coalition-building. 189
Brussels
Both communities are attached to Brussels - an 80 per cent French-speaking enclave in Flemish territory, though a Flemish city until the 19 th century when it became a government city. It can not be geographically divided like Berlin or Beirut, as there is no distinct Flemish part. In the event of separation, it would be an almost insoluble problem to decide what should happen to Brussels. Hence, it has become a separate bilingual region, with strong guarantees for the Flemish minority. The problem of Brussels requires, as it were, the parents to stay together for the child. Otherwise a ‘velvet divorce’ would be quite likely.
The paradoxical effort of the rightist Flemish nationalist party, the Vlaams Blok, to extend its appeal to French-speaking people in Brussels illustrates the fact that, for many, Brussels is the last nail holding the country together. The Vlaams Blok is trying to win support in Brussels on the basis that on many key issues - such as security, immigration, education and health-Brussels people would be better off as part of an independent Flanders. To make them welcome, the VB would even permanently guarantee the existing bilingual regime in Brussels. 190
There are, however, also destabilising factors:
External factors
Before the end of the cold war, the structure of European states seemed set in stone. It seemed unlikely any new European states would be created. Membership of the EU was also an important argument against secessionist pressures within Belgium and elsewhere. Since 1989, numerous new
185 http://www.nsulaw.nova.edu/studentaffairs/student_organizations/ILSAJournal/vol_8_3/carter_eng_v2.polf
186 http://www.unc.edu/....
187 http://www.africanarug.ac.be/texts/Belgiumsafrica/papers/lasagne.doc.
27
188 http://www.africana......
189 http://www.cain.ulstac.uk/dd/report9/report9d.htm.
190 http://www.cain.ulst.ac.uk/......

states have been created in central and eastern Europe. The velvet divorce in Czechoslovakia saw both successor states easily assume the membership of international organizations that had been held by Czechoslovakia, including association with the EU. There is now no longer any international taboo on splitting states, provided it happens-as it would in Belgium-in a peaceful, democratic and consensual manner. The international dimension is no longer a significant stabilizing pressure, and indeed the example of Czechoslovakia could offer a model.
Lack of national political parties
Traditionally, there were only three significant parties in Belgium, representing the three traditional
‘political families’: Christian Democrat, Socialist and Liberal. These unitary, national political parties were an important cement, holding the country together. By the mid-70s all three had split into pairs of Flemish-and French-speaking parties, making six in all. There were of course also the community parties and, later, the Greens and the far-right Vlaams Blok. The pairs drifted wider apart and tended to be more concerned about forming alliances or ‘fronts’ within their own communities, rather than ideological alliances across the community divide. Each pair of ‘sister’ parties first diverged on community issues, but then increasingly on other issues too.
Increasingly, there are not only no national parties, but no political families either. There is also not one, but two - or, with Brussels, three - separate political systems, with different centres of gravity.
Wallonia is dominated by the Parti Socialiste (PS) and, accordingly, leans to the left. Flanders is dominated by the Christelijke Volkspartij (CVP) and leans more to the right. In Brussels, the Liberals, with their FDF allies, dominate. The growing distance between the respective members of the three political families, with additionally parties operating in one community only (the VB), will make for distinct coalitions at regional level and eventually for asymmetrical coalitions at federal level. These structural developments are reinforced and in part caused by the absence of national media.
Lack of a national civil society
In the reform phase, the disaggregation and decentralisation of the then national civil-society networks was necessary and desirable. It was then supportive of the reform process. Such networks naturally gravitate towards the most relevant and effective power centres, in terms of their areas of concern, as well as adopting an instinctive subsidiarity or proximity approach. As power centres devolved, they devolved. Now, this process may have gone too far. It contributes to the growing separation of the two polities. Like political parties, civil-society networks could be part of a residual national cement, counter-balancing centrifugal tendencies, if they were able and willing to do so.
Finance issues
There have always been implicit inter-regional transfers, as within any state. These have become more visible, and therefore the target of criticism, as federalisation has proceeded. They have seemed to be a one-way street, with Flanders as the net contributor to Wallonia. This has become particularly clear in relation to the most important remaining and increasingly expensive mechanism of financial solidarity, the social security system. Federalisation of social security, and with it financial responsibility, has become a key demand of the most radical Flemish nationalists. For Wallonia, this is regarded as non-negotiable. Failure to reach an acceptable compromise on this issue would be regarded by some in Flanders as a signal that no more could be achieved through inter-community dialogue. At that point some would seek to put separatism on the agenda.
Political alienation
Increasingly , these political structures, mentalities, processes and arrangements, put in place between 1970 and 1993, have come under critical attack as undemocratic, elite-driven, closed, inflexible, outmoded and unresponsive to new challenges. In the past, public support and indeed trust was perhaps more passive than active, but it was available, provided the political system delivered. Now, the system is subject to two different, though related, criticisms: one is essentially substantive while the second is more a matter of style and approach. Worse, the extreme concentration of political energy in one direction has pitted political antennae against new issues, whose emergence has been ignored with the result that they have been addressed far too late, if at all. This has only served to
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] increase alienation, with a sense that the traditional structures are out of date, out of touch and irrelevant. 191
Other politically-died factors contributing to regional conflict in Belgium.
The conflict was also significantly fueled by Flemish-nationalist movements.
Although Flemish nationalism has enjoyed a history of just over eighty years (with a short break just after World War II) it has proved to be sustainable. It led the struggle toward federalism in the 1970s and 1980s, and leads the struggle today towards Flemish independence. The Flemish movement, backed by religious leaders and civil servants, began a cultural campaign to strengthen Flemish culture and language almost immediately after independence. 192
Flemish Movement set forth several demands. In 1898, Flemish became an official language. This recognition transformed interethnic relations, as it strengthened the tendency to see Belgium as a bicultural society. Francophones reacted defensively against the pressure of the Flemish. In 1912, the
Congrès Wallon advocated an administrative separation of Flanders and Wallonia. In 1912, future
Minister of State Jules Destrée, in an often-quoted “open letter to the King” stated, “Sire, there are no Belgians. There are only Flemish and Walloons,” arguing that eighty years of nation building had failed to produce a dominant basis of identification, while ethnoterritorial groups had gained salience.
Universal suffrage for men was granted in 1893, but multiple votes allowed Francophones to retain a majority of votes. This situation proved untenable, as it signified the domination of the majority by a demographic minority. Each reform changed the political and cultural climate to encourage further changes, but also mitigated the levels of hostility that could have erupted into violent conflict.
After the war, Belgians established the Research Center for the National Solution of Social, Political and Juridical Problems in the Walloon and Flemish Regions. The Center reported that the Flemish, although the demographic majority, had minority status in military, political, diplomatic, business and cultural circles. The Center noted a gradual spread of French in Flemish areas around Brussels and along the linguistic border. These reports provided additional incentives for mobilization along ethnoterritorial lines.
The Flemish demanded that the government redress the discrepancies but Walloons countermobilized against the threat to their position posed by the Flemish majority.
193
By 1969, the Flemish raised another problem. Although the territory of Brussels had been set, the
“oil-stain” of Francophones in Flanders was growing towards the University of Louvain/Leuven, which is east of Brussels in Flemish Brabant. Flemish speakers in the university agitated for the removal of the Francophones from the University. The division of the university, with the creation of Louvain-la-
Neuve, symbolized the larger divisions within the country. These changes reduced support for the unitary state as the notion of a common Belgian identity lost credibility. 194
Economic power has shifted over the years from Wallonia to Flanders. In addition, political institutions have shifted, giving more power to Flemings and decentralizing decision-making. These considerations are further influenced by psychocultural factors such as group identification and perceptions of outgroups and motivations. These factors are compounded by the fact that the Francophone minority long held political, economic, and social advantages, leading the Flemings to become a “majority with a minority complex”. As we analyze conflicts, it is important to remember that a single approach is unlikely to address the problem completely.
However, various efforts to reduce a conflict, including symbolic, institutional, and economic measures may promote de-escalation. These approaches will then create additional structural change that will influence the choice of the parties’ tactics. An increased understanding of structural change
191 http://www.cain.ulst.ac.uk/......
192 http://www2.sbbs.se/hp/erson/academia/Essayeurhist5.htm.
193 http://www.tan.ac.il/ANTI-Semitism/asw99-2000/belgium.htm.
194 http://wwwnsulaw.nova.edu/.....
28

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] is promoted by sensitivity to the interconnections of the various sides of the social cube.
195
In 1994-95 a Flemish-Walloon conflict developed with the Flemish people arguing that the French community had violated autonomy of Flanders by supporting cultural organizations on its territory without prior consultation with Flemish authorities. Although the nationalists supported the conflict,
Flemish media denied all accusations of nationalism itself as the root of the conflict.
196
The language border that was established in 1963 has also become a strong cultural dividing line according to Derk Jan Eppink in an article in Internationale Spectator in 1998:
"One does not only speak two different languages, one lives in two completely different worlds. The public opinion in the two parts is completely at odds with each other and only shows a common interest during a soccer game of the Red Devils [the national soccer team] … The knowledge of
Walloons about Flanders is very limited, and the same way vice versa. Slowly, one starts to see each other as foreigners" 197
A farsighted professor of Liege university, G. Nijples, stated in the 1830s that: “This is the beginning of a struggle and God knows where this will lead”. And the struggle goes on.
“The Flemish movement that grew out of concern about and protection of Flemish rights, culture and language, has become increasingly concerned with nationalistic issues such as the place and legitimacy of Flanders within a Belgian federal state. Nobody is interested in maintaining Belgium as such, especially with the acceleration of European integration. What do we have in common? It used to be the Belgian franc, and now it doesn’t exist" 198
Tastenhoye takes this argument further:
"For Flanders it doesn’t matter whether it remains inside Belgium or operates directly within Europe.
Moreover, in order to achieve new social and economical relations, it is better to perform as an independent federal state in the European frame than in the jammed, chaotic social-economical context of Belgium.” 199
Thus the Belgian society is both horizontally and vertically divided. Each language community is almost self-sufficient entities in the modern welfare state. The Belgian party system is even more fragmented (in addition to six unilingual parties representing the main pillars there are some regional and some post-materialist or anti-system parties), yet on the federal level it shows remarkable stability or at least ability to cope with the crises (though, as some would argue, mostly delaying the inevitable decisions).
200
The main parties have in general successfully adopted the strategies that induced the decline of the regional parties.
To form a government is difficult: it requires multi-party deals within and across regions, „symmetry” between national, regional, community, provincial, and local party coalitions, a working majority in both major language groups, and linguistic parity at every political and administrative level. And when a government is formed, it has little initiative: even foreign policy-in theory the responsibility of the national government-is effectively in the hands of the regions, since for Belgium it mostly means foreign trade agreements and these are a regional prerogative.
201
Belgium has sometimes been described as a unique example of federation in terms of two features.
On the level of popular perception, the country has already been “split” into two ethnic parts and the bulk of political activity is directed toward regional governments — not to the distant center with few competencies left. However, contrary to the always present fears of the final split-up, the national, or federal, dimension of politics has not entirely vanished and the central institutions still reinforce
195 http://www.nsulaw.nova.edu/....
196 http://www2.sbbs.se/.....
197 D.J.Eppink, The divorce of the Belgians, International Spectator, 1/6/98
198 C.Trueheart, Wither Belgium, www.emu.edu.fr/frnc/h160399a.htm.
199 Tastenhoye, We dont have to be afraid of an independent Flanders, Gazet van Antwerpen, 14/2/98.
200 http://www.thevoice.student.kuleuven.....
201 http://www.geocities.com/.....
29 themselves and the notion of Belgium as the single entity on the European arena.
Conclusive remarks:
Belgium today is held together by little more than the King, the public debt-and a gnawing collective sense that things cannot continue as they have. Of course the desire for a political housecleaning,
Italian-style, is quite compatible with demands for even more federalization-as radical Flemish politicians have not failed to point out. The generation of the Sixties, now in power, continues to play the federalist and communalist cards; but recent polls suggest that most people, even in Flanders, no longer put regional or language issues at the head of their concerns.
This is especially true of new Belgians: the children of immigrants from Italy, Yugoslavia, Turkey,
Morocco, or Algeria have more pressing concerns. Even those who identify strongly with Flanders (or
Wallonia) don’t see a need to abolish Belgium, much less conjoin their fate to another country, or to
„Europe.” Language politics, then, may have blown themselves out in Belgium.
For similar reasons, the old „pillars” are in decline. Younger Belgians see the world rather differently.
They are not much moved by appeals to sectoral interest-the same prosperity that has underwritten the „Flemish miracle” has defanged the politics of linguistic resentment. What is more, Belgians no longer align themselves with a single party or community in every facet of their lives. Declining religious practice, the accessibility of higher education, and the move from countryside to town have weakened Catholic and socialist parties. This is a desirable development. Without the „pillars” Belgian politics and public life may well become more transparent and less corruption-prone. In short, they will cease to be distinctively Belgian. But what, then, will keep the country together?
202
One answer is prosperity. The obvious difference between Belgium and other, less fortunate parts of
Europe where politicians exploit communal sensibilities and corruption flourishes, is that Belgium is rich. Brussels may be an unappealing, seamy city and unemployment may be high in Wallonia, but life for most people in Belgium is materially sufficient. The country is at peace-if not with itself then at least with everyone else. If Belgium disappeared, many Belgians might not even notice. Some observers even hold the country acts as a postnational model for the twenty-first century: a virtually stateless society, with a self-governing, bilingual capital city whose multinational workforce services a lot of transnational agencies and companies. 203
As we enter the twenty-first century, and an uncertain era in which employment, security, and the civil and cultural core of nations will all be exposed to unprecedented and unregulated pressures beyond local control, the advantage will surely lie with countries whose governments can offer some guarantees of protection and a sense of cohesion and common purpose compatible with the preservation of civil and political liberties. So Belgium does matter, and not just to Belgians. Far from being a model, it may be a warning: we all know, at the end of the twentieth century, that you can have too much state. But Belgium may be a useful reminder that you can also have too little.
204
THE CONFLICT TODAY
Belgium is known around the world for its chocolates, its French fries, its mussels but also for … its linguistic problems.
Peaceful “conflicts” between Flemish and Walloon politicians were and will be present in Belgium’s everyday life. They break out because of various reasons. Flemish and Walloon people dislike each other, this is why it would be very difficult to end this conflict. However, a significant fact is that no one has ever been injured in clashes connected with it, blood has never been shed.
All the problems involved with this conflict have always been solved through political negotiations and compromises. Belgian political and linguistic background has been very complex. That is why Belgian government has to be flexible to work out efficient mechanisms of solving these linguistic conflicts.
The main characteristic of the Belgian solutions to language and community problems is the concern
202 http://www.thevoice.student....
203 http://www.thevoice.student....
204 Ibidem

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] for the protection of linguistic minorities. This dimension of the “Belgian model” and the basic components of the reform of the institutional architecture can certainly be a source of inspiration to solve peacefully local conflicts between linguistic communities in other parts of the world 205 .
For many decades, a cultural dispute had been simmering between the Flemish and Walloon (French speaking) factions. By 1994, the Flemish and Walloon communities formalized their district regions
(plus a third German-speaking region) in a constitutional revision.
206
It was never a love match. But through 161 years of ups and downs, Flanders and Wallonia had created a marriage of convenience in the name of Belgium. Now, just as Brussels is blossoming into the capital of Europe, rivalries between French- and Dutch-speaking Belgians have erupted with untimely fervor turbulent.
207 . While Belgium has achieved great international status, its domestic politics remain
Conflict between these two factions is a hot topic. There is even a discussion forum about it on the website: belgium.com. I think that the opinions found there are a good illustration of the situation.
„The conflict is still alive and kicking, and for the following reasons:
Until the second world war, Belgium's official language was French, and this while 60% of the population was Flemish !, it was the war that finally made an end to this.
Many do not know this, but Brussels used to be 99% Flemish, it was like Antwerp, one of the big and prosperous cities of Flanders. With the creation of Belgium, the French-speaking liked the beautiful and well-settled city near the language border, and moved in on a massive scale, without learning its native language. And ok, Brussels is now the European capital, so it should be multilingual, shore, but it doesn't stop in Brussels ! They come and live in nearby Flemish cities, and refuse to learn the language !, they open their own stores and voila, another Flemish city is lost.
The Walloons are lazy, it is actually Flanders that carry the Belgian economy, without Flanders, Wallonia wouldn't even meet the criteria to join the European Union!
So? Well, they enjoy the same social benefits the Flemish do, which results in cash transfer of Flanders to Wallonia of 10 billion Euro! That's over 1666 Euro per every Fleming, I don't know the number, but I assume the working population of Flanders will be around 2.5 million, so it means we working Fleming pay 4000 Euro every year for Walloons social security!
And after all that, Walloon politicians still object to everything they can, and demand more and more and more. Just know one thing, The Republic of Flanders would be the most prosperous country on the face of this planet (for real). So that’s why this country should be separated !! Belgium is killing
Flanders !” 208 .
This is one of the longest and mildest opinions from this forum. One can find there also statements like: “Stupid Walloon!” or “La Flandre rules!”.
This conflict is also present in everyday newspapers. The next passage is an actual letter to the editor:
“May I remind you that those “rights for the French-speaking community” were set up in the 1970s to allow the French time to learn Dutch, which they never did. They now owe themselves the right never to learn Dutch.
Also, tell your readers about the parity in parliament with 60% Dutch-speaking and 40% Frenchspeaking, how come the parliament is represented 50-50?!” 209 .
SYMPTOMS
In everyday life conflict between Flemish and Walloon is also present. One side accuses the other of discrimination, bullying etc. Few years ago a problem of NMBS (Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische
Spoorwegen, National Company of the Belgian Railways) was widely discussed. Flemish said, that their priorities were being constantly neglected.
In May 1996 it came to an open conflict between the NMBS on the one side and the Flemish Parliament joined by the Flemish Minister-President Luc van der Brande on the other. Luc van der Brande even threatened to invoke a “conflict of interests “ at the federal government 210 .
The NMBS uses the following mechanism to avoid investments in Flanders: each time a new plan for ten years is launched, the investments in Flanders are planned in the second halve of those ten years, while the Walloon investments get the first five years. But usually, after five years, the plan is superseded by another, new plan, after most of the Walloon investments but before Flemish investments. The result is that Flanders don’t get much. An example of this was STAR21, that was supposed to run from 1991 until 2000, but was called of in 1995. The new plan is supposed to run from
1996 until 2005, and most of the investments in Flanders are planned after the year 2000, while most of the Walloon investments are planned before the turn of the century. If this plan too would be cancelled around 2000, Flanders won't have even seen much of the promised investments 211 .
There was definitely something wrong with the recognition of main axes by NMBS. Some of the important railroad axes that bring thousands of passengers to their work offices each day weren't recognized as main axes, while other railroads in Wallonia that hardly have any passengers at all were. In this logic, some necessary investments in Flanders were put aside, and moreover, to its own disadvantage, a lot of potential passengers were lost. Of course, as a national holding, the NMBS should indeed guarantee transport services in scarcely populated areas too, but it cannot justify the recognition of some of those Walloon main axes.
Fortunately, this problem was solved somehow and till now no new conflicts between Flanders and
NMBS have occurred.
SUMMING UP
There has always been a conflict between "La Flandre" and "La Wallonie". Like in the UK where you have Scotland and England, however, the differences are much bigger there. In Belgium the difference between these two parties is the language. Apart from that they have the same traditions and habits. They all have the same passport, like the same food and beer.
This conflict has a long history and it is a common knowledge that both factions dislike each other.
However, no one has ever been harmed because of it.
There have never been any real conflicts between Belgian (Walloon and Flemish) people, as opposed to conflicts between Belgian politicians. The best illustration for this is that even during the most heated episodes, no one has ever been killed or seriously injured in clashes connected with the linguistic conflict 212 . It suffices to consider similar situations in other countries (e.g. Yugoslavia,
Northern Ireland) to conclude that such peacefulness is not a common rule.
Another important issue is that because of this mix of cultures and languages Belgium became what it is today. Belgians are tolerant and flexible. They are open to external influences and unwilling to engage in offensive actions because they have many contacts with various cultures. This mix, in my opinion, resulted in the fact that Belgium has, since the Middle Ages, always been one of the richest and most developed regions in the world and Brussels has blossomed into the capital of Europe.
205 http://www.hrwf.net/newhrwf/html/b_n_minorities_Introduction.html.
206 http://www.worldcell.com/wrldrw/grw/country/belgium/14grw.html.
207 Hornblower M., Europe, in: Time International, 25.11.1991.
208 http://www.belgium.com/forums/showthread.php3?threadid=274.
209 http://www.expatica.com/belgimmain.asp?pad=98,400,&item_id=26545.
30
210 http://home.online.no/~vlaenen/flemish_questions/quste35.html.
211 Ibidem.
212 http://allserv.rug.ac.be/aquaculture/x-files/larvi95/htdocs/james/larvi/larvi958.htm.

Marta Majda, Katarzyna Gajda, Roman Łaboda
HUNGARY
HISTORY
Growth of a State
The Roman provinces of Pannonia and Dacia, conquered under Tiberius and Trajan (1st cent. A.D.), embraced part of what was to become Hungary. The Huns and later the Ostroghots and the
Avarssettled there for brief periods. In the late 9th cent. the Magyars, a Finno-Ugric people from beyond the Urals, conquered all or most of Hungary and Transylvania. The semilegendary leader,
Apard, founded their first dynasty. The Magyars apparently merged with the earlier settlers, but they also continued to press westward until defeated by King (later Holy Roman Emperor) Otto I, at the
Lechfeld (955).
Halted in its expansion, the Hungarian state began to solidify. Its first king, St. Stephen (reigned
1001–38), completed the Christianization of the Magyars and built the authority of his crown—which has remained the symbol of national existence—on the strength of the Roman Catholic Church. Under
Bela III (reigned 1172–1196), Hungary came into close contact with Western European, particularly
French, culture. Through the favor of succeeding kings, a few very powerful nobles—the magnates— won ever-widening privileges at the expense of the lesser nobles, the peasants, and the towns. In
1222 the lesser nobles forced the extravagant Andrew II to grant the Golden Bull (the “Magna Carta of Hungary”), which limited the king's power to alienate his authority to the magnates and established the beginnings of a parliament.
Hungary fell into anarchy, and when the royal line of Arpad died out (1301) with Andrew III, the magnates seized the opportunity to increase their authority.
In 1308, Charles Robert of Anjou was elected king of Hungary as Charles I, the first of the Angevin line. His autocratic rule checked the magnates somewhat and furthered the growth of the towns.
Under his son, Louis I (Louis the Great), Hungary reached its greatest territorial extension, with power extending into Dalmatia, the Balkans, and Poland.
Foreign Domination
In the long wars that followed in XVI century, Hungary was split into three parts: the western section, where Ferdinand and his successor, Rudolf II, maintained a precarious rule, challenged by such
Hungarian leaders as Stephen Bocskay and Gabriel Bethlen; the central plains, which were completely under Turkish domination; and Transylvania, ruled by noble families (see Báthory and Rákóczy).
The Protestant Reformation, supported by the nobles and well-established in Transylvania, nearly succeeded throughout Hungary. Cardinal Pázmány was a leader of the Counter Reformation in Hungary. In 1557 religious freedom was proclaimed by the diet of Transylvania, and the principle of toleration was generally maintained throughout the following centuries.
Hungarian opposition to Austrian domination included such extreme efforts as the assistance Thököly gave to the Turks during the siege of Vienna (1683). Budapest was liberated from the Turks in 1686.
In 1687, Hungarian nobles recognized the Hapsburg claim to the Hungarian throne. By the Peace of
Kalowitz (1699), Turkey ceded to Austria most of Hungary proper and Transylvania. Transylvania continued to fight the Hapsburgs, but in 1711, with the defeat of Francis II Rákóczy (see under
Rákóczy, family), Austrian control was definitely established. In 1718 the Austrians took the Banat from Turkey.
Hungary and Austria
The Austrians brought in Germans and Slavs to settle the newly freed territory, destroying Hungary's ethnic homogeneity. Hapsburg rule was uneasy. The Hungarians were loyal to Maria Theresa in her wars, but many of the unpopular centralizing reforms of Joseph II, who had wanted to make German the sole language of administration and to abolish the Hungarian counties, had to be withdrawn.
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
In the second quarter of the 19th cent. a movement that combined Hungarian nationalism with constitutional liberalism gained strength. Among its leaders were Count Szechenyi, Louis Kossuth, Baron
Eötvös, Sándor Petofi, and Francis Deak. Inspired by the French Revolution of 1848, the Hungarian diet passed the March Laws (1848), which established a liberal constitutional monarchy for Hungary under the Hapsburgs. But the reforms did not deal with the national minorities problem. Several minority groups revolted, and, after Francis Joseph replaced Ferdinand VII as emperor, the Austrians waged war against Hungary (Dec., 1848).
In Apr., 1849, Kossuth declared Hungary an independent republic. Russian troops came to the aid of the emperor, and the republic collapsed. The Hungarian surrender at Vilagos (Aug., 1849) was followed by ruthless reprisals. But after its defeat in the Austro-Prussian War (1866), Austria was obliged to compromise with Magyar national aspirations. The Ausgleich of 1867 (largely the work of
Francis Deak) set up the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, in which Austria and Hungary were nearly equal partners but the minorities problem persisted, the Serbs, Croats, and Romanians being particularly restive under Hungarian rule.
Hungary was one of the most aristocratic countries in Europe. As the military position of Austria-
Hungary in World War I deteriorated, the situation in Hungary grew more unstable. Hungarian nationalists wanted independence and withdrawal from the war; the political left was inspired by the
1917 revolutions in Russia; and the minorities were receptive to the Allies' promises of selfdetermination.
In November the emperor abdicated, and the Dual Monarchy collapsed.
Independence
Premier Károlyi (appointed in Oct. 1918) proclaimed Hungary an independent republic. However, the minorities would not deal with him, and the Allies forced upon him very unfavorable armistice terms.
The government resigned, and the Communists under Béla Kun seized power (Mar., 1919). The subsequent Red terror was followed by a Romanian invasion and the defeat (July, 1919) of Kun's forces. After the Romanians withdrew, Admiral Horthy de Nagybanya established a government and in 1920 was made regent, since there was no king. Reactionaries, known as White terrorists, conducted a brutal campaign of terror against the Communists and anyone associated with Károlyi or
Kun.
The Treaty of Trianon, signed in 1920, reduced the size and population of Hungary by about two thirds, depriving Hungary of valuable natural resources and removing virtually all non-Magyar areas, although Budapest retained a large German-speaking population. The next twenty-five years saw continual attempts by the Magyar government to recover the lost territories. Early endeavors were frustrated by the Little Entente and France, and Hungary turned to a friendship with Fascist Italy and, ultimately, to an alliance (1941) with Nazi Germany.
Between 1938 and 1944, Hungary regained, with the aid of Germany and Italy, territories from
Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania. It declared war on the USSR (June, 1941) and on the
United States (Dec., 1941). When the Hungarian government took steps to withdraw from the war and protect its Jewish population, German troops occupied the country (Mar., 1944). The Germans were driven out by Soviet forces (Oct., 1944–Apr., 1945). The Soviet campaign caused much devastation.
National elections were held in 1945 (in which the Communist party received less than one fifth of the vote), and a republican constitution was adopted in 1946. The peace treaty signed at Paris in 1947 restored the bulk of the Trianon boundaries and required Hungary to pay $300 million in reparations to the USSR, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. A new coalition regime instituted long-needed land reforms.
Communist Rule
Early in 1948 the Communist party, through its control of the ministry of the interior, arrested leading politicians, forced the resignation of Premier Ferenc Nagy, and gained full control of the state. Hungary was proclaimed a People's Republic in 1949, after parliamentary elections in which there was only
31

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] a single slate of candidates. Radical purges in the national Communist party made it thoroughly subservient to that of the USSR. Industry was nationalized and land was collectivized. The trial of
Cardinal Mindszenty aroused protest throughout the Western world.
By 1953 continuous purges of Communist leaders, constant economic difficulties, and peasant resentment of collectivization had led to profound crisis in Hungary. Premier Mátyás Rákosi, the Stalinist in control since 1948, was removed in July, 1953, and Imre Nagy became premier. He slowed down collectivization and emphasized production of consumer goods, but he was removed in 1955, and the emphasis on farm collectivization was restored. In 1955, Hungary joined the Warsaw Treaty Organization and was admitted to the United Nations.
On Oct. 23, 1956, a popular anti-Communist revolution, centered in Budapest, broke out in Hungary.
A new coalition government under Imre Nagy declared Hungary neutral, withdrew it from the Warsaw
Treaty, and appealed to the United Nations for aid. However, János Kádár, one of Nagy's ministers, formed a counter-government and asked the USSR for military support. In severe and brutal fighting
Soviet forces suppressed the revolution. Nagy and some of his ministers were abducted and were later executed. Some 190,000 refugees fled the country. Kádár became premier and sought to win popular support for Communist rule and to improve Hungary's relations with Yugoslavia and other countries. He carried out a drastic purge (1962) of former Stalinists (including Mátyás Rákosi), accusing them of the harsh policies responsible for the 1956 revolt. Collectivization, which had been stopped after 1956, was again resumed in 1958–59.
Kádár's regime gained a degree of popularity as it brought increasing liberalization to Hungarian political, cultural, and economic life. Economic reforms introduced in 1968 brought a measure of decentralization to the economy and allowed for supply and demand factors; Hungary achieved substantial improvements in its standard of living. Hungary aided the USSR in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. The departure (1971) of Cardinal Mindszenty from Budapest after 15 years of asylum in the U.S. legation and his removal (1974) from the position of primate of Hungary improved relations with the Catholic church. Due to Soviet criticism, many of the economic reforms were subverted during the mid-1970s only to be reinstituted at the end of the decade.
During the 1980s, Hungary began to increasingly turn to the West for trade and assistance in the modernization of its economic system. The economy continued to decline and the high foreign debt became unpayable. Premier Károly Grósz gave up the premiership in 1988, and in 1989 the Communist party congress voted to dissolve itself. That same year Hungary opened its borders with
Austria, allowing thousands of East Germans to cross to the West.
A Democratic Hungary
By 1990, a multiparty political system with free elections had been established; legislation was passed granting new political and economic reforms such as a free press, freedom of assembly, and the right to own a private business. The new premier, József Antall, a member of the conservative Hungarian
Democratic Forum who was elected in 1990, vowed to continue the drive toward a free-market economy. The Soviet military presence in Hungary ended in the summer of 1991 with the departure of the final Soviet troops. Meanwhile, the government embarked on the privatization of Hungary's state enterprises. Antall died in 1993 and was succeeded as prime minister by Péter Boross. Parliamentary elections in 1994 returned the Socialists (former Communists) to power. They formed a coalition government with the liberal Free Democrats, and Socialist leader Gyula Horn became prime minister.
Árpád Göncz was elected president of Hungary in 1990 and reelected in 1995. In 1998 Viktor Orbán of the conservative Hungarian Civic party became prime minister as head of a coalition government.
Hungary became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1999.
LANGUAGE
About 10 million people in Hungary, 1½ million in Rumania, and smaller minorities in Yugoslavia and
Slovakia speak Hungarian. It is one of the Finno-Ugric languages, which include Finnish, Estonian, and a number of languages spoken in the Russia. Most of these languages, however, belong to the
Finnic branch of this group, while Hungarian belongs to the Ugric. The only other existing Ugric languages, and thus the only other languages to which Hungarian is closely related, are the remote
Ostyak and Vogul languages of Siberia, spoken in an area more than 2,000 miles from Hungary.
As may be gathered from these facts, the original Hungarian people came from Asia, having long lived a nomadic life on the eastern slopes of the Urals. Forced to migrate westward between the 5th and 9th centuries A.D., they eventually reached the Danube where they settled in 896. In the more than a thousand years that have elapsed since that time the Hungarians have become completely
Europeanized, with only their language serving to reveal their Asian Origins.
The Hungarians call their language Magyar. It is considered extremely difficult for foreigners to learn, with its vocabulary largely from Asia and its grammar containing a number of complex features not to be found in other Western languages. The alphabet, however, is phonetic, with s pronounced sh (e.g., sör—beer), c pronounced ts (ceruza—pencil), sz pronounced 5 (szó—word), cs pronounced ch (csésze—cup), zs pronounced zh (zseb—pocket), and gy pronounced dy (nagy—big). The many vowel sounds in spoken Hungarian are indicated by acute accents, umlauts, and the unique double acute accent which appears over o and u (bo"r— skin, fu"—grass). The stress in Hungarian is always on the first syllable. The most important English word of Hungarian origin is coach, after the village of
Kocs (remember cs = ch), where coaches were invented and first used. Others are goulash and paprika.
CULTURE
Hungary has one of the finest folk traditions in Europe, producing excellent examples of embroidery, pottery, ceiling and wall painting, and objects carved from wood or bone.
The folk art of Hungary springs from a lively tradition of creativity found in many forms in the countryside. The spontaneous desire to delight and entertain, passed on from one generation to the next, in music, dance, crafts and costume is at the heart of Hungary's culture. And while in some places in the world you will see folk art confined only to the museum, in Hungary it is a living tradition. In several important areas, Hungarian folk art is admired world-wide.
The embroidery art of Mezökövesd (north-eastern Hungary) has a past of one and a half centuries.
The needle-women cover the whole surface of the material and the result of their work is the manycolored, shiny Matyó needlework, as well as the famous Matyó costumes. Another favourite embroidery centre is Kalocsa in the Great Plain region .
Pottery is another widespread folk-craft. Wedding were the most important occasion when people bought these attractive, decorated pottery dishes. The potters made the ornamental dishes especially wedding gifts, quite often painting the couple's name on-them.
Hungarian art and architecture is laced with Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau influences. Art Nouveau is a special local variation of the international Secession style reaching Hungary at the turn of the century.
When most people think of Hungarian music, they think of candle-lit cafés, chicken paprikas and cabbage rolls, pálinka (fruit brandy usually of plums) and a trio of musicians coming to their table playing syrupy violin music just for them.
Hungarian musical contributions are very rich. Hungary was the homeland of Franz Liszt, Béla
Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, whose music was inspired by the rich national folk traditions. In the 19th century Hungary produced its first important native-born composer, Ferenc Erkel, who composed the
Hungarian national anthem and the first Hungarian opera. Hungary is a highly musical country; its violinists and pianists are particularly celebrated virtuosi worldwide.
In fact, many of us heard a beautiful and stirring example of Hungarian Folk music from Transylvania in Márta Sebestyén's virtuosity in the "English Patient" themesong, "Szerelem, Szerelem" (Love,
Love), or in her work with Peter Gabriel and Deep Forest in "Marta’s Song." With the exception of the violin, the instruments can be quite primitive. The music surprises many, even in Hungary, for both its rhythmic nature and its Asian and Celtic feel.
Literature has been shaped by the monumental events of the nation's history, which have given rise
32

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] to odes, stirring poems of independence, courageous tales of realism, and strident polemic.
The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2002 was awarded to the Hungarian writer Imre Kertész “for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history".
Imre Kertész is a novelist, essayist, and translator, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in
2002. In his semiautobiographical novels Kertész has analyzed the experience of the individual during barbaric times, especially exemplified in the Holocaust. Kertész early prose exhibit existentialist traits but his works are difficult to classify within any stylistic trend.
FAITH
Hungarians tend to have a skeptical view of faith (some suggest this is why they have a high success rate in science and mathematics), but of those declaring religious affiliation, most would say they are Roman Catholic, Calvinist or Lutheran. The country also has a small Greek Catholic and
Orthodox population and a thriving Jewish community in Budapest.
HUNGARIAN HABITS
Hungarians are extremely fond of foreigners.
Most of Hungarians can't afford to travel abroad.
Hungarian name order is the same as the Japanese.
All names of all nations in the world (except Hungary and Japan) follow this order: family and surname. For example: John Smith and not Smith John. In Hungary and Japan you write it inversely:
Smith John.
Hungarians use different addressing of people (like in Japan).
Once again Japan - Hungary in the center of Europe and there are many theories why Hungarian culture has so many similar characteristics with the Japanese culture.
We can address people formally, informally, in a gentle form etc.
Hungarians aren't hungry....
It is considered very rude referring to a Hungarian with the word joke: Hungry. But it is no funny...
Hungarians generally understand Russian, however they deny that knowledge.
Russian language was compulsory in all type of schools throughout 40 years. No other choice was possible. This process is called the language colonization.
HUNGARIAN CUSINE
The Hungarians are hospitable people, always ready to offer guests delicious food and excellent wines. The country's unique cuisine has influences from the Central Asian Magyar founders of the nation, Turks, Germans, French, Austrians, Czechs, Slovaks, Serbians, and Croatians. The simple agrarian and shepherd lifestyles of the Great Hungarian Plain and mountains have also helped to shape the country's unique dishes. While many popular restaurants in Hungary have adapted their cooking to today's lighter style of eating, traditional Hungarian cuisine is for those with hearty appetites.
The traditional Hungarian dishes abound in piquant flavours and aromas. Dishes are flavourful, spicy and often rather heavy. Flavours of Hungarian dishes are based on centuries old traditions in spicing and preparation methods. Paprika and garlic is to be found everywhere. In the autumn, a fascinating view is the strings of red paprika hung on the white walls of the houses in the neighbourhood of Kalocsa, a town along the Danube.
A Hungarian style of cooking is very particular. Generally, basic dishes consist of fatty meat (pork is generally preferred) or fish. These include: pörkölt (stew, and what everyone calls 'goulash' abroad); gulyás (a thickish beef soup); and halászlé (spicy fish soup cooked with paprika). To the famous
Hungarian specialities belong: jokai bableves (bean soup), hideg gyumolcsleves (cold fruit soup made from sour cherry) or palacsinta (stuffed crepes) All these dishes perfectly match various types of
Hungarian wines.
Paprica, Salami, Goulash...
Paprika
Like all capsicums, the paprika varieties are native to South America. Originally a tropical plant, it can now grow in cooler climates. In Europe Hungary and Spain are the two main centres for growing paprika peppers, though these varieties have evolved into much milder forms than their tropical ancestors. Hungarian paprika is known as stronger and richer than Spanish paprika.
In Hungary there as six classes ranging from Kulonleges (exquisite delicate) to Eros (hot and pungent). Commercial food manufacturers use paprika in cheeses, processed meats, tomato sauces, chili powders and soups. Its main purpose is to add colour. If a food item is coloured red, orange or reddish brown and the label lists ‘Natural Colour’, it is likely paprika.
As Paprika is commonly cultivated in Hungary, it is sometimes called “Hungarian Pepper,” or “Pimenta” or “Pimento.” Although it is know to be ‘not’ spicy, there is actually a very spicy one or moderately spicy one in Europe. It is used for tinning, stufood olive, Pimento cheese, pickles, meat source, and dressing. It is also applied to make seasonings for soup, egg dish, vegetable dish, ketchup, and chilly source for fish, beef, and chicken meat.
Hungarian Salami
Like the best European salamis, Hungarian Salami forms a harmless white mold on the casing as it ages. The mold is a sign that the salami is fully developed, at the peak of its flavor. Before serving, simply peel away and discard the casing with the mold.
Made from the cuts of pork, the meat is finely ground, aged naturally, then seasoned to be fullflavored - spicy but not hot.
Unavailable – FDA (US) is currently refusing import of this product due to high Bacteria levels!
HUNGARIAN WINES
The Romans brought the first vine-shoots to this fertile land of the Carpathian Basin, and they established the first vineyards in Szerémség, Baranya, Tolna, the Buda Hills and Lake.
The cities of Sopron, Pozsony, Kőszeg, and of course Buda passed severe regulations in protection of their own wines, banning the import and selling of foreign wines. Before the 150-year occupation of the Turks many varieties of Italian and French grapes were brought in, as well as the custom of producing so-called ürmös csemegebor, or vermouth. The Turks brought the Kadarka grape, later widely grown, to the Szekszárd region by the Serbs persecuted. The Turks also destroyed the famous
Szerémség vineyards. In the Turkish era the Eger white grapes were replaced by red types and in time the Hungarians learnt how to make red wines from the Serbs.
Hungarian wines have earned a reputation for high quality, garnering first prizes in a number of international competitions. Wine connoisseurs are familiar with the most famous of Hungary's wines - the sweet white Tokaji Aszú and strong red Bull's Blood (Egri Bikavér). Hungary boasts 20 wineproducing districts which make a wide range of wines, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris,
Merlot, Riesling, Chardonnay, sparkling, rosé and other unique Hungarian varieties.
Tokaj-What's in a name
A lot of people ask for the correct spelling and pronunciation of Tokaj and some people use a y instead of j. Here is the final word:
Tokaj - Hegyalja - tok-eye hedge-alya is the wine region.
Tokaj - pronounced - tok-eye is the main town of the region
When you say Tokaji (pronounced tok-eye-ee) actually means 'of Tokaj'. So you would not use it alone but with the grape variety or type of wine eg. Tokaji Furmint ,Tokaji Harslevelu or the botyrised wine which is known as Tokaji Aszu.
With the accession of Hungary into the EU the Tokaji name will be exclusively the right of Tokaji
33

winemakers as from 2007. But as the Hungarian wine industry is slowly exposed to the demands of a market economy the traditional protection of the Tokaj trading house is being lifted.
ITALY
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
History and Regionalism
Italian Republic in its present shape of parliamentary democracy is a very young entity created on the base of the constitution elaborated in 1947 and formally introduced on 1 st January 1948. The past of Italy is very complex and as a united nation and country it exists only from 1820. Before, since the fall of Western Roman Empire the Italian peninsula was scattered into small pieces, and was under the huge influence of Church State and very often dominated by French, Austria, Spain and even Arabs.
Beginning from 1200 some of the cities of centre-north lived great economic development and were able to refuse the authority of pope and emperor that then competed on European political scene.
From that time a new form of independent local governance has taken its beginning and was named
“Comune”. The very first cities that ruled by themselves were Venice, Pisa and Genoa. These cities participated in vivid marine trade with other countries of Mediterranean and of East and because of that they were called marine republics. Also Milan, Florence, Bologna became important centres thanks to trade. Some of those republics stayed independent till the end of XVIII century.
After the Vienna congress Italy was divided into many principalities and Holy See lands 213 but already in 1820 the unification move was started to finish finally the dependence of Italy from other powers.
The aphevals take place in Turin, Milan, Naples and Palermo against the occupants but being not coordinated and they did not bring expected results until the diplomatic efforts of Camillo Cavour and military actions of Giuseppe Garibaldi that put together brought finally the unification of Italy under the reign of first Italian king Vittorio Emmanuele II di Savoia. The process of unification was completed in 1870 when last but not least, great Italian city, Rome was incorporated into new state. At this time, the Italian Government was faced with the dilemma of administrative centralisation or decentralisation. In those days 'Piedmontisation', i.e., the hurried extension of Piedmont legislation to the newly annexed Italian regions, was resented in the North as well as in the South, although perhaps not to the same degree. The Piedmontese and the Lombards were different peoples with very different political-historical experiences, and so were the Tuscans, Emilians, Sicilians, Neapolitans etc. Only
2.5% of the population knew Italian at the time of Unification, a figure that includes the Tuscans, upon whose dialect (toscano-fiorentino) the national language was based.
214 Despite growing resentment in the country against Piedmontisation and Cavour view of the intensive centralisation as illiberal, expensive and inefficient for the Italian ruling class at the time was of great worth to 'harmonise' regional differences to avoid the danger that Italy might fall apart if a uniform administrative system was not quickly imposed on the whole kingdom. Finally the Italian government passed a Law in 1865
(Law N. 2248) which introduced a rigid prefectorial system along Napoleonic lines.
Italy stayed a united kingdom until second world war. In 1943 in the middle of the war south of Italy was administrated by Americans and north of the country became Republic of Salò governed by fascist allies of Germany. Finally on 25 chy) 215 th April 1945 Italy was liberated and in 1946 in referendum
Italians have chosen republic for the political system (12.700.000 for republic, 10.600.000 for monar-
. King Umberto di Savoia was sent to exile to Portugal accused of cooperation with Germans and to the power came the anti-fascists parties which supported the idea of a very democratic administrative decentralisation. However, in need of compromise with The Socialist and Communist Parties which were in particular suspicious of any form of federalism, the mentioned 1947 Constitution established the regions as administrative entities with limited legislative powers. Most of these 20 administrative regions are based on traditional borders of former principalities and independent cities together with the Napoleon division. Some of the regions though have been created due to recognition of their growing importance and also in consideration of their ethnic minorities or separatist tendencies.
These are approved in February 1948 4 autonomous, special regions: Valle d’Aosta, Trentino-Alto
Adige, Sicily and Sardinia plus established only in 1963 Friuli-Venezia Giulia. They all have their statute agreed by the constitution and this way they are more independent in their decisions from Rome government.
216 The regions are divided into 104 provinces and then in 10.122 communities. There are also some historical regions created thru the centuries that are not included in the administrative division but still they have their place in the consciousness of Italians i.e. Brianza in Lombardy, le
Langhe and il Monferrato in Piedmont, la Garfagana and la Maremma in Tuscany, la Ciociaria in Lazio and il Cilento in Campania 217 .
Regionalism and Economy Today
Conspicuous and increasing regional differences are possibly the major feature of the Italian economy and of its employment pattern. During the 1980s the unemployment rate in the south climbed from twice to three times that of north-central regions. In 1991 the south accounted for 37 per cent of the country’s population but only for one quarter of its GDP and had an unemployment rate close to 20 per cent as opposed to about 9.6 per cent in the centre and 5.1 per cent in the north.
218
At the time of Italian unification in 1861, the north already had already had a fairly developed agriculture, communications infrastructure and network of linkages with western European markets, and a tradition of independent enterprises that enabled it to join the Industrial Revolution. The south was removed from the main commercial axes and had been subjected for centuries to an exploitative foreign occupation that had left it with impoverished land, a patchwork of large estates and tiny plots, a feudal-type social set-up and a population understandably suspicious of change, foreigners and the legal order. Post war reconstruction saw resources channelled disproportionally to the north, although about 5 per cent of its industry had been destroyed, as opposed to one-third in the south) in order to get industrial apparatus back into operation, in the expectation that it could become the engine of growth of the whole country. The results were disappointing though, as the gap between northern and southern regions kept widening in terms of all relevant economic indicators: per capita income, share of employment in industry and services (as opposed to agriculture), productivity and employment opportunities were all markedly lower in the south. Only its population growth was considerably higher. A survey organized in 1951-52 to ascertain the level of poverty in Italy (measured by consumption and hygiene) found that in the south 20 per cent of the people were living in destitution and 20 per cent in hardship, while in the north these percentages were, respectively, 1.5 and 4.3.
Since 1975, even the partial gains of earlier years in terms of reduced disparities between 219 north and south have been eroded. At the turn of the 1990s, the productivity gap between northern and southern firms was striking. In industry, the latter needed to invest about 40 per cent more to produce the equivalent output, partly due to a labour productivity 75-80 per cent lower than the north and a mere 5 per cent of the national R&D effort concentrated in the south, partly to less efficient public administration and partly to markedly less developed economic infrastructures. Law productivity expectations in turn discourage local and external investments and entrepreneurship, producing a vicious circle that is hard to break.
Table below shows that the proportion of employment in agriculture has been rapidly declining in the country, but remains considerably higher and is declining less rapidly in the south. However, within the south itself there exist multiple economic and employment gaps. That occurs not only in agriculture, but also in other sectors. The Bari commune, for instance, constitutes a remarkable pole of
213 As shown on the map 1 taken from “In Italia”, red. Picot Cassidy, Chancerel International.
214 Bull, A., “Regionalism in Italy”, EUROPA no2 art 4, 1996.
215 “In Italia”, red. Picot Cassidy, Chancerel International Publishers Ltd., London, 1996.
34
216 Please see the statute of region Friuli-Venezia Giulia attached.
217 R. Belford, Południowe Włochy. Praktyczny przewodnik, Pascal 1993
218 L. de Luca, M. Bruni , “Unemployment and labour market flexibility: Italy”, International Labour Office,
Geneva 1993.
219 L. de Luca, M. Bruni , “Unemployment and labour market flexibility: Italy”, International Labour Office,
Geneva 1993.

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] dynamism and is home, among others, to a cluster of some 20 high-technology enterprises specializing in research and innovation, which some are already calling the Italian “Silicon Valley”; in that same region, however, there are communes in deep recession, such as Brindisi and Taranto , where large steel and chemical plants are concentrated.
220
Employment share by sector, north/centre and south Italy, 1951-91 (percentages)
1951 1981 1991 sector north/centre south north/centre south north/centre south
Agriculture 37.6 56.6 9.2 22.5 5.8 14.6
Industry 33.9 20.1 41.6 27.3 35.6 23.5
Services 28.3 23.1 49.2 50.1 58.5 61.9
The first regional distinction concerns demographic trends. A clear population decline emerged in almost all northern regions between 1980 and 1990, while in the centre and south the trend was still upward. Italy has now the lowest fertility rate and one of the longest life expectancies in the world – the number of children under 14 has been declining while that of elderly people (aged 70 and above) has been increasing. Both phenomena are more evident in the centre-north than in the south.
As regards unemployment 221 , although it increased nationwide until the end of the 1980s, that trend was much more pronounced in southern regions, where between 1980 and 1990 it increased by 94.2 per cent, against 17.5 per cent in the north. Since the late 1980s geography has become the most incisive divide in the segmented Italian labour market, dominating the two other traditional divides of sex and age.
222
Italy has made a substantial change in its economic policy in the 1990’s. The previous decade was characterized by the constant privatisation, beginning in 1992, when prime minister G. Amato was forced to suspend Italy’s participation in the European Monetary System (so called currency snake) and devaluate the lire deeply. The crisis of 1992 profoundly undermined the rules of Italian economic policy. It proved that one cannot increase public debt continuously and limitations in public expenditure and privatisation of state owned enterprises are crucial for economic development. The liberalization process was accompanied by the administration reform. Central government authorities began to delegate their powers to local governments. Despite the fact that the whole process was initiated as early as in the 1970s, practical delegation of powers to lower levels of governments began in the middle of the 1990s, partly because of new guidelines of European Union’s regional policy. Nevertheless, in the OECD Trade Committee Report of 2001 Italian bureaucracy is thoroughly criticized. Inefficient institutions and complicated, time-consuming legal procedures were mentioned among the most important disincentives for foreign investors.
223
Recognizing the persistant differentiation effects of neglecting and destructive influence of Arabs and
Spaniards rules in the South contrasting with entrepreneurship and state of law spirit left by French and Austrians in the North the first serious governmental attempt to promote economic and social development in the region occurred already in the first decade of the twentieth century. The plan failed and the next attempt was made in the 50’s by establishing Cassa per Opere Straordinarie di
Pubblico Interesse nell'Italia Meridionale , better known as the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno. This meant not only the land reform but then also a shift in regional policy from promoting agriculture to promoting industrial development. Unfortunately the State has decided to rely on public sector, capital intensive and heavy industrial, which together with the energy crisis in 1970’s and steel over production throughout Europe resulted in a failure which only underlined the gap between two parts of the country. In 1984 the Cassa was abolished after being widely criticized and the new law left to the regions to formulate and implement their own development plans as the intervention was to be this
220 Ibidem.
221 Please refer also to map 3 taken from “Second Progress Report on Cohesion”, EU Regional Policy, January 2003
222 T. Bartoszewicz , “Italy in the eyes of OECD”, IKiCHZ, Warszawa 2001
223 www.oecd.org
35 way more effective as the regions were more familiar with local conditions, needs and resources.
At the same time the policy of EU was slowly implemented. In fact Italians are quite keen on UE and integration. Some of them feel more European than Italian (but always and first of all they are attached to their region). For example Umberto Bossi stated in his autobiography: 'What is the meaning of having frontiers between Piedmont and Savoie, or South Tyrol and Austria? Their ethnicity is substantially identical, from a naturalistic point of view. From a socio-cultural point of view [...] nothing unites Trentino or Lombardy with Calabria or Campania. Therefore I say: why not replace the fixed frontiers and the centralism typical of unitary States with a more articulated system, characterised by a plurality of institutional centres each with specific and limited responsibilities? Why not eliminate, in other words, the rigid frontiers between very similar realities, as for example Lombardy and Baviera, while introducing separate decision-making centres, each with real autonomy, in different realities which were arbitrarily unified, such as the North and South of Italy?' tional cooperation which may be perceived as a step backward.
224 However, this still seems to be an utopia, as European Union’s regional policy that aimes not only at interregional but also at tradi-
Italy does benefit form EU structural funds (as a relatively rich country it is excluded from the Cohesion Fund) but the streams of EU assistance do not flow equally in all the regions.
225 Despite all the efforts, the south, being the biggest beneficent of EU funds, remains underdeveloped when comparing to EU averages. One of the possible reasons of this situation may be a fact that mafia structures attract substantial amount of EU money (about 20% of the whole amount sent to Italy) 226 .
La Mafia
In fact it said that you cannot understand Italy if you do not understand mafia.
227 Mafia, N’dranghetta and Camorra – whatever we name organized crime in Sicily, Calabria and Naples – is one of very few phenomena so often misunderstood and misinterpreted. The atmosphere of secret around mafia results partly from the promise of silence, omerta, obligatory to all, who had any, even incidental, contact with mafia.
Mafia as an object, as a noun does not exist. According to mafia expert, Pino Artacchi, to behave in a
‘mafia way’ means to be respected, to be a man of honour. There are two basic cultural features explaining why mafia was born in the south of Italy. Firstly, this culture pays great attention to respect, aggression and domination.
228 Silent, calm, naive people may become saint after death, but in the present life they are regarded as fools. The second important feature is attitude towards the state
– people do not trust the government and find it limitates their independence and the autonomy of the family, which may result from frequent invasions in the past. Etymology of the word mafia itself leaves many uncertainities, but it is believed from Arabic mu’afah – security. It can be found first in the documents dating from the reunification period, which plays important role in the analysis of
Italian state.
Initially, mafia acted as a mediator in social conflicts. By the end of the ninetieth century it has already developed ethic code and a semi-formal organizational structure, which are still valid. Each mafia family owes the name of the village where originates from, or the name of the city which rules.
Above all the families stands the so called commission, grouping representatives of all major mafia groups.
According to Francis Fukuyama 229 Italian mafia is the example of an “amoral familiaralism” characteristic for the societies with very law social capital that means with very law level of trust. He believes that Italy as the country that is characterised by highly developed family bounds that take place of the medium level administration and reduce the tendency to creating the local organizations and social movements. He recognizes though regional differences and so he promotes the idea of Terza
224 U.Bossi, , “ Vento dal Nord. La mia Lega la mia vita” , Milan, Sperling and Kupfer,1992, pp. 161-62
225 Please see Map 4 taken from “Second Progress Report on Cohesion”, EU Regional Policy, January 2003
226 Lecture by prof. Jacek Szlachta at Warsaw School of Economic: EU structural policy.
227 R. Belford, Południowe Włochy. Praktyczny przewodnik, Pascal 1993
228 Ibidem.
229 Francis Fukuyama “Trust: social capital and road to prosperity”, Wyd. Naukowe PWN, 1997 Warszawa

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Italia i.e. Emilia Romagna together with Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Venetto, Friuli and Trentino as opposed to rich triangle Milan, Turin, Genua and mafia’s Mezzogiorno. And so he claims that South of
Italy is dominated by mentioned pathological familiarism where an individual is worth as much as his or hers family and the good of the family is the most important value. There are little local organizations, clubs, associations etc. and people has very low belief in law obedience of their neighbours.
The society is bond by religion and competition among families not by solidarity between entities, families and local governments.
230 Fukuyama believes this is due to three historical reasons. First is supposed to be the influence of quite long lasting Kingdom of Sicily and Naples ruled by Normans in autocratic and feudalistic way, especially in times of Frederic II. Then it was the role of Church that profound these feudalistic tendencies and finally is the way region was unified i.e by forced centralization as opposed to slow unification of decentralized republics and principalities of North. Fukuyama even says that South Italy and Sicily are the examples of delinquent economy as isolated and criminal in its kind as for example Russia or big cities’ ghettos in USA.
***
Although very critical about Mezzogiorno, Fukuyama praises Terza Italia as a region of close familiar cooperation but not connected with criminal practices, rather creating small elastic enterprises (that gather themselves in extremely effective networks and clusters!) new technologies.
232
231 , export oriented, and eager to use
Terza Italia and North familiarism is based on healthy society values and traditions developed during times of republics but make Italians unable to create spontaneously really big companies. (Familarism also determiantes some of business behaviours like dinning and wining with clients, need of good and warm relation with partners based very much on trust, and hierarchy and title satutus meaning through society). These are usually based in North and almost always are state owned, controlled or at least influenced (FIAT, Enel, Banca di Lavoro, Emichem, Banca Commerciale
Italiana, Olivetti). It is amazing that Italy having GDP 4 times greater than for example Switzerland,
Sweden or Netherlands has the same number of big companies!
As we can see the socio-economic development remains uneven. The North/South divide is, as we can see, highly relevant, but there are also differences between the other regions. Back in the 1970
'three Italies' were identified in terms of social and economic structures: the industrial, urban-centred and large-firms-dominated North-West; the newly developed, still semi-rural, small-firms-dominated
North-Eastern and Central regions; and the under-developed South 233 . Only to give some more data we can quote a study promoted by the Regional Council of the Veneto Region shows that between
1985 and 1990 four Northern regions, Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna paid 45% of national taxes, 62% of VAT, and 63.5% of local taxes. They were given by the State 33.9% of the funds redistributed to local and regional governments.
234
From these, indeed huge, differences, highly unfair, especially in the eyes of the inhabitants and tax payers of rich North, came the federalism of the Italian Northern League Party ( Lega Nord). The
League's secessionist aspirations and its openly-held conviction that Northern and Southern Italy represent two distinct and non-converging societies which ought to be free to go it alone. The
League's position presupposes the total rejection of the Italian Fathers' aspirations to achieve complete unity through the creation of a common people. What League wants is the Federal State that would be responsible only for foreign affairs, defence, justice, general finance and higher education.
The emphasis was on the creation of a Northern Republic made up of Lombardy, Piedmont, Venetia,
Liguria, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, represented in the party literature as the most socially advanced part of Italy, governed and 'oppressed' by the Southern-dominated State bureaucracy and party system.
Paradoxically, the revival of federalist/ethnic sentiments has taken place at a time when Italy has reached a high degree of cultural homogeneity, not least from a linguistic point of view. Apart from minority ethnic groups, linguistic unification is now an accomplished reality. Census results indicate that Italian is now prevailing, although the dialects have not disappeared at all. Most people can speak both Italian and a dialect, and the percentage of people who speak only or mainly Italian is constantly growing (some may say that it is thanks mainly to Italian TV). But only in the 1950’s in most of the regions only dialects were spoken. There are more dialects than regions, in fact sometimes in every city different dialect is spoken. And this way for example in Tuscany different is language spoken in Pisa, Florence, Massa, Livorno, Viareggio, Lucca, Siena 235 as slightly different sauces are made in different regions to be eaten with famous pasta.
Regional Cuisine
Italian cuisine belongs to most popular ones in the world. Although regional differences have become less visible, they have not disappeared completely. French influence is particularly strong in Piedmont, the Austrian in Alto-Adige and the Greek in Calabria. Nevertheless, Italians managed to defend from cuisine globalisation and they find exotic in the differences between the regions. Every Italian believes Italian cuisine is the best in the world and his ‘mamma’ is the best chef (‘mamma’ is the most important person in the world for many men in Italy and thus she is always right), many restaurants are small family enterprises. The most distinctive pattern of Italian cuisine is its celebration. Dinner, for instance, begins with antipasto, which is followed by risotto or pasta, than fish or meat, cheese and finally fruits or coffee. Even food shopping is treated seriously and little shops or street markets are preferred to big department stores. Therefore bread, cold cuts and cheese are still produced mostly by small manufacturers. The rule is that the more south you go the heavier, crispier and more salty the bread is although in all regions it ‘pane senza sale’ (no salt bread) is often served with salty salami, cold cuts and cheese.
236
Regional Italian cuisines 237 :
Abruzzo and Molise
The most commonly served pasta in this region is maccaroni alla difarre, long serpentines with tomatoes or pecorino sauce or with lamb meat. Abruzzo cusine is characteristic for spicy and strong tastes
– spaghetti al’aglio, olio e peperoncini are the favorite dishes.
Umbria and Marche
Important elements of Umbrian cuisine are mushrooms, wild meat and birds but above all pork meat in the form of ham, sausages, salami and the famous porchetta. Perugia city is well known for Biscuits and chocolate.
Campania
Original pizza, baked in wood-heated ovens was born in Naples but there is no pizza Napoletana. The most typical one is called Marinara and includes tomatoes, garlic, basil but no sea food as you could juge by the name. Street restaurants offer also calzone – pizza filled with ham, cheese and vegetables. Pasta with tomato sauce was also invented in Naples but in typical Naples sauces garlic, onion and parmesan do not go together. Northern Campania and Naples region traditionally produce other
Italian speciality, mozzarella. Among the most delicious desserts Naples offer sfogliatelle filled with orange skin and ricotte as well as Easter pastiera.
Calabria and Basilicata
Calabrian cuisine is very similar to Campanian one. Greek influence can be recognized through aubergine use and sweets containing figs, almonds and honey. Basilicata, a very poor region with little population, attracts with simple cheap products, pasta, tomatoes, bread, olives and pork meat. Peppers and ginger that cannot be found anywhere else in the country are their flag products.
230 This idea in fact was taken from work of Robert Putman “Making Democracy Work: Civic traditions in modern Italy”.
231 Lecture of dr hab T. Dolegowski: Globalizacja i regionalizacja w gospodarce swiatowej.
232 Interesting idea in comparison with map 5 taken from “Second Progress Report on Cohesion”, EU Regional Policy, January 2003.
233 Bagnasco, A., Tre Italie. La problematica territoriale dello sviluppo italiano , Bologna, Il Mulino, 1977.
234 Bull A., Regionalism in Italy, EUROPA no2 art 4, 1996.
36
235 I know from my own experience –Maria Zgondek.
236 R. Belford,Południowe Włochy. Praktyczny przewodnik, Pascal 1993
237 R. Belford, Południowe Włochy. Praktyczny przewodnik, Pascal 1993 & R. Belford, Połnocne Włochy. Praktyczny przewodnik, Pascal
1993

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Apulia
Apulia is described as a land of grapes and a lake of wine. Regional wines and olive oil are highly valued. The typical products are breads, pasta and sea food. People in Apulia love pasteurizing vegetables, for instance tomatoes are dried, salted or boiled and bottled, while mushrooms and aubergines are poured with oil and aceto. Pork meat is the most preferred there while seaside towns Bari,
Tarento and Brindizio tempt with excellent seafood.
Sicilia
One can distinguish numerous foreign influences in Sicilian Cusine: Greek, Arab, Spanish, Norman.
Cassate ice cream and delicious sweet pasta with sweet ricotta poured with chocolate made Sicilia famous for sweet tastes. Foreign elements can be found in kuskus salad with oranges. Also wonderful
Sicilian cheese cannot be forgotten; provolone, ricotta, pecorino.
Piedmont
In this region connections with France are clearly visible. We may try there fondutta that is almost the same as French fondue and in general butter and cream are added to any dish. As in the whole
North Italy olives and tomatoes are rarely known and its is only in big cities where the Southern cuisines and recipes can be tried as they were brought there by many southern immigrants. The
Piedmont speciality are the truffles, especially from Alba city. As they are awfully expensive, only few thin plasters of them are added to traditional pasta or risotto.
Liguria
Geographically this region belongs to North but its climate and long sea side aboundant in fishes and sea food make it much Mediterrenian in tastes to encounter. The symbol of Genoa is pesto, green sauce made of garlic, basil, pine nuts, pecorino and parmegiano that can be eaten with pasta or anything else you wish. The cheese in that sauce comes from Sicily and indicates the old connections between those regions. Other Ligurian favourite food is farinata, something between cake and pizza made from Italian peas. Also very widespread in Italy bread foccacia and sweet bread pandolce come from Liguria.
Lombardy
Lomabrdy’s cuisine is not homegenous. Everywhere a lot of rice and polenta is eaten (Lombardy and
Italy produces greatest amounts of rice in Europe) but the sub-Alps areas have heavier cuisine that
Milan and Pad valley. Milan is known for its great veal recipes and for sweets. In fact, panettone and biscotti are the most popular eaten sweets in Italy that first one usually is served during Christmas.
Most famous cheeses come also from Lombardy, only to mention Gorgonzola, Mascarpone, Bel Paese or Grana Padano (similar to Parmegiano).
Friuli – Venezia Giulia
This region competes with Lombardy for a name of risotto specialist but Veneti itself can attract with unique and exotic fish dishes where raisins, almonds and other sweet fruits are added. From this part of Italy takes its origin raddichio - red salad and wonderful dessert called tiramisu. Some influence of
Yugoslavian cuisines can be recognized as well.
Trident –Alto Adige
As name indicates this region consists of different ones that have also two diverse cuisines. Alto
Adige is widely influenced by Austrian cooking style and offers German sounding food like speck (kind of dried ham), knodel, sauerkraut while in Trident reigns more Italian style. The best thing to try in
Trident are gnocchi (type of fresh pasta with addition of cheese) and typical north polenta.
Emilia –Romagna
Cuisine of Emilia –Romagna is considered to be the best and the richest one in Italy. Parmigiano,
Aceto Balsamico di Modena, Prosciuto di Parma are only few flag products of this area that became flag products of Italian export. From this region also come, so popular abroad, dishes like lasagna, pasta alla Bolognese, tortellini, ravioli, etc. The dishes are always rich, aboundant in meat, tomatoes
238 “Spirits and Liquors in Europe”, Consumer Goods Intelligence, Market Research by MINTEL, 2002.
37 and olive but not too aromatic.
Tuscany
This cuisine has influenced whole Italy with its simplicity. Meat in here is often prepared with almost no spices. Pasta is often served only with Parmigiano and butter (al bianco). Plenty of spinach, ricotta and Italian peas is eaten as well as fresh prepared pasta. The most typical dish is minestre, very dense soup and sweet panforte from Siena. Tuscany next to Sicily is known for best olive oil.
Lazio
Lazio is dominated by Rome also in cuisine and is as simple as in Tuscany. Most commonly served is penne pasta with huge variety of sauces: all’amatricana (bacon, pork meat, tomatoes), all’arabiata
(tomatoes and little spicy chillies), alla carbonara (cream, egg, bacon). From vegetables aubergines, zucchini, carcioffi should be mentioned and from cheese ricotta, pecorino romano and provetura.
Coffee in Italy, no matter what region, is drunken at any time as tea in Great Britain. Italian start their morning and their evenings with espresso coffee, usually in numerous bars (the coffee is always good!) and by the counter (al banco). Having a coffee is also a way of socializing, having a chat with neighbours or colleagues form work. At home also everybody has a coffee maker, at least one that makes mocca coffee. Capuccino, another famous Italian coffee drink is also given to children for example for mentioned merenda.
Wine is served to every meal in Italy. Drinking in Italy doesn’t have bad meaning. In fact people do not go out to drink something but to meet friends and show off their ”bella figura”. To get drunk would be thought as something unfortunate and a silly accident. In reality there is even no such a word in Italian that directly means hang-over. People drink most of all mineral water and wine, more and more popular is becoming beer and soft drinks and as always fruit juices.
238
There are plenty of sorts of wine in Italy. Italians Created DOC system – Denominazione d’Orgine
Controllata which guarantees that the wine is produced in a certain region and according to the traditional regional standards. Nevertheless, it is not a system of quality standards and is meant to promote regional wines. However, DOC introduction did contribute to quality improvement.
Piedmont is regarded to be the best together with Tuscany, wine producer. The most famous wines are Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera (the most expensive) but the most commonly drunk wines are made of sweet delicate grapes, particular young and lightly chilled Dolcetto d’Alba. The most famous one is the sparkling Asti Spumante (sparkling). The three north-eastern regions Alto Adige, Venetia-Frulia and Veneto developed production of typical French and German wine e.g. Merlot, Cabernet, Pinot
Grigio, Rieslieng. Wine sorts in Europe: Bandolino, Valpolicelle come from Verona neighbourhood and taste the better, the closer to the region they were produced. Tuscany though leads in wine industry with its flag (and export) product– Chianti. The two other famous red wines from Tuscany - Brunello di Montalciano and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano belong to the most expensive wines in Italy. The two popular white ones are Vernaccia di San Geminiano and the refreshing Galestro. Tuscany is also known for Vin Santo, sweet strong wine, drunk together with biscuits for the ‘merenda’ that is Italian
‘five o’clock’. Lazio, Umbria and Marche are excellent in production of white dry wines. Wine from
Lazio is produced mainlu on the hills surrounding Rome. In the South, apart form few sorts, wine do not hold a good image. The typical southern region is Apulia that ‘exports’ grapes north to strengthen regional wines. What is interesting the best wines in Italy are not exported but consumed with pleasure and care in Italy.
Culture
There are not so many national holidays in Italy, but there are lots of local celebrations that tighten together local and regional communities. Days of saints are usually a perfect excuse for having a lot of fun . All cities, towns and villages have their local saint and organize musical and artistic events for his or hers holiday which are rather a reminiscence of theatre plays than en religious events. Every

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] reason is good for festa, anniversaries of historical events, legendary miracles, presentation of works of local artist, etc. Most of them take place during Easter, May, September and about Ferragosto (15 th
August). The most famous is the carnival in Venezia or Livorno which is competing with great Sicilian feasts.
The most common local traditions in Italy are, sometimes very spectacular, religious processions.
Majority of them dates back from non-Christian times when they were the celebrations of important dates in astronomic calendar and then they were modified and accepted by Church. A well-known example of such a procession is organized in Cocullo in Abruzia mountains on 6 th May – Sante Domenica Abate when the statue surrounded by snakes id carried in the town. Obviously the Good Friday is also a day of numerous processions. In many towns and villages figures of crucified Christ are carried in the streets, followed by people singing religious songs. Other ritual feast are of less religious character. In Gubbio on May 5 th , there is a crazy race around San Ubaldo church with 8 meter long wooden sticks. Around 22 lamps along the streets.
239 nd June in Nola next to Naples 8 enormous lilies are carried with little lit
The number of Catholics in Italy decreases but there is still a great interest in all the holidays and feast like that and particularly in food festivals (Città delle Pieve in Umbria, or Orvietto) and pilgrimages. The last ones are not only religious but also social events. Some of them are more important to
Italians than to Christians in general. For example the Sanctuary of Madonna di Polsi in Aspromonte
Mountains in Calabria is visited in September by almost million pilgrims yearly.
240
Besides food, wine and fun Italians have three more passions. Cars, football and women.
When it comes to women Italians bad reputation concerning their attitude towards women does reflect reality. On the whole, the more to the south we move, the worse it is.
241 A woman that is alone or travelling on her own or in the company of other women may expect to be picked up by men. Or at least whistled off and called bambola (doll, baby) on the street. However, a woman is not and object but a subject in Italian culture. Judging by the role of Saint Mary the Virgin in religion, women are regarded to be predistinated to be mothers. Strict rules which used to be obeyed in the
North still are obeyed in the South. Marriage and motherhood are treated as synonyms. The level of emancipation depends on the region. The highest is in North and in Milan (which is in fact the economic capital of Italy) where it is similar to Western Europe standards while in Calabria, Basilicata and
Sicily it is the lowest. Rome is said to be still more south orientated in this aspect than North.
Football is believed to keep modern Italian family together besides being the most controversial and emotional subject of Italian conversations. Some say that if not the favourite soccer team fathers and sons wouldn’t talk much with each other any more 242 . And so on Sunday everybody is following the matches or going to the game or watching TV or at least listening to the radio (there are some men going round with little radios on the street) to be up to date on Monday morning when everybody will discuss it.
The other thing is, that talkative Italians love to argue about are cars. As Italy itself produces only the best (Ferrari, Maserati) and worst cars (FIAT) the discussions are usually really hot. Lastly one of the most popular Sunday entertainments is F1 Grand Prix where Ferrari team is lately winning.
Italy is considered to be on of the most beautiful and interesting countries in Europe and in the world being also on of the world strongest economies. It is a country of variety, fashion, wonderful food and cheerful people but also a country with many economic issues to solve. And all that fascinating matters come from its deeply historical, social and structural regionalism that is not good and not bad but certainly troublesome and opportunity offering one.
239 R. Belford, Północne Włochy. Praktyczny przewodnik, Pascal 1993
240 Ibidem.
241 It is reflected also by women unemployement rate
242 The streotype of Italian family that spend evenings together with children and grandchildren on feasts is not so true anymore especially in North. In reality to stay on the weekend night home with parents is a shame for most of young Italians. But even adult men often live with their parents under the careful eye of their mamma.
38
Iwona Dolecka, Aneta Filipowicz, Maja Sontag, Tomasz Rakowski (the Editor)
THE SCANDINAVIAN NATIONS
THE LINKS. THE SPLIT. EGALITARIAN APPROACH.
INTRODUCTION
Instead of the introduction-part we would like to enumerate in twenty points the most characteristic features of the Scandinavians. We consider it the best way to summarize and gather all pieces of information that we came across while preparing the paper. What is more it is a good way to find out if it is high time to leave Scandinavia. Because you know you have been there too long when:
1. You pass a grocery store and think “Wow, it is open; I had better go in and buy something!”
2. You start to think that having a sauna in the nude with a bunch of strangers is a necessary part of daily life ... and a necessary part of business.
3. Your old habit of being “fashionably late” is no longer acceptable. You are always on time.
4. You hear loud-talking passengers on the train. You immediately assume: a: they are drunk b: they are Finnish c: they are American d: they are Turks e: all of the above
5. You get extremely annoyed when the bus is two minutes late.
6. You think women are more than equal than men and deserve to have better positions in the work place.
7. Your wife watches TV while you look after the kids.
8. Silence is fun.
9. You start to differentiate between types of snow!
10. You think it entirely reasonable to pay $40 for a five minute chat with the doctor.
11. You think it is normal everything is regulated and you obey the rules voluntarily.
12. You mutter “oy,oy,oy” continually to yourself even though you are the only one in the room.
13. When someone asks you for “sex” you assume they mean half-a-dozen.
14. You expect to find the glove you dropped in February hanging on a post in June
15. “It’s 20 degrees outside” does not necessarily mean plus 20, it could mean minus 20.
16. You pay the TV-license because you think you’re getting your money’s worth watching SVT.
17. You take two hour naps at work and the idea of losing your job never crosses your mind.
18. You think nothing of spending all day at IKEA looking for a piece of furniture and then spending the whole next day putting it together!
19. You can’t throw a plastic bottle away with out having a guilty conscience
20. You find that you can’t spell in English anymore. You now replace C with K. Like panik, automatik, seasik, arithmatik.... and you try to remember does papper/paper have one or two p’s in English?
That is how it looks like in a nutshell. Now let’s move to the next part of our papper (ups!) of course: paper, which is…

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
II. HISTORY
Nordic history comprises more than 10,000 years and starts after the last glacial period. After the melting of the inland ice, the climate became warmer, and settlers seem to have arrived to the northern parts of the Europe from the east as well as from the south. They lived from hunting, fishing and collecting. To make a long story short, agriculture was introduced during the Stone Age, and there was a subsequent Bronze Age followed by an Iron Age (500 B.C. – 800 A.D.).
The first time Scandinavia was mentioned in written documents was 79 A.C. by the Roman citizen
Plinius Senior. He was a civil servant in the Roman Empire. He writes in his paper “Naturalis Historia” about an Island in the north called Scandinavia, populated by people living in 500 villages scattered over the island. He also mentions that the land of “svionerna” is at the end of the world and that the people there can see the horses that pulled the cart by which the sun was taken across the sky.
Perhaps the best known period of Nordic history (internationally), is the time of the Vikings which starts at the beginning of the 10 th century. This era marks the termination of the prehistoric period in the region. There were still hardly any written sources of knowledge, and what is known about this period is largely based on archaeological remains. Nevertheless, the Sagas shed some light on these times. Although they were written down later, the Sagas were based on word of mouth tales passed down from one generation to the next. Despite this they reveal that the Viking Age must without comparison have been the richest of all the prehistoric periods in the north.
The stereotype Viking is a tall ginger haired figure with bushy beard possessed with a raging fury which he releases upon other countries. Surprising though it may sound, the Vikings have never worn even the tiniest little horns in their helmets. Viking helmets did sometimes have neat figures and all kinds of decorations, but not horns.
Although this period was short (900 A.D. – 10500 A.D.) compared to the rest of the long history of
Sweden, Norway and Denmark, it is one of the most widely known. Foreigners have never stopped wondering about and being fascinated by the Vikings. They have been called the Giants from the
North, “heathens”, “savages”, “the first knights” and so on. They have been described as barbarians who from birth were taught how to fight well (and encouraged by their religion to do it).
This is what an anonymous author described the Viking’s attack: “The same year the heathens arrived from the north to Brittany with a fleet of ships. They were like stinging wasps, and they spread in all directions like horrible wolves, wrecking, robbing, shattering and killing not only animals but also priests, monks and nuns. They came to the church of Lindesfarne, slayed everything alive, dug up the altars and took all the treasures of the holy church”. The attack came as a shock to the rulers of Brittany and the rumors about the fearless Nordic men spread over Europe.
The Swear Vikings (from Sweden) founded kingdoms in Russia and built trade stations along the rivers all the way down to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. They went to Constantinople and
Baghdad, they even came into contact with Byzantium and they formed a feared elite regiment for the East Roman Emperor, a guard which existed for some hundred years. The Danes conquered
London, besieged Lisbon, burnt Santiago, assaulted Seville, attacked Mallorca, and sold European slaves in North Africa. They terrorized Paris (on numerous occasions) and burnt Hamburg and many other German cities. They even went to Jerusalem and possibly also to Alexandria. The Norwegians, however, traveled to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Irland and Scotland. Like the Danes they kept trade contacts with the cities of the Mediterranean Sea.
Their activities left traces for eternity. Over 900 of the most common English words come from the
Vikings (sky, skin, scrape, skirt, husband and window are some examples). In Russia, which was founded by the people from Rus (the Swedish Roslagen County), millions of people still hold the name Oleg, Olga and Igor – from the names of the Viking gods Helge, Helga and Ingvar. When
Russians politely address each other as “gentlemen”, the word comes from the Viking word
“husbonden”. For their many expeditions the Vikings needed fast and seaworthy ships, and men with the skill to navigate them over open seas. Many believe that these courageous men repeatedly voyaged to America and back. The Sagas relate that it was Leif Eriksson who discovered “Wineland the
Good” in the year 1001, but present day archeologists claim that it is possible that other Vikings had reached America before him. The Viking Age culminated in 1066 when the Norwegian King Harald
Hardruler and his men were defeated at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in England.
Christianity was introduced into Norway, as well as in other Nordic countries, over a lengthy period of time, possibly two hundred years. It was a natural result of the Norwegians’ contact with Christian
Europe, through trading connections and Viking raids. Missions from the churches of England and
Germany had also contributed to a weakening of traditional belief in the Nordic gods. From the middle of the 11th century the legislation that was enacted, the songs that were sung, and the monuments that were erected demonstrated the firm establishment of Christianity.
From the Viking Age onwards, the Nordics have fought each other, formed unions with each other and ruled over each other. Sweden ruled over Finland for over 600 years, Denmark ruled over southern Sweden also for over 600 years (or, alternatively, Sweden has ruled over eastern Denmark for the past 300 years) and over Norway for nearly 500 years, while Iceland was ruled from Norway for some 200 years and then from Denmark yet another 500 years, and the list goes on (but Finland hasn't ruled over anybody, and is very envious because of that). Unavoidably, this has caused some anti-pathies, but it has also made the Nordic cultures more uniform.
Plots, counter plots and assassinations within the monarchies marked the medieval period of the region. By the late 14th century, upstart dynasties intermarried, eventually forming the Kalmar Union.
It was a union of three Nordic kingdoms formed in 1389, when Queen Margrete – already regent in
Norway and Denmark – was elected regent in Sweden. The entity was referred to as the Kalmar
Union because Margrete's grand nephew, Erik of Pomerania, was soon crowned king of Norway at
Kalmar. The union treaty stated that the countries were to act as a single kingdom vis-à-vis other countries and states and assists one another in the event of war. The union functioned in practice up to 1521, when Gustavus Vasa was elected king of Sweden. Norway, however, was to remain under
Danish rule for another three centuries.
In the 16th century the Reformation swept through the region, leaving burnt churches and civil warfare in its wake. The fighting ended in 1536 with the ousting of the powerful Catholic Church and the establishment of a Danish Lutheran church headed by the monarchy.
The question of Yes or No to the Nordic union became relevant when Gustavus Vasa was elected king of Sweden, because the owners of large tracts of land in Sweden and Norway disliked the union.
At this period of history, Denmark was the largest and richest of the Nordic countries. The Norwegian and Swedish landowners – along with the German members of the Hanseatic League – were of the opinion that Denmark dominated the decision-making process. This period also marks the emergence of Sweden as a major power, when King Gustavus Vasa proved capable of exploiting the discontent amongst the landowners. The Nordic region was split. Sweden and Finland formed one alliance, while
Demark, Norway, Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands formed a counter alliance. The Great
Nordic War in the early part of the 18th century brought an end to Sweden's period as a major power. The main events in the remaining years of the 18th century are the Enlightenment and the start of the Industrial Revolution.
The French Revolution in 1789 changes the face of Europe. The Nordic countries increase their exports of timber, grain and tar to war-torn Europe – at good prices. In 1807, two of Europe's most powerful men met: Czar Alexander of Russia and Emperor Napoleon of France. They agreed to cut off
England from the rest of Europe, and from the Nordic countries. The Faroese, Greenlanders and
Icelanders had good trading connections with England so the embargo led to new wars, higher prices, bank crises, bankruptcies and starvation in Norway.
Russia attacked and occupied Finland. The Czar became Grand Duke of Finland following a meeting of the parliamentary assembly at Borgĺ in 1809. Russia guaranteed Finland's security, and the Finns retained their legislative powers, on condition that they accepted Alexander as their sovereign. Sweden's defeat led to a change of course in Swedish politics, and parliament was granted more extensive powers. Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, a Frenchman, better known as Karl Johan, was elected crown
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prince and later (1810) king of Sweden. During his reign, Sweden joined forces with England in waging war against the French and the Danish-Norwegian union. France and Denmark lost, and Frederik
VI, king of Denmark, was forced to cede Norway to Sweden (the Peace of Kiel). But King Frederik VI appointed Kristian Frederik vice-regent, and later the Norwegians elected him king of Norway. For a short period in 1814, Norway was independent, with its own king, Kristian Frederik. A new constitution was adopted on 17th May at Eidsvoll and today it is the National Day of celebration in Norway.
Norway a free and independent nation, after having been a part of the Danish autocracy for 400 years, was joined into a loose union with Sweden. The Norwegian constitution was the most modern in Europe at the time but was rejected by Karl Johan. Sweden attacked and won the war against
Norway. Karl Johan became king of the new union between Sweden and Norway, which lasted until
1905.
King Karl Johan had a government in Stockholm, and another in Oslo to govern Norway. The countries were united under one king – a form of union also referred to as “a personal union”. Moreover, in the 19th century Norwegians felt a growing desire to achieve independence. Freedom to conduct trade was introduced in the 1840s, and in 1848 – the year of the revolution in European history – new perspectives emerged, finally leading to the introduction of parliamentarism in 1884. But foreign policy was not a matter for decision by parliament, and for Norway – as a seafaring nation which maintained cultural links with England – this posed serious problems. In 1905, the system suffered a total collapse. The Norwegian government resigned, and the king failed to persuade other Norwegians to serve as ministers. The outcome was that the parliament had to inform the king that he no longer serve as Norway's monarch. Some Swedes wanted to resort to military intervention but in negotiations at Karlstad it was agreed that Norway should become independent and have its own king. The choice fell upon Haakon VII, a Dane.
Towards the end of the 19th century, trade increased as a result of the developments in railway traffic and shipping. With a view to facilitating trade, it was decided to introduce a Nordic currency in
Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The governments decided to use a common unit of currency – the krone – applying the decimal system.
When the union with Sweden was dissolved Norway was enjoying a period of economic growth, which lasted right up to I World War in 1914. During WWI Norway remained neutral, but the Norwegian merchant fleet suffered heavy losses on account of the submarine war.
Neutral in WWI, Denmark reaffirmed its neutrality at the outbreak of WWII; but, on 9 April 1940, with German warplanes flying over Copenhagen, Denmark surrendered to Germany. Also Norway's declaration of neutrality was of little significance. German forces attacked Norway, which after a twomonth struggle was subdued, despite some military assistance from Great Britain and France. The royal family and the government left for Great Britain. During the war the Norwegian government carried out its work in exile.
In 1946 the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian ministers of justice decided to appoint a committee to draw up proposals on co-operation in the future on legislation in the Nordic region. On February
1953, the Nordic Council became a reality. Finland joined the council in 1956. The formation of the council made it possible for Nordic parliamentarians to play a larger role in the process of developing co-operation on legislation.
Let’s stop here with this short overview of the history of the Scandinavian region. The next point is…
III. EGALITARISM
In sociological theory as well as in empirical research, values and norms have been and still are a major topic. In this part of the paper, we would like to focus on an area of values, which is surely among the most important for the political and social organization of societies: attitudes towards inequality and distribution. The issue of egalitarism – that is our aim. But firstly, let’s check in the encyclopedia what it is?
Egalitarism (French égalitaire – aiming at the equality of rights) is a socio-political theory demanding the equality of rights for the citizens as far as social, political and economic dimensions are con-
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] cerned. Egalitarism is based on the belief that all people are equal. It was under the banner of equality that the French revolution broke out as well as the utopian socialists advocated their views. At present egalitarism is associated with the equality of chances, which includes e.g. an easy access to the public education and the guarantee of a minimum wage as well as with the equality of all citizens regardless of social background, ethnic origins, religion and sex.
The Scandinavian welfare model is often used as a general term for the way in which Denmark,
Sweden and Norway have chosen to organize and finance their social security systems, health services and education. The Scandinavian countries are clearly distinguished from other European countries in these areas.
Equality of chances
In many respects Scandinavian region is a land of relatively small class differences. Many people even consider the very concept of social class outdated, since it has become notoriously hard to define. A
Nordic manual worker may well earn as much as a lower official, and his children can choose to study at the same university as those of the company president. All in all, the principle of equal opportunity has had a strong position in Scandinavian society, much due to the long predominance of the Social
Democratic Party in Swedish political life. Some even think this principle has gone to far, limiting pluralism and individual freedom on the legal as well the personal level.
Norway is a rich and smoothly functioning society where few people fall outside the safety net of national insurance and pension schemes when they find they are unable to provide for themselves.
Workers have their rights in the workplace that many people in other countries no doubt envy, with respect to protection against dismissal, the opportunity to take care of children and the opportunity to divide the workload between men and women.
In practical terms there is also a true cradle-to-the-grave welfare state in Sweden as well. Services are provided to everyone not because they are poor, but because they are human. So a pregnant mother would be provided with excellent prenatal care and be given extremely generous maternity leave (and nowadays, paternity leave for the papas). A child will obtain a place in a day care center and kindergarten when the parents return to work and excellent free education through university.
Extremely generous vacations for all workers, unemployment insurance and job training, lifelong free medical care, state provided pensions and even money to pay for a funeral and burial results that
Sweden has a remarkably egalitarian distribution of income and low rate of poverty. The living standards of the poor are closer to those of median citizens than in other advanced countries. It is therefore because of the system of income determination not because of the homogeneity of the population that Sweden is considered a highly egalitarian country.
In Denmark, the basic assumption of equality is a major principle in all spheres of Danish law. Fundamental human rights are protected by the Danish Constitution. The protection covers civil, political, economic, cultural and social rights. Danish government prides itself on a simply stated social welfare system as well. The century-old, deep-rooted egalitarian beliefs of the society intermixed with the growth of the public sector shaping a state where everyone has a right to social security when meeting certain economic conditions. Thus, acts on social security offer a very wide protection to the unemployed, pensioners, single parents, students and other economically strained groups. Everyone with a permanent address in Denmark has the right to profit from the public health insurance system, which is to a high degree free of charge. All parents receive an annual contribution to the upbringing of their children.
When you fall ill
Persons who fall ill in Norway are guaranteed medical treatment. As a basic principle, health services are to be distributed according to need – not according to ability to pay. Treatment provided during hospitalization is free of charge.
There is unique waiting list system for hospital treatment in Norway. All who make an appointment for an examination or treatment at a public hospital – with the exception of those in need of immediate treatment – are placed on the waiting list. Acutely ill patients are given immediate treatment.
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Second priority patients – those who are seriously ill – are guaranteed treatment within three months.
All other patients have to wait for an opening. The length of the deferment varies from county to county and from medical field to field.
Denmark has a national health care that allows individuals who have been in the country for as little as six weeks completely free medical care. This is possible in Denmark because the Danes pay 50% of their income in taxes to support this economic system. Individuals have the right to choose their own general practitioner. If the medical situation cannot be treated by the general practitioner then the patient will receive written permission to see a specialist or be admitted into the hospital.
If you are out of work
All who have been previously employed and earned a certain minimum income in Norway have earned the right to unemployment benefits from the National Insurance. Benefits amount to a certain share of prior earnings.
When it comes to unemployment, also the importance of the Swedish welfare state is particularly meaningful. Unemployment in Sweden is not considered as the failure of a lazy or incapable person, but as the inability of the society to provide a job to a skilled and useful individual. So, the state is spending 3.3% of the annual GNP (1985 figures) to tackle labor market issues, 80% of which is used to actively fight unemployment and only the remaining 20% are paid as unemployment benefits, which are nonetheless relatively high.
In Denmark, to remedy the immediate effects of becoming unemployed, maintenance is paid through an unemployment insurance system which provides a benefit during unemployment (called arbejdsløshedsdagpenge). This is paid through private Unemployment Insurance Funds which are organized in the form of associations and in most cases administered by a trade union.
When you have children
When pregnant, women who have been employed for at least six of the last ten months are entitled to a maternity leave with full pay, limited upwards to six times the basic national insurance sum.
Statistics show that Norway is a world leader in work participation among women. In 1999, 74 per cent of women aged 15–64 were in paid employment compared with 53 per cent in the EU countries.
Norway has a unique combination of high female participation in the work force and a high fertility rate (1.85 children on average). Many mothers of small children work. Women with small children also want to continue working: 86 per cent of women with children between three and six years of age have a job and an increasing number of them are in full time employment. Among young couples there is a trend towards increased sharing of responsibility for child care. The fathers' quota has led
80 per cent of fathers to exercise their right to take time off for child care.
Transfer programs for families with children in Sweden are extensive. They are designed to stimulate work by both parents. Parents pay a fee for the child, but 80–90 percent of the costs are subsidized.
Most local authorities set lower fees for the second and third child of the same family, and for single parents. This is designed to facilitate parents combining work and parenting.
Maternity leave in Denmark lasts 4 weeks prior to the birth and up to 24 weeks after. The father is entitled to paternity leave of two weeks after the birth. From the fifteenth week after the birth the mother can transfer all or a portion of her remaining maternity leave to the father.
Children’s own minister
The Norwegian Government has a special minister to attend to issues concerning children and families. The minister’s sphere of responsibility embraces child care, day care institutions and sexual equality. Norway was the first country in the world to appoint a special ombud for children.
Substance abusers
Social service is also required to help substance abusers, e.g. by finding placements for them at treatment institutions. The law allows for the commitment of persons with serious alcohol or drug abuse problems. A substance abuser can be committed to an institution for a maximum of three months.
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Basically only a small number of alcoholics and drug addicts in Sweden live in misery. These are the ones who cannot really take care of themselves and have not gone to the social service agencies. A variety of facilities for alcoholics is being provided, including clinics, half-way houses, and emergency housing open twenty-four hours a day.
Similar to other European countries, Denmark experienced a rising number of drug-abusers among the younger population in the 60s. As these people became older, the drug-abuse spread to encompass the older generations. The government has increased the funds set aside to help the growing number of drug-abusers.
Education
Since the end of the Second World War, Norwegian governments’ policy has been strongly characterized by efforts to achieve equal opportunities for all citizens, particularly with regard to access to education. This led to the establishment of a unitary primary and lower secondary school system for the first 10 school years and upper secondary schools. The same principle was applied in expanding the higher education sector (three of the four Norwegian universities were founded after 1945.
In Sweden school resources are also equally distributed. Private schools are rare; and public resources are allocated so that „the size of the parent’s wallet hall not influences the school quality of the child”. Special resources are geared toward the least able pupils.
Danish state also has to provide free education for all children and teenagers, from elementary school to master’s degrees at university level. Education is compulsory through the age of 16. There is an average for Folkeskole, i.e. elementary schools of 300 children per school and 18 per class. As a result illiteracy in Denmark is virtually non- existent.
Gender equality
In the Norwegian culture women have a prominent position. The general attitude there is that nothing that is possible for a man is impossible for a woman. Other cultures may even find Norwegian women somewhat mannish due to their open and direct way of dealing with others.
The goal of Norwegian gender equality policy is to give men and women the same possibilities, rights and obligations within all sectors of society. Women must be protected from sexual violence and power and influence are to be equally divided between the sexes. This implies that men and women are given the same potential for economic independence and the same terms and conditions on the labor market. Furthermore, men and women are to share responsibility for the day-to-day care of the home and children. It may appear on the surface that full equality has been achieved and the fact that in politics women are particularly well represented is seen as an indication of this. But much remains to be done. For example, only 6 per cent of board members in listed companies are women and female representation is equally low in the top echelons of Norwegian business and industry.
There is still a wage gap of 20 per cent between men and women in full time employment.
The search for fairness has helped the Swedish society to achieve a relatively high level of sexual equality. About 78% of the women are working; they are much represented in the political institutions and laws have been passed to help men and women attain the same status in the society. For example, men can take leave of absence from work to look after the children. However, as the Swedish society has its rigidities, some laws or ideas are difficult to enforce: bosses are still very reluctant to let their male employees take holidays to take care of the children and despite the efforts toward sexual equality, nearly 50% of the working women only have a part-time job.
Equality between men and women is a major goal in Danish society, and the foundation for the work of fulfilling this aim is an understanding of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural and civil or any other field as privileges to be enjoyed by all citizens, be they male or female. In terms of numbers of workers (total employed and unemployed) there were
89 women for every 100 men in 2001 (80 in 1982).
Efforts to combat bullying and racism
Norway is steadily becoming a multicultural society. In Oslo about one in five young people has a

minority background. Cultural diversity is both enriching and positive for the community but it also poses challenges with regard to integration. Racism and discrimination conflict with basic Norwegian values. The Ministry of Children and Family Affairs subsidizes special measures to enhance the conditions under which young people grow up in urban communities in general and to stimulate integration and combat racism in particular. As mobbing is a major problem among children and young people regardless of their cultural background, money has been set aside for the wide range of measures including the introduction of a special program against bullying in the primary schools, starting this year.
In Sweden more than 10% of the population is non-Swedish these days. They have had a very open immigration policy since the 60s, although not quite as many have been allowed in recent years.
With respect to the aim of eliminating all forms of racial discrimination or similar types of discrimination or less favorable treatment Denmark has adopted the Act on the Prohibition of Differential
Treatment on the Grounds of Race soon in 1971. The act prohibits any differential treatment on the ground of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion or sexual orientation in the performance of commercial or public activity. The protection against discrimination at work is left to the parties of the labor market. According to a general rule of the Act on Private Registers of 1987 business entities may not register information about private matters of individuals concerning race, color, religion and sexual orientation.
Co-habitant, spouse or partner
After WWII family patterns in Norway underwent major changes. The first decades were marked by the total predominance of marriage, but as the 70s advanced the status of marriage declined. By the end of the 70s the word co-habitant began to appear frequently. Three trends in particular emerged when family patterns started to change. People were older when they married, more children were born outside marriage and divorce increased. About 50 per cent of children are now born outside marriage, most of them to cohabiting parents. Around 60, 000 children are born every year in Norway. In 1999 the parents of 9, 015 children under 18 years of age divorced. Under the law parents who are married or have been married have joint parental responsibility.
Gay and lesbian
In Norway homosexual persons of the same sex can register their partnership which is then legally on a par with marriage, with the exception of the church ceremony and the right to adopt. The government has now proposed a legal right to the adoption of stepchildren whereby the one partner in a registered partnership may adopt the other’s child. A White Paper has also been submitted on the subject of life circumstances for homosexuals and lesbians, which includes measures to help combat discrimination.
Sweden is one of the world’s most progressive countries when it comes to Gay Rights. Since 1988, government legislation has granted gay relationships the same status as heterosexual marriages and the state has given financial support to gay organizations.
Following the introduction of “registered partnership” legislation in Denmark in 1989, the statistics showing the popularity of gay marriage are soaring. According to the government 2,083 lesbian and gay couples (nearly twice as many male as female) had taken advantage of the law which gives them all the rights of heterosexual marriage except the right to adopt children and to have artificial insemination and a church wedding.
Legal system
When thinking of the Swiss legal system, you have heard of their oddity: the bank secrecy. But few have heard about Nordic: the “ offentlighetsprincipen”, the principle of publicly. It’s juridical oddity, and it is very peculiar. The US equivalence is the Freedom of Information Act, but it's better not to use that parallel, because all US citizens will only get the wrong impression.
The offentlighetsprincipen is divided in two parts: the right for whoever it may be, to be present as listener at court and other public proceedings. The rule is at least from the 15th century, and is of
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] course no oddity at all. Most legal systems state the same. But the other part is: the right, whomever it may be, to anonymously and without giving any reason, immediately and on the spot read public papers in courts and agencies of the municipalities and the state, and to get copies, and publish them, irrespective of the wishes of the original author. The offentlighetsprincipen is part of the constitution of the Kingdom of Sweden. It has been since 1766; thus the offentlighetsprincipen for public papers is 22 years older than the US constitution. There are of course also elaborate rules, a thick law, when public papers must be classified. But the basic principles from 1766 have never been changed. And when the computers came, data information became as public as information on paper.
The offenlighetsprincipen is truly revered. When Sweden applied for membership in the European
Union, the government said Sweden was prepared to negotiate about exactly everything. Except for the offentlighetsprincipen. If the Union didn’t accept that as a precondition, Sweden wouldn’t apply for a membership.
And why is the offentlighetsprincipen revered by even the poorest citizens? Because in other countries the journalists are depending on leaks, but when a whole group of politicians, judges or bureaucrats all are corrupt, there aren’t any. But in Sweden all journalists, it’s a part of their professional pride, dig up the facts nevertheless. Their mud digging achievements the last twenty years are impressive: one Prime Minister elect, three Ministers of Justice, half a dozen Regional Governors, half a dozen of the highest Police Commanding Officers, at least one parliamentary member a year, and several dozens of local municipal mayors and managers. All sacked. In most cases they hadn’t been more corrupt than e.g. using their official tax paid VISA cards for small private expenses, but that didn’t calm the public outrage, and they got sacked nevertheless. With such effectiveness, the offentlighetsprincipen is of course hated among politicians and bureaucrats, but they can’t even show the slightest hint of that opinion, because in that case, they won’t be reelected. It would be a political suicide.
Janteloven
The word "Janteloven” occasionally pops up, often with no hint given as to what it is supposed to mean since apparently it’s common knowledge in most Nordic countries. It derives from the novel "En flygtning krysser sitt spor" (“A refugee crosses his tracks”) by the Norwegian/Danish author Aksel
Sandemose. The book takes place in an imaginary Danish small town called Jante. The book is about the ugly sides of Scandinavian small-town mentality, and the term "Janteloven" meaning “the Jante
Law” means the unspoken rules and jealousy of such communities in general. This law tells you, among others: “do not think you are anything special” and “do not think you are better than anybody else”.
The “Allemansret”
The “Everyman’s Right” (i.e. the right to walk freely in the nature) is sometimes said to be a Scandinavian specialty. That might be wrong or correct – in any case it’s an important part of life taken for granted by the people in Norway, Sweden and Finland. It’s maybe also an explanation why the environment protection has become such an important issue in contemporary Scandinavian politics, despite these countries not at all being more polluted than for instance Germany or Poland. The
“Everyman’s Rights” give a lot of freedom – and at the same time the responsibility for protecting the land and environment also when it is someone else's property. The main rule is that one can walk, ski or cycle everywhere as long as nothing is harmed and nobody disturbed. Then, there are refinements and exceptions to this, of course.
How close to houses can one dare to come? No definite rule exists, but in Sweden it’s often said that the privacy area around a dwelling is to be understood as at least 200 meters (in Norway 150 meters). This does of course depend on the landscape and other conditions. An alternative wording of the rule is that if you hear or see other people, then you are too close to them.
The historic background was the great uninhabited forests around the Nordic villages. These weren’t anyone's property, but were seen as a common good to which not only the inhabitants in the nearest
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village had access, but instead also travelers, who had the right to collect what one need for survival and tour through the sparsely populated country. The tradition dates back to Viking time, or longer, including the right to take grass for horses and timber for reparations of carriages, as regulated in medieval laws.
The rules are not exactly identical in Norway, Sweden and Finland, but in practice the following should apply to all three countries: In Denmark most of the land is in use and owned by somebody, either a private person or the state (in earlier times this was the king). With regard to the state owned land, everyone is allowed to walk there, collect berries, mushrooms or whatever. But you are not allowed to make camps, light fires, take firewood and so on.
Other Issues
The ideal that each and everybody have the same value is manifested in the Swedish forms of address. Just as in Anglo-Saxon countries, Swedes use only one form when speaking to a single person: du (“you”). Irrespective of the sex, age or social class of an addressee, du can always be used. Formerly there was a more polite form, Ni (corresponding to German Sie) which was to be used, for instance, between strangers and by children who were addressing adults. Today it is only rarely used and most of all by elderly people. Note, however, that it is still the form employed when talking to more than one person.
Another characteristic of Swedish mentality is the urge to agree on things. Heated discussions are rare, and the best way to convince somebody in a matter is not to put maximum emotional energy into the discussion, but to give some good arguments. For this reason, foreigners sometimes think
Swedish people undercooled and formal. They probably have a point there, but it should be remembered that the tendency towards rationality and objectivity most of all is seen in public and professional life. Swedish people can be very emotional, too, especially after 2 a.m. in a bar.
Conclusions
A key challenge in the field of domestic policy is reconciling the demands of the Norwegian welfare state and egalitarian social model on the one hand with those of the offshore economy and globalization on the other. Norway’s egalitarian model for cradle-to-grave social security is coming under evergreater pressure to adapt to the process of globalization, which is forcing the nation to enhance the efficiency of its economy.
When it comes to the Swedish society, it is also built on a foundation of egalitarianism and social awareness and has managed to become one of the most successful capitalist economies of this century. Low power-distance, teamwork, concern for the common well-being and a strong international orientation have helped Swedish managers create leading multinational firms while the left-wing governments were establishing an advanced welfare state that still allowed liberal economics to prevail. Denmark also is well-developed welfare society, which provides high-quality childcare; training and education; elderly care as well as health care. But people’s needs will continue to change, and the demand for quality welfare services is not about to decrease – on the contrary. To secure welfare society, Danes must create a basis for allowing families and businesses to enjoy decent public services in an affluent society – also five or ten years ahead. A proper physical framework that allows the country to meet the demands of the future shall be established. Moreover, there is a need for making the public sector as efficient as possible, providing people with the best possible services. The public sector will have to invest in areas that can strengthen Denmark's position and boost the economy to the benefit of society in general. Public investment in such areas could include projects to better prepare people and businesses for the challenges of the future.
IV. THE SCANDINAVIAN NATIONS AND…
…Religion
The Germanic pagan religion has left its mark on customs and festivals; celebrations with bonfires and maypoles mark the Finnish and Swedish midsummer, and the Nordic Christmas bears many similarities to the midwinter feast of the Vikings. Trolls and gnomes still inhabit Nordic households, although the once revered and feared mythical beings have been reduced to the lowly caste of soft
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] toys.
The Nordic peoples were converted to Catholicism in the 10th to 12th centuries, but the Lutheran reformation embraced in all Nordic countries wiped out most of the Catholic customs and memories in the course of the 16th century. Having become a stronghold of Protestantism against Catholics in the south and Greek Orthodox in the east had some unifying effect on Scandinavia even though wars between the countries kept raging on; religion was, after all, the most important basis of one’s identity well into the 18th century. The Lutheran ideal was to require the common people to be able to read the Bible on their own, which had an enormous educating effect on the Nordic peoples. This, along with the protestant work ethic, had a significant role in the forming of the Scandinavian societies, enabling their economic and cultural growth and the pioneering work that the Nordics have played in decreasing social inequality.
Even today, all five Nordic countries have a Lutheran state church to which a vast majority of the population belongs (there is of course full freedom of religion granted by the constitutions of the five countries). Paradoxically, this is probably the reason why Scandinavians are among the most secular peoples on the face of the earth. Despite its seemingly all-pervasive presence in various state institutions and the ceremonies guiding the life of the average Scandinavian, Lutheranism has in most parts of Scandinavia retreated to the fringes of culture and has little meaning to the average person.
Church attendance is record-low, the liberal morals hardly reflect specifically Lutheran ideals, religion is no major issue in politics, etc. The official, institutionalized religion offered by the state churches has to a large extent vaccinated the Nordics against Christian fundamentalism of the American kind.
…Language
Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroese are all North-Germanic languages developed from the Old Norse spoken in Viking age Scandinavia. A Swede, a Dane and a Norwegian can understand each other with varying degrees of difficulties, but none of them will fully understand Icelandic or
Faroese without studying the languages. Finnish is an entirely different case, it’s a Finno-Ugric language related to Estonian and Hungarian. There is, however, a Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, which ties it linguistically to Scandinavia. Also, Finnish is related to the Sámi languages spoken in
Norway, Sweden and Finland by the Sámi or Lapps, the aborigines of northern Scandinavia.
The languages sound more like three (very) different dialects of the same language than three separate languages. The language situation has made communication between the countries much easier, and has laid the foundation for a close cooperation between the countries.
The late Einar Haugen, one of the leading authorities on the Scandinavian languages, once characterized Norwegian as “Danish spoken with a Swedish accent”. The essential difference between the three Scandinavian languages is that Danish and Norwegian have a long history of shared culture and vocabulary which Swedish lacks, while Norwegian and Swedish have many shared features of pronunciation, which Danish lacks. Actually, the truth is somewhat more complex, since Norwegian and
Danish have radically simplified their pronunciation and grammar in a way that Swedish has not, but the pronunciation of Danish has subsequently been influenced by that of German, while Swedish and
Norwegian have not.
English is a mandatory subject and is taught in school from 3rd or 4th grade up to completion of high school. Much of the communication with other countries is in English and most people born in the
1940s and later can communicate well in English.
…Culture
Scandinavian culture today could be described as a potpourri of “original Viking culture”, medieval
German influence, French influence in the centuries that followed, and several other smaller sources, not forgetting local development and national romantic inventiveness, of course.
The Nordics are rather heavy drinkers, the “vodkabelt” goes right through Finland, Sweden and
Norway; the Danes are more of a beer-drinking nation, but don’t say no to a glass of akvavit either.
Smörgĺsbord with pickled herrings and open-faced sandwiches is no rare sight. Women are emancipated. Towns are clean and well-functioning enough to make a Swiss clocksmith feel at home. And
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Europe at Present [Spring 2003] so forth; myths and stereotypes about Scandinavia are many. Some of them are, of course, less true than others, but their very existence illustrates the fact that we do have quite a lot in common.
…Alcohol
There are a few facts which often tend to be forgotten when discussing the alcohol habits of North-
Europeans.
The maybe most important explanation for the Nordic behavior is the very long tradition of mead and beer drinking. At least since the Stone Age Germanians have left traces of brewing intoxicating beverages from grain. Wine was grown by Germans first at the time of Charlemagne, when the Nordics since long had established our own cultural identity, and still today it’s almost impossible to grow wine in Scandinavia. Mead can however not be stored. Mead has to be prepared for each time there is a need for it, as at festivals, and then all of the mead has to be consumed or it will be wasted. The
Nordic all-or-nothing attitude to alcohol has a plausible explanation in our historic and geographic conditions.
Secondly beer and mead are made from grain, which otherwise would be used as food. Richness and power made it possible to afford brewing; poverty, failure of the crops and starving meant “no booze or you’ll die!” To be able to serve ones guests a plenty of alcohol is a deeply rooted signal of richness, authority and good times worthy lords and magnates. The holiday behavior of Finns staggering off and on their ferries in Tallin, Sundsvall and Stockholm, and the Swedes reeling off and on the ferries in Helsingřr, Fredrikshavn and Copenhagen, is nothing but the traditional way of celebration for a people not used to wine. Parallels are seen in the traditions on Ireland and in Scotland.
…European Enlargement
Norway, Iceland, Greenland and the Faeroes are not members of the EU. Denmark joined in
1972, but Sweden and Finland didn’t join until in 1992. Today Finland is regarded as the most pro-EU country in Scandinavia – and the Finns have been the only to adopt the new European currency, the euro.
There are several important reasons why Norway has not joined the European Union. The Scandinavian country has applied twice to join the community, but has failed in its bid due to two national referendums, held in 1972, and again in 1994. Norway is a nation which has been dominated by foreign powers for centuries, and holds its independence as of primary importance. Further, Norway’s geographical position at the northern extreme of Europe has had a large impact on their reluctance to join the European Economic Community (EEC). The Norwegians have always been in closer contact with the other Scandinavian countries and Great Britain, and as such have been more likely to cooperate with those nations as opposed to continental Europe. Historical and geographical reasons have not been the only factors, however, which led Norway to oppose membership. Issues such as North
Sea oil, the fishing industry and the incapability of the Norwegian government to present the EEC debate effectively have all played a role. As the EU has expanded and more nations have become members, Norway has twice bided to join and twice failed in national referendums; choosing to remain outside of the European Union.
Norway’s history also seemed to have an impact on the outcome of the referendum. Traditionally,
Norway had international links with their fellow Scandinavian countries, as well as Great Britain and the United States – much more so than continental Europe. The Norwegian people often considered themselves to very different from other Europeans, and Union with the rest of Europe was almost unnatural.
As far as Denmark is concerned, Danish voters rejected the adoption of the euro in a referendum.
This was not the first time Denmark’s citizens expressed their resistance to integration into the European Union. In 1992, they initially rejected the Maastricht Treaty, only to adopt it later with small changes (similar to those granted to Britain, namely being allowed to stay out of the single currency indefinitely as well as to refrain from further integration in defense, justice, and home affairs). Then, in 1993, Denmark threatened to destroy the entire treaty by rescinding the ratification that each member state must give. They eventually overcame that hurdle as well.
…Nordic character
Many point out how Scandinavians never get invited to neighbors or colleagues. This is interpreted as a suppressed hostility, i.e. as xenophobia or discrimination, but it could be easy explained by the social pattern among the Swedes. Also Nordeners can be good colleagues – year after year – without this making them meeting privately. They tend to draw a clear border between their private life on one side with a few close friends and a bunch of relatives, and on the other side social contacts with others. A consequence is that it’s rather hard for newcomers to a town or a village to break into such a narrow circle, particularly for aliens. This feature is enforced by the strong tendency among Swedes to achieve socio-cultural homogeneity. Another typical Nordic feature contributes to this tendency: the wish for conflict free encounters in the private life.
Swedes are particularly prone to achieve consensus in attitudes and opinions, and avoid socializing with others than like–minded people. Confrontations are regarded as particularly unpleasant. Northerners are not curious enough to balance for this fear for the different. They do also not believe ourselves to be interesting enough to wake the curiousness of others, and to compensate for this there must be food and beverages, and maybe particular activities, when meeting others.
Another feature worth to note is shyness, which is particularly prevalent among Finns and Scandinavians. People feel inhibited around others one doesn’t know well, and one is very observant on one’s own behavior since it is regarded as very important to control which impression others get of one.
Among less well known people, one gets extra careful since it is harder to anticipate their perceptions and reactions.
A sign of the borderline between the private sphere and work is the Nordic resistance against small talk about private matters with strangers, which has been reported to be a great hinder in business contacts in foreign countries. The lack of passions strangers might perceive in Nordics is surely both reflecting a genuine trait and the fact that most strangers don’t meet Nordics in a context the Nordics would regard as private and unrestrained. Rational reasons have a strong precedence over for emotional reasons. Emotions are not at all disapproved in all contexts, but they are regarded as “pure” emotions of no further value than to signal one’s general unhappiness with life or fate.
Quietness is regarded as the commonly accepted norm, and noisy fellows are strongly disapproved.
Vociferous stubbornness is deemed as very ill-mannered. As is interrupting and talking in the mouth of others. The Nordic ideal is to think twice before one speaks, and to utter only one’s most firm beliefs, and only when there is a considered intention. What one says is remembered for ages, and if one says something stupid or “wrong” it will be proof of one’s stupidness and general incompetence.
To be kind and good-natured is important. One prefers to be quiet or agreeable instead of uttering an opposing opinion, unless one really aims at hurting.
It is easy to note how the Norwegians and the Finns, who gained independence first in the 20 th century, tend to be much more nationalistic than Danes or Swedes. Norwegians are generally strongly affected by their own culture. Norwegian national romanticism has of course its roots in the independence movements from Denmark, Sweden, and German occupants, and is much more accepted and appreciated by Norwegians themselves, than by outsiders. Because nationalism often (in Germany, Sweden, USA etc) has been a political taboo, later to be picked up by anti-establishment seminazi groups, citizens of these places might find the Norwegian national pride hard to swallow.
Northerners usually think they are very good at upbringing children, condemning the “cold” and unfriendly attitudes to children in for instance France or the UK. Spanking of children is not acceptable anymore, and actually unlawful in most countries.
And now for something completely different…
V. INTERVIEWS
Instead of a summary which is always one of the most difficult parts of a paper we decided to end our work with something completely different but perhaps much more interesting. How you can learn about Scandinavia as much as possible in the easiest and nicest way? The answer is: ask Scandinavians! We have made a couple of interviews with our friends from Nordic countries and we would like
44

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] to present the results here.
Michael (Sweden)
How would you describe people from your country?
People in Sweden have different dialects, but most of them suit the general idea of a Swede, so to speak. I mean, only “mountaineers” – dwelling in the upper part of Sweden are different. Not only is their manner of speaking hardly understandable, but also they refuse to conform to common standards of living. Many even do without television, radio and some other latest inventions, so as to life – they live in a crude, traditional manner.
There is also a region inhabited by “Danes”, that once was a part of Denmark. They too have a very distinct accent, which arouses laugh or derisory comments at times.
We are a law-abiding nation. Swedish law regulations and all other rules are awfully stringent. In fact, a Swede on an empty highway will drive 50 if that is the speed limit. However, this may be justified by the extent to which people are surveyed by our ever-present police. Social contacts, as well, are subject to discipline. When planning a coffee-visit, you need to make arrangement with the prospective host two weeks in advance. People generally stay at home and limit their intimate mates to family; friends are rather acquaintances, met seldom. Property is sacred, also property of views, feelings. We are a bit “inward”.
Order, no traffic jams, clean streets and pavements. We do not attempt actively to make any alterations to that style, although we do find it tedious.
We see ourselves as Europeans, 100% Europeans, one of those better. We price quality and we are, sort of “of quality”.
Young Swedes tend to be lazy, older are boring and like to stick to what they already know; apprehensive towards inventions or changes.
Holiday tradition? Normally, we go skiing during Easter break. Not much beyond that.
What do you think about European Union?
The European Union is surely good to be in. I would like Poland to join EU. As to Sweden, we always managed to preserve our curiosities, our traits, even our regulations. Like the Euro, which we did not accept, or like prices of alcohol, that dropped everywhere but for Sweden. Sweden stays Swedish where we want it to. All in all, The European Union is far from being the top issue of our everyday lives; it is just “there” and does not affect us too forcefully.
I would like Euro to be introduced, though. Simply, for matters of consumer comfort, eliminating the currency exchange problems.
How does a typical Swedish Family look like?
Typical Swedish Family: Volvo, a dog, about two children and a property house. Everybody works, one cannot earn too much, compared to the average salary – since we are a socialistic society (people who stick out with wealth are perceived as thieves of a kind; also, the tax is so high, that it never pays to earn too much). Family life is concentrated usual after work routine. Days tend to be boring and monotonous. Churches are no longer attended. Empty relicts they’ve become.
Kids are taken care of by Day-Mums – women who take care of a couple of children daily, till 4p.m. when work is usually over. Grandparents do not do any housework or baby-sitting. They do not even live with their children. They stay, as a rule, in elderly-care houses. Importantly enough, these houses are almost luxurious.
Are Scandinavians an egalitarian society?
We are equal. Or, we are supposed to be so. The spirit has been imposed yet in times of communism rule. Hence, everybody is supposed to fit in this egalitarian society, earn equal wages, have equal chances, and behave as all do. As an example, private hospitals do exist, but the government is doing everything that is possible to eliminate them. The only four private schools do not have easy lives either. Differences are “naturalized”. In terms of entrepreneurism, a citizen gets all help they might need to set up a business, so long as it is a small or medium firm. If you watch not to overdo things, you are provided with everything.
Corporate life is highly dominated by men. And there is a stir around disproportions alike. We are an aging society. Women prefer to have children after they are 30. Often, this is put of even more.
What do Swedes thing about other Nordic nations?
Norwegians are perceived as mountain people, who ski, do mountain trekking, take care about their landscapes and generally live in the nature.
Danish people are more “European”, more modern, up-to-date, and chilled out. The trade is free, for example. In Sweden you can only buy alcohol on weekdays, within a strict time frame, in special shops.
Finnish people are a far-off eastern tribe, in common perception. We go there to buy cheap spirits.
The stereotype says that the Finns are simple, retarded, and dirty. Well, who cares about Finland anyway? They don’t even speak similar language.
Beata (Southern Norway)
Do you like your Royal Family?
Royals are doing a good job. Their only function is that of representation and they handle it well.
They, actually, lift some weigh off the shoulders of Prime Minister.
Do you consider Norwegians as an egalitarian society?
Everything and everyone is supposed to be equal. So women are in no way treated differently. But why should we be treated as different? Bosses nowadays look to admitting lots of women into teams at work places. Good proportions make better work environment. Managerial posts, indeed, are dominated by male gender. But there are lots of women on the way up the corporate ladder. The problem crops up when a woman decides to become a mother, as later on she will not eagerly work full time, but she’ll do 50% or 80% instead. Children will, of course, go to daycare. But in general, we do have great variety of opportunities as women, and we are not limited by our gender itself.
We are social-democratic country. We usually earn the average. But it is not that important. I just want to afford decent life.
Should Norway join the EU?
We should join the EU. At the moment we are a small community in the north, we do have enough money to live comfortably on our own. However, in time, we will become increasingly dependant on the EU. Hence, we should adhere already.
I think it is important and right that people stick together and work together for greater benefits. I wouldn’t mind foreigners settling in Norway. It would just have to be proceeding slowly – to allow the country handle the burden of integration costs. But I would never mind.
Describe your people in a few words…
We are conservative. We have rules for everything and we generally obey them, well, as long as they are just. We are modest. One is not supposed to show off. We are a bit nationalistic, xenophobic. I don’t like it but it is so. We are one of the safest countries. Life is really steady and peaceful, not one of the most exciting.
Everybody has got some blue-blooded ancestors, hehe! It is very common to have a genealogical tree drawn – people, in general, have these things done.
When a teenager has their confirmation, they buy a national traditional outfit. Then, these clothes are worn during national feast, on 17 th May, sometimes also during weddings.
Anrde and Bernt (Norway)
Are you in favor of your Royal Family?
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Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Bernt: Norwegian society is far from working out a common opinion on the sense or the non-sense of maintaining the time-honored royal system. People, regardless of their age, present various points of view – although elderly part of the population is obviously more inclined to the traditional monarchy, young supporters of royal family constitute a strong group among their peers.
Andre: I am confident and firm as to the monarchy in Norway. I am against prolonging the royal system, of course. Although younger citizens could, logically, neglect the issue, I take it quite seriously. I am basically against the concept of giving power to people only because of their hereditary rights. Power should be earned through effort and work – instead of being taken after previous monarchs by heirs, since that denies justice, in a way.
Let’s take the example of our young prince. He has recently married a woman who had been married before and had had a child from her first relationship. Their final engagement was precedented by incredible hype, full of accusations, allegations and gossips. Not only had the prince that unpleasant attention upon him without any previous request. He didn’t do anything at all to gain power or fame
– yet he has got both in full scope.
Bernt: I would agree on this one. It is not truly fair, indeed, that one bears every inconvenience a celebrity has to deal with, even though they never pursued that gloss. However, I suppose we need our royal family as they are now; firstly, for the sake of tradition. They somehow portray a part of our culture, some of our national identity. And they do no harm, peacefully existing. Their roles are only representational, whatsoever. They possess no real power. Finally, they are not considerable a load for the country’s budget. So why shouldn’t they continue their functions? I think the royal system shouldn’t be changed for the time being.
Andre: You’re boring. In the end, if the king still wore his crown, I would still like him. But the royal family wears casual clothes, as every other Norwegian. That does not even look special. Why should they be powerful and renowned, then?
Bernt: That’s not true! They do wear their royal ribbons from time to time hehe! But seriously, I’m not bothered. I reckon no better alternatives to the system we have at present.
Andre: Another important thing is the reason why many Norwegians still hugely appreciate the king and his relatives. That is, during World War II the ruler strongly opposed to German supremacy.
Hitler wanted to take advantage of a submissive Norway – but royal family firmly and consistently objected, despite pressure being exerted on them. Thus they gained strong support of the nation, which has lasted ever since. Nonetheless, power should be earned – not given away for nothing.
Bernt: Yet the king is smart and amicable. Lots of people would like him to take real power and would probably support him as a potential Prime Minister.
What do you think: should men and women share housework on 50:50 basis? Who should take care of children?
Bernt: Well, children should be in nursery schools from the day they are 1 year old.
Andre: And as to taking care of infants, both sexes may both obtain long maternity/paternity paid leaves. Social policy encourages procreation, so it becomes easier and easier for both men and women to stay at home for some months to bring up their offspring.
Bernt: This works out well for couples. But I am not yet able to say whether I would take a paternity leave myself. Anyway – egalitarian approach is the basis of life of our society. Both sexes can do any job they may fancy (girls in the military service are nothing out of ordinary), both men and women are treated exactly in the same way, retire at the same age and so on.
And what about for example: toys? Do parents buy the same for boys and girls?
Andre: No, this hasn’t gotten that far yet, hehe! Boys still get cars and girls go on playing with dolls.
Bernt: Although more and more universal toys are available – such as pokemon creatures which serve boys and girls identically.
Andre: And it’s also true, that there are quite some housewives while house-husbands do not really exist.
People in general rarely stay at home, don’t they?
Bernt: Yes. People tend to work full-time. Children are usually in nursery schools and elderly people are well taken care of by specially created institutions.
Andre: This is the way things have been for a long time and it is generally accepted. There is now even a debate on possibilities of providing single rooms for all seniors.
Bernt: Senior houses and nurseries emerged as a response to needs of working class in the freemarket society.
Andre: Our economic goodwill requires these solutions. The percentage of working population is shrinking due to aging society, so we have to make best possible use of those in the working age.
How does egalitarian approach influence man’s attitude towards woman? Do you for example: let women pass first through the door? Or do you help them sit by the table?
Andre: No, of course not. We don’t have such strange things as letting women get in first through the door, or helping them to sit by the table
Bernt: Why should we? These are probably some of the obsolete customs Poles and French still cultivate. However, if women want to be treated equally, we deliver that.
So you ceased somewhere to show any respect towards the fragile gender?
Bernt: Come on, equality means equality. Women are just as privileged as men are.
Andre: Well, we might in the end show some respect for women. If a woman wanted to get on a bus with a heavy pram, I suppose we might help her, hehe!
What are your unique characteristics and reasons for national pride?
Bernt: Norwegians are by nationality supposed to be close to nature, at least closer than an average foreigner.
Andre: We do have and maintain that direct contact with natural environment. There are beautiful landscapes and truly amazing natural sites all over the country. Also, all our wealth comes from the nature: Norway thrives on fishing, gas and oil. We are often proud of our artists that are present on world scenes, but are not always recognized by foreigners. We like to remind people: “they are from
Norway”! But I guess we feel small somehow. We feel much smaller a country compared to Poland.
Moreover, we are outside the EU.
Bernt: In this regard we are outsiders. To say more, we have a strong notion of independence. We are firmly convinced that we can get by on our own.
So you oppose Norway joining the EU?
Andre: I would like Norway to join EU. And I think lots of people share my point of view. But we do feel we can manage ourselves.
Bernt: In my opinion we shouldn’t join EU yet. We’ll probably have to in a couple of years but for the moment we are better off outside. Our economy is so specific and disparate that nowadays a world recession is to our benefit. Furthermore, we have substantial influence on our economy. Joining the
EU means giving that up. Brussels is so far – and we would speak such a quiet voice in the Union – that we would hardly have any impact on our own economic condition.
Andre: I am a very, very much in favour of common currency! I used to travel to Sweden via Denmark; then I had to carry three different currencies, which was highly inconvenient. One single currency makes life much easier, prices become transparent across countries, and, by the way, I am not a huge fan of our bills with the king in the crown.
Bernt: I would be pro as an economist, but I’m against as a person. I like the image of our king on the bills. I would say this personal attachment to currency is common in Norway.
Andre: I am an integration freak. I want Europe to be one country, economically unified. This will
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Europe at Present [Spring 2003] happen one day anyway, so we should support the process. We will soon have to join the EU because
Iceland will wand to be a member. Due to fishing industry, which is their strong point and which we, too, count on largely, we cannot let ourselves lag behind after they have become part of common
European economy.
Bernt: I like differences. Variety is the spice of life. I very much appreciate diversified cultures of
Europe. Hence, I don’t really want to accelerate the integration. I think we should leave things as they are and let them develop at their own pace.
What is the perception of Danes and Swedes by Norwegians?
Bernt: Danish people are very relaxed and easygoing. They seem to like going to bars and partying – that’s their way. They are well perceived in Norway. They are not really dangerous as competitors in sports, so we do not mind them in general. Danes are pragmatic. We are much more concerned about order. The thing with Swedes is quite disparate, though.
Andre: Norway used to be under Swedish rule for a long time. Actually, throughout our history we have been subject either to Denmark or to Sweden for most of the time. Norway used to be poorer and worse developed than Sweden. But then oil fields were discovered on our territory and since that time we have been doing even slightly better than our Swedish brothers. Norway is, first of all, very costly compared to Denmark or Sweden. We are not a member state of EU – and that would entail banning most of the taxes. Anyway, the taxes are high and we go to Sweden to do cheap shopping.
Bernt: We compete with Swedes in many sport disciplines. That’s where many slightly offensive phrases derive from. In fact, we do not hate each other, we are just rivals.
Andre: There are plenty of jokes with three regular characters: a Dane, a Norwegian and a Swede.
The Swede somehow always turns out to be the stupid one, hehe. There are also huge cultural differences between Norwegians from the north and those from the south. The nation is varying strongly along regions.
What do you think about political life in your country?
Andre: Lately the Labor Party has lost most of their supporters. That seems strange, since this political option is still on top in Sweden. Amongst students, the most popular policies are those of reinforcing free market mechanisms and implementing other liberal ideas. This basically stands for centerright.
Bernt: Well, I support far right. I think that in order to achieve any of political goals like privatization, free market or individual economic freedom, we must give power to those who aim furthest. Thus, we stand good chances of realizing the goals, as the extreme postulates would never even be considered as feasible.
Andre: Are you really in favor of them? In this case I will not sleep with you any more! (hehe) I support moderate liberalists.
What is the situation of Church in Norway?
Andre: Church is no longer important part of life of society. We only attend a mess on the occasions of baptism and marriage.
And what about other cultural issues?
Bernt: Bills, for example. When it comes to paying, we normally split every bill. It is rare to pay for one’s friends in a bar.
Andre: It sometimes happens, though. A working girlfriend obviously pays for her non-working boyfriend.
Bernt: We don’t go out too often, anyway. Twice a week is quite a lot, compared to approximate numbers. Entertainment is expensive. That’s why a couple would rather go to a café or to a cinema – and seldom to a restaurant.
Andre: But in our restaurants we always have thick and soft napkins, unlike in Polish ones. And we don’t have any metal detectors in Norwegian discotheques, but I guess that is not the thing you asked… hehe!
VI. LITERATURE www.amscan.org www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/no.html www.demografi.no/arkiv www.denmark.org/about_denmark/factsheets.html www.finland-tourism.com www.formin.finland.fi/english www.funet.fi/resources/maps/ www.goscandinavia.com www.lib.byu.edu/estu/wess/scan www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/finland www.luth.se/luth/present/sweden/history/ www.lysator.liu.se/nordic www.mnh.si.edu/vikings www.norden.org www.nordicvoice.org/ www.norway.org www.pastforward.co.uk/vikings www.scandinaviancooking.com www.scandinavianews.com www.scanfest.org www.stst.net/Scandinavian www.sverigeturism.se/smorgasbord www.sweden.com www.travel.fi/int www.vikings.ndirect.co.uk www.virtual.finland.fi www.visitdenmark.com www.visitnorway.com/ www.visit-sweden.com www.vn.fi/vn/um
Appendix 2:
The Norwegian, the Danish and the Finn were stranded on an island, when they found a bottle.
Inside the bottle there was a spirit who told them that they could have one wish each. The Norwegian wished that he was home again, the same with the Danish. Then the Finn got lonely and wished them back.
Do you know why the Danes bring sandpaper when they are in the desert? Because they think it is a map
Do you know what an A4 sheet divided in two is? A puzzle for Swedes
What do you call an intelligent man in Norway? A tourist.
Aleksandra Łukasiewicz, Malwina Nowakowska (ed.), Weronika Zwolińska
SWITZERLAND - SWISS CONFEDERATION
Suisse - Confédération Suisse,Schweiz - Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft,
Svizzera - Confederazione Svizzera, Helvetia - Confederazium Svizera.
The main goal of this paper is to present main facts concerning Switzerland. The main emphasis has been put on the issue of federalism.
CHAPTER I. General information
Basic facts
There are about 30 countries in the world with a federal structure. Switzerland is the smallest federal state. However, its 26 cantons (regions) and four different languages make it one of the most com-
47

plex.The capital city is Bern, which at the same time isn’t the largest city of Switzerland. (Question: which is? Answer: Zurich)
Languages
There are three official languages in Switzerland: German, most commonly the dialect known as
Schwyzertütsch (more commonly called Swiss German) is spoken by about 66% of the population and is totally different form both written German and all spoken dialects found in Germany; French is spoken by 18% of the population, and Italian by 10%
Romanic, is spoken by 1% of the population, mainly in the canton of Graubünden. Derived from
Latin, it's a linguistic relic that's survived only in the isolation of mountain valleys. Here are some examples of common phrases: 244
243 . A fourth language, Romansch, or Rhaeto-
EN: Hi * DE: Grüezi * FR: Salue * IT: Ciao * RO: Tga
EN: Thanks * DE: Danke * FR: Merci * IT: Grazie * RO: Engraziel
E: I am hungry. * D: Ich bin hungrig. * FR: J'ai faim. * IT: Ho fame. * RO: Jeu hai fom.
E: What time is it ? * D: Wieviel Uhr ist es ? * FR: Quelle heure est-il ? * IT: Che ora è ? * RO: Tgei uras eis ei ?
E: HELP ! * D: HILFE ! * FR: AIDE ! * IT: AIUTO ! * RO: AGID !
E: I love you. * D: Ich liebe Dich. * FR: Je t'aime. * IT: Ti amo. * RO: Jeu carezel tei.
History 245
The first inhabitants of the region were a Celtic tribe, the Helvetia. The Romans appeared on the scene in 107 BC by way of the St Bernard Pass, but owing to the difficulty of the terrain their conquest of the area was never decisive. In the 5th century Germanic Allemani started to settle down on the territory of present Switzerland. The territory was united under the Holy Roman Empire in 1032 but central control was never very tight. It was all changed by Rudolph I, the emperor of Habsburg family, who conquested and fully united the territory. After his death in 1291 the local tribes’ leadres saw their chance and announced the Pact of Mutuall Assistance, which now can be described as the beginning of the Swiss Confederation. The Swiss struggles against the Habsburgs is idealised in the leghend of Wilhelm Tell. In 1499 they succeeded and gained independence from the Holy Roman
Emperor Maximilian I. They started to conquer the neighbouring teritorries, but in 1515 they overreached themselves when loosing the battle with French and Venetians. It was when they realised they are no longer the military power, and after renouncing the expansionist policy they declared neutrality.
During the Reformation Switzerland remained neutral, and kept out of Thirty Years' War. When the war ended in 1648, in the Treaty of Westphalia Switrezland was described as a neutral state. Nevertheless, the French Republic invaded Switzerland in 1798 and established the Helvetic Republic. Swiss patiently waited till Napoleon’s defeated at Waterloo, and the Congress of Vienna guaranteed Switzerland's independence and permanent neutrality in 1815.
The Swiss have carefully guarded their neutrality in the 20th century. Their only WW I involvement lay in the organising of Red Cross units. In WW II, however, Switzerland played a more insidious role as money launderer for Nazi Germany. Switzerland's quiet anti-Semitism included shutting its borders to Jewish refugees and forcibly repatriating many of those who escaped Nazi-occupied Europe, precisely knowing what will happen to them. After the end of WW II, Switzerland was afraid that its neutrality would dissapear, and declined to become a member of the United Nations (though it currently has an 'observer' status) or NATO. It did, however, join EFTA. Facing the fact that other EFTA nations applied for EU membership, Switzerland finally made its own application in 1992. As a prelude to full EU membership Switzerland was to join the EEA (European Economic Area), yet the govern-
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] ment's strategy wa destroyed by national referendum in December 1992, when most citizens voted
“no”. The same “no” was voted for Switzerland's EU application.
Population 246
The Swiss people as a whole are mainly of Alpine, Nordic, and Slavic or Dinaric descent.
The population of Switzerland is over 7 million people- exactly 7.261.210, 20% of which are foreigners. If you want to estimate the overall number of inhabitants in Switzerland, you should add more than 25.000 seasonal workers, more than 20.000 short-time residents and almost 66.000 asylum seekers. (as for 2001) Source: www.statistik.admin.ch/stat_ch/
Many foreigners- people without Swiss pasport, are actually born in Switzerland, or live there for more than 15 years. They are sometimes called “foreign nationals”. Naturalization- getting the Swiss nationality- isn’t easy at all. One of ways of doing it is to marry a Swiss, have children with him or her, and live there for more than 15 years. In fact Switzerland is getting more and more ”foreign national”- the foreign population is young, with a ratio of only 8 The Federal Insurance Law of 1911 regulates accident and sickness insurance. Accident insurance is compulsory for most officials and employees. Old-age and survivor’s insurance, persons of retirement age to every 100 persons of working age (among Swiss, the figure is 30). Source: www.statistik.admin.ch/stat_ch/
This also has to do with the fact that 27% of children born in Switzerland in 2000 were “foreign nationals”. Births ratio is 10,1 per 1000 inhabitants, and there are 105 boys per 100 girls. What is interesting, 11,4 % 247 of all children born are those of unmarried women- Swiss are extremly tolerant to unmarried ( or divorced) mothers.
People marry relatively late; they concentrate on their training and career before they start a family.
The majority of couples have only 1 or 2 children.
248
Average life expectancy in Switzerland is 77 years for men and 83 years for women (2002). which also includes disability benefits, is compulsory and is financed by a payroll tax on both employers and employees. Unemployment insurance became compulsory under a 1976 law.
The population is unevenly distributed, with the principal concentrations occurring in the Swiss plateau. Approximately 68 per cent of the population is classified as urban, but most live in small towns.
There are enormous regional differences between the Swiss people. Visitors may sense variations in attitude in different areas of Switzerland. Perhaps a bit more relaxed and jovial in the south (Lugano and Locarno), more urbane and volatile in the west (Geneva and Lausanne), more businesslike and officious in the east (Zurich, Bern, Basel and Lucerne), where most banks are located.
Religion
In Switzerland we can observe an almost equilibrium of Catholics (46%) and Protestants (40%). The remaining 14 % are other or none spares the money.
249 . The high amount of atheists is connected with a church tax.
Anyone declaring being catholic or protestant has to pay, so some part of the population simply
The Protestant Reformation in Switzerland started in 1518, when a country pastor named Huldreich
Zwingli began to denounce the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church.
Subsequently, under Zwingli’s leadership, the city of Zurich revolted against church dogma by burning relics, banning the adoration of saints, and releasing clerics from their vows of celibacy.
Now Switzerland has strictly divided religion from the state. You can even find a record in a constitution that nobody is allowed to express his confession in public on penalty of fine or prison. According to that record, no priest is allowed to wear SUTANNA. Of course this record is not strictly obeyed, but the fact is that there are a few priests in SUTANNA walking the Swiss street.
243 Encarta Encyclopaedia
244 http://www.about.ch/culture/languages/words_n_phrases.html#phrases
245 all chapter is based on Norma Davies’ Europe
48
246 all chapter based on http:// www.statistik.admin.ch/stat_ch/
247 http://www.switzerland-in-sight.ch/en/3_bev/3_fs.html
248 http://www.switzerland-in-sight.ch/en/3_bev/3_fs.html
249 http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sz.html

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Currency and banking
The monetary unit of Switzerland is the Swiss franc, of 100 centimes. The semi-private Swiss National
Bank is the bank of issue, in which shares are held by the cantons, other banks, and the public.
Switzerland is a major international financial centre; its banks are favoured by international depositors and financiers because of Swiss political and financial stability and traditional secrecy in banking transactions. Private banking is one of the country’s principal sources of income. Zurich is the main banking centre; leading commercial banks are the Union Bank of Switzerland, the Swiss Bank Corporation, the Swiss Credit Bank, and Bank Leu. There are six stock exchanges; the Zurich Stock Exchange is one of the largest in Europe, and the city is also a major trade centre for gold.
Education 250
Switzerland has exerted a deep influence on European and international education for centuries. The academic excellence of Swiss universities, including those at Basel (founded in 1460), Lausanne
(1537), Zurich (1833), and Geneva (1599), as well as the Federal Institute of Technology (1855) in
Zurich, has attracted numerous foreign students. Education, particularly religious education, has been inspired in part by the French theologian John Calvin, who settled in Switzerland in 1536. Modern education has been largely influenced by the 18th-century Geneva-born philosopher Jean-Jacques
Rousseau. The theories of Johann Pestalozzi, the 18th-century educational reformer who advocated that children should learn from their own experiences, have contributed to the development of education throughout the world. In more recent times, the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget became widely recognized for his insights into the learning abilities and habits of children; and many of the early studies of Albert Einstein into relativity were carried out in Zurich.
The Swiss constitution of 1848 provided for free and compulsory education. Under the constitution of
1874, as amended in 1902, the federal government confined its efforts to higher education; the cantons and half-cantons were required to establish free, compulsory elementary schools with subsidies, but without control, from the federal government. These schools are taught in the local official language, but students may also study the other national languages as well.
Most cantons provide secondary schools for students aged 12 to 15, gymnasiums (collegepreparatory schools), and teacher-training institutes, in addition to various institutions of higher learning and special schools. Illiteracy is negligible. In 1998-1999 primary schools in Switzerland had a total enrolment of 529,610 pupils; secondary schools had a combined attendance of some 544,433 students; and institutions of higher learning had an aggregate enrolment of 156,390 students.
Cuisine 251
When you think of Switzerland, you probably think of yodeling. But traditional Swiss folk culture includes also playing the alp horn and Swiss wrestling. You may also think of Milka chocolate, which is partly correct. Swiss chocolate is excellent by itself, and moreover is often used in desserts and cakes. But in fact Milka is a German chocolate! Typically Swiss ones are Toblerone, Maestrani and
Holls.
When mentioning cuisine, it so worth mentioning that Switzerland doesn't have a great indigenous gastronomic tradition - instead, Swiss dishes borrow from the best of German and French cuisine.
Moreover, Switzerland hasn’t always been that rich. In the past ages Swiss people were mostly extremely poor. That’s why the “national dishes” aren’t that sophisticated as originally French ones.
Rosti (crispy, fried, shredded potatoes) is German Switzerland's national dish. Fondue is French one, made of melted Emmenthaler or Gruyère combined with white wine, garlic and pepper . Fondue is served up in a vast pot and eaten with bread cubes. There is a certain culture of eating fondue: first of all, you put your bread on the fork and stir with it in the pot with fondue, making in the cheese the shape of 8. There can be only one fork in the pot at one time! Secondly, when your bread falls into fondue while dipping, you have to give something to the people you eat fondue with. Today, when most Swiss are affluent, you can find many more sophisticated versions of fondue, like chocolate or kirsch one.
Culture
Switzerland does not have a strong artistic heritage, even though many foreign writers and artists, such as Voltaire, Byron, Shelley, James Joyce and Charlie Chaplin have resided or settled in the country. On the contrary, many creative Swiss such as Charles Le Corbusier, Paul Klee, Albert Giacometti and Jean-Luc Godard left the country to become famous abroad
Hermann Hesse is the most famous naturalized Swiss writer. His novel Siddartha used to be a Bible for every Westerner heading on the hippy trail to India. German-Swiss dramatist and novelist Max
Frisch was one of Europe's most respected authors in the 1950s, and his best novel was Homo Faber, later filmed by Volker Schlondorff under the title Voyager. The 18th-century writings of Rousseau, who lived in Geneva, played an important part in the development of democracy, and Carl Jung, based in Zürich, was instrumental in developing modern psychoanalysis.
Festivals and events 252
Cartier Polo Cup on Snow takes place every year in St. Moritz resort in January.
In 1985 the idea to play polo on the frozen St. Moritz Lake celebrated its world premiere; since then, the Cartier Polo
World Cup, sponsored by watchmaking company Cartier, on Snow has become an indispensible event on the Engadine calendar.
Montreux Jazz Festival takes place in Auditorium Stravinski from 2nd to 17th July every year.
Since its beginnings as a three-day event in 1967, the Montreux Jazz Festival has become a stupendous 16-day affair, headlined by jazz, blues, rock, world-music and soul luminaries such as George
Benson, Maria Bethania, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Roberta Flack, Aretha
Franklin, Herbie Hancock, Etta James, Quincy Jones, B. B. King, Oscar Peterson and Sting. Annually more than 200 000 visitors come to enjoy this unique and eclectic music.
Rado Swiss Open takes place in Gstaad, a week after the Wimbledon Championships end. One of the reasons to attend the tournament is not only the spectacular setting, but the real challenge for the players of dealing at over 3000 feet with much faster balls and courts than those they normally face. Every year more than 44 000 fans come to enjoy the games and to see their idols live. Among recent winners of the tournament are excellent Albert Costa, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Sergi Bruguera and
Stefan Edberg.
International del film takes place every year in Locarno, from 4th to 14th August. The statistics are striking, with an average of almost 1000 press and media, and over 4000 film-professionals from more than 30 countries attending. With its 7000 seats, state of the art technical facilities, and its giant screen (26 x 14 m), the Piazza Grande has been, since its transformation in 1971 into a summer outdoor theatre, one of the world's largest and most attractive open-air cinemas.
International Festival of Music takes place in Lucerne from 14th August to 11th September, It includes dramatised music in the series of "Weltruf" ("World culture") performances, theatre projects originating in Europe and from elsewhere around the world as part of our "Musical theatre" programme, performances by Evelyn Glennie (percussion) in the "Artiste étoile" cycle, and "Children's corner" performances geared to young audiences.
CHAPTER II. Federalism
General information
The Eidgenossenschaft (confederation) consists of Bundesversammlung ("federal assembly"), legislative authority; Bundesrat, executive authority and Bundesgericht ("federal court"), judicial authority.
Federal Assembly
The Federal Assembly or Parliament meets in the Bundeshaus in Bern and consists of two houses or
250 all chapter based on http://www.about.ch/education/index.html#CH_Edu_Intro and Norman Davies’ Europa
251 all chapter based on: Mark Honan, Lonely Planet Guide, Switzerland, July 2000
49
252 all charter based on: Mark Honan, Lonely Planet Guide, Switzerland, July 2000

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Kammern (chambers): Ständerat also called the kleine Kammer ("small chamber") with two representatives of each canton, or one representative of each split-canton, regardless of the size of the population of the canton and Nationalrat also called the grosse Kammer ("large chamber") with 200 representatives, the number of representatives is proportional to the population of the cantons, but there is at least one representative of a canton.
Bundesrat
Seven members, elected by the Vereinigte Bundesversammlung, a combined assembly of both chambers, constitute the Bundesrat. The Bundesräte / Bundesrätinnen head the following departments):
Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Justice and Police, Defence, Civil Protection and Sports, Finance, Economic Affairs, Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications. Elections take place every four years.
253 However, according to the political tradition members’ term is practically unlimited as they are elected again. It is finished when a member dies, retires or commits a serious offence or crime.
The average term lasts 10 years, but the longest lasted for 28 years.
254
In theory any Swiss citizen can stand for the post; in practice the new councillor is chosen from a list put forward by the outgoing councillor's party. Members of the Federal Council are not members of parliament. Until the constitution was amended on January 1 2000, no two councillors could come from the same canton. Although this rule has been dropped, efforts are made to try to ensure that all areas of the country are represented. In recent years there has also been a move to put forward more female candidates. The Federal Council is assisted and advised on the running of its business by the Federal Chancellery. The Chancellor attends weekly cabinet meetings in a consultative capacity, and is sometimes referred to unofficially as "the 8th councillor.
255 Each year, a different member becomes Federal President ( Bundespräsident/Bundespräsidentin). The post confers no special powers or privileges, and the president continues to administer his or her own department. They welcome heads of states visiting Switzerland and accepts credentials of ambassadors.
and Vice President Ruth Metzler (since 1 January 2003).
257
256 At the moment the chief of state and the head of government are President Pascal Couchepin (since 1 January 2003)
The four strongest parties are represented in the council: Free Democrats (2 members), Social Democrats (2 members), Christian Democrats (2 members) and Swiss People’s Party (1 member).
“Magic formula”
The system, known as the "magic formula" was worked out by members of parliament in 1959. All members of the Federal Council take collective responsibility for decisions. Some analysts see the system as a way to tame dissent, bringing potential opposition into government. Since it is not part of the constitution, its existence is not set in stone and its future is the source of debate, although at present it is not under serious threat.
If the Federal Councilor wants to change the law, he or she has to convince the other Federal Council members. They might object that it would be pointless, since it would certainly have no chance in parliament. Various relevant lobbies are consulted and a draft compromise is formulated. That draft goes to one of the two chambers of the Swiss Federal Assembly. The first chamber discusses it in committee, then as a body. Once the proposal has passed the hurdle of the first chamber, it moves on to the other one where the procedure is repeated. The order in which the chambers examine any particular proposal is decided by their speakers. No proposal can become law unless it is accepted by both chambers of Federal Assembly.
258 People can take direct influence by two means. 100'000 citizens can request a voting about a change or extension of the
Bundesverfassung ("constitution") or the Bundesgesetzt ("federal law") and it is an initiative. If the
Bundesrat wants to change or extend the Bundesverfassung ("constitution") or the Bundesgesetz
("federal law"), 50'000 citizens can request a voting about, which is called referendum.
253 www.about.ch./administration.index.html#CH_Admin_TOC
254 Shlomo Papirblat, Szwajcaria, Wydawnictwo EUROPA, Wrocłąw 1997/1998, p. 26
255 www.switzerland-in-sight.ch/en/3_bev/3_fs.html
256 Shlomo Papirblat, op. cit.
257 www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sz.html#Issues
258 www.switzerland-in-sight.ch/en/3_bev/3_fs.html
50
Confederation and cantons
The duties of the confederation are defined in the Bundesverfassung ("federal constitution") and include: protection of the country and its citizens, postal services, telephone and telecommunications
(PTT), monetary system ( Nationalbank, "national bank"), transportation (Nationalstrassen (motor ways, railway), military, customs, diplomatic relations with other countries.
Switzerland consists of 23 Kantone (singular Kanton, cantons or states), 3 of them are divided into
Halb-Kantone ("split states"):
Cantons have the following authorities: Grosser Rat, Kantonsrat or Landesrat(the name varies between the cantons), legislative authority; Kantonsregierung, executive authority and Kantonsgericht, judicial authority. The cantons Appenzell, Glarus and Unterwalden do not perform elections and voting, but a so called Landsgemeinde, an out door assembly of all its citizens. The attendees raise their hands to show if they agree with or deny a particular request. The duties of the cantons are defined in their Kantonsverfassung ("cantonal constitution") and include education, transportation
( Kantonsstrassen, "cantonal roads") and social institutions.
259 There are also areas where confederation has legislative and cantons executive power: standard weights and measures, traffic, organization if the army, labour law, social insurance or civil and criminal law. Legislative authority is mixed in case of taxes, building of roads, hunting, fishery, insurances and education.
260
Districts
Each canton consists of a number of Bezirke (districts) with the following authorities: people be voting and elections, legislative authority; Bezirksrat, executive authority and Bezirksgericht, judicial authority. The duties of the district include education and judicature.
Municipalities
Each district consists of Gemeinden (singular Gemeinde, municipalities). There are a 2929 municipalities in Switzerland. A municipality with more than 10'000 citizens is considered a Stadt ("town"), smaller municipalities are called a Dorf ("village"). However, some smaller villages have the status of a town for historical reasons. Municipalities have the following authorities: Gemeindeversammlung, an assembly of all citizens, or people by voting and elections, legislative authority; Gemeinderat or Stadtrat, executive authority and Friedensrichter ("lay magistrate"), judicial authoritity. The duties of the municipalities include, local services (electricity, water, fire brigade, police etc.), transportation ( Gemeindestrassen, "local roads"), schools and taxes.
Who is responsible?
Schooling
Health
Police force
Money
Customs
Army
Road traffic
Postal system
Foreign policy
Welfare
Taxation x =only limited
Confederation x x x x x x x x x x
Source: www.switzerland-in-sight.ch/en/4_fod/4_fs.html
Canton x x x x x x
Commune x x x x x x x
259 www.about.ch./administration.index.html#CH_Admin_TOC
260 Stanisław Bańbuła, O Szwajcarii…prawie wszystko, Wydawnictwo SGGW, Warszawa 1998, p. 18-19.

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
The rule of subsidarity
Subsidarität is the rule that has determined Swiss policy for ages. It reflects the idea that if the lowest level of authority is to govern successfully it should have the freedom of activities.
261
Differences within Switzerland
Differences from canton to canton and from commune to commune are quite big. The tax and educational system is a typical example. Teachers, doctors or lawyers who move from one canton to another must obtain official recognition of their qualification in their new home, since schooling, justice and health are the responsibility of the cantons, not of central government. However, economic and political developments in recent years mean that many of these local variations are now felt as a hindrance. Workers are more mobile and companies are doing business over wider areas. For this reason, and in line with the regionalisation policy of the European Union - although Switzerland is not a member - the federal authorities in 1999 grouped the cantons into seven macro regions, each focussed on a specific urban center. The regions will be encouraged to harmonise their activities in such fields as government, the media, transport and communication, trade, culture and sport. Today more and more responsibilities are being transferred to the confederation. The problems and tasks of a modern society (environmental protection, traffic, social security) can no longer be dealt with in any other way. The cantons in western Switzerland are uneasy about this, since they are afraid of having to adapt even more to the Swiss-German majority. Voting patterns in referenda have revealed wide differences between attitudes of French speakers - and to some extent Italian speakers, who support joining the European Economic Area and European Union, provision of maternity benefits and lowering the retirement age - on the one hand, and German speakers on the other.
262
CHAPTER III. Switzerland’s foreign policy
The origins of a sovereign state 263
The independence of Switzerland was recognized at Peace of Basil in 1499. At the very beginning of the XVI century the territory of it spread significantly. At the beginning of the XVI century Switzerland spread in terms of its area. The Peace of Westphalia of 1648 reconfirmed the sovereignity and made it independent from Germany. In 1798 French army took contol over the country and the Republic of
Helvetia was created. After the battle of Leipzig in 1813 Switzerland declared to be neutral.
Today’s creation of Swiss foreign policy
Constitutional background for Swiss foreign policy
The Federal Constitution states that Swiss foreign policy shall "contribute to alleviate need and poverty in the world and to promote respect for human rights, democracy, the peaceful coexistence of nations and the preservation of natural resources actors:
264 ." The Swiss foreign policy includes development co-operation and foreign economic & trade policy, both bilateral and multilateral, with i.a. following
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Directorate for Political Affairs, Directorate for International Law, Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
The role of Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
In order to present the wide perspective of goals set ahead of the Swiss existence on the international scene let me concentrate on the role of the main actor on this scene from the Swiss party – the
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is responsible for representing Switzerland's interests abroad, in particular its relations with other countries. It is supported by a network of foreign missions, which are obliged to protect interests of the Swiss abroad and maintain godd polictical and economic relations with other countries. The Swiss Federal Council and Parliament delegate responsibilities to them.
In the process of creation of Swiss foreign policy the FDA deals with all issues of a cross-border nature. These include questions of security, trade and industry, development cooperation, environmental matters, and cultural relations, etc. The representatives both on the bilateral and multilateral level work for achieving the objectives of FDA by participating in international negotiations, confering with foreign governments and serving as contacts for the Foreign Embassies in Switzerland.
Neutrality
Origins of neutrality
Neutrality is the basic concept of Swiss foreign policy and this is a reason for my decision to begin presenting Switzerland’s place on the global scene by discussing this important issue first.
Swiss neutrality originates from three hundred years of history of a small mulitinational state in the middle of European wars. The cantons were almost torn apart by the religious conflicts in the XVI century, which seemed to be a good reason for the Swiss to opt for neutrality. The Swiss neutrality was recognized at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 and was reaffirmed at the Congress of Vienna in
1815. Other states taking part in the Congress claimed that the Swiss neutrality is in the interest of all
European nations.
This concept allowed Switzerland to stay neutral during both world wars.
Law of neutrality
There arises a question of the meaning of neutrality. The common definition is as follows: “Neutrality is the non participation of a State in an armed conflict among other States” 265 .
There exist two types of neutrality: occasional which is declared by a state according to the circumstances and permanent one, which prevents the country from taking part in any sort of conflict.
Switzerland’s neutrality is of the second type, which means that it will never take part in any conflict.
The basis for neutrality law was laid down in Hague in 1907 ( The Hague Convention) Participation in a conflict is forbidden to the neutral state. Therefore Switzerland must not support a warring party with its own armed forces. Its territory cannot be used for any military actions.
The sovereignty of Switzerland must be respected by the warring parties. What is very important - and profitable as well - is the fact that it is allowed to maintain free economic and trade relations with warring parties. Let me quote the part taken from the Hague
Convention: ”The export of armament and ammunition by neutral states and their citizens is expressly allowed. Should these be reduced with regard to any particular warring party, the neutral state is then obliged to reduce its armament exports with all other states at war in the same measure”.
The concept of neutrality has changed over time, but lives its evolution with certain regularity: it is always more restrictive when the times and less peaceful and global tensions arise.
Defense and security policy
Military – “Zivilschutz”
Due to its traditional neutrality, discussed wider above, Switzerland does not have its own army. The only troops that Switzerland possesses are the “Zivilschutz” – formations of civil defense, which are in fact organized as a regular army, well-trained and fully equipped. The military (or rather “civil”) service is obligatory and organized on a very interesting basis: each young man man has to be trained militarily and afterwards commit one month a year to the civil service as long as a 20 years old man turns 52. This allows the “Zivilschutz” to be ready to intervene at any time required. These
261 Mark Honan, Szwajcaria, Wydawnictwo Pascal, Bielsko Biała, 1998, p. 30.
262 www.switzerland-in-sight.ch/en/3_bev/3_fs.html
263 “Almanach państw świata 2003”, Andrzej Bińkowski, Książka i Wiedza, Warszawa 2003, pp.394-396
264 the Swiss Constitution
51
265 Góralczyk W., Prawo międzynarodowe publiczne, Wydawnictwo Prawnicze NexisLexis, Warszawa 2001

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] include crisis situations, accidents and other dangers. Switzerland is currently undergoing a military reform aimed at personnel and equipment reduction. To quote some curiosity let me remind, that these are the Swiss that protect Vatican and the Pope.
Security issues and international cooperation
With regards to the policy of nonalignment Switzerland tried to defend its neutral position but as some dangers such as drug trade, terrorism and organized crime do not respect the borders and are a threat of the transnational scope, Switzerland understands that it it for its own good to cooperate internationally to prevent these. That is why Switzerland is committed to security based on international efforts at co-operation, and is actively engaged in promoting peace. The Confederation pursues its objectives through various institutions and organisations, the most prominent of which include the
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Partnership for Peace, and the Euro-
Atlantic Partnership Council.
Switzerland’s position in the contemporary world
Swiss/EU relations
History of Swiss/EU relations
Although Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, the relationship between Switzerland and the EU is of key importance; it is part of a national political debate.
To characterise the EU/Switzerland cooperation two words should be used: long-lasting and intensive. Switzerland is geographically located in the middle of the EU and shares culture, language and economic integration with its neighbouring countries.
The very beginning of the these relations dates back as far as the creation of the European Coal and
Steel Community in 1956. But the act of even greater importance is the Free Trade Agreement of
1972.
On 2 May 1992, Switzerland signed the EEA Agreement. To deepen the cooperation Switzerland’s government applied for accession to the EEC in 1992, but the referendum held on the 6
1992, rejected the ratification of the EEA agreement. th December
Nevertheless Swiss policy is still open towards integration with the EU.
Current EU – Swiss relations
There is no structured framework between EU and Switzerland. The Swiss have a permanent mission to the European Communities in Brussels as many other countries do, but the European Commission hasn’t opened its Delegate Office in Bern. The rejection of Swiss membership in the EU by means of referendum still does matter in these relations and has its negative impact. But in order to minimise these consequences several agreement between EU and Switzerland were negotiated and signed on
21 June 1999. These include seven crucial: sectors Free Movement of Persons, Trade in Agricultural
Products, Public Procurement, Conformity Assessments, Air Transport, Transport by Road and Rail,
Swiss Participation in the 5th Framework Programme for Research. After ratification by the Swiss in referendum entered intro force in 2002. Other questions still wait for their solutions and agreements e.g EUROPOL, savings taxation, liberalisation of serices.
EU is Switzerland’s main trading partner. 61% of Swiss exports and 79% of its imports constitue tight economic relations. Also to the EU Switzerland is one of the most important trading partners.
Some of the agreements will have to be updated as the admission of ten new member countries will require new arrangements for them. For this purpose a new round of negotiations is to be held and concluded in 2003.
Swiss/United Nations relations
Having discussed the main issues of Switzerland’s foreign policy it will be quite easy to describe the reasons for which it joined the United Nations.
As the organization deals essentially with questions concerning security, peace, human rights, promoting prosperity, social cohesion, humanitarian aid and environmental protection and these correspond with the goals set by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs 266 and “Swiss Foreign Policy
Report 2000” Switzerland can therefore support the UN in achieving its objectives even though the traditional neutrality was the basis of Swiss being no party to any international affairs and treaties for many years. Although Switzerland was a member of the Nations’ League, some of the UN member country obligations made it resistent towards joining. Nevertheless Switzerland was a party to many of the UN agendas which did correspond to its values 267 .
In 1948 Switzerland became an observer to the UN and lived this status till 2002 when it was admitted to membership in the United Nations on 10 September and became the 190th member. Since then there is no country outside the UN system. Membership allows Switzerland to strengthen its position on the global scene and fully protect its interests.
The policy of non-alignment defended so courageously for so many years is now gone. Switzerland understood that it is for its own good to keep in touch with the world and have the right to vote and create the international affairs.
International Geneva
Switzerland is also a party to many international treaties and organizations 268 such as: Organization for Security and Economic Cooperation, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,
European Free Trade Association and Council of Europe. It plays also an important role as an international centre in Geneva. It is the home of many different types of organizations which are active in fields as varied as humanitarian aid, trade, human rights, the environment and sustainable development, training and education, peace-keeping and security, meteorology, intellectual property, nuclear research, health, telecommunications and labour. The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) is the most active centre for multilateral diplomacy in the world and has been the setting of many historic negotiations. Switzerland is a host to 28 international organizations. 20 international organizations with are based in Geneva. These are for example: the European Organization for Nuclear Research
(CERN) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Among these 20 organizations, eight are United
Nations agencies, for example: the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and others. But it is also a place where more than 150 NGOs (non-governmental organizations) have their seats. These include the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the World Council of Churches (WCC), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) and many others.
Chapter IV. SWITZERLAND – BOTH TRADITIONAL AND PROGRESSIVE
Having regard to the Swiss long tradition of neutrality, strong economy and protection of natural environment it must be stressed that this gave the country the unique position in the world. It is a host to many organization and also a party to it, always within the frames of non-engagement. This brings objectiveness to the Swiss foreign policy. Switzerland develops itself internationally and does not close itself to the global matters by staying outside which may be comfortable in the short run, as the Swiss neutrality is being respected globally. But the Swiss seem to know it perfectly well that without engagement in the world’s largest issues such as humanitarian aid, security and defense policy, research and development strategies it is not possible to maintain its position and role in the world. This brings Switzerland towards cooperation with other countries without forgetting its tradition.
To visualise this Swiss vision of the future of international relations let me quote sentence by Joseph
Deiss, the Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs told in Geneva, on 7 of June 2002:
”In order to meet the challenges of globalisation today, a commitment is needed at a new level of international co-operation… Economic globalisation must go hand-in-hand with more and deeper
266 for details see point 3.2 of this report
267 Jan Sochaczewski, „Szwajcaria 190. członkiem ONZ”, Stosunki Międzynarodowe, 12.09.2002
268 Kissinger H., Dyplomacja, Philip Wilson, Warszawa 2002
52

political dialogue… States must meet global challenges together.”
Paweł Jakubowski, Bartosz Kędzia, Łukasz Wasilewski
RELIGIONS IN EUROPE
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF RELIGIONS IN EUROPE
The present religious situation in Europe is difficult to characterise and understand without a brief introduction to its history. Additionally many of the primitive beliefs strongly influenced present cultures and are even still alive among many groups in society. Very often the specific features of present religions result from their beginnings. The following text presents a brief summary of religious history of Europe in chronological order. The names of the periods do not come from any official classification, but were worked out for the purpose of this paper.
Pre-civilised period
At the very, very beginning the primitive tribes all over the world worshipped the Mother Earth – Gaia and the gods of their surroundings – animals, places, rivers, trees, thunders, etc. The development of civilisations triggered the evolution of more complicated, widespread religions.
The first more developed civilisations were these of Mesopotamia and Sumer and Egypt. In Europe it was the time of Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments. It is not completely clear if there had any religious functions, but they could serve as places of sacrifices or praying.
269
The Hebraic tribe settled in Palestine around 2000 BC. According to the Bible, the first of them was
Abraham. When the famine stroke Palestine, his son, Jacob moved to Egypt with his people, where they became slaves. Yahweh – their one God – rescued them under the leadership of Moses from slavery and oppression in Egypt, and led them through the wilderness of Sinai to a land he promised would be their own.
270 They fought the Filistines to create the kingdom of Israel, which they ruled until they were conquered around 700 BC. They believed that the one god established a special relationship with them known as the "covenant".
Greek and Roman world
The year 1100 BC marks the beginning of Archaic Greek civilisation – the first serious one on the
European continent.
271 Religion in Greece changed with time, but it was always polytheistic, embracing a multitude of gods and goddesses. The Greeks tended to look to Egypt for learning and culture rather than to their own forebears (the Minoans of Crete), until at the end of the 6th century there was a new arousal of interest in the old legends of Greece, which were retranslated in a new and more spiritual light. 272
Rome was settled in 753 BC. From the very beginning it remained under the cultural influence of
Greek. In fact, all the roman gods were acquired mainly from Greek but also other cultures like
Egyptians and Cartagina.
273
To the Romans, the gods were functions, assigned a precise office which was what was worshipped rather than the personalities of the stories. Religion was related to the basic agricultural economy, with the city of Rome personified as the main deity; they accepted some foreign gods, especially
Greek, into their pantheon, modifying the deities to fit their functional need.
Roman religion was essentially state controlled. The state cult gave way to the cult of the emperor.
Imperial deification began after the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC when the Roman Senate
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] proclaimed him as a god and the deification of strong emperors continued.
274
Since the year 597 BC Jews tended to isolate. The ancient Israelites seem to have distinguished themselves from other religious groups by their belief in a god called Yahweh who had shown special compassion towards their ancestors.
At this time Palestine was under the rule of the Greek and many Jews fought the Greek influence, which destroyed their tradition. After fighting back the Greeks, Judea enjoyed 80 years of independence until it was conquered again, this time by Romans. Under the Roman rule many Jews left Judea and settled all over the empire. 275
The land north of the Mediterranean was dominated by two main groups of Northern peoples, the
Celtic and the Germanic. At the beginning they lived in the middle Europe since 600 BC. They started to move west and south, and settled as farmers. They traded with their neighbours (Romans, Greek, and other Mediterranean countries) but remained immune to their cultural influence. In France they were called Gals and were conquered by Cesar. Most of the Celtic culture in Great Britain disappeared under the rule of Romans, but it remained strong in the North England, Whales, Scotland and Ireland.
276
The Germanic peoples were essentially polytheistic, and many names of deities are recorded.
However, four names occur so frequently that they can be assumed to be of greatest importance - these are Woden/Odin, Thor, Frey and Freyja. These deities were not regarded as immortal, for it was believed that the day of Ragnorak, the doom of the gods, would one day come, causing the gods to die in mortal combat and that the earth and humans would perish with them. After this, the
Germanic peoples believed a new heaven and earth would arise as Yggradsil, the world tree, renewed itself.
The most widely used symbols were the runes, which the Germanic peoples believed were discovered by Odin. The runic symbols were thought to be embodiments of truth, and were used for divination, magic, and decoration to honour the gods.
277
When Jesus Christ was born, Judea was ruled by Romans. He was born in Bethlehem probably in the year 5 BC. He was brought up in Nazareth, as a carpenter. When he was 27 he started to teach and heal people. He criticised official religions and claimed to be God’s Son, which was perceived as a heresy. Put on trial for sedition, he was executed by crucifixion. Jesus' death did not represent the end of the new movement. His disciples, believing that God had risen Jesus from the dead, proclaimed the resurrection and the beginning of a new age It created a basis for a new religion, strongly connected with Judaism. The most important early convert, Paul of Tarsus, carried the
Christian message to various parts of the Roman Empire.
278
Christians separated themselves from Jews and other religions; they met in catacombs, as they were safe due to a roman law, which protected burial grounds. In 250 AD Romans started to persecute them. Many of them were murdered in arenas.
279
At its height, the Roman Empire stretched from Hadrian's Wall in Britain to the Persian Gulf. When
Diocletian came to power in 284 AD, the Empire was too diverse and weak in structure, and could no longer be ruled by one Emperor; power was divided between two rulers and two subordinates, but although theoretically these rulers were joint, the Empire gradually broke into an Eastern and
Western half, and outlying provinces fell to barbarian invaders.
280
While Eastern grew in power, the power of the Western one declined. In 312 the cesar Constantine became Christian after seeing burning cross in the sky. The Christianity became an accepted religion
269 Ilustrowana historia świata, H. Samsonowicz ed., Warsaw 1993.
270 European religion, http://www.philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/europe, 19 April 2003.
271 Ilustrowana..., op. cit.
272 European..., op. cit.
273 Ilustrowana..., op.cit
53
274 European..., op. cit.
275 Ilustrowana..., op. cit.
276 Ibidem.
277 European..., op. cit.
278 Ibidem.
279 Ilustrowana..., op. cit.
280 European..., op. cit.

in the Roman Empire in the year 313 AD with the proclamation of the Edict of Milan. In the year 380
AD it was declared an official religion of the empire. All other religions were proscribed. The year 476 marks the end of Western empire. 281
Dark Ages
Mahomet was born in Mecca in 570 AD. When he was 40 he claimed to have seen an archangel
Gabriel. He told him to worship the one God in the polytheistic East. After fleeing Mecca he moved to
Medina. He found many followers there, his words (Koran) were written down. In 630 he returned to
Mecca. Since this time Mecca has been open only to Muslims. Although he is only a prophet, all the paintings cannot show his face. 282
The eighth century left Europe more united on one side – the Saint Roman Empire stretched on the terrains of today’s France and Germany. It was a counterweight for the increasing power of the
Popes.
On the other hand, the tensions between the Greek speaking eastern churches, based around
Constantinople, and the Latin speaking western churches based around Rome, culminated in the 11th century over the issue of the relative importance of Rome and Constantinople within the Christian world. The church in Rome claimed seniority over the church at Constantinople. The Constantinople church, however, refused to acknowledge the authority of Rome, a decision that led both churches to excommunicate one another in 1054. This schism has never been healed.
283
Palestine was a sacred ground for the Christians and since the second century many pilgrims have travelled there. When the new rulers of the Palestine forbade Christians to come, the Pope – Urban II
– called for a holy crusade. The first crusade did not even get to Palestine, but the second conquered the land. In the thirteenth century Christians were fought back. The fourth crusade sacked
Constantinople. In 1212 there was a crusade of Children, but it also did not get to Palestine. When somebody’s tomb was decorated with a picture or a sculpture, which has crossed legs – it means he was a crusader. 284
Season for monasteries
Since the earliest years of Christianity many people have decided that the life dedicated only to the
God and spent alone is the best way to salvation. The Benedictines are the most important of the early monastic communities. They follow the rule of St. Benedict of Nursia (480-552), which is based on the four principles of study, communal life, prayer and obedience. society, they served as administrative clerks, healers and priests. 286
285 Orders tended to have similar rules, live together and be rather autarkic. As monks were usually the best-educated people in the
Monastic communities expanded after the turn of millennia. Two motives inspired the establishment of these orders: the desire to return to a more austere form of monasticism characteristic of the early
Benedictine orders and the desire to spread the Christian faith within and beyond Europe. The earliest of the medieval orders, the Carthusians, was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084. The
Carthusians are distinguished by their austere lifestyle and based on isolation and almost perpetual silence.
The second order, the Cistercians, was founded in 1098 by twenty-one Benedictine monks. Like the
Carthusians, the Cistercians sought a simple austere lifestyle which was symbolised by their robes made of cheap, undyed wool.
Equally austere were the Carmelites, an order founded by Christian settlers on Mount Carmel in
Palestine towards the end of the twelfth century. Carmelite life combined both solitude and community; each member of the community lived in an individual cell, meeting other monks only for
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] the Eucharist and communal work. In 1452 a Carmelite order of women was established. 287
These early orders were located far away from cities, as they were self sufficient. But the new begging orders needed cities as sources of their material existence. 288
The Franciscan order (the friars) was founded by Francis of Assissi, one of the greatest medieval saints. He decided to leave behind his life of wealth and pleasure and devote himself to the sick and the poor. In 1206 he rebuilt the ruined church of San Damiano and over time gathered a group of followers. In 1209 the order received papal approval, and in 1212 an order of Franciscan nuns was set up by St Clare, an early convert of St Francis.
The Dominicans were an order of priests founded in 1216 by Dominic de Guzman with the purpose of preaching and teaching the Gospel in the new cities of Europe. The Dominicans contributed greatly to medieval university life by using science and philosophy to present Christian theology in a systematic way. The order suffered during the reformation and French revolution, but revived in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to a point at which it now has 7,500 members working in 86 countries.
Like the Dominicans, the Jesuit order was founded with the purpose of propagating the Christian faith. Their founder, Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), was inspired by a work on the life of Christ to entirely devote himself to the church. In 1540 Loyola established the Society of Jesus (or Jesuits), an order distinguished from others by its members wearing ordinary clothes rather than a distinctive religious habit and their expressed commitment to total obedience to the pope. As a result of missions to Asia, Latin America, North America and Africa, the order has now established itself worldwide. 289
Times of change
The old religiousness was to impress the man. The churches were huge, with only one small entrance, located on a side of the church, the altars were on both the sides of church. The confession happened once or only few times in life, penance was also huge.
In the thirteenth century Lateran Council encouraged the people to confess their sins once a year, the penance was small, the religion should have been closer to people, the entrance to a church became bigger and opposed the altar. 290
The end of fourteenth century brought a Great Schism to Christian church. In 1309 Clemens V moved to Sauvignon, because of demolishing wars in Italy. In 1377 Gregory returned to Rome. The conclave argued about the election of a new pope and elected two of them. The whole Europe split and fell in conflicts. In 1409 both the popes were cancelled and a new (the third) was elected. Finally in 1417 one of them – Martin VI) was declared the only pope, which brought the Schism to the end. 291
At the beginning of the sixteenth century the new ideas of renaissance encouraged many people to oppose the teaching of the roman church. The priests, their style of life and organisation of the church were strongly criticised. With his 95 theses Luther wanted to start a discussion in the church but was declared a heretic and excommunicated.
292 This is how the dominance of Rome in Western
Europe came to an end in the sixteenth century through the Protestant reformation. At this time the majority of countries in Central and Northern Europe broke away from the authority of Rome and established churches which placed themselves under the jurisdiction of the local prince, monarch or government. These churches, which came to be known as Protestant, sought to return to the early style of Christianity practiced by the churches of the New Testament and to rid themselves of the non-biblical accretions which they believed to have sullied the church. 293
In 1522 the pope declared that the church had many problems but he died before he could introduce
281 Ilustrowana..., op. cit.
282 Ibidem.
283 European..., op. cit.
284 Ilustrowana..., op. cit.
285 European..., op. cit.
286 Ilustrowana..., op. cit.
54
287 European..., op. cit.
288 Lecture on: Dzieje miast w Polsce, W. Morawski, given in 2002.
289 European..., op. cit.
290 Lecture on: Dzieje..., op. cit.
291 Ilustrowana..., op. cit.
292 Ibidem.
293 European..., op. cit.

any reforms. They began in 1534, under the rule of Paul III. He supported the Capuchins, who focused on teaching and converting. 1540 Jesuits were officially approved. In 1545 began the Trident
Council. They decided to raise the level of education of priests and underlined the importance of poverty. 294 The reform process, known as the counter-reformation, clarified and elaborated church doctrine and allowed for the enforcement of doctrine through the establishment of the Roman
Inquisition. 295 The Inquisition spread over Europe. At the same time witches and all the magic were hunted and burnt alive.
In the seventeenth century people still believed that everything what happened on earth resulted from the God and His will. Good crops were a price while bad – a punishment from the God.
The families prayed every day and attended Sunday masses. They believed in devils and witches.
Many people were buried as witches. Most countries followed the rule: whose power - their religion.
296
MAIN RELIGIONS IN EUROPE
Introduction
Generally speaking, although in Europe there are adherents of all religions, Roman Catholic,
Protestant, and Orthodox churches dominate on this continent. Protestant sects are found mostly in
Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the Scandinavian countries. Roman Catholics are predominant in Ireland, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Slovenia, and Croatia. The Orthodox Church is predominant in Greece, Russia, Ukraine,
Belarus, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, and Moldova. Pockets of Islam are found in the
Balkan Peninsula, especially in Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Islam, along with Judaism, also exists in many urban areas of Western Europe. Lack of any religious affiliation is increasingly common.
297
Chart 1. Comparison of the percentage of adherents in the world and in Europe
Source: On the basis of data from: http://www.adherents.com/ and http://www.zpub.com/un/pope/relig.html.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the three great monotheistic religions of the contemporary world.
They are also the three largest religions in Europe. Their adherents believe in one God, whose words have been given to people and written in sacred books.
298
Christianity
Christianity is the religion of one-third of the population of the earth. Around 2 billion human beings are identified with the Christian movement, 550 million in Europe and most of the rest in North and
South America.
299
Christianity begins with Jesus Christ, who lived among Palestinian Jews from about 6-5 BC to 30
AD.
300 The effects of his life, the response to his teachings and the experience of his death and resurrection were the beginnings of the Christian community. When the apostle Peter is represented in the New Testament as confessing that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God”, he speaks for the Christianity of all ages. And it is in response to this confession that Jesus is described as announcing the foundation of the Christian church: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.” 301 Our knowledge of Jesus' ministry derives almost entirely from the four Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), which present Jesus as one who proclaimed the arrival of the kingdom of God throughout the villages
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] and countryside of Galilee. His acceptance of social outsiders and his claim to prophethood and divinity led to conflict with the Jewish priesthood and ultimately to his arrest and execution by crucifixion. Each of the Gospels contains accounts of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, and John's contains a reference to Jesus' ascension to heaven.
302
Christianity is the religion of people whose belief system centres on the person and teachings of
Jesus. To Christians, Jesus of Nazareth was and is the Messiah or Christ promised by God in the prophecies of the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible). By his life, death, and resurrection he freed those who believe in him from their sinful state and made them recipients of God's saving grace.
Many also await the second coming of Christ, which they believe will complete God's plan of salvation. The Christian Bible, or Holy Scripture, includes the Old Testament and also the New
Testament, a collection of early Christian writings proclaiming Jesus as lord and saviour. Arising in the
Jewish milieu of 1st- century Palestine, Christianity quickly spread through the Mediterranean world and in the 4th century became the official religion of the Roman Empire.
303
Christians have tended to separate into rival groups, but the main body of the Christian church was united under the Roman emperors. During the Middle Ages, when all of Europe became Christianised, this main church was divided into a Latin (Western European) and a Greek (Byzantine or Orthodox) branch. The Western church was in turn divided by the Reformation of the 16th century into the
Roman Catholic church and a large number of smaller Protestant churches: Lutheran, Reformed
(Calvinist), Anglican, and sectarian. These divisions have continued and multiplied, but in the 20th century many Christians joined in the ecumenical movement to work for church unity. This resulted in the formation of the World Council of Churches 304 . Christianity exists in all parts of the world.
The growth of Christianity testifies to its continuing strength in the world today. While church attendance has been in decline in Europe, in other parts of the world Christianity continues to flourish. The 20th century has seen a marked shift in the global demography of Christianity so that for the first time since the 7th century there are now more Christians outside of Europe than in
Europe. In the 21st century the majority of the world's Christians will live in Latin America and
Africa.
305
According to Christian belief, the original human beings rebelled against God, and from that time until the coming of Christ the world was ruled by sin. The hope of a final reconciliation was kept alive by
God's covenant with the Jews, the chosen people from whom the saviour sprang. This saviour, Jesus
Christ, partly vanquished sin and Satan. Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy
Spirit, preached the coming of God's Kingdom but was rejected by the Jewish leaders, who delivered him to the Romans to be crucified. On the third day after his death God raised him up again. He appeared to his disciples, commanding them to spread the good news of salvation from sin and death to all people. This is the mission of Christ's church.
306
Christianity inherited and modified the Jewish belief that the world would be transformed by the coming of the Reign of God. The Christians held that the bodies of those who had died would rise again, reanimated, and that the righteous would be triumphant, the wicked punished. This belief, along with Jesus' promise of "eternal life," developed into a doctrine of eternal rewards (heaven) and punishments (hell) after death. A source of doctrinal uncertainty was whether salvation depended on
God's election in advance of a believer's faith, or even in a decision of God before the disobedience and fall of the first man and woman.
Although Christians today tend to emphasize what unites them rather than what divides them, substantial differences in faith exist among the various churches.
307 Those in the Protestant tradition insist on Scripture as the sole source of God's revelation. The Roman Catholics and Orthodox give
294 Ilustrowana..., op. cit.
295 European..., op. cit.
296 Ilustrowana..., op. cit.
297 Grolier…, op. cit.
298 Religie świata, Oficyna Wydawnicza „Delta W-Z”, Warsaw 1995.
299 Encyclopedia Brytannica, Chicago, 1963, vol. 5, p. 693.
300 European..., op. cit.
301 Encyclopedia..., op. cit., p. 694.
55
302 European..., op. cit.
303 Grolier..., op. cit.
304 Ibidem.
305 European..., op. cit.
306 Grolier..., op. cit.
307 Encyclopedia of European social history from 1350 to 2000, Detroit, 2001, Vol.5, p. 269.

greater importance to the tradition of the church in defining the content of faith, believing it to be divinely guided in its understanding of scriptural revelation.
308 They stress the role of ecumenical councils in the formulation of doctrine, and in Roman Catholicism the pope, or bishop of Rome, is regarded as the final authority in matters of belief.
Christians also vary widely in worship. Early Christian worship centred on two principal rites or sacraments: baptism, a ceremonial washing that initiated converts into the church; and the Eucharist, a sacred meal preceded by prayers, chants, and Scripture readings, in which the participants were mysteriously united with Christ. As time went on, the Eucharist, or mass, became surrounded by an increasingly elaborate ritual in the Latin, the Greek, and other Eastern churches, and in the Middle
Ages Christians came to venerate saints – especially the Virgin Mary. In the West, seven sacraments were recognized. The Protestant reformers retained 2 sacraments – baptism and the Eucharist – rejecting the others, along with devotion to saints and images, as unscriptural. They simplified worship and emphasized preaching. Since the 19th century there has been a certain amount of reconvergence in worship among ecumenically minded Protestants and Roman Catholics, with each side adopting some of the other's practices. For example, the Catholic Mass is now in the vernacular.
Among other groups in both traditions, however, the divergence remains great.
In most Christian churches Sunday, the day of Christ's resurrection, is observed as a time of rest and worship. The resurrection is more particularly commemorated at Easter, a festival in the early spring.
Another major Christian festival is Christmas, which commemorates the birth of Jesus.
Judaism
Judaism, the religion of the Jews, is the oldest living religion in the Western world. Historically,
Judaism served as the matrix for Christianity and Islam, the other two great monotheistic religions, which together with Judaism claim half the world's population as adherents.
Judaism was the first religion to teach monotheism. This belief is the basis of Judaism and is summed up in the opening words of the Shema, recited daily: "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is
One". Jews believe that God's providence extends to all people but that God entered into a special covenant with the ancient Israelites. They do not believe that they were chosen for any special privileges but rather to bring God's message to humanity by their example. Belief in a coming messiah has been a source of optimism for Jews. In the biblical account, the patriarchs Abrham,
Isaac, and Jacob received the revelation of the one, true God, who promised special protection to the
Israelite tribes.
309
The basic source of Jewish belief is the Hebrew Bible (called the "Old Testament" by Christians), especially its first five books, called the Torah or the Pentateuch. Judaism did not stop developing after the Bible was completed. The traditional Jewish prayer book is an important result of this process of development, reflecting the basic beliefs of Judaism as well as changes in emphasis in response to changing conditions.
310
Judaism has a system of law, known as Halachah, regulating civil and criminal justice, family relationships, personal ethics and manners, social responsibilities such as help to the needy, education, and community institutions as well as worship and other religious observances. Some laws once deemed very important, for example, laws governing the offering of sacrifice and most rules of ceremonial defilement and purification, have not been practiced since the destruction of the Second
Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. Individual practices still widely observed include the dietary laws, rules concerning the marital relationship, daily prayer, and study, and the recital of many blessings, especially before and after meals.
At present, because of political circumstances, rigid Orthodoxy is the only form of Judaism officially recognized in Israel. But a large part of the population is remote from formal religion, and the modernist versions have difficulty making their message heard.
308 BBC - Religion & Ethics, http://www.bbc.co.uk/religions, 12 April 2003.
309 Encyklopedia Powszechna, PWN, Warsaw, 1984, vol. 2, p. 374.
310 Grolier..., op. cit.
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
A great exodus of Jews from the Soviet Union began in the 1970s and reached new heights after the breakup of the USSR in the 1990s. In the West, despite loss of members, mixed marriages, and a serious drop in the Jewish birth rate, religious institutions are flourishing. The number of synagogues and synagogue members increased dramatically after World War II. There has been a remarkable resurgence of Orthodoxy after a long period of decline, and modernist groups are placing greater emphasis on tradition and ceremony.
Islam
Islam is customarily defined in non-Islamic sources as the religion of those who follow the Prophet
Muhammad. The prophet, who lived in Arabia in the early 7th century, initiated a religious movement that was carried by the Arabs throughout the Middle East. Today, Islam has adherents not only in the
Middle East, but also in other parts of the world icluding Europe. Adherents of Islam are called
Muslims.
311
While many Muslims oppose the language that the Prophet Muhammad is the "founder" of Islam – an expression they interpret as an implicit denial of God's initiative and involvement in the history of
Islam's origins, none would challenge that Islam dates back to the lifetime (570-632) of the Prophet and the years in which he received the divine revelations recorded in the Koran. At the same time, however, most of them would stress that it is only in a sense that Islam dates back to the 7th century, since they regard their religion not as a 7th-century innovation, but as the restoration of the original religion of Abraham.
312 They would also stress that Islam is a timeless religion, not just because of the "eternal truth" that it proclaims but also because it is "every person's religion," the natural religion in which every person is born.
Muslims have a specific view of other religions. They do not recognise other prophets besides
Muhammad and other Scriptures besides the Koran. Muslims believe that the completion of God's favour to humanity have been realized in the sending down of the Koran. Those who, on the basis of what they had previously received from God, recognize the message of the Koran as the ultimate
Truth show themselves thereby as true believers, while those who reject it prove themselves to be unbelievers, no matter by what name they call themselves.
PAGANISM AND LOCAL FAITHS
313
FREEMASONRY
The basic doctrine of this faith is belief in a Supreme Being. All Masons are required to have some form of religious belief before being admitted. Freemasonry, although it claims origins in Ancient
Egypt, was established in its present form in 1717 when the Grand Lodge of London was formed.
According to them “Masonry is not a religion or a substitute for religion, (…) is not a competitor with religion, though in the sphere of human conduct it may be hoped that its teaching will be complementary to that of religion". Masonry was especially popular among intellectuals, who abandoned the Christian Church seeking new opportunities for their faith. The movement was also attractive because it claimed to be the only recipient and guardian of an ancient powerful secret handed down from the distant past. It was at first opposed by the Church authorities (Pope Clement
XII issued a Papal Bull in 1738 against the movement).
DRUIDRY (NEO-CELTIC RELIGION)
Modern Druidry draws its inspiration from Celtic traditions, but Druids do not have any specific central doctrine, therefore each member is encouraged to formulate their own beliefs. Druid groups are highly diversified, although there are some basic concepts that are more or less common. Most of them are open to both men and women on an equal basis. Some groups do not regard Druidry as a religion, but as a philosophy or a kind of science. Most, however, seek to preserve the ecological balance of the Earth and see humankind as an integral part of nature rather in control of it. It is
56
311 Encyklopedia Powszechna, PWN, Warsaw, 1984, vol. 3, p. 308.
312 Grolier..., op. cit.
313 European..., op. cit.

estimated that there are some three thousand people who practice Druidry as a religion in Britain and
Ireland. As Druidry is a nature based religion, they gather outdoors rather than in buildings.
SWEDENBORGIANISM
This religion was created by Emmanuel Swedenborg, born in Stockholm. He taught a theosophy centred on Jesus Christ, in whom he found a Trinity of Love, Wisdom and Energy. He perceived the human body as the kingdom of the soul and developed his doctrine of correspondence – that all physical phenomena have their spiritual correspondences. Because his theological system is anthropocentric, Swedenborg did not believe in Christian redemption. His spiritual world is populated exclusively by deceased human beings grouped together into heavenly or infernal societies that form a huge man, so called Maximus Homo. Christ is to be regarded as the highest manifestation of this humanity. Swedenborg claimed that there was no such thing as a personal Devil or Satan, but that the name signifies the whole society of evil spirits. Swedenborg, and his doctrine of correspondence was particularly influential on Western poetic literature. He was admired by such people as
Baudelaire, Goethe, Blake, and Kant.
THEOSOPHY
The Theosophical Society was founded by Helena Petrova Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott in New York in 1875 and it was a breakthrough for occultism. For the first time ever an organised body was created, open to both men and women, for research and study. There were three main aims of
Theosophical Society: (1) to form the nucleus of an Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed or colour, (2) to promote the study of Aryan and other Eastern literature, religion and sciences and (3) to investigate the hidden mysteries of Nature and the Physical powers hidden inside man. Theosophy also tried to abolish Christianity and replace it with freethinking humanism. Of course, they did not succeed in overthrowing Christianity, but they did provide a forum for debate and study of many religions and did a great deal to popularise Indian religions in particular.
THE HERMETIC ORDER OF THE GOLDEN DAWN
The order was founded by Dr. William Wynn Westcott in London in 1888. A candidate, who wanted to be admitted into the Golden Dawn had to acknowledge his or her belief in the existence of a Supreme
Being, but the old Pagan gods were also very welcome. The Golden Dawn procedure for uniting with the divine was essentially pagan, using pre-Christian practices and names of power which they found in Hebrew, Greek, Coptic, Egyptian, and Chaldean sources. The order was founded to include both men and women on a basis of perfect equality. The Order has been reestablished in recent years as
The Oxford Golden Dawn Occult Society (OGDOS) in Britain and the New Reformed Order of the
Golden Dawn in the USA.
WICCA
Wicca is a revived religious tradition, with roots reaching distant past. Between about 1480 and 1650, alleged witches were hunted and either burned or hanged. It has been suggested that as many as nine million victims died during this time (though more recent estimates quote a figure of 40,000 people).
Wicca has no central doctrines. However, many witches hold to the Wiccan Rede - "An it harm none, do what thou wilt" – and the Law of Threefold Return – that whatever you do, whether for good or bad, will return to you threefold. Most Wiccan traditions use three degrees of advancement. The degrees are not regarded as hierarchical (all witches are equal) but as a mark of proficiency and experience in the Craft.
Witches are normally initiated into the Craft by a family member, with mothers initiating daughters and fathers initiating sons. Covens are generally run by the High Priest rather than the High Priestess, and they tend to work robed, preferring a black hooded cloak or robe. There are many types of convents (e.g. Dianic, Seax-Wica, Faery), which differ one from another. Although different, the traditions of the Craft share sufficiently similar deities, forms of worship, language, symbolism and philosophy, such as moon magic, belief in reincarnation, and concept of deity as personification of
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] powers of nature or universal life (feminine and masculine, God and Goddess), to make them recognisable as derivations of one religion.
Witches celebrate eight major festivals (called Sabbats) in common with many modern Pagan religions. In addition, rituals called esbats are usually held every two weeks, in which teaching is given and spells are worked. Witches keep a Book of Shadows (traditionally kept in secret), in which to write invocations, rituals and other information and lore. The Book of Shadows is regarded as a shadowy reflection of the realities of the other world.
As far as the number of adherents is concerned, there are no official figures available. However, witchcraft is very widespread and can be found, in one form or another, all over the world 314 .
GODDESS SPIRITUALITY
Goddess spirituality encourages creativity and spontaneity and the development of power-from-within rather than power-over others. The Goddess Movement has enabled women to reclaim their own spirituality, unmediated by male priests. In spirituality groups, the Goddess is represented as strong and powerful. Women are honoured as Priestesses, women of power. Some regard themselves as a sisterhood, in which the older women teach the younger women and conduct rites of passage for menarche, childbirth, menopause and other transitions in a woman's life.
However, not all goddess spirituality organisations and groups are exclusively orientated to women.
The Fellowship of Isis, founded in 1976 and based in Eire, concentrates on both female and male principles of divinity. It is today the largest Goddess-centred organisation with over 13,000 members, both male and female, world-wide.
NEO-PAGANISM
Pagan religions have their roots in the traditions of ancient Nature religions. Paganism is a term used to describe a variety of religions linked by common traditions. The main Pagan religions to be found in Europe are Wicca, Druidry, Shamanism, Goddess Spirituality, Sacred Ecology, the Northern
Traditions, and various Magical Groups. As such, there are no official doctrines – most Pagans believe that no one belief system is correct, and that each person has the freedom to choose their own religion. The Pagan Federation, the largest umbrella organisation for Paganism in Europe, has set out three principles of Paganism: (1) love for and kinship with nature, (2) “ Do what thou wilt, but harm none”, (3) the concept of the Goddess and God as expressions of the Divine reality.
NEO-GERMANIC RELIGIONS
The Norse-German Gods were worshipped all over Northern and Western Europe by the ancestors of the Norse, Dutch, German and English peoples, and were brought to Britain by invaders such as the
Angles, Saxons and Vikings. Thus, the myths and stories of the Northern Tradition have always been part of Iceland's cultural heritage and Christianity was adopted as the state religion in the year 1,000 only through a substantial bribe to the law-speaker Thorgeirr. Practitioners of the Northern Traditions follow the pre-Christian Pagan traditions of Northern Europe, centred around two distinctive groups of divinities, the Aesir sky gods and the Vanir earth gods. The Gods are viewed as immanent and manifest in nature, and are venerated through the seasonal celebrations which are based around the major festivals of Yule. The most widely used symbols in neo-germanic religions are the runic symbols, which are thought to be embodiments of truth, and are used for divination, magic, and decoration to honour the gods.
NEO-SHAMANISM
Shamanism originated in Siberia and Central Asia and spread from the Russian steppes westwards into Europe and Eastwards into North America. There is no single dogma or central authority for
Shamanism, which is very diverse. The spirit world is viewed as part of everyday reality – it surrounds us and we live with spirits all the time. A Shaman is usually identified at an early age as possessing special powers of communication with the otherworld. They often had a spontaneous, severe and
57
314 The Witches Tree, www.witches.org.uk.

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] traumatic experience – an illness or spiritual crisis – which forced open for them the doors of the otherworld. He has the ability to move between the worlds and thus provide a bridge, becoming a pathfinder for his people. Through training or calling the Shaman is able to access the spirit worlds and work with the powers there. Through this contact, he is able to work acts of healing, divination and magic, revealing human spirituality through vision, poetry and myth 315 .
BALTIC RELIGION
In Baltic religion, all of nature is considered sacred and the Earth is the universal mother. The pre-
Christian Pagan traditions have become integral to the aspirations of newly emerged countries such as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to establish their own distinctive national identities. Christianity came late to the Baltics and the people proudly retained their pre-Christian heritage, boasting of being the last christianized region in Europe. In Lithuania there is a strong Pagan church and an organisation called Romuva, which promotes Lithuanian Paganism. A similar organisation operates in Latvia, called
Dievturiba, after Dievs the sky-god who, along with Laima, goddess of life, is believed to determine the fate of humans 316 .
FINNISH PAGAN RELIGION
Due to the geographical proximity of Finland to Siberia, Finnish Paganism has its roots in Shamanism, sharing many similar concepts, such as the honouring of ancestors, spirits of the land, and the elements of earth, air, fire and water.
In Finnish cosmology there are three realms - the Upperworld, the Lowerworld or Underworld, and the world of everyday consciousness, which are to be found on a World Tree. Some Finnish pagans believe that people's destinies are written in the leaves of this tree, and that when a leaf falls, a person dies.
The major feast of the Finnish seasonal cycle is Ukon Vakat (Ukko's Day) in honour of the sky and thunder god Ukko. Modern Pagans in Finland have developed their own seasonal cycle, which includes Ukko's Day. Rites are simple and are often conducted outdoors.
EDUCATION IN EUROPE
ENGLAND
The period of compulsory education in England and Wales is divided into four key stages : key stage 1 for pupils aged 5 to 7 key stage 2 for pupils aged 7 to 11 key stage 3 for pupils aged 11 to 14 key stage 4 for pupils aged 14 to 16.
The majority of pupils transfer from primary to secondary school at age 11 although, where a system of middle schools exists, pupils may transfer at age 8 or 9 to a middle school and subsequently to a secondary school at age 12 or 13. The vast majority of secondary schools are comprehensive schools and do not select pupils on grounds of ability. Some cater for pupils up to the age of 16 only, and some cater for pupils up to the age of 19.
Compulsory education in Northern Ireland is divided into four key stages: key stage 1 for pupils aged 4 to 8 key stage 2 for pupils aged 8 to 11
315 Foundation of Schamanic Studies, www.shamanism.org.
316 The official website of Lithuanian Romuva, op. cit.
58 key stage 3 for pupils aged 11 to 14 key stage 4 for pupils aged 14 to 16.
In Northern Ireland, most pupils transfer from primary to post-primary school at age 11 years. If pupils wish to be considered for a place at a grammar school , they must sit Transfer Tests. About 35 per cent subsequently attend "grammar schools", which cater for pupils up to the age of 19, with the remaining 65 per cent attending secondary schools, which cater for pupils up to the age of 16. At age
16, when education is no longer compulsory, the majority of pupils in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland continue their studies, either at school or at a further education institution. It is more common for pupils wishing to undertake vocational education to transfer to a further education institution, although schools are beginning to offer a limited range of vocational courses. Further education institutions offer both vocational and academic courses.
Pupils wishing subsequently to continue their studies at a higher education level transfer to a higher education institution, normally at age 18.
FINLAND
Comprehensive school peruskoulu starts in the year when a child is seven. For one year before that time, the child can participate in pre-school instruction intended for 6-year-olds. Pre-school instruction is mostly organised as part of the day-care system, but a comprehensive school can also offer pre-school instruction to six-year-old children. However, it is voluntary.
Education is compulsory for nine years, and nearly all children fulfil it by attending comprehensive school peruskoulu. Compulsory education ends when the comprehensive school syllabus is completed or not later than ten years after the beginning of compulsory education.
After completing basic education, a young person can continue studying or enter working life. It is not regarded as advisable to move immediately to working life, but one of the objectives of education policy is to provide the entire age group with free-of-charge upper secondary education. If schooling is continued, a choice is usually made between: general upper secondary school
General upper secondary education builds upon the basic education syllabus, and the scope of the general upper secondary school syllabus is three years. General upper secondary education is usually arranged in a non-graded form. The general upper secondary school syllabus should be completed within a maximum of four years, unless a student is granted a continuation of the completion period for a well-grounded reason. At the end of general upper secondary education, students usually take the national matriculation examination ylioppilastutkinto , which gives general eligibility for higher education. General upper secondary schools select their students autonomously on the basis of the criteria determined by the Ministry of Education. vocational education
The scope of upper secondary level vocational qualifications taken after basic education is 2 - 3 years, depending on the field of study. The scope of all the study programmes is currently being changed to three years. Part of the education is given in the form of on-the-job training in the workplace. Besides studying at a vocational institution, a qualification can also be completed as apprenticeship training oppisopimuskoulutus, which is organised in the workplace in connection with practical work assignments.
After having completed general upper secondary school or vocational upper secondary education, a student can apply for higher education. The Finnish higher education system consists of two sectors: universities and ammattikorkeakoulu (polytechnics).
Those applying for university are required to have completed the matriculation examination ylioppilastutkinto, an AMK degree or a vocational qualification in a programme of at least three years' duration.
Adult education offers citizens the opportunity to obtain education and complete qualifications at any

stage of life. Adults can study in either the same educational institutions as young people, or in institutions and units intended for adults.
Pupil Assessment
According to the Basic Education Act, pupil assessment aims to guide and encourage study and to develop pupils’ self-assessment skills.
In addition to pupils’ learning outcomes, the targets of assessment include their schoolwork and the entire learning process, as well as their conduct. The National Board of Education issues national criteria for pupil assessment.
Pupil assessment has two different roles. The first is the above-mentioned educational guidance and encouragement. This is known as continuous assessment. It is based on each pupil’s own learning and growth process, its starting points and objectives.
The second task of pupil assessment is the final assessment of basic education, on the basis of which pupils will be selected for further studies when they leave comprehensive school. This assessment must be nationally comparable and it must treat pupils equally. The final assessment is based on the objectives of basic education. For the purposes of the final assessment of basic education, recommended assessment criteria have been prepared for the intermediate grade (8) in all common subjects.
Pupils are given reports at the end of each school year; in addition, pupils may be given one or more intermediate reports. In the first seven forms of comprehensive school, assessment may be either verbal or numerical. Later the assessment must be numerical, but it may be complemented with a verbal assessment.
The scale of grades used in assessment is 4–10, where 5 is fair, 6 passable, 7 satisfactory, 8 good, 9 very good and 10 shows excellent knowledge and skills. Grade 4 is for failed performances.
IRELAND
Education is compulsory from age 6 to age 15. In 1998 the Minister for Education and Science has announced the raising of compulsory education to age 16. As a rule children proceed from primary level to a secondary school of their parents' choice at approximately age 12. After age 15 and since
September 1994 the Minister for Education has provided for an optional three years' senior cycle education. At approximately age 18 various third level education options are available. The average age for starting school is four years.
The majority of children are in first class in primary school at age 6 and may transfer to second level school when they have completed the full primary course, generally about age 12. For registration in a second level school pupils must be age 12 on 1st January of their first year in second level schooling.
The junior and senior cycles of second level schools comprise lower and upper secondary education.
Four types of schools exist at this level - secondary , voluntary secondary, vocational, comprehensive and community. All of them offer a curriculum that combines academic and vocational subjects. At the end of year three in the junior cycle the majority of pupils sit their first State examination, the
Junior Certificate. Since September 1994, the Transition Year, a one-year interdisciplinary programme has been available to all pupils at the end of junior cycle as one option in a three-year senior cycle.
At senior cycle the main course is the two-year Leaving Certificate leading to higher education or employment. There are also two alternative certificate courses - the Leaving Certificate Vocational
Programme and the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme.
YOUTHREACH is a two-year programme of education, training and work experience available to young people who have left school with no formal qualification. Year one is a foundation year and is followed by a progression year. Youthreach is run jointly by the Vocational Education Committees and
FAS. It is funded by the Department of Education and Department of Enterprise and Employment with assistance from the European Social Fund. YOUTHREACH courses are free of charge. Participants are paid a weekly training allowance which varies according to age. YOUTHREACH is a second
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] chance for 15-18 year olds to gain education and training with national certification and future employment prospects.
Training courses of various lengths are provided by FAS for unemployed young people: Skills Foundation, Community Youth Training, Local Training Initiatives.
School Year in Higher Education
In practice the main academic year commences in early October and finishes the end of May. Depending on the course involved, examinations may take place in May, June or September but lectures and workshops occur normally between October and May. Institutions are moving towards modularization and/or semesterisation, a trend which is likely to affect the pattern of the academic year in higher education. The University of Limerick has operated modularization and semesterisation for a number of years. A number of the other universities have begun the process of becoming semesterised though it is slow to develop in the Irish system.
SWEDEN
The pre-school fšrskolan is the first stage of the educational system.
The public school system for children and youths consists of pre-school class, fšrskoleklass compulsory school grundskola, upper secondary school gymnasieskola , compulsory school for pupils with learning disabilities, schools for pupils with impaired hearing/vision and physical disabilities specialskola , Samic school sameskolan and the Swedish schools abroad. The adult education system, which offers equivalent education, consists of municipal adult education komvux , education for adults with learning disabilities and Swedish tuition for immigrants sfi . There are also two state schools for adults which are complementary to the municipal adult education. Popular education folkbildning is offered by folk high schools or adult education associations. Higher education is conducted at universities and university colleges.
During the 1990s, major parts of the Swedish education system have been reformed, i.e. the preschool, the pre-school class, the compulsory school, the upper secondary school and the higher education system.
Since July 1st 1995 there has been a new curriculum for the whole of the compulsory school system comprising the compulsory school, special schools for the mentally handicapped, schools for those with physical disabilities and the Sami schools. New syllabi and timetables were also introduced. From the start of school year 1998/99, the curricula have been amended to cover not only compulsory schooling, but also the pre-school class and the after school centre fritidshem .
Minor changes have also been made to the timetable.
In the new integrated upper secondary school implemented between 1992 and 1995, all education is organised in terms of 16 different national programmes. All the upper secondary school programmes contain the same eight core subjects, Swedish/Swedish as a second language, English, social studies, religious studies, mathematics, science, sport and health as well as artistic activities. In addition to these core subjects, pupils study subjects specific to a programme. The curriculum for the non-compulsory school system comprises upper secondary education, upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities, municipal adult education and education for adults with learning disabilities.
Since autumn 1996 a pilot scheme for advanced vocational training has been carried out.
In the new higher education system, introduced in 1993-94, there are, apart from the general degrees, 45 specifically professionally oriented diplomas described in the Government degree ordinance. Diplomas concern primarily professions requiring authorisation or registration e.g. programmes for doctors and teachers that may cover periods ranging from two to five and a half years.
Adult education consists of municipal adult education, the state school for adults, education for adults with learning disabilities and Swedish tuition for immigrants for people aged 16 and over. Komvux and sfi form the state adult education system. Other opportunities for adult education have been
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Europe at Present [Spring 2003] created in the non-compulsory popular adult education sector made up of study associations and folk high schools. Popular adult education is financed partly by means of special state grants.
NETHERLANDS
The following types of education are provided: primary education for children aged from 4 to 12 years, including special schools for primary education special education for children of all ages from 3 to 20 who require special educational treatment secondary education for pupils aged between 12 and 18 years. higher education, for students aged around 18 and over. This may be subdivided into, higher professional education (HBO), 17/18-21/22 years; university education (WO), 18-22 years; open distance education (OU), 18 years and over.
There are no single-sex schools in the Netherlands.
Primary education lasts eight years and is for children from the age of 4 to 12. Special schools for primary education (or group 1 special schools) cater for children who - for a period of time at least - require special educational treatment of a kind that cannot be provided at a mainstream school. Up to
31 July 1998 these schools were known as schools for children with learning and behavioural difficulties (LOM), schools for children with learning difficulties (MLK) and departments for preschool children with development difficulties (IOBK). On leaving primary school or a special school for primary education, children can go on to a special secondary school, learning support, practical training, prevocational education (VBO), junior general secondary education (MAVO), senior general secondary education (HAVO) or pre-university education (VWO).
Special schools cater for children who, possibly because of a disability of some kind, require more help with their development and education than ordinary primary and secondary schools can offer. At the end of special primary schooling, pupils generally go on to a special secondary school or to learning support or practical training, or they may be able to continue their education at an ordinary secondary school.
Secondary education comprises pre-university education (VWO), senior and junior general secondary education (HAVO and MAVO), pre-vocational education (VBO) and practical training/learning support and caters for pupils from 12 to about 18 years of age. VWO, HAVO, MAVO and VBO courses begin with a period of basic secondary education. Basic secondary education is a new core curriculum for the lower years of all the different types of secondary school. The emphasis is on acquiring skills and delivering an integrated curriculum. Basic secondary education is for pupils between the ages of 12 and 15 and lasts no more than three years.
VWO courses last six years and prepare pupils for university. In practice, students also go on from
VWO to higher professional education. HAVO courses last five years and are designed to prepare pupils to enter higher professional education. In practice, pupils who have obtained HAVO qualifications also transfer to VWO or MBO. The second stage of HAVO and VWO, which follows on from basic secondary education, is also referred to as pre-higher education (VHO). MAVO lasts four years and is meant chiefly to prepare pupils for vocational education. Many pupils with MAVO qualifications decide, however, to go on to HAVO. Pupils with VBO qualifications (4-year course) can go on to vocational education. MAVO and VBO are also referred to jointly as pre-vocational secondary education
(VMBO).
Adult and vocational education (BVE) comprises vocational education courses and adult education courses. There are two possible training pathways in vocational education: vocational training (equivalent to the old senior secondary vocational education or MBO) and block or day release (equivalent to the old system of apprenticeships). Non-formal adult education and the old part-time MBO courses have been subsumed by these two training pathways and the four levels of qualification available.
Vocational education is for young people who want to obtain a vocational qualification at secondary level and caters for those above compulsory school age who have a VBO or MAVO certificate, i.e. have completed the first stage of secondary education, and/or have left the second stage of secondary education with or without a qualification. Adult education comprises adult general secondary education (VAVO), courses providing a broad basic education (what used to be known as adult basic education), courses aimed at fostering self-reliance and courses in Dutch as a second language. The purpose of adult education is to provide a solid foundation for vocational and secondary education courses and enable adults to participate in society.
Higher education, for students aged from around 18, includes higher professional education, university education and higher distance education in the shape of the Open University. Higher professional education (HBO) follows on from the level achieved at the end of HAVO, VWO and MBO (senior secondary vocational education). University education (WO) is provided at universities, of which the
Netherlands has thirteen. The maximum length of HBO and university courses is four years, with the exception of certain courses which are regulated by law and last five or six years. All courses end with an examination.
GERMANY
The ability of pupils to transfer between school types and the recognition of school-leaving qualifications is basically guaranteed if the preconditions agreed between the Länder are fulfilled. The duration of full-time compulsory education (compulsory general education) is 9 years (10 years in four of the Länder) and the subsequent period of part-time compulsory education (compulsory vocational education) is 3 years.
1. In some Länder special types of transition from pre-school to primary education (Vorklassen,
Schulkindergärten) exist. In Berlin and Brandenburg the primary school comprises 6 grades.
2. The disabled attend special forms of general-education and vocational school types (in some cases integrated with non-handicapped pupils) depending on the type of disability in question. Designation of schools varies according to the law of each Land .
3. Irrespective of school type, grades 5 and 6 constitute a phase of particular support, supervision and orientation with regard to the pupil's future educational path and its particular focuses. In some
Länder, the orientation stage ( Orientierungsstufe or Förderstufe) is organised as a separate organisational unit independent of the standard school types.
4. The Hauptschule and Realschule courses of education are also offered at schools with several courses of education, for which the names differ from one Land to another. The Mittelschule (Sachsen), Regelschule (Thüringen), Sekundarschule (Sachsen-Anhalt), Erweiterte Realschule (Saarland),
Integrierte Haupt- und Realschule (Hamburg), Verbundene Haupt- und Realschule (Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) and Regionale Schule (Rheinland-Pfalz), as well as comprehensive schools (Gesamtschule) fall under this category.
5. The Gymnasium course of education is also offered at comprehensive schools (Gesamtschule). In the cooperative comprehensive schools, including the Schulzentrum in Bremen, the three courses of education (Hauptschule, Realschule and Gymnasium) are brought under one educational and organisational umbrella; these form an educational and organisational whole at the integrated
Gesamtschule. The provision of comprehensive schools (Gesamtschulen) varies in accordance with the respective educational laws of the Länder.
6. The general education qualifications that may be obtained after grades 9 and 10 carry particular designations in some Länder. These certificates can also be obtained in evening classes.
7. Admission to the Gymnasiale Oberstufe requires a formal entrance qualification which can generally be obtained after grade 10. Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen have ruled that the formal entrance qualification can be awarded after grade 9 at the Gymnasium. The Allgemeine Hochschulreife can generally be obtained after the successful completion of 13 consecutive school years. In four Länder
(Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Thüringen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) the Allgemeine Hochschulreife can be acquired after 12 years of schooling.
8. The Fachoberschule is a school type lasting two years (11th and 12th grades) which takes pupils
60

who have completed the Realschule and which qualifies them for higher education Fachhochschulreife. Pupils who have successfully completed the Realschule and have been through initial vocational training can also enter the Fachoberschule directly in the 12th grade.
9. Full-time vocational schools differing in terms of entrance requirements, duration and leaving certificates. Certain two-year Berufsfachschulen requiring a Realschule certificate for admission lead to a state-recognised examination as assistant. One or two-year courses at Berufsfachschulen offer basic vocational training. Under certain conditions the Fachhochschulreife can be acquired on completion of a course lasting a minimum of two years.
10. Extension courses are offered to enable pupils to acquire qualifications equivalent to the
Hauptschule and Realschule leaving certificates.
11. Fachschulen cater for vocational continuing education (1-3 year duration) and as a rule require the completion of relevant vocational training in a recognised occupation and subsequent employment. In addition, the Fachhochschulreife can be acquired under certain conditions. Within the context of the International Standard Classification for Education (ISCED97), Fachschulen are classified in the tertiary sector.
12. Including institutions of higher education offering courses in particular disciplines at university level (e.g. theology, philosophy, medicine, administration science, sport).
13. Tertiary sector institutions in seven Länder offering academic training at a Studienakademie
(study institution) combined with practical in-company professional training in keeping with the principle of the dual system.
ITALY
The education system includes: nursery school (non-compulsory) for children between 3 and 6 years of age; primary education for children between 6 and 11 years of age; lower secondary education for children between 11 and 14 years of age.
Primary and lower secondary education is compulsory. Upper secondary education includes different types of schools. Generally speaking, it is attended by students between 14 and 19 years of age, see.
Access to both university and non-university higher education is reserved for students after passing the State examination (esame di Stato). Vocational training courses are run by local authorities and can be attended by people aged between 15 and 25 and sometimes even older. The lower secondary school leaving certificate diploma di licenza media is needed to gain access to upper secondary school and to enter apprenticeship or alternating training programmes.
Special legislation and experimental initiatives aim at providing special guidance to students who must make decisions about their future career or higher education at the end of upper secondary school. The number of initiatives in the area of guidance undertaken by Ministero della Pubblica
Istruzione as well as by Provinces and Communes, public and private bodies are numerous and diversified. Recently the Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione has activated a research path based on projects and in-service training on "orientamento formativo nella scuola media" i.e. a formative guidance in the middle school. having the aim of analysing this theme in all its aspects and of setting up a network of knowledge and experiences to be extended in time. The two year project involves 44 scuole medie located in different parts of the country.
New regulation:
According to the reform to enrol in degree courses laurea students must be in possession of diplo-
ma di superamento dell'esame di Stato at upper secondary level or of another qualification obtained abroad and officially recognised. Until recently enrolment could be attained just with the possession of a diploma finale di scuola secondaria superiore except for university courses for which there was a prescribed limited intake; now the Regulations no. 509 establishes that each university must define, in its regulations, the knowledge required for the admittance and lay down the tests'
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] procedures. Tests can be carried out on completion of propaedeutic training activities in collaboration, at the same time, with institutes of upper secondary education. A not positive tests' result doesn’t preclude the enrolment, but teaching regulations will have to specify additional specific training requirements to be fulfilled within the first year of the course.
To enrol in laurea specialistica courses, students must be in possession of a laurea or of another qualification obtained abroad and officially recognised by the Italian educational system.
GREECE
Education is provided on three levels:
1.
Primary education: which includes kindergarten and primary school.
2.
Secondary education: which includes gymnasio (junior secondary school), eniaio lykeio
(unified senior secondary school) and technika-epangelmatika ekpedevtiria (TEE or technical schools).
3.
Higher education, which includes universities (AEI) and technical colleges (TEI).
After the nine years of compulsory education, i.e. after gymnasio, anyone who wants to continue their studies can select: Unified senior secondary school (EL) Technical school (TEE)
Attendance at an EL is for three years, as it is in the unified musical (Mousiko Lykeio) and unified ecclesiastical lykeio (Ekklissiastiko Lykeio). These latter types of lykeio follow the regulations for the
EL, but they also include about ten additional hours of classes per week in musical and theological subjects respectively. Attendance at evening lykeia is for four years. In accordance with laws 2525/97 and 2640/98, the second level of secondary education is going through a transitional period. All types of lykeio have now (school year 1998-99) been converted into eniaia lykeia (EL) and thus first and second form are already operating as such. The third form, however, in all ELs, is operating for the last time this year on the basis of the provisions in effect for the type of senior secondary school it used to be before becoming an EL. Diagram 5 shows schematically the alternative educational
"routes" that pupils in third form of lykeio can follow in the school year 1998-99.
Curricula, Courses, Number of Hours
For each TEI department, the content and the length of studies, which is eight semesters, including the semester during which both the graduating project is conducted and the supervised and evaluated apprenticeship in the profession is carried out, are determined by Presidential Decree issued upon the advice of the Department and upon recommendation of the Institute Of Technological Education
(ITE). In the future, the recommendation will be a responsibility of the National Education Council
(ESYP).
The programme of studies (curriculum) of each TEI department is drawn, upon recommendation of a special programme committee, by the General Assembly of the Department and it is approved by
ITE-in the future, by ESYP- based on criteria relevant to its compatibility with the content of studies, its relevance to the level and the nature of Higher Technological Education, its materialisation etc.
The courses provided in the TEI departments are described as compulsory, compulsory elective, or optional. Every semester course carries a number of academic credits (a.d.m) each of which depends on the weekly teaching hours and its degree of importance. The total number of a.d.m. of each semesters’ courses is 30, according to the European Credit Transfer System (E.C.T.S.). The last semester of studies, which includes assignment of the graduating project as well as the supervised and assessed apprenticeship in a work place, grants a total of 30 credits(d.m.) of which 10-20 d.m correspond to the students’ graduating project.
Also, the working load in each semester of studies is 750 hours, that is 1500 hours on an annual basis. Each semester of studies in TEI departments includes fifteen (15) weeks of classes and is followed by two examination periods, of two weeks each. During registration or when registration is renewed at the beginning of each semester, the student submits his/her personal programme of studies which must reflect the relationship between prerequisite and dependent courses as decided by the Department.
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With the exception of this obligation, the student draws up independently his personal programme of studies, taking in consideration that the distribution of the courses over semesters is indicative, according to the Department curriculum, and not compulsory for the student.
Anna Radecka, Bartosz Pustuł, Mateusz Homa
EUROPEAN HOLIDAYS
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Introduction
Celebrating holidays in numerous gatherings is a distinguishing feature of all European cultures. It is a part of our heritage to cherish customs that have prevailed in local communities. Some of them are widely spread and known, some are distinctively linked to particular regions or locations. Even those that are common might appear so similar, yet they might be uniquely enriched by having local variations and modifications. Therefore it is of utmost importance to preserve regional differences, customs and traditions and sustain the diversity of European cultures.
This paper provides a brief overview of selected European customs. The first part focuses on the fashions in which Christmas is celebrated in various countries, in that the most interesting and graphic examples are given. In the following chapters a relatively wide array of holidays, specific and typical of both global and certain local communities, is covered, ranging from April Fool’s Day to the
Oktoberfest.
1.
Cross-country overview of Christmas traditions (Bartosz Pustuł)
The celebration of Christmas differs among countries in Europe. Every country or at least a group of countries has its own Christmas traditions, customs. In each country different food is served on the
Christmas Eve, the Christmas Tree is decorated with local ornaments, every country has its own
Christmas carols. However more and more often those traditions are being forgotten and new ones are borrowed from outside. This article presents the customs that are typical for certain regions and countries and are being preserved by local communities.
1.1.
Armenia – Christmas celebrated three times!
The time of celebrating Christmas by Armenians is a bit confusing. There are three dates on which
Christmas is celebrated, depending on the region where Armenians live. Those who have emigrated celebrate on both 25 th of December and 6 th of January. In Armenia Christmas is celebrated on 6 th of
January, due to the fact that the Armenians believe that Christ’s birth should be celebrated on the day of his baptism. What’s even more interesting, as the Armenians use the old Julian Calendar,
Christmas fall on the 19 live in the Holy Land... th of January. And on that date Christmas is celebrated by Armenians, who
As far as the traditions are concerned, Armenians prepare themselves for Christmas with a fast, which consists of not eating meat one week before Christmas and not eating anything at all on the day before Christmas. The fast ends on Christmas Eve, when traditional badarak is served. It consists of lamb and rice or Boulgeur Pilav and is served after the family returns from evening mess.
During the service men and women sit traditionally in separately. After the meal children sing carols on the roofs of their houses. They hold handkerchiefs that the parents fill with presents that are mainly raisins or fried wheat and money. The Christmas time in Armenia is a time of social visits and meeting with friends.
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1.2.
Austria – home of “Silent Night”
As Austria is the motherland of great composers, the Christmas time is filled with music. The most famous concerts take place in Salzburg, where Salzburger Adventsingen takes place every year, followed by candlelight concerts in the Hohensalzburg Fortress and others like Mozarteum and concerts in churches and Market squares. In Vienna City Hall a concert of choirs from all over the world takes place. Austria is also the birthplace of the world’s best known Christmas carol – “Silent night”, which is celebrated in Oberndorf in the Silent Night Memorial Chapel.
Yet before Christmas preparations start. Each family buys or prepares an Adventkranz, which is decorated with 4 candles lit on four Sundays before Christmas. On 5 th of December a Krampus Day takes place. Children gather and throw snowballs at figures of Krampus, which is a creature that represents evil. On the next day St. Nicholas day is celebrated. The main person of Christmas in
Austria is the Christkindl, who decorates the Christmas Tree and gives the presents. Every church in
Austria has its Krippe with little figures of newborn Christ, Joseph and Maria. Krippes are also made by families and are often hundreds years old and full of characters and figures. On Christmas Eve, after the tinkling bell summons every body to the Christmas dinner – children see the Tannenbaum
(Christmas Tree) decorated with ornaments and candles for the first time and wait for the Christkindl to arrive. The families exchange gifts and after the dinner go to the Mitternachtmesse. On the first and second Day of Christmas Austrians meet their families and friends. On January 6, the Epiphany is celebrated to remember the Three Wise Men.
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1.3.
Bulgaria – pat me with a stick and happy I shall be!
In Bulgaria people prepare themselves for Christmas with a 40-day Advent fast. On Christmas Eve the hole family gathers at the table to eat a vegetarian dinner that consists of 7, 9 or 11 dishes, of which the most popular are: homemade bread, pumpkin pie, beans, cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, dried fruit compote, walnuts and garlic. Each member of the family recites prayers to drive away any bad spirits.
The Christmas Tree is usually bought on the 23 rd of December and decorated with straw that symbolizes the straw in Bethlehem’s stable. Some of the straw also goes under the white cloth on the
Christmas Table. The two main Christmas traditions in Bulgaria are singing carols by young men called Kolendari and Sooroovachka, which is a custom of patting the family with a stick by children for good luck and health. Kolendari usually receive sweets, cakes and other food and children who participate in Sooroovachka are given money. Another Bulgarian custom is that young, unmarried girls put a piece of bread from the Christmas table under their pillows in order to dream about their future husband. The food from the Christmas dinner is traditionally left on the table until the next morning.
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1.4.
Czech Republic – beware, death is coming...
The Czech Christmas dinner consists of many dishes including fish soup, salads, vegetables, potatoes, eggs, and carp. The Czechs have several weird customs which, if not followed, may end tragically.
There must be a even number of people sitting at the table. If anyone leaves the table before the dinner is finished or if a candle lit on the table goes out, it means that someone will die the following year. Therefore the Czechs always prepare everything before the meal start and always hold a spare box of matches under the table.
After the Christmas dinner carols are sung and people attend the Midnight Mess. Children collect the presents that are hidden under the Christmas tree. A traditional Czech customs says that if a branch from cherry tree, cut before Christmas and put into water, blooms, a happy and wealthy year is coming and the winter will be short.
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1.5.
Denmark – candles and joy
Similar to Austrian customs, the Danes prepare a wreath that holds four candles that are lit on Sundays prior to Christmas. Candles are really important on Danish Christmas and thousands of then are lit by people in the streets, in their houses, everywhere. Christmas in Denmark is celebrated with great joy and happiness. In every company a Christmas Dinner is prepared for employers on Friday
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prior to Christmas.
The Danish tradition say that families should always be ready to welcome a stranger on Christmas
Eve. If a visitor is not welcomed and well fed in a Danish household, he may take the spirit of Yule
(Christmas) away from the family.
The traditional Danish Christmas Dish is a rice pudding with a white almond hidden in it. Who finds the almond receives the award – marzipan cake. Other Christmas dishes include goose stuffed with apples and prunes and served with red cabbage, caramel-browned potatoes, and lingonberry sauce.
For dessert we should expect ris ala mande – rice mixed with sugar, vanilla, almonds and cream.
Denmark is the only country that I know of, in which national flags are used to decorate the Christmas tree...
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1.6.
Finland – home of Santa.
It is not true that Santa Claus lives in the North Pole! Why should he live so far away from the reindeers and elves that live in Finland? Every child in Finland knows that Joulupukki – Santa Claus lives in Lapland, at Korvatunturi. Over one million letters addressed Santa Claus, Finland, Lapland comes to Finland every year. On Christmas Eve Joulupukki arrives in every Finnish house, asks if there are any good children and gives presents.
Not only Santa but also animals are very important on Christmas time. Each family leaves some of the food outside, so that the animals can enjoy it and bring luck and happiness for the family.
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1.7.
France – no reindeers please, just donkeys!
What is characteristic about French Christmas, is that the French do not consider Christmas Tree as a part of the celebration. Instead they use a Yule-log shaped cake called the Buche de Noel. As far as the Christmas Eve is concerned, the French eat a very late Christmas Dinner called la reveillon, which takes place after the Midnight Mass. The Christmas food differs among French regions. As a curiosity, we may say that in Provence, thirteen desserts are served to symbolize Jesus and twelve apostles.
French Santa Claus is called Pere Noel and is quite different from what we are used to. He wears wooden shoes, carries gifts in a basket and uses a donkey to travel. Adults usually exchange gifts after New Years Eve.
The Christmas time is also filled with songs called pastorales and carols. Families prepare Nativity scenes, which present scenes from lives of saints or santons.
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1.8.
Germany – Tannenbaum’s homeland
The preparation for Christmas in Germany begins on December 6, which is the St. Nicolas Day. Children prepare shoes or boots in which delicious holiday edibles are placed if the child was good and twigs if the child didn’t behave.
The Christmas tree is an important part of Christmas. Germany is the homeland of Tannenbaum
(Christmas tree) and therefore it’s truly important for the family to prepare a splendid tree. Children are not allowed to see the tree, decorated with with apples, candy, nuts, cookies, cars, trains, angels, tinsel, family treasures and candles or lights, before the Christmas Eve.
After the Christmas meal, that consist of local dishes with obligatory white sausage, suckling pig and macaroni salad, children receive presents that are hidden under the tree. On the first Day of Christmas dishes such as Christstollen which consists of long loaves of bread bursting with nuts, raisins, citron and dried fruit, Lebkuchen, marzipan, and Dresden Stollen which is a moist, heavy bread filled with fruit, are served.
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1.9.
Greece – pig slaughter and freezing divers.
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323 http://christmas-world.freeservers.com/france.html
324 http://christmas-world.freeservers.com/germany.html
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
There are two specific Christmas customs in Greece – chirosfagia and theophania. The first one’s translation into English is... pig slaughter. This custom comes from ancient times and bases on traditional way of slaughtering a pig, which is then eaten during Christmas time. Theophania or Epiphany in English has a more complex structure. First, people dressed in animal costumes, in order to remind of kalikantzari – gnomes, go around villages singing and collect sweets and food. At the end of this festival the priest blesses the water by throwing a cross into it, so that the bad spirits are sacred.
Young men from the village dive for the cross, although the temperature is rather low (6 year.
325 th of January). The one who finds the cross in the freezing water has a good luck and health in the following
1.10.
Hungary – complex chair
The celebration of Christmas in Hungary begins well sooner than month before the Christmas
Eve. Streets and shops are decorated with different ornaments. A holiday typical for Hungary is Luca
Napja or Luca’s Day that falls on 13 th of December. The Day is celebrated in villages by making a chair out of 7 different types of wood, in order to use it during the Christmas Eve Mass. The superstition says that a person standing on that chair can see all the witches in the church.
As far as food is concerned, Hungarian dishes are mainly made of fish, with special fish soup as a traditional Christmas Dish. Desserts are also crucial for Christmas, with cookies, cakes and Beiglie – soft, rolled cookie with walnuts and poppyseeds.
1.11.
Iceland – 13 Santas...
Christmas or Yule is a period of spending time with family, decorating your house and the Christmas tree. The celebrations begin on 23 rd of December with Thorlakur's Day named for Thorlakur Thorhallsson, former Bishop of Skálholt - Iceland's major native Saint. The main custom, which began in the Fjords and now is popular in whole Iceland, is the partaking of a simple meal of skate. Two other things that happen on Torlaksmessa are decorating the Christmas tree and shopping – the shops are open until midnight.
The celebrations on Christmas Eve start at 6 p.m. which is associated with the fact that in the past, days officially started on 6 p.m. As far as food is concerned, the traditional Icelandic dishes are called
Hangikjot, Rjupa and Laufabraud. According to old Icelandic tradition, there are thirteen Santas, who begin to visit homes on 12 th of December. Each of them is responsible for different Christmas event and to name only three of them: Door Slammer, Candle Beggar and Meet Hooker it is obvious what events we are talking about...
As far as Christmas Eve or Ađfangadagur is concerned, it is a day of exchanging gifts, which is rather a new tradition, that began in 19 th century. What is interesting is that TV programme stops at
5 p.m. and restarts at 10 p.m. so the families spend the Evening singing carols. On Jóladagur –
Christmas Day, Icelandic families meet together and enjoy themselves with cookies, cakes and other traditional desserts.
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1.12.
The Netherlands – Santa comes from Spain!
In the Netherlands Santa’s or Sinterklass’es birthday are celebrated, not as in whole Europe on the
6 th of December, but on the 5 th . What is even more interesting is that Santa, according to the Dutch, doesn’t come from Finland or North Pole, but from... Spain.
The Dutch celebrate Christmas with midwinter-hoornblazen – a concert of tubes that has a well over 4000 years of tradition.
As far as Christmas food is concerned, the Dutch eat kerststol, which is a almond and fruit-paste bread and krentebolletjes.
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1.13.
Scotland – short tradition of Christmas.
In Scotland Christmas was not celebrated until 1960 and by that time December 25 was just a normal working day. This results from Cromwell times and lasted for over 400 years. As Christmas means
Christ’s Mass it was simply banned in Scotland over the past 4 centuries.
The Christmas Eve is called Sowans Nicht in many regions of Scotland and the name comes from a traditional Scottish dish. Christmas celebration in Scotland are rather modest and all the joy and happiness is left for the celebration of New Year which is called Hogmanay.
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1.14.
Spain
Hogueras is a custom typical for some Spanish regions during Christmas. People in Grenada and
Jaen gather around bonfires and jump over the fire to send away any bad spirits. Another important tradition in Spain is to build a belen or nacimiento – nativity scenes are built in almost every household. On Christmas Eve or Noche Buena a Rooster Mass is held, of which the most famous one takes place at Montserrat monastery, where a boy choir performs Christmas songs.
For Christmas Eve the Spaniards usually serve a turkey staffed with truffles. After the meal whole family gathers around the Christmas tree and sings Christmas carols or villancios until dawn. Gifts are given on 6 th of December traditionally by the Three Kings, Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar.
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1.15.
Ukraine
The central event of Christmas in Ukraine is the Christmas Eve Supper or Sviata Vechera. Before the meal a bunch of wheat decorated with ribbons and other ornaments is brought to the house by the head of the family. The wheat or didukh represents the whole family and its ancestors and is carried throughout the house three times and left in the dinning room. The supper itself consists of twelve traditional dishes, that represent twelve cycles of the moon and each of them presents the most valuable products of the field and garden. In order to express respect for the animals, no meat or milk is served during Christmas. On the Christmas table you can always find a loaf of bread with a candle in it. This in Ukraine is called kolach and reminds that Christ was the Bread of Life.
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1.16.
Wales – carol contest.
The Welch Christmas is a time filled with music. Every village or town has its own choir that sings carols often accompanied by harp. Every year a national competition of eisteddfodde (caroling) takes place and a set of carol-words is sent to each village. Villagers compose their own music and the best one becomes a part of Christmas repertory in whole Wales. This tradition is almost 1000 years old.
Another Welch tradition, called Grey-Mary or Mari Lwyd includes dressing in grey-white clothes and carrying a horse-skull by a group of singers. If anyone gets “bitten” by the horse, he/she has to pay a fine or at least invite the singers for a cake or other sweets.
As far as Christmas service is concerned, it lasts from 4 a.m. until dawn. Durind the service or
Pylgain traditional dishes are served and carols are sung individually or in choirs.
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2.
Selection of European customs and holidays
2.1.
April Fool’s Day – Prima Aprilis (Anna Radecka)
April Fool’s Day, which is also called Prima Aprilis, is the first day of April and traditionally it is a day to play jokes on each others and on unsuspecting people. On that day almost all pranks are allowed and the victims of jokes have no right to get offended but they are in force to take revenge for it on next April Fool”s. Pranks performed on this special day range from the simple such as saying “Your shoe’s untied” or setting one’s alarm clock back an hour to the much more elaborated. Whatever the prank is, the trickster usually ends it by yelling to his victim “April Fool” or “Prima Aprilis”. These days
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Europe at Present [Spring 2003] even news media gets involved into fooling around people. For instance, a British short film once shown on April Fool’s Day was a detailed documentary about “spaghetti farmers” and how they harvest their crop from spaghetti trees.
332 April Fool’s Day is a “for-fun-only” holiday, nobody is expected to buy gifts, nobody gets off work or school, however on that day one must be vigilant all the time as he can be the next April Fool. The customs involves the superstition that the pranking period expires at noon on the 1 st April (2 nd in Scotland) and any jokes attempted after that time will call bad luck down onto the head of the perpetrator. Additionally, those who fail to respond with good humor to tricks played upon them are said to attract bad luck to themselves. Not all superstitions about the day are negative, some people believe that boy fooled by a pretty girl is said to be fated to end up married to her or at least enjoy a good friendship with her and other way around.
333
Although the origin of this custom is not certain and there are many speculations about where the practice of hoaxing people started, one thing is sure – the tradition of April Fool’s Day was born in
Europe and later it was spread around countries such as United States of America or Mexico by European immigrants.
The most spread theory of the origin of April Fool’s Day goes back to King Charles IX of France who adopted the Gregorian Calendar introduced in 1562 by Pope Gregory. Before the reform of calendar,
New Year’s was celebrated on March 25 th and celebrations lasted until April 1 st . However, in spite of the introduction of Gregorian Calendar which moved the celebration of New Year’s on January 1 there were some people who still celebrated it on April 1 st. st
It was due the fact that communication traveled slowly in those days and lot of people were informed of the change several years later.
There were also individuals who simply refused to acknowledge the change. All those people were called April Fools by general populace and were subject to jokes and pranks. To this end, French peasants would unexpectedly drop in on neighbors on that day in effort to confuse them into thinking they were receiving a New Year’s call.
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The fact that in some countries today April Fool’s Day is called Prima Aprilis indicates that the roots of this tradition may go back further in the time than mid 16 th century. That is why another tale links the origin of April Fool’s Day with ancient Rome where the Christians in the Roman Empire ridiculed
Pagans who would not let go of their beliefs and observed the first day of spring celebrating festival
Hilaria, which commemorates the resurrection of the god Attis.
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This harassment evolved, over time into a tradition of prank-playing on the first day of April. The tradition eventually spread to England and Scotland in the eighteen century. It was later introduced to American colonies of both English and French. April Fool’s Day developed into an international fest with different nationalities specializing in their own brand humor at the expense of their families and friends.
In France, the April Fool’s Day is known as “Poisson d’Avril” or “April Fish”. An April fish is a young fish and so, one that is easily caught. French children fool friends by taping a paper fish to the victim’s back and, when the “fool” discovers this trick, yelling: “Poisson d’Arvil!”. Traditionally French pranks must include a fish and it is not unusual for friends to be presented with dainty presents fashioned in the form of small fish on All Fool’s Day. The nickname of “Poisson d’Avril” is said to have been acquired by Napoleon Bonaparte when he married Marie-Louise of Austria on April 1 st 1810.
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In Scotland, where the tradition is celebrated over two days, April Fool’s Day is also known as “April
Gowk”, “Gowkie Day” or “Hunt the Gowk”. “Gowk” is Scottish word for “cuckoo” and thus, a “gowk” is the synonym of any practical joke. The second day of the Scottish April Fool’s custom is devoted exclusively to pranks involving the “second” region of the body. That is way the day is commonly known as “Taily Day” and the origin of the ever-popular “Kick Me” sign is likely derived from this custom. The same “ritual” takes place in Orkney Isles (located just off the Scottish Mainland), where
332 http://www.gothamgazette/citizen/april02/april-fool.html
333 http://www.snopes.com/holidays/april/aprilfool.htm
334 http://www.computingcorner.com/holidays/apr.index2.htm
335 http://www.gothamgazette/citizen/april02/april-fool.shtml
336 http://www.novareinna.com/festive/alfool.html
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this area’s “Tailing Day” is also celebrated on April 2 nd .
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In England tricks and pranks are only permissible during the morning hours of All Fool’s Day and the victim of jokes is known as a “noodle”. In the Cronwall region of England, an April Fool is also known as a “gowk” ( as in Scotland) or a “guckaw”. If a person is successful in playing a trick on another, then it is usual for the perpetrator to yell: “ Fool, fool, the guckaw!”. On the other hand, if the victim fails to fall for the trick thr retort is: “The gowk and the titlene sit on a tree…you are a gowk as well as me!” A “titlene” is a hedge sparrow. In the County of Cheshire in England, an April Fool is an “April
Gawby”, sometimes referred to as a “gobby” or “gob”, while in Devon, unlike the reminder of England, jokes are allowed in the afternoon and the custom of pinning on inscription such as “Please kick me” to the coat-tails of an unsuspecting victim is popular (again, much as it is in Scotland). In Devon, however, this is known as “Tail-Pipe Day”. In the Lake District area of England, an April Fool is an
“April Noddy” and at the end of the day, it is customary to chant: “April Noddy’s past and gone…You’re the fool an’I’m none”.
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In Portugal, April Fool’s Day is celebrated on the Sunday and Monday prior to the Lenten Season, with the traditional trick being to throw flour at one’s friends.
So, no matter where one happens to be in the Europe on April 1, should not be surprised if someone will try to play tricks on him.
2.2.
La Tomatina.
Imagine the situation that people throw ripe tomatoes at each others in one big tomato war, and what is more, they really enjoy it. This is in short, definition of La Tomatina, custom which tradition lasts more than fifty years. The tomato war takes place each year on the last Wednesday of August in the little town of Buńol (30 miles west of Valencia in eastern Spain) between 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.. The "batalla" takes place during a week-long celebration of the festival for the town's patron, filled with on-going festivities and with even greater anticipation for the monstrous tomato battle that serves as the culmination of the week's events. . For a week leading up to the battle, the 20,000strong town of Buñol, is filled with parades, fireworks, food and street parties. The night before La
Tomatina, the narrow streets beneath the town's imposing medieval bell tower are filled with tomatoes, in a much more palatable form than they will be the next day foreshadowing. On the early
Wednesday morning shopkeepers and other people who owns apartments or businesses along the
Plaza and its neighborhood cover windows and doors in preparation for “la batalla”.
339 At 11:00 a.m. tomato fight starts .This is a war were there are expected to be no winners, but where all are supposed to have fun. The participants grab red ripe tomatoes and throw them at anyone that runs, moves, stays still, bends down, or turns around. There are certain rules which have to be obeyed: only tomatoes can be used, and they should be crushed before being thrown so they can’t hurt anybody. Bottles, water bombs and the like are totally forbidden. After the tomato war, people loaded with good humor, positive energy gather in the town square for the food and wine festivities.
There are several stories trying to explain the origin of this popular festival. According to some historians, its origin goes back to a "practical joke" that some friends wanted to play on a man who was crossing the town square singing and playing a musical instrument but, seemingly, he was doing it so badly that some of the people around decided to take some tomatoes from a fruit and vegetables stall and throw them at him. Everybody else joined in to end up in a tomato battle.
340 However, the most reliable and historical version claims that everything takes its beginning in 1945. The town square (where the "tomatina" is traditionally held nowadays) was crowded with young people to witness a "Gigantes y Cabezudos" parade (giant carnival figures with a grotesque head). Some of them decided to join the authority committee and music band leading the parade and to do so they pushed the ones who were wearing the giant disguises. One of the participants fell down and when
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] he stood up he started hitting everyone around so everybody ended up in a fight.
Fate or chance, there was a vegetable stall nearby with open crates showing the goods for sale. The young people involved in the fight grabbed the tomatoes from the stall and started throwing them at each other until the police ended "the battle", and those responsible for the riot paid for the damages.
341 This tomato fight was not forgotten and the next year on the same Wednesday of August people, especially teenagers, gathered at the square, this time with their own tomatoes. This how another tomato battle started. Despite official prohibition announced by authorities, in the following years people continued to celebrate “day of tomatina” as it was called by locals. In 1950 Buńol Town
Hall allowed the festival but next year it was again banned. Due to its popularity, the festival was eventually allowed. Moreover, since then, the celebration had more and more participants every year and started to be better known outside Buñol. Taking part in that tomato craziness was equal to having great fun so each festival attracted more and more people. In 1957 when the authorities forbade once again the “tomatina”, some of its dedicated fans decided to celebrate “the tomato’s funeral”. A coffin with big tomato inside was carried by some young people, followed by a band playing funeral marches.
342 After numerous demands, in 1959 the Town Hall allowed again the celebration of the “tomatina” but under certain restrictions. From that moment, the festival was institutionalised, it was also changed a little bit. Now the final “batalla” is preceded by various cultural events and parades.The changes concern also the starting of the celebration and nowadays the week-long festival starts with so called “soap pole”. Some volunteers climb a tall pole with soap to obtain the trophy at the top: a ham. In 1975 “ Los Clavarios de San Luis Bertran” took on responsibility of organisation of ‘La Tomatina” and from that moment it provided tomatoes. After 1980 the Town
Hall was in charge of organising and promoting the festival, so every year the quantity of tons of tomatoes rise as well as the number of participants from all over the world.
343 It should be underline, that despite great number of participants, the festival each year is a success without any incidents.
So far hasn’t been observed any similar custom around Europe, probably that is why each year, thousands of tourists come to Bunol – little Spanish town, to take part in that “tomato craziness” and to have fun. Maybe La Tomatina’s tradition some day spread over other European countries. The
Tomato’s holiday has its dedicated fans especially among youths from Germany and England.
2.3.
”San Fermin – Running of the Bulls”
San Fermin festival takes place in Pamplona, Navarra, since the XII century. Originally it was a religious celebration in honour of San Fermin, a bishop from Pamplona killed in France, where he spent the last years of his life spreading the Christian religion. The festival of San Fermin is the best known event taking place in Pamplona.
344 TV-spectators in all the world are surprised, impressed or shocked each year when they watch the spectacle of bulls running. The festival in honour of San Fermín celebrated in Pamplona -which is known also as Running of the Bulls or los Sanfermines- is a mixture of the official and the local, the religious and the entertaining, for local people and outsiders, the old and the new. And all of this packed into one long week starting with a bang at midday on the sixth
of July and ending on at midnight on the fourteenth. 345 On the eve of the July 6th, so called
vispera, (San Fermin eve mass), locals and tourists gather with anticipation at midnight for the fireworks show that begins the festival. On July 7th, is the day of the amazing race. It is the running of the bulls, known as encierro. The runners (called peńas) who gather at the bottom of Santo
Domingo - the starting line - are crowded together and they sing a homily to the image of San Fermin which is placed in a niche on the wall decorated with the scarves of the peńas. The song goes like this: "A San Fermín pedimos, por ser nuestro patrón, nos guíe en el encierro dándonos su bendición"
("We ask San Fermín, as our Patron, to guide us through the Bull Run and give us his blessing.") A rocket goes off at the moment the bulls are let out into the street. A second rocket goes off to let
337 http://www.novareinna.com/festive/alfool.html
338 http://www.novareinna.com/festive/alfool.html
339 http://www.festivals.com/99-08-august/tomatina
340 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/theme/festivals/festivals-tomatina.htm
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341 http://www.lahoya.net/tomatina/menuing.html
342 http://www.lahoya.net/tomatina/menuing.html
343 http://www.lahoya.net/tomatina/menuing.html
344 http://www.cyberspain.com/sanfermin.htm
345 http://www.spanishunlimited.com/spain/fiestas/sanfermin.asp

everyone know that all the bulls are now in the street.
346 After that signal hundreds of men dressed in red and white suit, sprint through the city streets to the Plaza de Toros, the bullring located at the end of town. The length of the run is some 800 meters and there is no need to sign up anywhere to take part; the willing person just enters into the run and chooses the street where he will run and tries to do best as he can. Then that evening the most important bullfights of the season are battled with the best toreros. Those outside the ring parade the streets with large bullheads and party deep into the night.
347
One of the most characteristic aspects of San Fermin festival of Pamplona is the San Fermin white suit. Unfortunately its origin is not very clear. According to a theory (there are many more), some of the first runners of the encierro at the beginning of the 20th century, were bakers (depending of the person who tells the story they were painters, construction workers, butchers or anyone who uses a white suit at work…). The rest of the public just imitated them. Some other theory, this one much more possible, says that back in the 20s, some of the peńas (runners) decided to wear in a different way in order to distinguish from the rest of the people at the bullfights. A curious detail, is the fact that there are no pictures showing people running in white suit, before the 30s. Even some of the official San Fermin posters, did not show anyone in white suit and with the red handkerchief tied around the neck, before that decade. So, it seems quite possible, that the origin of the white and red San Fermin suit, was just the wish of some penhas to distinguish. In fact, not all of them started to wear just red handkerchief and belt, but also blue and green ones.
348
The festival in honour of San Fermin , according to historians takes its roots in the XII century. It was launched to commemorate San Fermin just after his death in the French city of Amiens. The festivities in those times were very different. The festival was a deep religious event, with masses and processions in honour of the saint. Basically, it was a way of remembering the suffering and torment of San Fermin and his execution in the French city. Until 1591 the festival used to take place in October, the month in which, according to records of Amiens Town Council, the bishop of Pamplona entered the French city in order to evangelise and spread Christianity.
349 Over the following years the festival become more popular, amusing and entertaining, and less religious. The festival moved to the streets of Pamplona, where people used to drink, dance and have fun, forgetting about their ordinary lives for a few days. Due to the influence that autumn weather had on a festival, in 1591 the religious authorities accepted to move the start of the festivities to the 7th of July, but actually the religious events in honor of the saint used to take place the day before. Those event were called the "Visperas" (San Fermin eve mass), religious celebrations that used to take place the evening of July 6th. In
1910 the Town Council decided to move the beginning of the festival to the previous days with a general pealing of bells all over the city.
350 The beginning of the festival as we nowadays know it, was born in 1939, when the city authorities decided to officially announce the beginning of the festival, with the launch of a rocket from the Town Hall square. This event is known as the "Chupinazo", the explosion of the rocket that nowadays is the start of the nine days-long festival. The chupinazo as the important event we nowadays know, it's a creation of Joaquintxo Illundain, Pamplona Town councilor in 1939. He suggested that the new chupinazo could be launched by the Mayor of the city.
According to Ilundain, that was a way of giving official character to this event.
351
Back to the religious roots of the tradition and the Saint -San Fermin, all what is known about San
Fermin, comes from many legends and theories about him that are more or less believable. One of these theories says that San Fermin was the son of the roman governor of Pamplona, someone called
Firmus, but there are some historians who have serious doubts about this fact. According to some of this legends, San Fermin, became catholic due to San Saturnino. Baptised by this Saint, he became clergyman and finally the first bishop of Pamplona. He left Pamplona to evangelise and spread Chris-
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] tianity in France. There, he found death on September 25th in the French city of Amiens, where he was beheaded. After his death, his body remained in that city. Later on some parts of his body, considered religious relics, have been taken back to Pamplona and the town started to honor him from the XII century on.
352
2.4.
St. Patrick’s Day – March 17. (Mateusz Homa)
It is astonishing that St. Patrick’s Day, which is most commonly associated with Ireland, was officially celebrated on the Emerald Island no sooner than in 1996. It is even more so, as we unravel the fact that festivals, feasts and a range of various activities held abroad prior to that year were overwhelmingly more impressive and famous than those moderate ones organised in Ireland. This idiosyncratic difference prompted the Irish Government to establish on this day a national festival in Dublin, as a means of promoting the country, attracting tourists and drawing more attention to “the Celtic Tiger”.
Moreover, it gave the Irish an unique opportunity to express their pride of their heritage and descent all over the world. Initially, the festival was held in only on 17 March, however in the latter years it evolved to a four-day event and the word “day” was omitted from the official name “St. Patrick’s
Festival”. The event has also grown in terms of both the preparation stage and attendance – the former expanding from 5 to 18 months, the latter rising from 430,000 to 1.2 million people.
353
As far as the origin of the day is concerned, it has its roots in the life of one of the most widely recognised figures in Christianity – St. Patrick. He is believed to have been born in Roman Britain, most likely Wales, near the end of the fourth century. Although his father was a Christian deacon, there is no evidence that young Patrick was a particularly pious and religious person. At the age of sixteen, he was abducted by a group of Irish marauders that raided his family’s estate. He was subsequently transported to Ireland and kept in captivity for the following six years, during which he worked as a shepherd and, as a result of his solitude, he turned to his religion and became a devout Christian. It was also then that he envisaged for the first time the prospect of converting the Irish to Christianity.
354 It is said that after this period he received in a dream a command urging him to escape and leave the island. In order to do so, St. Patrick undertook a 200 miles’ journey on foot from County
Mayo (where he was apparently held) to the Irish coast. Afterwards he travelled to England and
France, where he settled for twenty years in Marmoutier Abbey as a monk and experienced his second revelation prompting him to return to Ireland as a missionary. On completing his studies at in the
Abbey in 432, he was summoned to Rome by Pope Celestine, who bequeathed on him the honour of
Bishop and St. Patrick left for Ireland soon after.
355
He arrived in Ireland along with 24 of his followers in the winter of 432 and proceeded to acquaint the Irish with Christianity. He assumed that the best solution was to combine and interleave native beliefs with his lessons rather than to try to eradicate them, therefore he set about using bonfires, hitherto employed to honour pagan gods, to celebrate Easter, and brought together the sun, a powerful Irish symbol, and the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross. All those measures were aimed at making the new religion more attainable to inhabitants of Ireland. There is also an oft-quoted example of making ingenious use of the shamrock (Irish Gaelic for the threeleafed clover) to explain a theological dispute. St. Patrick attempted at confronting and converting one of the most powerful rulers in Ireland, King of Laoghaire. While being in the presence of the king, he plucked a three-leafed shamrock and explained showing the plant, how the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit could exist as three separate parts of the same entity. More presently, it is often dipped in whisky and thrown over the left shoulder to distract any potential misfortunes. The ritual is referred to as “The Drowning of the Shamrock”. The lore has it besides that St. Patrick delivered a sermon on a hill that drove all snakes away from the island, which, since no snakes were ever indigenous to Ireland, symbolises conversion of the pagans. He is believed to have died between 463 and
346 http://www.sanfermin.com/guide/correr.html
347 http://www.arches.uga.edu/~mkmobley/spanish/pamplona.html
348 http://www.vivasanfermin.com/
349 http://www.spanishunlimited.com/spain/fiestas.inde.asp
350 http://www.vivasanfermin.com/web/sec/historia/index.html
351 http://www.vivasanfermin.com/web/sec/chupinazo/index.html
66
352 http://www.arches.uga.edu/~mkmobley/spanish/pamplona.html
353 http://www.stpatricksday.ie/cms/stpatricksday.html
354 http://www.marvelicious.com/stpatrick.html
355 http://www.historychannel.com/cgi-bin/frameit.cgi?p=http%3A//www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/whowas/

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
493 on March 17 and this day has been commemorated ever since.
356
For years, the day was regarded as a solely religious holiday, especially as it falls during Christian
Lent. The Irish would attend church services in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. St. Patrick’s Day enjoyed a suspension of Lenten obligations and people were allowed to dance, drink and feast – including the traditional bacon and cabbage. It is significant that it was in New York City that the very first parade took place on March 17. In 1762 a group of Irish soldiers serving in the British army marched through the city to demonstrate attachment to their roots.
357 In the course of the following years patriotic feelings of the Irish thrived, only to be massively superseded by that of fellow compatriots arriving in the US after 1845 due to the Great Potato Famine in their homeland.
Outnumbered by the Protestant majority, undereducated, despised for religious beliefs and bizarre accent, the immigrants were ostracised from the society and soon realised the dire need to make their presence felt. Consequently they began to exploit their political power stemming from relatively large numbers as an important swing vote. Parades on St. Patrick’s Day were used as a means of showing their strength and a must-go for every political candidate, which was most accurately reflected in President Truman’s appearance in 1948.
358
Oddly enough, until the 1970s pubs in Ireland were shut on this day, which was naturally a consequence of its being a religious occasion. As the event became distinctively secular in terms of celebration, new customs were introduced. Those include brewing specially for this holiday the famous
“green beer” and enjoying it during all-night sit-ins in local pubs. It was in fact the credit of the Irish communities spread all around the globe that St. Patrick’s day, held already in distinctively remote parts of the world such as Japan, Russia and Singapore, was reinvented in Ireland in the form of the aforementioned festival. Multi-day celebrations include parades, concerts, outdoor theatre performances and fireworks shows.
A part and parcel of the Dublin festival is the Skyfest, which is a breathtaking fireworks experience held on the city’s quays. Also particularly worth mentioning are the banks of the River Liffey, where thousands of individual performers, street theatres etc. gather to celebrate during the festival’s period. On the days preceding March 17, a series of concerts under the title “The Music Village” gives testimony of traditional and contemporary Irish music. However the most spectacular part is obviously the parade on the very day, which lures the Irish and tourists with a vast range of pageants and tremendous marching bands. The event culminates in “Ceili Mor”, that is a wild party and, at the same time, the largest outdoor occasion of Irish dances that continues into the night.
359
2.5.
St. Lucia Day – December 13
The particular reason why a story of a saint of Italian descent received such an enormous response in the Nordic countries remains quite veiled in mystery. Nonetheless, this holiday has been enjoying a revival of its popularity since the 1920s, when a Stockholm newspaper introduced a more modern perception of it by organising a competition for the Lucia of Sweden. Ever since the winner has travelled to Syracuse and attended the annual Lucia-carnevale there. According to the Julian calendar, the original feast day fell on the winter solstice.
360
St. Lucia was born in the third century AD in Syracuse on the island of Sicily to a wealthy family. She is said to have provided Christians hiding in catacombs with food. In order to light the way in dark passages she wore a wreath with candles on her head. When her mother intended to marry her to a pagan, St. Lucia made vows of chastity and declined to comply with the request. She was afterwards denounced by the would-be groom to the Roman authorities as a Christian and promptly sentenced to be moved to a brothel. As a result of divine intervention the order could not be executed and, after several unsuccessful attempts (including burning at stake) she was pierced to death with a sword in
304, thus becoming one of the martyrs. In all probability, the story proliferated in Sweden due to
356 http://www.historychannel.com/cgi-bin/frameit.cgi?p=http%3A//www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/whowas/
357 http://www.historychannel.com/cgi-bin/frameit.cgi?p=http%3A//www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/history/
358 http://www.wilstar.com/holidays/patrick.htm
359 http://www.stpatricksday.ie/cms/stpatricksday_history.html
360 http://www.umkc.edu/imc/stlucia.htm
67 missionary activities. It was combined with beliefs that St. Lucia, being a queen of light, led the way for the sun on the shortest of days. People used to light “St. Lucia Fires” and throw incense into them. Moreover, St. Lucia Day in Sweden marks the beginning of Christmas celebrations, feasting and merriment. It is also on this day that windows in shops are decorated for the first time.
361
It is customary that at dawn of December 13 the eldest daughter (called “Lussibrud”, or Lucy Bride) in each family dresses in a white robe with a red sash and wears a wreath with four candles on her head. Then she carries coffee, a tray of saffron buns and gingerbread cakes to her parents’ room and wakes them up. Her siblings will follow, dressed in a similar fashion.
362 It is also common for hotels to arrange for a white-robed girl to serve breakfast to guests. Throughout Swedish towns and villages a selected young woman, dressed in a white gown, a red sash and a wreath with burning candles goes at dawn from door to door so as to pay visit to each family, bring cakes and return by break of day.
This custom is thought to have originated in some of the better-off farming districts and still persists with candles replaced rather by electric lights. Nowadays the Lucia is joined by a pack of “stjärngossar”, i. e. “starboys” wearing tall, pointed hats. They are believed to represent the young men that at one time would go from door to door frightening people, singing and begging for money.
363
2.6.
Guy Fawkes Day – “Remember, remember the 5 th of November”
The death of Queen Elisabeth I in 1603 sparked substantial hopes among English Catholics of a more tolerant state and a less hostile attitude towards them than those that they had had to experience during her reign. Unfortunately, oppressive laws seemed to persist under James I, which resulted in a number of plots to overthrow the sovereign. The most notable one was set up in May 1604, as a group consisting of Robert Catesby, Thomas Percy, John Wright, Thomas Wintour and Guy Fawkes hatched “the gunpowder plot”. Their aim was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening with the intention to assassinate the King, the Prince of Wales as well as the noblemen that oppressed Catholics. Despite the fact that the plot was masterminded by Robert Catesby, it is Guy
Fawkes who epitomises those passages of history.
364
The initial focal point of the plan was to dig a tunnel under the House of Lords, but as the works proved slow and ineffective for the men unacquainted with physical labour, it was abandoned. With a stroke of sheer luck, the conspirators managed to hire in March 1605 a cellar under Parliament and to store there 36 barrels filled with gunpowder (apparently purchased from Government supplies) under piles of firewood and iron bars. On 26 October the now famous anonymous letter was delivered to
William Parker, 4 th Baron Monteagle, urging him not to attend the State Opening on November 5. It is nowadays explained that one or more of the participators started having second thoughts regarding the plot and the prospect of wounded and killed innocent human beings became unbearable.
365 Nevertheless, the ring met on November 3 and agreed that Guy Fawkes would be the one to ignite the fuse. In turn Fawkes, oblivious of potential danger conceded after little hesitation. It is worth mentioning that the rest promptly arranged for a retreat for outside the capital, which in effect raises further suspicions of Fawkes being set up and used as a scapegoat in what seemed as an already thwarted case.
366
Early in the morning of November 5, a group led by Sir Thomas Knyvett, a Westminster magistrate, inspected the cellar and discovered the plot. Guy Fawkes was apprehended and moved immediately to the Tower and kept there until January 27, when he and his fellow conspirators were tried for high treason, sentenced to death, and executed on 31 January 1606. Among those executed was Henry
Garnett, the superior of the English Jesuits, who had been aware of the conspiracy. It triggered further hostility against Catholics and restrictions on their rights.
367
361 http://www.serve.com/shea/germusa/lucia.htm
362 http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/weekly/aa120100f.htm
363 http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Shores/1086/lucia.html
364 http://www.bonefire.org/guy/gunpowder.php
365 http://www.infoplease.com/spot/guyfawkes.html
366 http://www.britannia.com/history/g-fawkes.html
367 http://www.infoplease.com/spot/guyfawkes.html

Already on November 5, the profoundly moved Londoners, having learnt little more than that the
King had been saved, gathered and celebrated the occasion with bonfires. Soon, people began placing effigies made of old clothes and (more recently) old newspapers onto bonfires, and fireworks were added to the celebrations. Effigies of Guy Fawkes, and sometimes those of the Pope, appeared on the stakes. Still today, some throw dummies of both Guy Fawkes and the Pope on the bonfire
(and even resort to cast in a contemporary politician or two), although the act is regarded rather as a somewhat odd and eccentric tradition, rather than an expression of hostility towards the Pope.
368
Preparations for Bonfire Night celebrations include making a dummy of Guy Fawkes, which is called
"the Guy". Some children even keep up an old tradition of walking in the streets, occasionally from door to door, carrying "the Guy" they have just made, and beg passersby for "a penny for the Guy."
The kids use the money to buy fireworks for the evening festivities. In some regions children cover their faces with black ointment, as Guy Fawkes might have done on the crucial day. On the night itself, Guy is placed on top of the bonfire, which is then set alight; and fireworks displays fill the sky.
The bonfires are moreover used to cook potatoes and heat up soup for the people that attend the celebration.
369
The extent of the celebrations and the size of the bonfire varies from one community to another. The town of Lewes, in the South East of England, is famous for its Bonfire Night festivities and consistently lures thousands of people each year to participate.
Britain is not the only place in the world that witnesses Bonfire Night celebrations. The tradition went across the oceans and established itself in the British colonies during the centuries. It was actively celebrated in New England as "Pope Day" as late as the 18th century. Today, November 5th bonfires still light up in such remote places like Newfoundland in Canada, and some areas in New Zealand. An
Act of Parliament was passed appointing 5 November each year as a day of thanksgiving for 'the joyful day of deliverance'. This Act remained in force until 1859 although it is still traditional in Britain to have bonfires and set off fireworks on or around 5 November.
Another tradition is for the Yeoman of the Guard to conduct a ceremonial search of the Houses of
Parliament an hour before the State Opening.
370
2.7.
Oktoberfest
Thought to be one of the largest festivals in the world, the Oktoberfest reported in 2001 an outstanding turnout of some 6 million visitors from all around the world. The event has always had an enormous impact on the local economy – a sum of approximately 955 million euros was spent during the
16 days of the most recent one. Out of the total, food, drinks and entertainment accounted for one half of expenditures, hotel accommodation, public transport and restaurants for the other.
371
It was on October 12, 1810 that the first festival was held in the suburban area of the Bavarian city of Munich. Its aim was to celebrate the royal wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig (later to become King
Ludwig I) with Princess Therese of Saxony – Hildburghausen. The inhabitants of Munich were invited to participate in a series of attractions on fields outside the city’s gates, which were soon named
“Theresienwiese” (Theresa’s fields). Ever since the locals have referred to it in a simple, abbreviated form of “Wie’sn”.
372 It was followed five days later by a horse race organised by the National Guard, which was attended by the Royal Family. It was meant to be an opportunity for the Bavarian folk to partake in the celebrations. The decision was taken to repeat the thoroughly successful event the following year to honour the first anniversary and it was then accompanied by the first Agricultural
Show, which, contrary to the horse race, has been held to this day every three years on the southern part of the “Wie’sn”.
373
368 http://www.bonefire.org/guy/bonfire.php
369 http://www.crewsnest.vispa.com/bonfire.htm
370 http://www.bonefire.org/guy/bonfire.php
371 http://www.muenchen-tourist.de/englisch/oktoberfest/muenchen-oktoberfest-einleitung_e.htm
372 http://www.samadams.com/beer/styles/octoberfest.htm
373 http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/fakten/geschichte.php
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
68
For many years, the public was presented with a relatively sparse range of amusements and pastimes during the event. For instance, small beer stands were replaced by large tents no sooner than in
1896 and there was only one carousel and a couple of swings until the 1870s. However the 1870s witnessed a rapid surge in the number of leisure opportunities, mostly due to a revival of the tradition of fairs and similar occasions in Germany. Moreover, breweries began to take an active part in the whole funfair and introduced their own tents and halls, the number of which amounts at present to
14. The present custom of main proprietors’ parade on Saturday morning evokes the fact that the
Munich of the end of the 19 th century was significantly smaller than that of the present times and one had to leave the city and go out on the fields to attend it.
374
It was the mayor Thomas Wimmer who started the well-known tradition of tapping the first beer keg.
It is habitual that the mayor taps it on the first Wie’sn – Saturday at exactly 12 p.m. and shouts
“O’zapft is’!” to mark the beginning of the celebration (which means that the keg has been tapped).
That custom has repeatedly occurred since it was started in the 1950s.
375
It is perfectly conceivable that during this remarkable period of the Oktoberfest’s history some unpleasant disturbances must have happened. And indeed, the event has been cancelled 24 times so far, for a variety of reasons, including war, cholera and inflation. The year 1980 was of a notable gravity to the Oktoberfest, since 13 attendees were killed and further 200 seriously injured as a result of a bomb attack at the main entrance.
As for some curiosities, the amount of beer drunk has grown from 1.5 million litres in 1950 to a staggering figure of 6.6 million litres in 2000. In the following two years the festival recorded however a self-explanatory slump in the consumption.
The aforementioned parade on Saturday evening involves a showcase of breweries wagons’ being pulled by remarkable draught horses to the “Wies’n”. In the evenings there are concerts of costumed folk bands and performers representing different regions and “Bundesländer”. This is supplemented by an additional parade the following morning, in which take part brass bands and folk groups in traditional costumes.
376
Mateusz Kokosiński, Maciej Nowicki, Agnieszka Owsiak [editor]
EUROPEAN ALCOHOLS
INTRODUCTION
Alcohol, a substance most of us so willingly enjoy in one form or another, is the quintessence of many of the world's most celebrated beverages, from wine to pure medical spirit. The word dates from early Arabic civilisation and derives from al-koh'l, a very fine metallic powder, often antimony, used as a cosmetic, which later became to mean anything highly refined and distilled. The Arabic association was probably reinforced by Islamic alchemists, who used forms of distillation to obtain perfumes from flowers and perhaps made alcohol for medical purposes 377 .
Alcohol production today reached such diversity that it is impossible to enumerate all the different varieties of beverages. Generally, there are three main kinds of drinks, according to the contents of pure alcohol. Since patterns of consumption also vary greatly from country to country, one can distinguish three main drinking cultures, each discussed in the respective chapters.
The first group of beverages – beers – is characterized by low contents of alcohol, varying from 5 to
13%. They are mainly made from grain (usually barley), hops, malt and water which are fermented during the process of brewing. Beers are mostly consumed in central Europe. The second group, wines, is very much diversified, but still there are some common features. Regardless of their type
374 http://www.muenchen-tourist.de/englisch/oktoberfest/muenchen-oktoberfest-einleitung_e.htm
375 http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/fakten/geschichte.php
376 http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/fakten/faq1.php
377 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/spirits/general.html

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] and origin, all wines are produced from grapes, yeast and sugar in the process of fermentation, just like beers. The contents of pure alcohol ranges from 7 to around 35%. The keenest wine drinkers are the nations of southern Europe. The third main group comprises the strongest alcoholic beverages, containing over 30% of pure alcohol, generally known as spirits. The main difference between these and the two previous groups is that after fermenatation they undergo the process of distillation and that is why the share of alcohol is that high. Spirits are traditionally drank in the coldest parts of the continent – Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.
Many drinks cannot be classified as neither of the three mentioned types and therefore we decided to create an additional category – other beverages – where we can find liqueurs or aperitifs.
We based our thesis mainly on Internet sources due to the lack of up-to-date books covering the topic. However, we used some dictionaries, encyclopaedias, tourist guides and statistical yearbooks for pictures, figures and other additional information.
Because of the limited length of the essay, we deliberately skipped Poland and decided to concentrate on the other European countries instead.
All tables mentioned in the text are put together into the appendix.
WINE
Wine is an alcoholic beverage made by fermentation of juice of grape, which is the fruit of the vine, but the name is also applied to alcoholic beverages made from plants other than the grape, e.g. elderberry wine or dandelion wine.
HISTORY
Wine is practically as old as the known history. Its exact origins are unknown, but it was already mentioned in early Egyptian inscriptions and in the literature of many lands. There are claims of ancient wine makers in the Far East, and there is certainly evidence that the Egyptians were making wine more than a thousand years BC. Noah's activities on Mount Ararat in Armenia are sometimes cited as the first example of intentional wine making 378 .
Wine came to Europe at around 1000 BC, when it arrived to the two countries that now account for nearly half the world's total wine production: France and Italy. The wine produced at this time needed the addition of some preservative or flavouring to keep it drinkable until the next vintage. The
Greeks kept their wine in open amphorae and then the Romans develop wine containers resembling the barrels and bottles of today and so made great strides towards the development of wines that were made to last and mature. Apart from Italy, most vineyards were developed in the region of
Marseilles (from AD 400) and along the valleys of the major rivers: Rhône, the Loire, and the German
Rhine and Moselle. By the change of the first Millennium, wine was being made all over Europe, largely by the Church, which had practically a monopoly on vine-growing and wine making skills. In the Middle Ages there were even vineyards all over southern England, but the dissolution of monasteries under Henry VIII brought a four-hundred-year pause in the cultivation of the vine in Britain.
379
WINE DRINKING COUNTRIES
The traditionally wine drinking countries are those of Southern Europe - France, Italy, Portugal,
Spain and Greece. Luxembourg is a particular case since the consumption of alcohol per capita is the highest in Europe and both wine and beer have a substantial share there, so it is the only country we decided to treat as both wine and beer drinking. Even though the wine consumption in Northern
European countries has greatly increased in the last few years it is still not the dominant beverage there. On the other hand, the consumption of wine in the wine drinking countries has been decreasing in proportion to the other alcohols. Suprisingly, the leading European wine drinkers are the Luxembourgers closely followed by the French, the Portuguese and the Italian (cf. Table W1). The consumption of wine in comparison to the other alcoholic beverages is highest in Italy (78% of the total alcohol consumption), France (64%) and Portugal (62%) (Table 1). As for the production of wine
Italy is the leader, followed by France, Spain and Germany, which is, however, a traditionally beer drinking country (cf. Table W2).
PRODUCTION
In natural-wine making the grapes are gathered when fully ripe and then the juice is being extracted
(the must). The traditional method, treading, has now been almost entirely replaced by machines.
For red wines, the must is fermented with the skins and pips, from which it gets the coulour, while for white wines pure must is used. In rosé wines, the skins are removed after fermentation has begun, thus producing a light pink color. Fermentation starts when wine yeasts existing on the skins of ripe grapes come in contact with the must. It may take from a few days to several weeks, depending on the temperature and the amount of yeast. When the new wine has become still and fairly clear, it is poured into large casks, where it undergoes a complicated series of chemical processes thanks to which it obtains its characteristic bouquet. The wine is periodically clarified and then poured into smaller casks. After a few months, or for certain wines several years, the wine is ready for bottling.
During storing and maturation the wine should never come into contact with air so as not to become
'oxidised' — flat, stale and prematurely aged. Some wines are even kept beneath a 'blanket' of inert gas such as nitrogen. The process of ageing in wine is not fully understood, but it is thought that it involves a very slow process of oxidation. The wine mixes with the small amount of air in the wine, or allowed in by the cork. What’s interesting, the French scientists claim that a moderate consumption of red wine might reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease 380 .
CLASSIFICATION
Wines can be distinguished by colour (red, white, or rosé depending on the grape used and the amount of time the skins have been left to ferment in the juice), flavour, bouquet (or aroma), and alcoholic content. Wine is also divided into three main types: still or natural, fortified, and sparkling, it can also be classified as dry or sweet. In a natural wine all the alcohol present has been produced by fermentation. Fortified wines, such as sherry, port, Madeira, and Malaga, are wines to which brandy or other spirits have been added. These wines contain a higher alcohol content (from 16% to 35%) than the still wines (from 7% to 15%). Sparkling wines, of which champagne is the finest example, are produced by the process of secondary fermentation in the bottle.
FRANCE
France is the biggest grapes and wine producer in the world. It has developed superfine natural still wines and the finest sparkling wine: champagne. Most of its regions are ideally suited for the production of fine wine, but this is not the whole story. There are many other parts of the world at least as capable of making truly great wine because of their geographical and meteorological situation. The
French, however, have a very long tradition of making and drinking wine, which is the reason for their being an absolute leader.
As wine is produced practically all over the country, there are thousands of varieties in all types, colours and strengts and numerous classifications. Therefore it is virtually impossible to do an exhausting elaboration on the topic, hence we present only a brief outline of the most important facts and curiosities.
Classifications
The French have always been pioneers in wine legislation with their famous vin de pays ’laws and
‘Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée’ (AOC) laws, which have been developed throughout this century and on which so many other systems of designating ‘quality wines’ have been based throughout the world. According to the French system, the quality of a wine is determined most importantly by the exact spot where it was produced. For a wine to qualify as Appellation ‘X’ Contrólée it must have been made from very carefully controlled quantities of prescribed grape varieties grown in a vineyard in the exactly delimited area of ‘X’ and made to certain specifications. This is the highest official
378 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/beer/general.html
379 Le Petit Larousse Compact, Paris 1996, p. 140
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380 www.alcoweb.com/english/gen_info/alcohol_health_society/eco_aspects/production/wine/wine.htm

national quality designation in France and about fifteen per cent of all wine produced in France each year is AOC. To qualify as a vin de pays a wine must also come from a specified area, must usually reach a certain alcoholic strength, be made according to certain specifications and be approved by a tasting panel, but it’s quality is inferior to that of AOC. Apart from the ‘Appelation d’Origine Contrôleé’ and ‘vin de pays’ (regional wines), there are also ‘vins de table’ (table wines) and other, unclassified, of lower quality 381 .
The main wine regions
First of all, it is impossible to talk about ‘French wines’ as one single category since every region has its own specialities. One could probably say that French wines are more diversified than all the other wines produced in Europe. What is interesting, most regions have their characteristic shapes of bottles so it is easy to distinguish wines without even reading the labels.
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is said to produce the most interesting wines, and more of them than anywhere else in the world. Red bordeaux has been always regarded as one of the world’s top red wines and it is now shipped to wine connaisseurs all over the world. Bordeaux also produces huge quantities of lesser white wine; about one-third of all wine produced each vintage is white. Some of this is still fairly mediocre quality, but recently it has been rising thanks to the government policy to enhance the quality of all the grapes grown throughout the country. Very little rosé is produced in the Bordeaux region.
Many of Bordeaux – and not only – carry the name of a 'château' (castle) on the label. This does not necessarily serve as evidence that there is indeed a great building of that name, which is surrounded by the vineyard from which the wine came. There is an official register of all these so-called petits châteaux (small castles) which are nothing more than a building in which the wine is made. Bordeux’s most prestigious red wine area is the Médoc. The dominant grape varieties grown in Bordeaux are
Cabernet Sauvignon (more than half of vines planted), Merlot and also some local varieties 382 .
Burgundy
The Burgundians have always disputed with the Bordelais' claim to make the finest red wines in the world, but in the domain of dry white wines they are surely the best. The topflight wines are produced only in very limited quantities and sold only at very high prices. Burgundy is not one homogeneous region, but the name is used to include Chablis in the north, the prestigious heartland of the
Côte d'Or (Golden Slope, where Burgundy’s greates wines are made), the Côte Chalonnaise, the
Mâconnais and Beaujolais in the south. The classic red burgundy grape is Pinot Noir and the classic white grape is Chardonnay. The Burgundian town of Beaune organises an annual charity wine auction.
In southern Burgundy is situated the Beaujolais region. Here the most popular grapes are Beaujolais,
Beaujolais-Villages and Beaujolais cru. Beaujolais is a wine to be drunk young. This principle is concluded every year with the appearance of beaujolais nouveau every November 15th. These wines are produced and bottled very quickly – just after the vintage – and should be drunk as soon as possible.
Loire
The Loire region produces a great variety of wines: you can actually find any wine you like along the banks of the Loire: red, white or rosé; still or sparkling; bone dry to extremely sweet. There are several distinct winemaking areas as one travels up the river. The most popular white vines are
Muscadet, Chenin and Gros Plant 383 . Moving upriver there is Anjou, most famous for its rosé and
Cabernet Sauvignon for red wines. In the Loire valley are also made sparkling wines (by the méthode champenoise and often good value alternatives to champagne).
Rhône and Alsace
381 Francja. Przewodnik ‘Wiedzy i Zycia’, Warszawa, 1996, p. 22
382 ibidem.
383 www.1upinfo.com/encyclopedia/categories/wine.html
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
The Rhône region is now well past its heyday, when Hermitage was thought of as the king of wines and Châteauneuf-du-Pape was a prerequisite for any wine list. These two are the region's most famous wines, one from the north, the other from the south, the two zones into which the Valley is climatologically and viticulturally split. As this region is close to Provence, it is hardly surprising that a high proportion of rosés are made, the local grape Grenache being particularly suitable for pink wines. However, this is not a great white wine country.
The Alsatians have devoloped a unique, regional style combining the flowery, fragrant grape varieties of Germany with the techniques of French wine-makers. All wines are fermented out to dryness in such a way as to minimise the use of chemicals and maximise the amount of fruit, with the aim of encapsulating in the bottle the exact flavour of the grapes that went into it. In Alsace the entire region has just one AOC, ‘Alsace’ and to this is added on the label the name of the grape, which is a very simple classification as compared to the other regions. In Alsace the Riesling is recognised as king, as it is on the other side of the Rhine in Germany, and this produces the noblest and longestliving wines of Alsace. Another famous grape variety in Alsace is Pinot Gris or Tokay d'Alsace 384 . This has no connection with the famous Hungarian Tokay and here makes rich, dry wines. Almost all
Alsace wine is bottled in Alsace itself, a policy which usually achieves its desired effect of keeping a certain quality and freshness in the wines. Alsatian wines are usually sold in tall, elegant green flute bottles, and that most labels seem to carry an unusual mixture of German and French words on them.
Apart from the aforementioned traditional wine producing regions, a number of good French wines are made in areas not considered as such 385 .
Midi, Provence and Corsica
More than one in every two bottles of wine produced in France comes from the grapes grown on
Mediterranean coast in the south and west of France. This is called the Midi or the Languedoc-
Roussillon region. Most of the wine produced here is red, much of it deprived of character (rather table wine that sophisticated fine wine varieties), most of it produced by growers who seem to be more interested in quantity than quality. However, thanks to a more far-sighted approach now being adopted by some producers there, the proportion of ‘nobler’ varieties grown (Merlot, Cabernet, Grenache) is increasing and some wines of character are now coming out of the Languedoc-Roussillon 386 .
Corsica falls within the scope of the French wine authorities but experts claim they have been too liberal in their awards of AOCs to the island. This may be true, but the Corsican reds and rosés with an intensive bouquet are still of quite good quality.
Jura
The Jura is a strangely isolated region in the hills between Burgundy and the Swiss border. It is the homeland of the nineteenth-century scientist Louis Pasteur, who did so much work in the study of the ageing process in wine. A whole range of wines — red, white, rosé, still, sparkling — are made in the
Jura, but its two specialities are vin jaune (yellow wine) and vin de paille (straw wine). Vin jaune is the nearest France comes to producing sherry and is kept for many years in wood, where it gets stronger and darker. Vin de paille is made by drying out grapes on straw mats (hence the name) and is therefore similar to the vino passito made in Italy. To complete the list of the Jura's curiosities, there is also vin gris (actually pale rosé rather than grey) and Vin Fou (crazy), a brand of fizzy wine.
Savoie
The Savoy region lies to the south of Geneva and thus the wines made here are similar to those made over the border in Switzerland. The best wines of this region are light, dry whites, some of them sparkling 387 .
70
384 ibidem.
385 Labrune G., La Geographie de la France, Nathan, 1994, p. 90
386 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/wines/europe/france/index.html
387 www.esquin.com/regions.html

Champagne and sparkling wines
There are several ways of putting bubbles into wine to make it sparkling, each of which has a different effect on the resulting wine, which of course largely depends on the initial quality of the still wine.
There seem to be no wines more suitable for being turned into sparkling wines than the dry wines of the Champagne region. Those in other parts of the world who aspire to making a really great sparkling wine always try to use a base wine as similar as possible to the still wines of Champagne. In
Europe and most of the rest of the world (though not the USA) only the sparkling wine made in the
Champagne region in north-eastern France by the famous méthode champenoise may be called champagne. Everything else is just sparkling wine.
Production of champagne
Any method of making wine sparkle involves getting carbon dioxide into the wine in order to form bubbles, as small and as long-lasting as possible, when the wine is eventually opened. The méthode champenoise is the classic way of achieving this. A careful blend of still base wines is made and, together with specially cultivated yeasts and a little bit of sugar, is put into champagne bottles and sealed with a crown cork. Bottles are left to rest in cool, dark cellars, usually for up to three years.
The sugar and the yeast react together to provoke a second fermentation, increasing the alcoholic content of the wine and giving off as a by-product carbon dioxide. The sediment that forms as a result of this alcoholic fermentation eventually falls to the bottom of the bottle but has to be removed if we are to recive a crystal clear wine. The development of a technique for removing this sediment, together with the advent of strong bottles and champagne corks, was the most important part of the evolution of champagne. The bottles are moved gently from their horizontal position and put into pupitres, racks with holes for bottle necks which are gradually tilted so as to take the bottles from nearly horizontal to nearly vertical upside-down. Each time this is done, skilled workers called remuers (shakers) also give them a little twist and the sediment moves from the underside of the bottle to the cork. The bottles are then moved, still upside-down and vertical, to baths of a special solution which freezes the neck of the bottle and the sediment inside so that when the crown cork is popped off, this is ejected as a frozen pellet, a process called dégorgement. The bottles are then filled with wine mixed with a little bit of sugar ( dosage) which determines the final sweetness of the champagne. The driest champagnes are usually called Brut, then comes Extra Dry, Sec, Demi Sec and
Rich in ascending order of sweetness. After a few months' rest to ‘marry’ the dosage and the wine, the wine is ready for shipment and sale 388 .
The second and most common method for making sparkling wine is called the tank method (bulk fermentation). Here, the second fermentation is carried out in huge tanks and not in individual bottles. After fermentation the sediment is filtered out and the wine bottled under pressure straight from the tank. This is not allowed in France for any AOC sparkling wine ( vin mousseux) 389 .
The cheapest method of making sparkling wine is carbonation: simply injecting carbon dioxide into the tanks holding the wine. This usually produces wines that have very large bubbles that cause a great commotion when the bottle is opened, but don't last for very long in the glass. This method is used only for the cheapest wines 390 .
The Champagne region
Champagne is recognised throughout the world as the ultimate in celebration drinks, ‘the king of wines and the wine of kings’. It is the only AOC wine in France that does not have to have ‘ Appellation Contrólée’ spelt out on the label. ‘Champagne’ is enough.
The reason for the champagne’s supremacy in the field of sparkling wine-making is the unique chalky subsoil of the region, whose composition was determined by a series of prehistoric earthquakes. The majority of grapes grown in the Champagne region are black rather than white, so the process of pressing is an extremely critical one. It is vital to press the grapes so gently that none of the pigment
388 www.1upinfo.com/encyclopedia/categories/champagne.html
389 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/wines/france/sparkling.html
390 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/wines/champagne.html
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] from the black skins colours the juice, and the winemakers in Champagne take only the juice from the first pressings. A blanc de blancs (‘purely white’) champagne is one made only from white grapes,
Chardonnay. A blanc de noirs (‘purely red’) is made only from Pinot. The average champagne is made from a mixture of white and black grapes. The two most important champagne towns are Reims and
Epernay. The grandes marques are those houses which have developed an international reputation for their wines, but in addition to them, an increasing number of growers make their own champagne, particularly popular with Parisians, who can combine a weekend expedition with a champagne-buying trip. Other sparkling wines are produced in the Loire, Burgundy and Rhone regions 391 .
ITALY
Italy, the world’s second biggest wine manufacturer (after France) and even the leader in some years, is still struggling to establish itself as an important force in the world of top-quality wine. Despite the large quantities produced, many Italian wines are of mediocre quality and are not recognized internationally. On the other hand, since Italy produces mainly cheaper, popular wines of all kinds it is still a major supplier of most northern European countries as well as the United States, where it is the most important source of imported wine.
Vineyards are the most characteristic part of the Italian landscape and the vine can be cultivated right from the top to the tip of the ‘boot’. Even Sicily, which can be fiercely hot in summer, is an important producer of grapes for wine.
In terms of total quantities produced, Sicily and the hot southern tip of the country, Apulia, are major producers of wine in Italy and much of this is shipped north by tankers so as to add strength and colour either for the blenders of northern still and sparkling wines or the makers of vermouth.
The best wines of Italy – those which have won international repute – come from the Alpine foothills of Piedmont in the north-west and from the hills of Tuscany. The Veneto region with Verona in the north also produces worldwide recognized winesand the wines of the far north-east, Friuli-Venezia-
Giulia, are quickly making a name for themselves.
The classification system – Denominazione d’Origine Controllata (DOC) – is modelled on the French
Appellation Contrôlée system. If a wine is described as DOC it must come from the area specified and be made according to the laws for that particular DOC, usually based on tradition in consultation with the local producers. The Denominazione Controllata e Garantita is designed for the very best wines, such as Barolo, Barbareso, Brunello di Monatalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Chianti
Classico 392 .
The deep, dark wines of the Barolo region to the south of Turin, which usually age for ten years in casks are quite heavy and woody. The other important red wine grape in Piedmont is the fruity Barbera, more of a picnic wine than a grand dinner wine. Of the white wines of the region, the sweet fizzy Asti Spumante is by far the best known, though this is rapidly being replaced by the rather less expensive Moscato Spumante.
Further north and east is the Italian Tyrol, the Alto Adige, which, not surprisingly, has much in common in winemaking terms with the Austrian Tyrol just across the border. The wine industry there is centred on Bolzano or Bozen.
In the centre of Italy is one of the oldest wine districts, Chianti country in Toscany. The law specifies quite carefully what varieties and proportions of grapes may be used in Chianti. Chianti Classico comes from the heart of the region and all wines so designated have to pass rigorous analysis and tasting tests. They can be spotted by their black cockerel seal. Chianti Putto has a cherub symbol.
Vinsanto, a white dessert wine, is a Tuscan speciality.
Just to the south of Tuscany is a region known particularly for its white wines, of all degrees of sweetness, Orvieto, while over on the Adriatic coast by Ancona Verdicchio in its special amphorashaped bottle is produced.
391 www.esquin.com/regions.html
392 Rzym. Przewodnik ‘Wiedzy i Zycia’, Warszawa, 1993, p. 306-307
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In the southern part of the country enormous quantities of wine are produced, but there are very few internationally known names, usually quite rightly. Sicily’s best-known wine today is probably Corvo di
Salaparuta, both red and white versions being daringly high in alcohol. Sardinia is the home of many
DOC, characteristically and traditionally fairly sweet.
393
SPAIN
Spain’s major fine wine-producing region is Rioja and Navarre, wild hilly country in the north of Spain.
Most of the Rioja wines are produced by peasant farmers, who sell their crop to bigger concerns that actually make the wine. This means that a wide variety of different grapes can go into each blend, whose final taste is governed by the amount of time it spends in these American oak casks. Rioja’s best wines are the more elegant reds. Another exciting area for good-quality Spanish wine is
Penedes, in Catalonia, to the west of Barcelona. Here there are a number of firms making wines for export, and this is also the centre of Spain’s enormous sparkling wine industry. Another small region producing rather weak wines but with an interesting bouquet is Priorato. A curiosity from Spain also comes from the northwest: the Vega Sicilia brand has developed such a demand that its sales are now rationed beacuse of its long production process: this very concentrated red must be kept for ten years in wooden casks 394 .
GREECE
Even though Greece was the first European country where wine appeared and from which Dionysus, the later Bacchic god of wine, comes, its wines are known rather locally than worldwide. The Greeks have quite specific and not very refined taste for wine. The most famous wines are retsina, the speciality of Attica (white and sometimes pink) and traditional specialities of Greece, such as the dark, sweetish red Mavrodaphne and the Muscat dessert wine of Samos. Much wine is produced on Greek islands, most of it on Crete. The Greeks are now trying to adopt winemaking techniques from Bordeaux and rioja with not bad results 395 .
PORTUGAL
The Portuguese wines are well regarded by the connaisseurs, but rather underappreciated by importers from other European countries and thus not very well knowned or popular internationally. The
Portuguese themselves are some of the world’s most enthusiastic wine drinkers. Portugal’s most popular wine is madura (mature) wine, remarkable for the concentration of flavour, not to be confused with the equally popular Madeira, a quite strong, red wine, taking its name from the Atlantic island where it is produced. Continental Portugal has seven wine regions authorised by government, the most prestigious ones being Dão (red wine) and Minho (white wine produced of half-ripe grapes) 396 .
LUXEMBOURG
Luxembourg’s small wine industry is centred on the town of Remich, just a few miles over the German border (the Saar tributary of the Moselle), and indeed there is a similarity between the wines produced in these two wine areas. Luxembourg wine is white, light and usually characterised by a high degree of acidity. It should usually be drunk as young as possible.
HUNGARY
Hungary’s reputation as a wine producer was made by just one wine, the ‘essence of life’, Tokay, which is still made today under the control of Hungary’s State Wine system. It is produced around the town of Tokaj, in the far northeast of the country. The typical varieties of Tokaj are Aszu, the very sweet, dessert wine, sold in strange half-litre flasks, Tokaj Essencia, the ‘essence’ of this unique, rich, spicy wine and Tokaj Szamorodni Dry which has no sweetness added and tastes more like sherry
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] than a table wine varieties.
397 . Hungary’s best-known red wines are Egri Bikaver (Bull’s Blood) and Kadarka. Its most interesting whites come from the shores of the Lake Balaton, and are made from local grape
ROMANIA & BULGARIA
Romania is another Eastern European wine producer with interesting potential, particularly for whites.
The Romanian vineyards are still in private hands and a wide variety of grapes is grown, including
Italian Riesling, Furmint, Muscat, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon as well as Kadarka and classic French red grape varieties. Wine is grown mainly in the southern parts of the country; one of the most popular brands is the white Murfatlar. Bulgaria has also been experimenting, with marked success, with classic European grape varieties in its vineyards, which are almost as extensive as those of Hungary, but only two-thirds of those of Romania. Some remarkable Cabernets and Chardonnays have been produced by the state-run Vinprom organisation. In addition to these are many Balkan grape varieties, such as Hungary’s red Kadarka, Bulgaria’s own red Mavrud and Melnik. Even though Bulgaria is a relative new-comer as a wine producer, it is already one of the world’s biggest wine exporters, chiefly to Germany and Russia. Most Bulgarian wines are marketed under the common name of ‘Sophia’, however, they come from different regions and are made of all kinds of grapes 398 .
NON WINE DRINKING COUNTRIES
GERMANY
German wine makers have traditionally been numbered among the world's great classic wine providers. Their main specialtiy are concentrated dessert wines usually made from the Riesling grape. All of
Germany's great wines are white - indeed only about ten percent of its vineyards are planted with red wine varieties and these are made into wines that are usually consumed locally. Germany is too far north to be capable of producing really good red wine. The most difficult and most prized achievement for a German wine-grower is to harvest grapes that are high in sugar. Rarely German wines are more than ten percent alcohol.
Classification
The most basic level of German wine is Tafelwein or table wine. This constitutes less than ten percent of a typical German vintage, however, and the most commonly exported grade of wine is the next one, Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete or, rather more comfortably for non-German speakers,
'QbA'. This is wine coming from a particular specified wine region, of which Germany has eleven.
Germany's top-quality wines bear the name of Qualitätswein mit Pradikat (QmP). The most expensive wines in Germany are Trockenbeerebauslesen which are so extremely costly that they are often put only into half-bottles (0.375 litre). Eiswein is another rarity, wine that is made from grapes picked when the juice is frozen and concentrated. All the criteria a wine has to meet so as to get classified as one kind or another are described in the German Wine Law 399 .
German wine is sold in tall, tapered bottles, whose colour depends on the region: green for the wines of the Mosel, brown for wines coming from the Rhine regions and blue for some kinds of Liebfraumilch, the most common form of Rhine wine, which may be any QbA wine with the characteristics of one made from Riesling, Müller-Thurgay or Silvaner.
German wine regions
The Moselle Valley is probably Germany’s most famous wine-making region. Ninety percent of all the vines planted are Riesling and the south-facing position close to the river encourages a high level of ripeness in the grapes as well as the Edelfaule or 'noble rot' so important to produce the greatest dessert wines. In the region is located the State research station at Geisenheim, as well as the
Kloster Eberbach, a beautiful 12th century monastery which now serves as headquarters for the
German State Wine Foundation, a site for prestigious wine auctions as well as the government-run
393 www.esquin.com/regions2.html
394 Hiszpania. Przewodnik ‘Wiedzy i Zycia’, Warszawa 1996, p. 401.
395 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/wines/europe/greece/index.html
396 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/wines/europe/portugal/index.html
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397 www.1upinfo.com/encyclopedia/categories/tokay.html
398 Gogoliński W., Leksykon alkoholi, Warszawa 1998.
399 www.1upinfo.com/encyclopedia/categories/wines/germany/index.html

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
German Wine Academy.
The Rheinhessen is a large region that rarely produces wines of great distinction but is a valuable source of medium dry, easy-to-drink wines of the Liebfraumilch type. A wide variety of different grapes is planted here but most of them are of little longevity.
Further to the south, just across the Rhine from Alsace, is the long strip of vineyards that constitute the Baden region. These vigorous wines, made chiefly from a wide range of grape varieties, are becoming increasingly better known outside Germany.
In the east around Würzburg, Franken (or Franconia) has built up such a following for its lively wines, sometimes called Steinwein, that they are now relatively expensive and tend to be consumed locally.
The green flask-shaped Bocksbeutel is used for Franken wines.
Other German wine regions whose wines are not often seen abroad are the red wine Ahr region to the north of the Moselle Valley; the fruity wine region of Mittelrhein just across Rhine from the Ahr; the smallest wine region, Hessische Bergstrasse; and Württemberg.
SWITZERLAND
Swiss wines are expensive, usually white and dry, not rarely blended with cheaper imported wines and rather deprived of national character. Most Swiss wines are produced in the regions around Lake
Geneva (Vaud) and in the upper Rhône valley (Valais). The most popular red is Dôle, a light red similar to Beaujolais, from the Valais. Southern Swiss wines are very similar to those of northern
Italy 400 .
AUSTRIA
The Austian wines are very much like German ones, perhaps only a bit spicier. The Austrians themselves prefer the sweet reds of the Tyrol, but surprisingly, it is the whites that are of better quality and more known abroad. Austria’s native grape is the Grüner Veltliner, other local specialities include the heavy wines of Gumpoldskirchen, made from the strangely named Rotgipfler and Zierfandler grapes and Heurigen that are so popular in special cafés of the same name in the Viennese suburbs.
Heurigen serve wine of the most recent vintage by the jug, and there are still a few vineyards left in the hills of Kahlenberg 401 .
UNITED KINGDOM
Interest in English wine increased dramatically during and immediately after two exceptionally hot summers – those of 1975 and 1976, when thanks to exceptional weather it was easier to produce ripe grapes and a vintage of half a million bottles in 1976 was recorded 402 .
Even though the climate is not too favourable for vine growing, there is an enormous amount of enthusiasm for reviving the wine industry. There are now well over two hundred vineyards in production in the British Isles, mainly in southern England, but also in southern Wales and Ireland. The average vineyards is only about three acres and vine cultivation tends to be a weekend activity, though some growers in Kent and Sussex are producing wine on commercial lines. English wines do not have any interesting taste or bouquet, but on the other hand, they are expensive as they are all produced on a small scale and heavily taxed.
THE FORMER USSR
Authorities in the former Soviet republics are keen to develop wine as a gentler alternative to vodka among the society. This meant that they import huge quantities of wine from all over the world, wherever the price is right, and they have no spare wine for export. Besides, Russian wines would probably not be very popular in the West, as – perhaps due to their fierce winters – Russians seem to like their wines strong and sweet. They are great consumers of sparkling wine, shampanskoe. Wine is manufactured in sothern parts of Russia (on the Black Sea), in the Ukraine (the Crimea), Armenia,
400 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/wine/europe/switzerland/index.html
401 Wieden. Przewodnik ‘Wiedzy i Zycia’, Warszawa 1994, p. 278.
402 www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/Information/Factsheets/uk.htm
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Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova, whose wines are very much like the Rumanian ones.
BEER
Just like wine, beer is at least as old as recorded history and has always been the drink of the common people. It was known as long ago as in the times of ancient Babylon and Egypt and is even mentioned in Babylonian texts 403 . At first brewed chiefly at home and in monasteries, in late medieval times it became a commercial product and is now manufactured by large-scale in almost every industrialized country, especially Germany, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, and the United States.
INGREDIENTS & BREWING
Beer is made by brewing and fermenting cereals, especially malted barley, usually with the addition of hops as a flavoring agent which gives beer its characteristic bitterness. A mash, prepared from crushed malt (usually barley), water, and, often, cereal adjuncts such as rice and corn, is heated and rotated in the mash tun to dissolve the solids and permit the malt enzymes to convert starch into sugar. The solution, called wort, is poured into a copper vessel, where it is boiled with the hops, then run off for cooling and settling. After cooling, it is transferred to fermenting vessels where yeast is added, converting sugar into alcohol 404 .
Barley, the preffered grain throughout history, is the basis of all true beers, and its exclusive use is favoured not only by tradition but also because it provides a fuller flavour and cleaner taste than any other grain. In Germany, a Bavarian law dating back to 1516 demanded that beer for the domestic market should be made exclusively from barley. Similar laws existed in Switzerland and Norway. In
Finland and the Isle of Man barley was also the only grain permitted, but sugars could be added. The use of sugar as a fermentable material was legalised in Britain in 1847, after pressure from growers and traders in the Caribbean colonies 405 .
The first evidence that hops were used in the production of beer comes from Babylon, where the captive Jews drank it as a precaution against leprosy, though it is not clear whether the beverage was a beer or not. In Europe, the hops were first used in the ninth century in Bohemia, Bavaria and northern Germany. Germans may have brought the hop from Picardy in France, and the Flemings took it to Britain in the sixteenth century. Its earlier European rivals were the juniper, still used by home-brewers in Finland and Norway, angelica and coriander 406 .
KINDS OF BEER
Just as wines may be categorised as red, rosé and white; dry and sweet; sparkling and still; and then according to region; so can be beers divide into different styles. Most modern beers are typically lighter than ancient and contain about 3% to 6% alcohol. There are several names for beers depending on the fermentation method, during which some species of yeast rise to the top of the brew and other sink to the bottom. Like red wines, beers made by top fermentation are very full in flavour whereas beers made by bottom fermentation often have a lighter and more refreshing character, and are usually served chilled, like white wines.
In the United Kingdom any light-coloured, top-fermenting beer is called ale, which was historically a name for any beer made without hops. In Germany, light beers bear the name of lager – after the
German word meaning 'store', but in contrast to British ales they are mainly bottom-fermented and stored for not less than four weeks, and ideally for much longer, so that they can mature very slowly.
If you add roasted malt to give flavour and colour to ale, you get Porter - a strong, dark beer. Stout, which is darker and maltier than porter, has a stonger hop aroma and may attain an alcoholic content of 6% to 7%. Both of these are top-fermenting beers. Ice beer is a higher-alcohol beer produced by chilling below 0°C and filtering out the ice crystals that form.
A beverage similar to beer but not always classified as one is cider, which is produced from ferment-
403 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/beer/general.html
404 Le Petit Larouss... op.cit., p. 140.
405 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/beer/general2.html
406 ibidem.

ed juice of apples. Selected apples are grated in a mill, and the juice is expressed, fermented and filtered. The commercial product is usually pasteurized and blended with sugar, malic acid, or tannin.
Perry is a similar beverage made from pears. Cider is most popular in France, but also in the United
Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland.
BEER DRINKING COUNTRIES
The traditionally beer drinking countries are Austria, Czech Republic, Belgium, Denmark, Germany,
Ireland, United Kingdom and Luxembourg. For all European countries the trend in beer consumption was rising until mid 1970s and has since then been rather stable. According to recent data, Denmark is the leading country as far as beer drinking is concerned, followed by Ireland, Germany, Austria and
Belgium (Table B1). The consumption of beer in comparison with the other alcoholic beverages is highest in Ireland (65% of total alcohol consumption), Denmark (59%) and Germany (57%) (Table
1).
As for the production of beer, Germany leads the way followed by the United Kingdom, Russia, Spain,
The Netherlands, Poland, France, Czech Republic and Belgium (see Table B3).It is evident that the leading consumers are also the biggest manufacturers, but there are a few exceptions such as Spain and France, who are traditionally wine drinking countries.
Brewing has greatest traditions in the Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium. In other countries it was almost forgotten until the renaissance of interest in beer in the late 1970s, most dramatic in
Britain, where the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) brought about drastic changes in the policies of large, powerful brewery companies 407 .
Each country produces different kinds of beer, but some national brands are also renowned worldwide. We will now summarise the most typical.
GERMANY
There is evidence that beer was known in Germany as early as in the Roman times (Tacitus noted that the Germans drank beer). In the modern world, Germany alone has more breweries than any other country in the world. There are nearly 1,725 breweries, of which almost 1,000 are located in
Bavaria, home of the Reinheitsgebot (Pure Beer Law) and of the world's largest hop-growing industry. There is no single dominant brewing city or region, and thus each one was able to retain its own tastes, traditions and local pride.
Germany's biggest brewing company is Schultheiss of Berlin and two other giants are the Dortmunder
Union Brewery (DUB), and the Munich Big Six (Löwenbräu, Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr,
Hofbräuhaus, Paulaner-Thomas and Spatenbräu) 408 .
Although Berlin holds the largest brewery in the country, it is in Dortmund that most beer is being produced. The true Dortmunder is drier than a Munich made beer, and is pale in colour so it is often referred to as “blonde’. Moreover, if you come across a bottle labelled as “Export’ you can be sure it was produced in Dortmund. It is caused by the fact that in the old days extensive sales elsewhere in
Germany were regarded as such. The DUB consists of breweries such as DAB, Thier, Hansa, Hitter and Wenker.
Having said that, Germany’s traditional brewing capital is still in Munich and it is there that Germany’s most typical beers - dark brown lager called dunkel and it’s light counterpart called hell – are produced. It is also in Bavaria that the world’s strongest beer, Einbecker Doppelbock, is produced. The tradition began with the first ‘double’ bock, produced under the name of Salvator by the monks of St
Paul, in Munich 409 .
When talking about monks, Germany still has several active abbey breweries, especially in Bavaria, where two of the most famous are Andechs and Mallersorf, where the brewmaster is a nun. There are also one or two proud and independent towns where the traditional fermentation methods are
407 www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/Information/Factsheets/european%20consumption.htm
408 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/beer/europe/german/germanspk.html
409 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/beer/europe/german/germanspk2.html
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] still used. The most famous local style of brewing is that of Cologne (Kolsch) and several others such as the Westphalian Altbier, Nürnberg’s ‘copper’ beer, and ‘smoked’ beer of the Bavarian town of
Bamberg.
The majority of German beers are produced from barley but there is also an interesting version made of wheat known as Weizenbier. The result is a very light, sparkling summer brew which has been named ‘the Champagne of the Spree’. Among the several breweries which specialise in this type of beer are Sanwald, in Stuttgart, and Weihenstephan, not far from Munich.
410
AUSTRIA
Austrian beers are very similar to the German ones. The first modern Austrian lager was brewed at the Klein-Schwechat brewery in Vienna in 1841 which still functions as the part of th Österreichische
Brau group, Austria's biggest brewers. There are also a couple of abbey breweries in Austria.
Despite the similarities to Germany, Austria also has some specialities such as Bock and Märzenbier, the name of which comes from the times when the last winter brew was held in March. The beer was then lagered for six months and ceremonially enjoyed in September as at that time, it was impossible to brew in the heat of the summer. The beginning of the traditional winter brewing season (in October or November) and its end (March, April, May) is a good occasion for celebrations all over Austria and also in parts of Germany.
411
THE BENELUX CONTRIES
The beers of Benelux range from antique ‘Scotch’ ales of great strength, and the specialities of Trappist monks, to ‘wild’ wheat beers and sharp summer brews fermented with black cherries. The main brands are Duvel, Stella Artois, Lamot, Jupiler and the excellent Cristal Alken 412 .
BELGIUM
Belgium specialises in top-fermenting beers, such as potent brews like Gouden Carolus, Bush Beer, cherry flavoured Krick and the very famous yeasty De Koninck beer of Antwerp. Even though Belgium is quite a small country, the variety of its beers is surprising – actually, every province produces a few types. Besides, there are five monasteries which produce their own top-fermenting specialities, the most notable being the Trappist abbey of Westmalle, in the north of Flanders. It is especially famous for its unusually pale Triple and Rodenbach, characterised by a sharp, fruity taste and a distinctive reddish colour. It is made by the blending of two top-fermented brews, one of which has been matured for eighteen months in oak. In French -speaking Belgium, the monastery of Chimay is renowned for its aromatic Capsule Bleue. Like Germany, Belgium also has a tradition of ‘white’ wheat beers, low in alcohol, brewed to refresh in the summer.
413
THE NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands is the home of Heineken, which took European beer to the United States. It is, nevertheless, regarded very much as a mass producer at home and also owns Amstel, which is the second most popular brand in Holland, followed by Grolsch, a substantial independent.
The third Benelux country, tiny Luxembourg, has half a dozen breweries, among which the family firm of Simon, in Wiltz, has the most interesting range of products.
UNITED KINGDOM
The beer-drinkers of Britain and Ireland are unique in their tastes. British ale varies much more from brewery to brewery than does any other category of beer elsewhere in the world. Although the 1960s and 1970s saw a great growth in the popularity of ‘international’ lager beers, most of them are brewed locally despite their Danish, German, Dutch and Canadian brand names. Because the brewers own more than eighty per cent of the pubs, they are in a position to determine what types of beer
74
410 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/beer/europe/german/index.html
411
413
www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/wines/europe/austria/index.html
412 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/beer/europe/benelux/index.html
ibidem.

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] are available. In the 1970s “keg beers’ produced on a mass scale and of low quality gained a substantial sale and thus the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) was launched among drinkers who preferred what they called ‘real’ ale. The campaign was very successful and forced “keg’ producers to change their policy 414 .
By the middle of the 1970s, Britain was down to about 150 breweries, owned by around 100 companies, and dominated by the Big Six and their subsidiaries: Bass-Charrington, Allied Breweries (Coope,
Ansell, Tetley), Watney, Whitbread, Courage and Scottish and Newcastle. They were recently joined by a large number of independent breweries that based mainly on home made beer.
British beers can be divided into three categories – ales, stouts and bitters. The basic British beer is a cask-conditioned ordinary draught ‘bitter’ which will have a very modest alcohol content – the British do not average out as big drinkers, the committed pub-goer takes his beer by the pint, and has a good few in the course of the evening. The strong beers on the British Isles are usually known as
“old’ or ‘winter’. In addition to all of these types, some brewers produce a sweet or ‘milk’ stout. England also has a single brand of strong stout, which was originally brewed for Catherine the Great,
Imperial Russian Stout, brewed by Courage and matured for more than a year.
Contrary to general belief Scottish beers are generally less strong than their English counterparts. In place of mild, bitter, best and old, these rather different beers are known as 60, 70 and 80 shilling
(long ago, the price per barrel), and were produced in breweries such as Maclay's, Belhaven and
Traquair House.
IRELAND
Throughout the British Isles, the term ‘porter’ was once used to describe a medium-strength dry beer similar in character to stout. One or two brewers have now revived the term, though it is unlikely that any will match the character of the porter produced by Guinness in Ireland up until 1973.
Regular bottled Guinness (labelled as ‘Extra Stout’) is never pasteurised and is made in a variety of strenghts, all of which are dry stouts. Ireland's most famous national brewer has two tiny local rivals producing the same type of beer – Cork’s Murphy's, Beamish and Crawford.
CZECH REPUBLIC
All over the world, there are brewers who name their beers ‘Pils’, ‘Pilsener’ or ‘Pilsner’. However it is the most frequently misused label. It has come to mean, quite wrongly, nothing more than a pale, golden-coloured lager but originally it was the name for the world’s first light lager produced in the
Czech city of Pilsen, traditionally labelled as Pilsner Urquell (‘Urquell’ meaning ‘original source of' in
German, the language of Bohemia in the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when the beer was first brewed). In Czech, it is called Plzeňsky Prazdroj.
Czech’s second biggest brewery also located in Pilsen is named after Gambrinus, the legendary King of Beer, and was founded in 1869 415 .
Budweis (Ceske Budejovice) and Pilsen were brewing towns six hundred years before the lager revolution. So were other Bohemian towns like Zatec and Prague. The capital has four breweries, the smallest being U Fleku, a home-brew beerhouse dating back to 1499. The country has more than one hundred breweries, located in Moravia as well as Bohemia.
DENMARK
Though the nations of the Nordic world have long and intertwining traditions of brewing, reaching back to Viking times and beyond, it was Denmark which has played the most significant part in the recent history of the art. It has a lively and colourful home-brewing culture which is deeply rooted in its agricultural life.
The country’s most famous brewery is Carlsberg, about whose foundation there is a beautiful, romantic legend. It is renowned worldwide thanks to the discovery of the single-cell yeast culture. The
414 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/beer/europe/britain/index.html
415 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/beer/europe/east_europe/index.html
75 single-cell yeast used by lager-brewers the world over is still known as Saccharomyces Carlsbergenis.
Thanks to the 1970 merger with Tuborg 416 , the company known as United Breweries of Copenhagen is one of the world’s biggest breweries owning also smaller companies like Neptun and Wiibroe. One of its few competitors is Faxe which has a particular reputation among drinkers for its independent stance and unpasteurised Fad beer.
The Danes have developed their own brewing styles producing low strength beers, which are exempt from tax. One is known as white ale (hvidtføl) available in two hues: light (lys) or dark (mørkt). The other low-strength style is a roasty-tasting malt beer called ship's ale (skibsføl), which in former days would ferment out to a much higher strength during long sea journeys 417 .
NON-BEER DRINKING COUNTRIES
Wine and spirit drinking countries do also have some tradition in beer manufacturing. For example
France, despite its evident wine drinking culture is one of the world's major beer-producing nations.
About half of France's breweries are in the northwest and near the city of Lille where there is a lot of
English influence and such are its beers, known as Bieres de Garde, presented in large, one litre bottles, corked and wired in the manner of champagne.
In the northeast, where the industry is centred in the region of Alsace and the city of Strasbourg, the cultural influence is German, the beers bottom-fermenting, and the breweries very few but extremely large. The production of cider in France is also important. It is made principally in Normandy and
Brittany 418 .
Across the Pyrenees, Spain has about twenty breweries, among which three are owned by the Filipino giant San Miguel. Spain has some agreeable Pilsener-type lagers, the odd Münchener and the occasional Märzenbier. The northern parts of Italy and Yugoslavia both have brewing industries, the latter country also being an important producer of hops.
Where the two countries meet, the city of Trieste had in Austro-Hungarian days a brewery owned by the great Viennese innovator Dreher. His name lives on in a present-day Italian brewery company which is headquartered in Milan and jointly owned by Heineken of The Netherlands and the British firm of Whitbread.
Across the water in Malta, the firm of Farson's produces the only English-style beers in the Mediterranean.
A much more restricted range of beers is available in the other Nordic countries. Iceland, Norway,
Sweden and Finland all place considerable restrictions on the production, sale and public consumption of alcoholic drinks so eg. Iceland's Polar Beer is officially for export only, and the precise detail of restrictions on the strength of beer is a matter of constant political fight in Norway, Sweden and
Finland.
Russia is the world's third or fourth largest producer of beer, though consumption per head is relatively low. Because of the problem of alcoholism among vodka drinkers, beer is, like wine, officially encouraged as a beverage of moderation. There are 62 brands, including an interesting dark ‘Ukrainian-style’ beer, a well-matured Amber, and the small-scale survivors of the top-fermenting ales once popular in Russia. Supply of all beers can, though, be very localised and in some places kvass or koumyss are more accessible 419 .
SPIRITS
Spirits, which may range from a little over 20% alcohol up to a dangerously high level of 99% alcohol, are produced, either legally or illicitly in nearly every country around the globe. You can find them in a huge variety of bases and flavours, in numerous brands and every imaginable taste and quality, from the superb to the noxious. They have been prescribed and proscribed and above all,
416 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/beer/europe/north_europe/index.html
417 ibidem.
418 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/beer/cider/index.html
419 http://www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/beer/europe/east_europe/index.html

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] taxed.
In these, regardless of flavour or strength, the arts of distillation play a very significant – if not total – role. Unfortunately there is very little knowledge considering the early history of distilling or precisely who and when invented the process. Certainly it was being practiced before the scientific principles underlying it were understood. The whole concept depends on the fact that alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than water, 78.3° C.
The first destilation is believed to have taken place in China over 3000 years ago. When destilation arrived to Europe is under constant debate. The semi-legendary tales describe the first European process of distilling in Ireland over a thousand years ago, but there are also claims that the first proper separation of alcohol and water (alcool vini) took place in France around 1100 A.D. Nevertheless the first real evidence doesn't emerge until 1519, when destilation was illustrated in Das Buch zu
Destillieren by Hieronymous Braunschweig.
The assying of the alcohol strength is a matter of concern, since it came to be taxed and the tax was related to the proportion of alcoholic content. First methods of distillation only established a vague minimum level of what constituted aqua vitae. Probably the earliest idea of how to assess it was to dip a rag into the liquid and ignite it. If it contained sufficient alcohol the rag would catch fire, otherwise the liquid would be too watery and naturally not burn.
By the 15th century another method had become popular; that of pouring oil on to the fluid. If the oil sank, the spirit was strong enough; if it stayed on top, it was too weak. After those two primitive methods, the gunpowder treatment was a slight improvement. The liquid was mixed with the explosive, and a flame was applied. If the liquid didn't ignite, it was not strong enough. If it flared, it was sufficiently ardent to be passed as 'proved'. If it exploded mildly, it was even stronger, or 'over-proof'.
Another old process of proving spirit was to burn the alcohol: if the residual liquid was less than half the original quantity, the spirit content was satisfactory.
420
SPIRIT DRINKING COUNTRIES
The countries in which the spirit consumption is still dominant are these of Eastern Europe, such as
Poland, Slovakia, Russia, Belarus, and the Baltic States (Table S1). Many traditionally spirit drinking countries of Northern Europe have switched to beer over the last few years, however we decided to include Norway, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands into this category because of their long tradition in spirit drinking. The consumption of spirits was rather stable until the 70s and has been on the decline since then. From the non-spirit drinking countries, it is the Greeks, the French & the Spanish who consume most spirits. It is worth mentioning that in Eastern Europe there is practically one type of spirit, while the spirits of Western Europe are much more diversified.
As far as spirits production is concerned, Russia leads the way in Europe, followed – surprisingly – by the United Kingdom and then the Ukraine, Germany and France (Table S2). It must be pointed out, however, that a lot of spirits are manufactured illegally or at home due to high excise tax 421 .
VODKA
Vodka is said to have been evolved in the 12th century in the Russian monastery-fort of Viatka as zhizennia voda (water of life), and it was used for medical purposes. The spirit came into social use in the 16th century: it was then associated mainly with the Ukraine, where grain was abundant, and later it became to be associated with St. Petersburg and Moscow.
It took some time for vodka-drinking to penetrate as far as the winelands of southern Russia, which is a big brandy-producing region. Eventually, vodka's domain stretched from Lapland to Persia but had not gained much of a hold westwards beyond the Elbe. Vodka blossomed from a local product to a major force in Russian national commerce in 1818, when Peter Smirnoff opened a distillery by the famous Iron Bridge in Moscow. The distillery, under imperial protection, became over the years a giant operation. By 1912 it was producing one million bottles a day: the family was thought to own
420 www.alcoweb.com/english/gen_info/alcohol_health_society/eco_aspects/production/spirits/spirits.html
421 www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/Information/Factsheets/european%20consumption.htm
76 the world's richest enterprise. After the outbreak of the First World War vodka was, ineffectively, banned in Russia, a prohibition maintained by the Soviets following the revolution of 1917, which ruined and exiled the Smirnoffs. Vladimir Smirnoff established a small distillery in the Paris area to supply the numerous Russian refugees in France. Today the Smirnoff brand-name belongs to the
USA 422 .
Vodka was legalised once more, under state control, in 1925. But the damage had been done. Illicit distilling had become established and continues to flourish.
There is a widely held belief that traditional vodka is made from potatoes. Good spirit may be made but it is cheaper to use substitutes: it requires a greater tonnage of potatoes than of grain to produce an equivalent quantity of alcohol. Very satisfactory spirit comes also from rice.
Vodka brands around the world
Vodka, in its historic native lands, is mostly flavoured. There are literally hundreds of different types.
Apart from regional varieties, there is aperitif vodka, herbal vodka, fruit vodka, dessert vodka and what can only be called pick-me-up vodka (flavoured with cayenne pepper). Of exported traditional vodkas, most comes from Russia and Poland, and rather less from Finland.
In Finland there is splendid vodka made by the state monopoly, Alkoholiliike, irreverently translated as 'I like alcohol', derived from timber. This may case raised eyebrows in view of the dreaded 'wood alcohol', but in fact what is used is cellulose extracted from the wood. From this the delicate spirit is distilled; grain spirit is also used.
The best known Russian brand is Stolichnaya. There is also Moskovskaya, in red and white varieties, and the stronger Krepkaya. The leading Polish contender is Vyborova. These are comparatively light in flavour. From Poland comes also the unusual Zubrowka, which has a pale green tinge due to the inclusion of Zubrowka grass. Two other flavoured export Polish vodkas are the tart, cherry-flavoured
Wisniowka and Jarzebiak, which owes its taste to the rowanberry. Polish pure spirit, a grain distillate of dangerous strength, unflavoured and containing 80% alcohol is usually included in the vodka category and used to produce do-it-yourself cordials.
Slavic vodka and western vodka
Vodka made in the West is a very different product. The difference between Slav and Western vodkas is even more marked than that between Dutch and London Dry gins. Slav vodka encompasses a range of spirits: Western vodka is a specific product. It is as near as possible to being flavourless and made by filtering a highly rectified spirit, grain or cane, through charcoal: this further purifies the alcohol.
Vodka adds zest but no flavour to whatever is mixed with it. This appeals to people who like alcohol's effect but not the taste of spirits. Vodka is also said to be less fattening, not so easily detectable and less likely to cause hangover. The most famous brands are the Finnish Finlandia, the Swedish Absolut and the Dutch Bols 423 .
WHISKY
The Gaelic ‘usquebaugh’, meaning ‘Water of Life’, phonetically became ‘usky’ and then ‘whisky’ in
English, however it is known, Scotch Whisky, Scotch or Whisky. Current fashion is that Scotch and
Canadian whisky is always written thus, without the 'e', American and Irish as whiskey. Scotland has internationally protected the term ‘Scotch’. For a whisky to be labelled Scotch it has to be produced in Scotland. Excellent alcohols made in other countries, are most often referred to as ‘whiskey’, though they do not captivate the tastes of Scotland. Of all whiskies, the Scotch is the most favoured, successful and well-known; it is also subject to imitation or counterfeiting of labels.
Types of whisky: Scotch whisky
The very origins of whisky are not really known, though it seems most likely it was the Irish who first
422 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/spirits/general.html
423 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/spirits/vodka.html

began distilling from cereals. The colonisation of Scotland by Irish commenced around 500 AD 424 , but whisky wasn't introduced for another half-century when the craft of distillation became established in
Ulster. It was finally brought to Scotland by Irish missionary monks, who established monasteries in the wake of their compatriots, who were evicting the native Picts.
There are two dates, which are worth mentioning. In 1494 was the first time the word 'malt' was used to describe whisky. By 1505 the production of Scotch must have been well established because the supervision of spirit-making for Edinburgh district was granted to the Royal College of Surgeons that year.
The turning point for Scotch whisky-industry came in 1860s, the prohibition of selling whisky in bottle to England was lifted, and, much more importantly, blending was introduced commercially. Straight grain whisky enjoyed a good sale in those days, it is now a rarity in retail commerce, represented by a single brand: Choice Old Cameron Brig.
At that time there were three distinct types of Scotch whisky: malt, grain and blended. The atmosphere was also very favourable for industry's expansion: Queen Victoria was the champion of all things Scottish. Also the older rich English aristocracy who were following the Queen's lead in buying, restoring, enlarging or building neo-baronial castles helped the whisky industry.
The very first famous bottled brand was set up by John Dewar in 1846 in Perth. In the 1880s Dewar's two sons went to London to sell Dewar's Scotch, both became peers and died multi-millionaires.
Same story repeated with John Walker. He went to London and soon established a world-wide whisky empire. James Buchanan came to London in 1879 as a factor for a whisky firm. He introduced his own Buchanan Blend (a name revived in 1978) and by the 1880s he had world-wide distribution; in
1904 he registered an early non-family brand-name, Black and White.
The single greatest and most successful force in Scotch whisky today, which also controls the world's biggest gin companies, is the Distillers Company. This was set up in 1877 to regulate the business of the leading distillers in Scotland, and was strongly instrumental in ensuring the prosperity of blended
Scotch whisky.
One more threat to the progress of Scotch whisky came during the First World War. During the war it was thought that workers in British munitions factories were spending an unduly large proportion of their new wealth on whisky. Governmental reaction was, that no Scotch whisky should be sold until it had been matured in bond for at least three years. Anyone in England who was not prepared to pay for costlier matured Scotch, simply turned to cheaper gin. This apparently stupid regulation in fact did the Scotch whisky companies a huge service: it improved enormously the general standard of Scotch whisky 425 .
Irish whiskey
Irish whiskey is certainly the oldest of whiskies. Already 800 years ago, the Book of Leinster recorded that after a feast at Dundadheann, near Bushmills in the north, the guests, who had been drinking the local uisge beatha, set out for Louth on the east coast. Staggering around they came to their senses far south in County Limerick.
Irish distilling left monasteries and became a cottage industry, just as in Scotland later, anyone could make rough whiskey without interference. Henry VIII, not caring for this freedom of enterprise by his
Irish subjects, promulgated a law to restrict distilling to licensed places only. Already in 1661 a tax on whiskey was imposed on a rate of four pence a gallon, yet, as usual, there was not much chance of collection. A century later, when administration had improved, it was reckoned that at least a third of stills in use were still unlicensed.
As the more powerful distilleries increased their hold on the market, smaller ones were absorbed or disappeared. In Eire, eventually, only three great distilleries remained: John Jameson & Son (est.
1780), John Power & Son (1791) and Cork Distilleries Co. (1867). In 1966 the three great ones com-
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] bined as United Distillers of Ireland 426 .
Irish whiskey is made from a mash of malted and un-malted barley with some wheat, rye and, uniquely, oats. The wash is distilled three times by pot-still. Though the law requires only three years' maturation, by tradition it has at least seven.
There was a time when most whisky drunk in England was Irish, but in the past century it has been almost wholly superseeded by Scotch. Irish whiskey is still very much in the first league for its high quality and distinctive character, and because Ireland gave whiskey to the world.
In Northern Ireland much of the whiskey is imported from Eire, but it also has its own style and its own malt distillery. The malting process came into use at the Bushmills distillery in 1590, and a whiskey similar to that is made today 427 .
Other whiskies
One oddity which deserves marks is Welsh whisky (Cymraeg chwisgi). Whisky was produced in Wales during the last century, but then disappeared. A new version, with a small production for local consumption, was put on the market in 1978 under the brand name Swn y don (Sound of Wales).
The Netherlands makes good whisky, closer in style to Irish than to Scotch; a long tradition of fine distilling ensures excellent quality.
The same applies to the best of Spanish whisky, though the comparison here is more likely to be with
American styles.
Many other countries produce their own whiskies for domestic market, especially in Scandinavia where distribution of alcohol is controlled by government monopolies, there is a custom to offer domestic versions of different spirits along with imported ones.
GIN
Dutch gin
Unusually, the introduction of gin as a commercial product may be dated with precision, for it undoubtedly happened when Lucas Bols founded his distillery in Schiedam in 1575. The town's name became synonymous with gin, though 'Schiedam' is not often used nowadays as a description of
Dutch gin, which is called genever in Holland, often geneva elsewhere and sometimes even Hollands 428 .
Gin was, naturally, being produced in the Netherlands prior to the advent of Bols, but until the second half of the 16th century distillation, remained mostly confined to monasteries or the primitive medical world, which was still more involved with alchemy than science: a lot was known about herbs.
The Dutch gin of today is substantially the same in all probability, as that of four centuries ago, if more refined. It is based on malted, or partly malted, grain – distilled much as whisky – and is available in two different styles, young and old, which are indicative of flavour rather than age.
The botanical flavourings – juniper berries, coriander, citrus rind and so on – are added to the brand formula. This distillation may be repeated: each distiller has his own detail of method. The resultant spirit is aromatic, with a strong botanical taste. It has preserved a reputation as a healthful drink from its medical origins.
Dutch geneva is still popular in most of Scandinavia, in Belgium, and in Germany, where similar products – Steinhager is the best known – are distilled.
Dry gin
The English' influence on the gin, and vice versa, has been crucial. English soldiers, sailors and traders were not slow to discover the merits of genever and then shortened it phonetically to gin, the name by which the spirit has long been known the world over.
424 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/spirits/whisky.html
425 www.whisky.com/history.html
77
426 www.ireb.com/develop/eire_wh.htm
427 www.1upinfo.com/encyclopedia/categories/whiskey.html
428 www.beefeater.com/LondonDistilled.htm

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Fearing that gin could diminish the working capacity of the masses and lead to disorders and destruction of property, the ruling class enacted in 1792 a law, which amounted to prohibition of spirits except for those who could afford the enormously increased prices caused by penal taxation. Illicit distilling and sale flourished, It was estimated that in that year 20 million gallons of gin were being distilled in London. Most of it was also consumed there: the population of the city was about half a million 429 .
On the social scene gin was considered a drink of the lower classes – which indeed it was.
There was soon a dramatic fall in the amount of gin distilled and the businesses became more concentrated, in the hands of reputable distillers such as Boors (est. 1726), Booth's (1740) and Gordon's
(1769).
In the second half of the 19th century, London distillers started to make 'unsweetened gin', advertised as 'positively containing no sugar'. In the beginning it was called 'Dry Gin' and then 'London Dry
Gin'. Some countries, particulary France, insist that only gin imported from Britain may carry the title.
That is also the main feature distinguishing it from the Dutch geneva.
As far as the methods of production are concerned they vary significantly, but quality gins are produced by re-distilling the spirit with juniper berries, coriander, orris root, cassis bark and other botanicals, according to the formula of the brand-owner.
Today the largest selling gin is Gordon's. Other companies such as Booth's and Gilbey's, also produce their gins in many countries and direct export by Tanqueray and Burrough's (Beefeater) is very extensive. But elsewhere there are many imitations of the labels of celebrated London brands, and some truly awful 'London Dry gins' 430 .
Plymouth gin
Plymouth gin was previously an aromatic gin, distinctively different to London Dry and particularly associated with the pink gin favoured by Navy officers. No longer has Plymouth the character associated with it.
BRANDY
The origin of the widely used word 'brandy' to describe distillations from wine is almost certainly from the old Dutch brandewijn – ‘burned' (distilled) wine – changed by the English to 'brandywine' and subsequently shortened to brandy. Some experts give the similar German branntwein (weinbrand) as the source.
In the 17th century Britain, any distillate was called brandy; even gin was included under that heading. It took a long time until the word became to refer almost exclusively to spirit from a wine base.
Brandy is colloquially used to cover distillations from a number of fruits other than grape.
Brandy is not necessarily the result of inefficient distillation but also come from use of bad wine, or the wrong type, and particularly from too short maturing; or none at all. You could almost make a general rule that good wine makes poor brandy.
Maturation is avoided: the wine must retain its original attributes, for it is these that give cognac its unique character. Distillation starts immediately and continues until the following spring. As with
Scotch, cognac is double-distilled in much smaller copper pot-stills than those used in Scotland. The first distillation of 'low wines', brouilli, contains about 28% alcohol.
The brouilli may be made in stills containing as much as 100 hectolitres, but the second distillation, the bonne chauffe, must come from an alambic charentains (maximum 25 hectolitres) and must not contain more than 72% alcohol.
In France the casks of cognac are stored in chais. The old chais – and some are very old – are low buildings with earthen floors, well ventilated. The idea is to keep them as cool and damp as possible.
429 ibidem.
430 www.beefeater.com/LondonDistilled.htm
78
Modern chais are lofty , with casks stored on high racks. Both serve equally well. The air is fairly dry and summer temperatures high, and the evaporation is considerably great. The holder of the biggest maturing stocks, Martell, estimates that it loses the equivalent of two million bottles a year. Opinions vary, but 50 years may be taken as the maximum age for a brandy to rest in wood. Very old cognac is disgorged from cask and kept in glass containers in what brand-owners aptly called their paradis 431 .
Brandy is made in particular in France, Germany, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Australia. The best is often reserved for local consumption and does not find world markets with an obvious exception,
France 432 .
Cognac
The practise of condensing for shipment overseas the wine of the Charente region by a primitive form of distillation became established as early as the 15th century. These would have been rough 'low wines' with an alcohol content around 25%. The addition of water at the receiving end would have restored the wine to something like its original state, but probably most of it was drunk as weak spirit.
Not until the 17th century, following the great improvements in commercial distilling initiated by the
Dutch, did an unknown distiller in the Cognac region treat his 'low wines' to a second distillation. By this means the 'soul of the wine' was truly extracted and a strong wine spirit, first saw light in France:
Cognac brandy was born.
Of course, there was originally no definition of the Cognac region: it just happened that the best
French brandy came from there and thus attracted the name of the central town.
In the mid 19th century when cognac had established a world-wide reputation, it happened that two friends, a geologist and a spirit expert, visited the area to test a theory, which was eventually the basis for the very strict demarcation of the carefully defined Cognac region's six divisions. These are, in descending order of prestige: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons
Bois and Bois Ordinaires. The word champagne used to describe the region for cognac has caused a certain amount of confusion over the times. It has absolutely nothing to do with the wine of the same name 433 .
The quality of wine from the Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne is virtually identical, although the Grande Champagne is usually rated more highly. A label carrying the words Grande Champagne denotes a cognac solely from that area.Unblended Petite Champagne wine is comparatively rare.
Under French law a cognac may not be sold with a date although some Grande Champagne, and occasionally Petite, from leading houses is shipped in cask to Britain a year or so after the vintage from which it was distilled. After a long maturing, say 15 years, a sample will be submitted to the shipper.
Like any other spirit, cognac can not improve in bottle. By bottle age it may acquire rarity value, nothing more. It can quite easily deteriorate. Vintage cognac, which is almost exclusively a British phenomenon, attracts prestige.
As far as the system of rating is concerned some houses use three stars to signify their standard grade. This does not mean it is three years old, minimum age for the important British market, for the average age of a reputable cognac of this grade will be higher: it is simply a convention. If there are more stars on the label, that is a brand-owner's whim but of no actual meaning. Some brands have rejected stellar system in favour of invented names.
The widely used VSOP title stands for 'Very Special (or Superior) Old Pale' and stems from the time about a century ago when cognac changed from the heavier style – in flavour and colour – favoured by upper-class Englishmen to the paler type of today. It denotes a grade that is more aged than the
431 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/spirits/brandy/general.html
432 www.alcoweb.com/english/gen_info/alcohol_health_society/eco_aspects/consumption/spirits/spirits.html
433 Francja... op. cit., p. 409.

same company's three-star or similar. It should not contain brandy that has been less than four years in wood 434 .
Armagnac
The Armagnac region is the home of the second great French brandy and also of the immortal musketeer d'Artagnan, said to have been an early patron of armagnac brandy 435 .
Armagnac is more powerfully flavoured spirit than cognac and its makers are highly individualistic.
The manufacture of armagnac remains largely a cottage-industry, less commercialised in modern terms than its successful rival to the north, less organised – and, to many, the product therefore retains a special charm.
A significant feature of armagnac is that it is distilled only once – cognac uses double distillation – and at a strength not exceeding 63% alcohol, and usually considerably lower. Armagnac requires extra-long maturation in casks of Gascon oak and an average age in excess of ten years is common.
The grade designations are similar to those used to describe cognacs. Inevitably, armagnac is compared to cognac, but it is a distinctively different brandy 436 .
Other grape brandies
German brandy, almost a monopoly of Asbach, is made from a variety of imported wines, for those of the country are too good and costly to turn into spirit. It may be drunk as a 'liqueur', but is better in long, mixed drinks, being thin and faintly sweet. German brandy from wine residue is called trester, it is usually treated as a short, chilled schnapps drink.
Italian brandy has similar characteristics to that of Germany. Stock is best known and is fairly popular in the USA. Spirit distilled from the residue of Italy's enormous wine production is called grappa, and is very popular.
Spanish and Greek brandies are made in large quantities. Basically they share a touch of sweetness and tend to be well caramelised for smoothness. Greece resinates brandy to turn it into an aperitif called mastika.
Fruit brandies
Apart from true grape brandies several well-known products, which have nothing to do with wine, attract the description 'brandy'. Calvados, Normandy's apple brandy, is distilled from cider, it tends to be rather tart and rough unless well aged. Thoroughly matured calvados is delicious, warming and costly.
Often referred to as 'plum brandy', slivovitz is the general spirit of central Europe and the Balkans. It is worth mentioning that the Polish slivovitz is a very strong one, containing about 60% of pure alcohol.
Kirsch is a proper distillate from cherries which comes from the Black Forest area of Germany and adjacent parts of France and from Switzerland 437 .
There are many fruit brandies, alcohols blancs in French terminology. These are of two types – those directly distilled from fermented juice and those where an eau de vie has infused into it the essence of a particular fruit.
Poire William is a much-esteemed variety of the pear brandies: one style has a pear grown in the bottle, a painstaking business. However, strawberry, bilberry, blackberry – in fact any berry – may be used, or a mixture of them. The oddest is that from the holly-berry, eau de vie de baie de houx, otherwise considered poisonous.
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
OTHER SPIRITS
Arrack, arak or raki is usually classified as brandy. It can be distilled from grape juice, rice, sugar cane, grains, milk – well, almost anything in fact. Caña, a very strong spirit containing 75% alcohol, of Majorca, almost defies classification. In 1979 a café was burnt out when some caña ignited while being poured 438 ! Pastis is the name of anis aperitifs, particularly associated with Marseilles. It was a successor to the absinthe that was outlawed in France the day the First World War broke out. Other important European spirits are the Spanish ojen and Greek ouzo.
Grog was originally a mixture of rum and water. It is named after Admiral Grogram Vernon, who first ordered the dilution of the British Royal Navy's daily rum ration. The term is now applied to almost any unsweetened mixture of spirits and water, hot or cold, and it is sometimes used for any intoxicating drink.
Akvavit
The second traditional spirit of Scandinavia and parts of Germany, aquavit, or akvavit, is obviously a derivative of the universal aqua vitae, and covers almost a very broad spectrum of spirits. Also referred to as schnapps, these are, in the main, drunk the way the Russians drink vodka.
Potatoes and grains are the usual base for aquavits, which are highly rectified. The range of flavourings is a wide one, mainly herbal, and with caraway seed predominating. The biggest producer is
Sweden and Denmark is the second largest distiller, with Aalborg akvavit holding over 90% of the
Danish market 439 . In contrast, the Norwegians are moving away from aquavit towards Western-style vodka. A Norwegian speciality is Linie aquavit.
OTHER ALCOHOLS
The last group of alcohols consumed throughout Europe comprises all the beverages that cannot be classified in neither of the described gruoups. The variety of kinds here is enormous so we could only point out the best known and most often consumed ones. The three biggest subgroups here are aperitifs, liqueurs and dessert wines. Let’s start with aperitifs.
APERITIFS
The word ‘aperitif’ derives from the Latin aperire - to open. It is as an ‘opener’ to the appetite that aperitifs are usually taken, therefore every kind of alcohol may be an aperitif but there are some special and unique ones worth mentioning.
Vermouth
Today, vermouth is one of the most universal and widely spread alcohols over the world. It’s origins date back to the Roman medicine absinthianum vinum which was said to have descended from the legendary vinum Hippocraticum, the wine of Hippocrates. During the middle ages vermouth was produced in Bavaria, from where a Piedmontese gentleman, Signor d' Alessio, believing it had commercial prospects, took it to France (XVI century) 440 . The production of vermouth has a few principles. Firstly, a handful of herbal ingredients are being mixed and they macerate in an appropriate fluid for a week or more. Later, the grape spirit and grapejuice are added to the herbs, which gives the wine a strong infusion (some herbs mix better with alcohol). The only common ingredient for all vermouths is the wormwood flower. The drink is then blended with more of the wine and fortified to
19% alcohol, pasteurized, filtered and ready for bottling. The combination of herbs used by each maker is their most guarded secret. Today, there are four kinds of vermouth around Europe: Punt e
Mes, Dry, White and the new Rosé. Traditionally, French vermouth is dry and Italian – sweet.
Italy specialises in blended vermouths, dating back to times when vermouth was sold as a type of concentrate, and customers in a tavern would call for one or more measures, which they would then add to white wine in whatever proportion suited them. The local way of indicating how many
434 Le Petit Larousse... op. cit., p. 1251.
435 Francja... op.cit., p. 430.
436 http://www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/spirits/brandy.html
437 www.alcoweb.com/english/gen_info/alcohol_health_society/eco_aspects/production/spirits/spirits.html
79
438 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/spirits/other spirits/index.html
439 www.alcoweb.com/english/gen_info/alcohol_health_society/eco_aspects/production/spirits/spirits.html
440 www.1upinfo.com/encyclopedia/categories/vermouth.html

measures of vermouth were required was by ‘points’ (punti). Legend has it that, one day, changes on the Turin Stock Exchange were running at around one and a half points, and a customer in the bar when asked how many ‘points’ he wanted, answered ‘punt e mes’ (‘one and a half' in local dialect).
When Signor Carpano started putting out pre-blended vermouth in 1786, he used an equivalent formula and named it Punt e Mes. Today there are about eighty vermouth producers in Italy vermouth but the market is dominated by two giants – Martini & Rossi, and Cinzano, which both, the first one founded in 1840 and the second in 1757, come from Turin. Martini Extra Dry has come to lead the market in many countries, while Cinzano were the inventors of vermouth white and rosé.
441
Campari
Of all the great aperitifs, one that is hard to classify is the internationally celebrated Campari – a fortified drink related to vermouth but a lot stronger (25%) and therefore classified as spirits in Great
Britain. The drink is made by the world’s only company – Campari – in Turin.
442
Other aperitifs
There are also many other, not as widely recognised, aperitifs which are worthy mentioning. Dubbonet is a fortified and sweetened wine, sharpened with quinine. Other aperitifs made in France are
Ambassadeur, a fruit- and gentian-flavoured wine, bitter Amer Picon and fortified herb- and quinine- flavoured Byrrh. Italian aperitifs include Fernet and Cora. They are both bitters – the first one generic and very aromatic and the latter a bit more mild.
DESSERT WINES
Wines with an addition of brandy or other stronger alcohol are called dessert wines. Sherry is a naturally dry fortified wine, which name originally reffered to wines made in Andalusia, mainly in Jerez.
After fermentation the wine is fortified with brandy and matured in casks for several years. There are various kinds of sherry – amontillado, manzanilla, fairly sweet and fruity oloroso and amoroso and the very sweet raya blends. Sherry contains from 15% to 23% alcohol, the more highly fortified wines being for export.
Port wine gets its characteristics taste thanks to brandy added before the fermentation process comes to an end. Only wines made from grapes of the Douro valley may be called as Port according to Portuguese law. There are four kinds of port – vintage, ruby, crusted and white. Port wines are kept in wooden casks for two or three years, bottled and stored for another 20 years or more.
Mead is a wine made of fermented honey and water, sometimes flavored with spices. It is said to be highly intoxicating. Mead was known in classical Greece and Rome and was the favorite drink of the tribes of northern and western Europe. It is still popular in Poland, Ukraine and Russia.
LIQUEURS
Liqueur is a strong alcoholic beverage made of almost neutral spirits, flavored with herb mixtures, fruits, or other materials, and usually sweetened. Its name comes from the Latin word “to melt’ and it can be produced either by macerating the elements in alcohol or passing the heated alcohol through the ingredients. The processes and ingredients are often strictly guarded secrets. No more than three people at one time are said to know the formula for making Benedictine. Liqueurs are usually served after dinner, sipped from small glasses, and said to aid digestion. Many of the liqueurs were invented by monks experimenting to find new kinds of medicines 443 .
The most famous Italian liqueurs are:

Amaretto - with characteristic almond taste is said to have been evolved in about 1525 by a young widow as a present for Bernadino Luini, an artist of the Leonardo da Vinci school;
 Aurum – a brandy based bitter sweet liqueur;
 Fior d’Alpi – the “Flower of the Alps’ containing a twig on which the sugar in the drink crystallises
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] when the bottle is chilled;

Galliano – a yellow, herbal liqueur named after an Italian hero, which recipe is a total secret;
 Sambuca – a liqueur known thanks to an Italian habit of floating coffee beans on a glass of
Sambuca and setting fire to them which is described as con mosche, 'with flies' (it burns alcohol and at the same time roasts the beans).
French liqueurs

Benedictine – one of the best known in the world, made in the monastery at Fécamp in Normandy since 1510 on the base of cognac, the recipe is very strictly guarded;
 Chartreuse – made as a medicine in the vicinity of Grenoble since 17 ised until the 19 th century, not commercialth century, its formula consists of 130 herbs, there are two kinds of chartreuse - yellow and green of which the latter is stronger;
 Grand Marnier – first made in 1880, based on cognac, comes in two varieties: cordon rouge and a weaker cordon jaune;

Izarra – based on armagnac, produced in the Basque country since 1835;

Parfait Amour – usually violet, highly scented and almond flavoured liqueur from Lorraine, reputed to be a “prostitute preference’ in Victorian times;
 Trappistine – Doubs department liqueur based on armagnac, which recipe belongs to the Trappist order at the Abbey de Grace Dieu;

Get – a peppermint liqueur created by Jean Get in 1797 on the base of Benedictine.
British and Irish liqueurs

Drambuie – one of the greatest liqueurs based on 15 year old Scotch whisky, its name comes from the Gaelic “an dram buidbeach’ (the drink that satisfies), in legend its recipe was was given to the Mackinnon family by Bonnie Prince Charlie, for saving his life after the collapse of the
Scottish clans' rebellion of 1745;
 Ginger Wine – made from must, which is fermented and then flavoured with ginger, the most popular brands are Stone’s and Crabbie’s Green;

Glen Mist – herbal and honey Scotch whisky liqueur, manufactured in Ireland;
 Bailey’s Irish Cream – a mixture of coffee, chocolate, coconut, fresh cream and Irish whiskey;

Gallwey's Irish Coffee Liqueur – a combination of herbs, honey and Irish coffee;
 Irish Mist – a liqueur resembling a legendery heather wine which was made from heather honey, produced in the Irish Tulamore Distillery;
 Sloe Gin – made of sloes and gin 444 .
Other liqueurs
 Advocaat – a Dutch speciality made of sweetened eggs blended with brandy, the name’s origin is that after drinking one talks like a lawyer;
 Cherry Brandy – a wine spirit flavoured with cherry juice, produced mainly in Denmark (Cherry
Heering), Holland (De Kuyper) and France (Cherry Rocher);
 Elixir d’Anvers – a Belgian liqueur containing 32 herbs, similar to yellow Chartreuse;
 Elixir de Spa – mainly produced in the Netherlands, its formula was lost in the 17 rediscoverd in old archives years later but it is still a close secret, made on the base of brandy and herbs; th century and

Goldwasser – first produced in Gdansk in the mid 16 from the addition of gold dust to the alcohol; th century, now in Berlin, its colour comes
441 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/aperitifs/vermouth.html
442 www.1upinfo.com/encyclopedia/categories/aperitifs/campari.html
443 www.sasky.com/saskycom/databases/aperitifs/liqueurs.html
80
444 Gogoliński W., op.cit.

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]

Jagermeister – a dark, red German liqueur flavoured with gentian;

Maraschino – distilled from Dalmatian cherries and usually sold in straw-covered bottles; used for the famous Tiramisu dessert;
 Suomuurain – a Finnish liqueur with the unusual flavouring of cloudberries;
 Swedish Punsch – a spiced spirit drunk either as an after-dinner drink, with coffee, or as the basis of a hot beverage 445 .
SUMMARY
Alcohol consumption and production is a part of Europe’s history. Each country has its own. This makes “alcohol tradition” an indirect factor of national identity in the uniting Europe. France will always be renowned for its wines, we will go for a beer to Germany and drink good vodka in Scandinavia. Nevertheless we do observe that the process of Europe’s unification has an effect on different alcohol customs. In the beginning of the 1960s, significant differences in the alcohol consumption existed among European countries, but during the last forty years Europe has seen large changes both in the levels of alcohol consumption (per capita) and in the structure (that is, relative shares of beer, wine and spirits) of the consumption of alcoholic beverages. In parallel with narrowing crosscountry differences in alcohol consumption levels, especially the share of wine consumption has increased considerably in many countries. Dimishing differences in alcohol consumption levels seem to be a common feature concerning consumption in Europe.
In this thesis we tried to prove, that Europe’s tastes in alcohols divide it into three parts. The main idea was to stress the differences in the history of alcoholic beverages, but also to draw conclusions from the available data upon the production and consumption of alcohols in European countries.
Although the trends in consumption are changing rapidly, people will always associate some countries with some types of alcoholic beverages – e.g. French as wine, Germans as beer or Russians as spirit drinkers.
Małgorzata Miko, Michał Dąbrowski, Paweł Zagrajek
EUROPEAN CUISINE
Introduction.
At the very beginning we must admit that it is far better to travel around the Europe and try or taste all these delicious specialties than just to write about them. European cuisine is very differentiated from west to east and from north to south. In our short essay we tried to describe and to familiarize the reader with local customs and tradition of cooking. We begin our culinary journey in cold Scandinavian countries than we spent some “time” in Central- and Eastern- Europe to end up in warm and sunny Mediterranean countries. Enjoy !!!
I. Scandinavian cuisine
1. Who are the Scandinavians?
The Swedes, the Danes, the Norwegians, the Icelanders and the Finns are widely known as the
Scandinavian people. Generally they are the descendants of Norse (the Vikings) – the men are tall and blond, the women fair. Except for the Finns and the Lapps, the Scandinavians must have been originally one people. As the last ice sheet receded, small groups (probably from Asia Minor or the
Balkans) moved northward to hunt and fish and to settle – in this way the great Teutonic family was founded.
446 To the end of the seventh century, when the Vikings started their sea expeditions, the
Scandinavians were tightly isolated from European civilization and from each other. Next centuries brought some immigrating groups to the Scandinavian Peninsula - Scots, Walloons, Germans, and
445 www.maineliquor.com/products_lists_cordials.htm
446 www.allscandinavia.com - 09.04.2003
81 others. The immigrants affected isolated communities differently, people changed their habits, traditions and language (first it was probably the same language). But even nowadays any Dane, Swede, or Norwegian can travel in the neighbor countries, use his own speech, and be understood without too great difficulty.
447
It looks a little bit different as far as Iceland is concerned. The Icelanders (basically of Norwegian stock) have retained their ancient speech since the Viking Age. Swedish, Danish and Norwegian have accepted a number of words from German, French, and English. The Icelanders are proud to say that they, like the Greeks, always have their own word for it. 448
The Finns, who are geographically and culturally close to their western neighbors, are of different origin. Their ancestors came perhaps from the region of the Caspian Sea, and moved across the
Russian plains to the north. Probably Hungarians originated from the same stock, and that’s why their languages are part of the separate Finno-Ugrian group.
449 The Finns mixed to some extent with the
Lapps, and spread into northern Sweden and Norway. Within Finland a very strong Swedish minority have influenced culture and traditions of its citizens. What’s more Finland was converted to Christianity from Sweden, and for 600 years was an integral part of the Swedish state. That’s why the national culture in Finland was strongly shaped with Swedish elements; now both nations seem indigenous.
2. The geographical and historical backgrounds of Scandinavian cuisine.
For many centuries the Scandinavians were isolated from other cultures and from each other. They fished and used a not very fertile land for growing crops and plants. This isolation inevitably helped spawn many local dishes and traditions and has strongly influenced their food habits. But there are also other factors that determine the character of cooking and food in Scandinavia. One of them is its characteristic climate, especially long, dark winter is a very important one. Even today winter continues to be the one inescapable fact of life in the North. The season comes early and lasts long, and what’s more, it is dark and dreary. For centuries, the thinking of the people was shaped by winter season, which made fishing, farming and hunting difficult. They devoted almost all their energy during the short growing season to making sure that they would live through the winter.
450 Also significant was the large area and small number of inhabitants, which limited the trade between citizens. That’s why the Vikings very early learned to preserve their food. It was not only grains and meat of wild animals, but also fish and milk. They smoked, dried and salted their meats and fish.
Unfortunately, salt was quite expensive spice in those times (especially for the isolated Scandinavians), and that’s why they used only small amounts of salt, so that the fish were not rotten, but only fermented. Today one of the most popular delicacies in Sweden is surstromming - fermented herring, sold in cans. The smell of this herring is not very pleasant for people that are not used to it, but for the Swedes from north is worth organizing huge feast each year in August.
451 Milk was also preserved with salt and even today the Scandinavians eat salty butter and margarine. Many of the foods in the Scandinavian countries have a salty or smoky taste, or are pickled or dried - it’s largely because of winter and tradition (famous smoked salmon).
The dishes in Scandinavian cuisine are also usually more sweet, than those in other countries. Substantial amount of sugar is added to marinated herrings and cucumbers. Why? It is connected with former special meaning of sugar. Mainly, to the end of nineteenth century sugar was a very expensive spice, which caused that sweet dishes were a symbol of wealthy. When already everyone could afford using “this luxury”, Scandinavians started to excessively add sugar to their cooking. Today this habit is often present, because people simply got used to that.
452
The descendants of the Vikings consume today some of the dishes that the Vikings ate. The Vikings liked mutton, cheese, cabbage, apples, onions, nuts, oysters and mussels, and all these continue to
447 Brown J., Sinda M., “Szwecja – praktyczny przewodnik”, Bielsko-Biała, 1996.
448 www.iceland.org - 12.04.2003
449 www.scandinavia.com -09.04.2003
450 www.allscandinavia.com - 09.04.2003.
451 Cichowicz-Porada T., „Kuchnia Skandynawska”, Warszawa, 1991.
452 Kołnierska E., Łebkowski M., „Kuchnia Skandynawska”, Warszawa, 1996.

be staples of the Scandinavian diet.
453 The beautiful forests were the source of berries and mushrooms, which are common addition to meat and famous sauces in Scandinavian dishes. The Vikings hunted wild birds, elk, deer and bear, just as their modern counterparts do. The Norwegians insist that a whale steak properly marinated and broiled can taste as good as beef. The recipes, that are used today were not written down but handed down “like folk ballads, mouth to mouth, memory to memory”.
454
Potatoes – one of the basic ingredients of many dishes in Scandinavian cuisine – are present in Scandinavian diet since the end of eighteen century. The long infertile in those times contributed to the popularization of potatoes between Scandinavians. Boiled potatoes with melted butter and dill are inevitable addition to many Scandinavian dishes.
455
Nowadays in Scandinavian cuisine we can distinguish two different kinds of dishes. Firstly, these are dishes strictly connected with Scandinavian tradition, and on the other hand we have dishes, which were introduced by wealthy French and German families in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries. For example the habit of eating baked geese on the St. Martin’s day comes from Germany.
3. Fish in Scandinavian diet.
The long seacoasts of Scandinavia was always a source of many kinds of fish. One of the most recognizable staples of Scandinavian cuisine is herring. It can be salted, smoked, marinated, boiled, baked, but one thing is sure it has always a special place on Scandinavian tables. Many heads of state have tasted smoked Baltic herring straight from a fisherman's boat. Another popular fish is cod. The white and moist meat of codfish is quite easy to prepare. It is usually combined with sauces of variety of tastes. Boiled cod is usually served with cream or mustard sauces or simply with melted butter.
Salmon is nowadays very popular around the world, but it were Scandinavians that introduced smoked salmon to the European cuisine. Salmon is also used for making soup, or is grilled, fried or served in a casserole with sliced potato or as a filling in savory pasties (originally Russian, kulibyaka).
From 1960s, when the new method of fishing was introduced seafood plays an significant role in many Scandinavian recipes (sandwiches, snacks).
456
Fish are the basic food in Iceland, where fishing is background of the country’s economy. The most famous dish on the Iceland is hakarl, meat of shark, which sliced in pieces has to lie for a few weeks on the beach, on planks covered with gravel and small stones. Then it is smoked and dried. It is usually served with strong vodka svarta daud, what means “black death”, and hverabraud (rye bread baked underground).
457
4. Meat in Scandinavian diet.
Swedish meatballs are probably at the top of the 'best loved dishes' list in Sweden. Norway, Denmark and Finland have their own versions, too. Meatballs were probably a way to use up leftovers; the cook used the meat that was on hand, a filler that was just available, and ingredients for the sauce based on not only recipe preference, but what was handy. Usually they call for beef, pork or veal.
In Finland, reindeer meat is one of the favorite ( the result of strong influence of Lapp culture). No wonder, it is delicious, fine-textured and extremely low in fat content. Even very high price does not discourage people to buy it. What’s more the export of reindeer meat from Finland is one of the fastest growing segments of the Finnish food industry.
458
In Iceland meat meals are quite expensive, except for lamb and mutton. It is not surprising while there are 600 thousand sheep for 278 thousand citizens. A very special delicacy for the Icelanders is svid - boiled sheep's head. What’s more, nothing from the sheep can be wasted, even eyes, lungs, stomach are used. Popular among tourists is hangikjöt mutton with delicious new potatoes, pea and
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] sauce. 459
5. Smorgasbord
It is worth mentioning that popular around the world smorgasbord – a table with a lot of cold and hot snacks was taken to Scandinavia from Russia. First it was the small buffet with vodka (XVIII century), but within next decades it was modified and developed on a wide scale. Smorgasbord exactly means a table with butter and bread, but actually it is hard to find butter and bread on this colorful table.
460
This tradition was very popular in the countryside, where the visitors used to bring their own dishes to the parties and put them on the table together with dishes prepared by the mistress of the house.
Everyone served himself. There is special order of eating snacks from smorgasbord. You should begin with herring (after that necessary change your plate), then other fish, meats and salads, then simple hot dishes, and finally cheese.
461 Usually people drink vodka (called akvavit – water of life) or beer. Today this habit is cultivated only in restaurants. At home the Scandinavians usually eat traditional cold snacks for lunch or to the dinner – but it is served on separate plate for everyone.
6. Smorrebrod
Smorrebrod – sandwich – exactly means bread with butter, although it is hard to see the bread under its plentiful fillings and butter is very often replaced with mayonnaise. It is usually called open-faced sandwich, because there is no top slice of bread, but filling is arranged very carefully to be admired by the eater. These sandwiches are very popular in Denmark, where they are usually served for lunch, however sometimes people organize special sandwich parties. The filling of sandwiches is not accidentally, it is always very carefully selected and often put in few layers on the bread. That’s why it is comfortable to eat them with silver ware. The most popular fillings are: shrimps, smoked salmon, herring, ham. As additions and decorations the Scandinavians use parsley, dill, lemons, horse-radish, red beet.
462
7. Holidays and festive in Scandinavian countries.
Colorful Easter announces the arrival of spring. The Scandinavian speciality at Easter is mammi, malt flavored oven baked pudding. Easter fare features egg, chicken and lamb dishes, and such traditional
Orthodox dishes as pasha, kulitsa and baba. What the children look forward to at Easter is Mignon egg, real egg shells filled with the finest chocolate.
463
When the winter is finally over, the seemingly endless summer days are savored along with the fresh fruits and vegetables that are hard to find after the short growing season. Summer for Scandinavians means being outdoors, grilling and smoking food and picking herbs from the garden. Fresh vegetables cooked in milk make a delicious summery soup, followed by berries served with milk, cream or quark. During the white nights of Sweden and Norway, it is customary to serve a midnight supper after a concert or the theater, while a special occasion such as a baptism or anniversary might call for a feast of dill-stuffed whole salmon followed by kransekake, a beautiful towering ring cake of ground almonds.
464
The gastronomic peak of the summer is the start of the crayfish season in July. Very popular, especially in Sweden, are traditional crayfish parties in August. The custom of eating those crabs in summer was set up at the end of the nineteenth century and was connected with only two-month permission for fishing crayfish. It caused, that people had been waiting for their appearance on the tables for almost a whole year – it made it a very special thing. Despite the fact that many species of crayfish in Sweden no longer exists (pestilence in 1907), the tradition of this party still exists. Swedes consume approximately 2,000 tons of sweetwater crayfish each year. The lion’s share of this amount
453 www.allscandinavia.com - 09.04.2003.
454 www.scandinavia.com -09.04.2003
455 Cichowicz-Porada T., „Kuchnia ...”, op. cit., s. 11.
456 www.iceland.org -12.04.2003.
457 www.islandia.org.pl - 12.04.2003
458 www.globalgourmet.com - 05.04.2003
82
459 www.islandia.org.pl - 12.04.2003
460 Cichowicz-Porada T., „Kuchnia ...”, op. cit., s. 11
461 ibidem, s.12
462 ibidem, s.14
463 www.globalgourmet.com - 05.04.2003
464 www.scandinavia.com - 09.04.2003

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] is enjoyed at crayfish parties in August. 465
As the summer advances, the first strawberries ripen and delicious new potatoes, no bigger than a finger tip, appear. These are served hot with butter and fresh dill. Tender rhubarb is the season's fruit for pies.
The autumn colors set the forests aglow and fulfill it with lingonberries and cranberries. The same special taste is also to be found in Scandinavian cultivated berries, currants, raspberries, strawberries and gooseberries. The wide variety of berries that do grow here enables Scandinavians to make different types of wine, for domestic consumption and for export (the Finns make forty types of those wine). Berry wines are somewhat uncommon in the world, but the method of production does not differ too much from that used when making wine from grapes. Finnish sparkling wines, made mainly from the white currant, have established a firm international reputation; their high quality have brought them several awards.
466 White currants are also used to make fresh, fruity white wines.
Autumn is also the season to wander in the woods and fill baskets with other fruit of the forest - mushrooms, including milk caps and horns of plenty.
November marks the beginning of the dark season, but also anticipation of Christmas. Undoubtedly,
Christmas is one of the most important holiday in Scandinavian countries. On 24 th December they eat
Christmas dinner, which is not a fasten meal. They usually start with buffet, where you can find herring, smoked sausage, red cabbage salad, ham. After that they eat traditional lutfisk – dried fish.
This is a remaining custom after medieval fast, when the Scandinavians celebrated Christian’s traditions.
467 Important part of Christmas gatherings are dishes based on fresh pork. It is mainly due to the old habit of eating fresh pork on Christmas in the Middle Age, when people for the whole year had to eat salted pork. Only one or two pigs were left for Christmas, which made the dishes based on that fresh meat very special.
468 Christmastime gatherings, in particular, are often a chance to celebrate with a cup of hot glogg (version of the spiced wine uses wine, port and vodka for the liquor) or punch. In Iceland traditional Christmas dishes include: mutton soup, leg of lamb, smoked rack of pork, and caramel potatoes.
The Scandinavians pay great attention to the preparation and serving dishes. They are widely known as brilliant designers of the table-porcelain, crystal, silver ware, linen, and they always care much about the way a table looks like. What’s more they like cooking - in Sweden, more food books are published per capita than in any other country in the world. It was more than 300 in 2002 alone - proof that gastronomy has become a genuinely popular pastime.
469
8. Spices
Scandinavian cuisine is simple, delicious and made from natural local ingredients. The food taste of themselves – in Scandinavian countries one third of recipes does not call for any spices.
470 Inevitable are fresh herbs, dill, parsley, green onions (the Danes make delicious green onion soup). Very characteristic for Scandinavian cuisine is cardamom in bread, cookies or cakes. Its sweet, delicate flavor gives an unique taste and aroma to baked cakes. It is often combined with almonds, which are also very popular in Scandinavian countries. Cardamom originated in India and Sri Lanka, but is today also grown in South America and elsewhere. Vikings brought the spice to the Scandinavian countries through their extensive trade route with India and the Far East.
II. Central- and East-European cuisine.
1. Overview
Cuisine of central and east Europe is often described as paradise for people who like nutritious food that give them energy and strength. Traditional dishes of this region have a lot of common features.
Germans, Czechs, Hungarians, Poles, Ukrainians and Russians are proud of their culinary tradition.
Cuisine of Romania, Bulgaria and former Yugoslavia is similar to their northern neighbours, however it is more aromatic and colourful.
471
The role of history.
History of Europe played an important role in development of culinary art. Nowadays we may indicate three conventional regions:
Eastern Europe, Central Europe and Balkans- countries between Black and Adriatic Sea.
Eastern Europe always had its special place on world’s culinary map. For example Russia is famous of its nutritious sour soups and a great variety of pancakes and other sweet specialities. In the Central
Europe there is still some influence of Austro – Hungarian monarchy – for example custom of drawing and drinking coffee. As far as Balkans are concerned it is worth mentioning that this region was dependent on Otoman Empire that is why its cuisine is so aromatic.
When we discus north – eastern Europe it is necessary to mention famous bread. People from the region are also known from picking up mushrooms. Mushrooms are used as famous ingredients in soups, sauces and other specialities. When we move to Balkans mushroom become less popular and their place is taken by courgettes, aubergines, peaches and apricots. What is interesting about Balkans – rice is there a common ingredient in desserts. For example it is added to milk pudding with rose water.
Division into regions mentioned above is quite conventional and not fixed. Some dishes are served in a few countries as their national meal – for instance beetroot soup known as borsht is a traditional dish in Poland, Ukraine and Russia. Balkan cuisine is mixed with German one. Central- and East –
European cuisine is also a proof of old traditional trade exchange with Far East.
472
The role of religion.
Religion played an important role in cuisine of Eastern Europe. It is connected with tradition of Lent.
That is why Russians and Poles developed high – caloric dishes without any meat based on beetroot and cabbage – for example “bliny”. As far as Lent is concerned we should not forget about fish dishes. The most popular kinds of fish in this part of Europe are: tench, pike and perch. There is also one kind of fish, which is served from Hamburg to Moscow- herring. Herring is often marinated in vinegar or oil with addition of many spices.
When we mentioned marinates it is quite true that cuisine of eastern and central Europe is rather sour than spicy. Sauerkraut is very popular in Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Balkans.
The Polish “bigos” is said to be the most delicious meal based on sauerkraut.
As far as alcohol is concerned it is not used as ingredient as often as for example in Italy or France.
In Balkans it has historic background since Balkans were dependent on Muslims. Nowadays they rather drink alcohol instead of using it in cooking. In central part of Europe alcohol is often served with meals. Poland and Russia are famous of vodka made of rye and potato.
Preparation of meals from the region is not very expensive mainly because of the fact that great majority of dishes come from peasant tradition. Instead of money it requires a lot of time and experience to prepare it.
473
2. Latvia and Lithuania as representatives of Eastern European cuisine.
Lithuanian cuisine is a mix of Russian and Polish influence. It is dominated by high-caloric meals based on potatoes, meat and flour. One of the most popular dish in Lithuania is called “kartacze” – which is big dumplings made of potatoes stuffed with ground pork. It is quite similar to Polish
“pyzy”.
474 Other popular, traditional dishes are called “ vedarai” and “plokstrainis”. “Vedarai” is a
465 www.swedish-embassy.pl - 05.04.2003
466 www.globalgourmet.com - 05.04.2003
467 Cichowicz-Porada T., „Kuchnia ...”, op. cit., s. 10
468 Kołnierska E., Łebkowski M., „Kuchnia Skandynawska”, Warszawa, 1996
469 www.swedish-embassy.pl - 05.04.2003
470 www.scandinaviancooking.com - 09.04.2003
83
471 Atkinson Catherina – „Kuchnia środkowej i wschodniej Europy“, Warszawa, 2000, s. 6
472 ibidem, s.8
473 ibidem, s. 11
474 Szwajdo Jarosław –„Litwa, Łotwa, Estonia“, Pascal, Warszawa, 2002, s. 56

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] baked pork bowels stuffed with potatoes, “plokstrainis” is some kind of omelette quite similar to the
Polish “placek zbójnicki” however it is not served with goulash but with sour crème.
Meat and fish dishes do not differ much from these served in Poland. For example we may find in menu “karbonadas” – Polish “schabowy” or “ kotletas” – Polish “mielony”.
When visiting Troki it is necessary to try “kibinai” which is pierogis stuffed with juicy mutton. “Ceburaki” a pancake with meat is known and liked in the whole country.
In Lithuania people eat quite a lot of bread which is very aromatic. It often goes together with smoked sausage called “utena”.
475 Other famous cold meats popular in Lithuania are “lasiniai” and
“skylandis”. Vegetarians will not starve for sure. They should try “vershes aphepas” which is kind of pancake with curds. “Salti – barcini” – “chłodnik” is served in summer.
As far as alcohol is concerned we should mention great variety of liqueurs made of fruits, herbs and honey. Apart from it beer and vodka is also very popular in Lithuania.
Latvian cuisine was shaped by German influence. Most of all meals are quite simple but at the same time very nutritious. Main dishes are often based on flour. There is very wide choice of bread bake of rye and wheat flour: sweet, sweet and sour, with nuts, cumin, raisins and so on. Latvians when cooking use pod vegetables, in particular so called grey pea. Traditionally grey pea is served during
Christmas to symbolize tears. When you eat it you will not cry during whole new year.
476
As far as meat is concerned the Latvians eat more pork than beef or poultry. Favourite dish is pig’s leg. Quite often natives eat “pierogis” stuffed with curds or mixed carrots and potatoes. Similar to the Poles Latvians like sauerkraut. It is said that sauerkraut, potatoes and cumin are the basic ingredients of the Latvian cuisine.
3.
Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Germany as representatives of central European cuisine
Czech cuisine is rather fat, heavy and arm in spices with exception of marjoram. Quite common is rye bread and salad made of potatoes and other boiled vegetables with addition of mayonnaise.
Czech cooks are also willing to fry potatoes with sausage. However traditional and the most popular kind of food is called “knedle”. “Knedle” are made of different kinds of flour and are served with soups, sauces but also as dessert.
As far as meat dishes are concerned the most popular is pork rolled with eggs, ham and cheese.
It should be noticed that the Czech cuisine has some elements of the Jewish art of cooking. Both nations have some common specialities – wide range of meals made of goose meat or carp served in sweet sauce.
477
Eating almost always is connected with drinking. The Czech beer from Pilzno is said to be the best beer in the world. Czechs also specialize in liqueurs. The best known is “ Becherovka”
Traditional Austrian cuisine abounds with meat dishes and is rather fat. In some regions of the country it used to be difficult in the past to find any vegetarian meal in local restaurants. Traditional
Austrian meal always begin with a soup. The most popular soups are: “Markknodelsuppe”, “Frittatensuppe” both are bullions and “ Gulaschsuppe”. “Gulaschsuppe” is a proof of Hungarian influence what is connected with Austro – Hungarian monarchy. Quite popular are dumplings with different kinds of stuffing – “Leberknodel” and “Semmelknodel” . However the most popular is “Wiener Schnitzel” which is a fried calf cutlet. Austrians are said to eat all kinds of meat. What is interesting they eat all parts of animals that are not eaten in other countries. For example “Beuschel” is a meal made of lungs, hearts and milts served in sauce with dumplings.
Austria is also famous of different desserts. The most popular is “ Apfelstrudel” often served with vanilla sauce. Salzburg’s speciality is “Salzburger Nockerl” – a kind of pudding. In Wien everybody
475 Druto Nijole i Maciej – ‚Kuchnia Litewska“, Warszawa, 1987 s. 22
476 Szwajdo Jarosław – „Litwa, ...“ – op. cit. s.186
477 Atkinson Catherina – “Kuchnia .. – op. cit. s. 95
84 should try one of famous Sacher’s cake, necessary with a cup of delicious coffee. When eating the
Austrians drink beer and wine. The Austrian wines are divided into a few groups according to their quality – from the most popular and the cheapest “Tafelwein” to “Qualitats” and “Pradikatswein”
During Autumn people are crazy about “Sturm” which is Heuriger wine but only half fermented. The most popular Austrian beers are: Gosser, Schwechater, Stiegl, and Zipfer.
478
The traditional Hungarian dishes abound in piquant flavours and aromas. Dishes are flavourful, spicy and often rather heavy. Flavours of Hungarian dishes are based on centuries old traditions in spicing and preparation methods. The exquisite ingredients are produced by local agriculture and husbandry.
479 The Hungarian cuisine is much different from simple Czech cooking. It is very rich in great variety of vegetables. Hungarians cooks add to their meals wine which makes food more sophisticated . The story of delicious Hungarian cuisine begins in 1475 when king Maciej Korwin married daughter of Italian ruler from Neopol. Korwin’s wife brought to Hungary her cooks and Mediterranean fruits and vegetables.
480 Traditional Hungarian meal is called “goulash”. The name “goulash” comes from the Hungarian “gulyas” – cowboy. Goulash is seasoned with paprika made of special red peppers. Originally it was a soup but nowadays due to plenty of meat, potatoes and noodles it may be also eaten as a main course. The other speciality is “liptauer” which is cheese pasta with butter, paprika, onion and cumin.
Paprika arrived to Hungary in XVII century. Paprika and garlic is to be found everywhere. In the autumn, a fascinating view is the strings of red paprika hung on the white walls of the houses in the neighbourhood of Kalocsa, a town along the Danube. Hungary is also famous of salami which is known around the world.
As far as alcohol is concerned the Hungarians are known from “Tokaj” – a very sweet wine. Palinka is a kind of vodka made of apricots.
The German cuisine with plenty of soups and sauces is considered as very heavy and fat. Quite often Germans serve “Ungarishe Gulaschsuppe” although nobody from Hungary would say it has something in common with the Hungarian goulash besides name. The other popular soups are: usually spicy bean soup - “ Bohnensuppe” or “Zwiebelsuppe” – onion soup served with cheese which is just a copy of original French onion soup. Probably the only national German soup is Bavarian
“Leberknodelsuppe”.
The second course dishes are often based on pork, however other kinds of meat are also eaten.
Usually it is served with fries and salads. Very popular is “Kartoffelsalad”. In Germany we will find in
Menu dumplings served with sauerkraut. When writing about Germany we can not forget about
“Wurst” – sausage. Although Germans treat it as national meal they admit that the Polish sausage is way better that one produced in their country.
In northern part of the country people eat more fish meals. There are different kinds of fish however the most popular is trout.
481
To cut a long story short I would say the German cuisine is quite boring and not very interesting to write a lot about it.
4.
Balkans – cuisine of Bulgaria, Romania and other countries
Balkans is a region where culinary styles from different part of Europe mixed altogether. We have there some Turkish, German, Austro – Hungarian, Italian and Russian influence. It resulted in cuisine which is very rich in aroma and flavours. Meals are full of vegetables such as peppers, aubergines, tomatoes, olives and many others.
482
The proof of the Turkish influence is so called “meze” a kind of appetiser which is salad made of
478 Hanan Mark – „Praktyczny przewodnik – Austria“, Warszawa, s. 74
479 Hungarian cuisine – www.hungariancuisine.htm 11.04.2003
480 Atkinson Catherina – “Kuchnia .. – op. cit. s. 95
481 Pokorska Barbara –„Co jedzą i piją nad Renem”, Warszawa, 1984, s.7
482 Atkinson Catherina – “Kuchnia .. – op. cit. s.174

vegetables, cheese and ham. It is served both in Bulgaria and Romania. Lovers of the Turkish cuisine should try the Romanian “plancinta”. “Plancinta” is a kind o baked meat with cheese stuffing and spinach.
The Bulgarian masters of traditional way of cooking spend long hours when preparing national specialities. Food must be boiled very, very long, which in Bulgarian is called “gyurech” in Romanian
”ghiveci” and in Serbian ”djuvec”. All names come from old earthen pots and bowls in which food was cooked in the past. 483
The Balkan cuisine abounds with seafood. There is very wide choice beginning with different kinds of fish ending with octopuses and shrimps. Usually it is served with white bread and wine.
Traditionally first course is a kind of salad made of tomatoes, cucumbers and yoghurt.
As far as meat is concerned in Balkans it is made and served in many ways. In Romania it is usually grilled and served with pickles. In Bulgaria very popular is goulash with vegetables.
Meat dishes in Romania often are served with “mamalyga” which is boiled corn groats.
However many foreigners asked about their favourite Balkan meal, answer it is bean soup. Cooks in different regions have their own culinary secrets, that make soups very special. Usually they season bean soup with lemon juice and vinegar what gives a delicious, individual taste. Another famous soup served in the Balkans is “ tarator” made of cucumbers, nuts and yoghurt. “Trator” is rather served cold during hot summer months.
The Bulgarian yoghurt is often called “the source of life”. Another Bulgarian speciality is “kaszkwal” – cheese made of sheep’s milk. There are different kinds of this cheese – mild and spicy. The similar cheese in Italy is called “pecorino”.
Almost each meal ends up with a coffee brewed in traditional Turkish style. With coffee people eat sweets called in Romanian language “dulceta” in Croatian “slatko”. Usually it is made of boiled and later on smashed apples, sultan’s raisins or figs which are knead into balls and sprinkled with nuts.
Sometimes cook saturate it with alcohol.
As far as alcohol is concerned typical Romanian drink is called “tuica” – very strong plum drink. In the countries of former Yugoslavia we have cheery liqueur “maraschino” and “travarica” – vodka made of herbs. “Mastica” is a anise vodka made in Bulgaria – quite similar to “rakija”. The Bulgarians drink also liqueur made of roses.
484
III. Mediterranean region
Mediterranean region stretches from Spain to Turkey and its cuisine blends classic European foods like pasta, wine, and sweets with Middle Eastern favorites such as spit-roasted meats, yogurt, and flat breads. Some of the ingredients most commonly associated with the Mediterranean are olives and olive oil, chick peas (garbanzo beans), couscous, oregano, garlic, basil, tomatoes, and a variety of nuts. Mediterranean cuisine limits the use of meats and eggs, relying instead on low fat staples like fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes. The foods are also locally grown or gathered, seasonally fresh, and minimally processed, making Mediterranean dishes full of flavor and nutrients.
French cuisine 485
French cooking is considered by many to be the standard against which all other cuisines are measured (it is also referred to as haute cuisine). This standard was introduced into the French courts by
Catherine de Medici in the 1500s, and later perfected by Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935), who is con-
483 Hunek Janina -„Tajemnice tradycyjnych kuchni: Rumunia, Szwajcaria, Węgry“, Lublin, 2000, s. 68
484 Atkinson Catherina – “Kuchnia .. – op. cit. s. 177
485 The data was collected from: http://www.francetime.com/article.php?sid=68 http://www.eufic.org/gb/food/pag/food03/food033.htm http://www.cuisinenet.com/glossary/france.html http://www.franceway.com/gastrono.htm http://www.sallys-place.com/food/ethnic_cusine/france.htm
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] sidered the Father of French Cooking. The classic “cuisine Francaise” based on flour and cream sauces lost its position in the 1970’s for “nouvelle cuisine”, which became popular for its healthful cooking philosophy: crisply cooked vegetables, and fruit based sauces. However "Nouvelle cuisine" has gone out of fashion and restaurants, like society as a whole, are now extremely diverse. French adopted international tastes, including fast-food products (likes hamburgers, pizzas and fizzy drinks), which are very popular with the French, especially with the young. However culinary traditions that have been developed and perfected over the centuries and have made French cooking a highly refined art are still vital. Eating well is of prime importance to most French people, who spend an amazing amount of time thinking about, talking about and consuming food. The favorite place to eat a meal both for lunch and dinner is at home. The typical French meal is well balanced. It comprises the essentials: a starter and main dish with vegetables and meat followed by cheese and fruit for dessert.
Of course, both wine and fresh bread are an important part of a French meal to exist. Everyday cooking is considered as an art and is a key cultural ingredient. Mostly for this reason recipes themselves remain classic and constant.
French cooking involves a large number of techniques, some extremely complicated, that serve as basics. French food do not tolerate shortcuts and it is expected that even the simplest preparation be undertaken in the most careful manner, which means disregarding the amount of time involved. The appreciation for the pleasures of food is mirrored in the broad range of herbs, spices and other seasonings they use. The most popular French herbs are parsley, thyme, bay leaf, mint, rosemary, chives, chervil and sage. Favored spices include fennel, coriander, cumin, caraway and juniper berries. The French also employ a spectrum of savory flavorings, including fragrant vinegars, garlic, mustards, and lemon juice. The cuisine also offers a wide range of vegetables. Connoisseurs of
French soups enjoy light vegetable-based potages, based on carrots, leeks, potato, turnip and parsnips in chicken broth. Most French sauces are wine based. Wine is used in combination with cream or spices and/or stock. Finally cheeses, meats, fishes and wines also forme an unbelievable list. The cuisine of France is remarkably varied with a great many regional differences. Regional French cooking styles are reflected in the character of the land and its surroundings. The rich raw materials of the fertile land in Burgundy are apparent in this region's robust cooking style, which typically involves red wine, bacon and onions. Beef Bourguignon is one of the popular dishes from this region. The Provence is characterized by use of olive oil, garlic and tomatoes. As this region is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, Provencal specialties naturally revolve around the fresh seafood of the area. The adjacent to Switzerland and Germany, the Alsace region exhibits influences of their neighbors in its cooking style, as in the dish choucroute (sauerkraut, pork and potatoes). Basquise is a region famous for ham and potatoes. Finally Normande is a region of creamy seafood sauce. Surprisingly it is Lyon, that is considered as French cuisine capital The reason for this reputation as a leading gastronomic center of the France is that it is well situated - it has access to the best food supplies. As a rule, the
French eat three meals a day, usually at the same hour. Even though this practice is disappearing in the professional world, many people see this tradition as an important aspect of the French way of life. French people start the day with the petit dejeuner (breakfast), which consists of bread (le pain): baguette, croissants or brioches, with an expresso, a cafe creme (expresso with hot, foamy milk), a simple but strong bowl of drip coffee or a chocolat chaud (hot cocoa). Then comes the dejeuner
(lunch), enjoyed between noon and 2:00 pm, which is usualy the main meal of the day. In the evening, the diner (dinner) is served not earlier than 8:00pm.
The most common French dishes are:
Choucroute – white cabbage sausages boiled with wine
Beef Bourginion – beef boiled in red wine with carrot and bacon
Le petit salle – greasy meet served with cereals
From classic French cooking to Nouvelle Cuisine, and the many French regional cooking styles, there is something to satisfy just about every palate. Bon appetit!
85

Italian cuisine 486 .
Italy with the dominating force of its antiquity, the contagious mood of romance in the air and the passions of its people is famous for its Risotto, Pasta, Pizza and the Lasagna al forno. There are approximately 210,000 square kilometers/130,000 square miles of Italy excluding the islands surrounding the country. Italy is made up of twenty regions with distinct characteristics. There is no such thing as "Italian cuisine:" rather, Italy is made up of many distinct cuisines, each with its own flavor palette and preferred cooking techniques, which can be grouped within regional boundaries.
Every town, every village, makes the same dish in vastly different ways, and every town and village has its proudest specialty. Local cooking preferences and customs are shaped by geographic, historical, and climactic differences: some regions are landlocked and mountainous, others hug the sea and are hilly; some regions have absorbed Arab or Greek influences, others have been marked by the
French or Austrians; some regions live under the dazzling Mediterranean sun most of the year, others have cold winters, snow, fog, and harsh winds:
Northern Italy's regions consist of Venice, Milan, provinces of Piedmont, and Lombardi. In general, the cooking is hardy, plentiful, tasty and a direct reflection of the quality of ingredients. Many meals include large meat potions due to the abundance of lamb, veal and game. Aslo used are wild mushrooms and white truffles from neighboring regions. Typical Northern Italian dishes include Costolette alla Milanese or Osso Buco. Cooking staples are Polenta and Risotto.
Central Italian food is much lighter than northern style Italian cooking. It consists of much less meat, more vegetables, and fresh cheeses (i.e. ricota). Central Italian cooking embraces both rigorness and richness. Tuscany (Etruscan), a famous region of central Italy, is venerated as the heart and hallmark of Italian cooking. Unlike the north, Etruscan food is much lighter and less abundant in meats, reflecting the true staple of Italian food.
Southern Italian food includes food from Sicily, Abruzzi, Molise, Campinia, Basilicata, and Calibria.
The region is known for having its own unique style. Contrary to common misconceptions, Southern
Italian foods from Sicily, Calibria, and Basilicata do not use tomato pastes, garlic, and oregano in excess. Actually, they implement a delicate balance of flavors and herbs, which produce light, colorful, and vivid dishes.
Apart from regional differences we can talk about general tendencies (for instance, northern Italians eat more rice and polenta than southern Italians, and southern Italians cook almost exclusively with olive oil, barely touching butter). Pasta is the first course in a meal for most Italians with the exception of the far north. Here risotto or polenta is the norm. For the most part, meat does not play a regular part of many Italian diets with vegetables, grains and legumes taking center stage in most homes. Olive oil is often seen in its dark green state (from its first pressing) in the south, while more refined, golden oil in the north. Basically, Italian cuisine is a combination of vegetables, grains, fruits, fish, cheeses and a scattering of meats, fowl and game. The reliance upon what the country can produce has shaped a diet popular for centuries, particularly with the poorer Italian people, and is called la cucina povera. Now we can see a resurgence of this "poor people's food". However, as most people work, such snacks as pizza slice, are now a part of the Italian daily diet. Nevertheless, home cooking is still important. A typical meal is a pasta with a simple sauce followed by a meat dish, perhaps chicken with cooked vegetables. A sweet dessert is optional. Italians eat only two main meals a day. Breakfast: is before 9am which consists of a cappuccino, small cake or pastry, jams at a
486 The data was collected from: www.deliciousitaly.com/eatinghabits.htm http://www.dolcevita.com/cuisine/kit/kit.htm http://www.dolcevita.com/cuisine/kit/kit3.htm http://www.dolcevita.com/cuisine/kit/kit5.htm http://www.sallys-place.com/food/ethnic_cusine/italy.htm http://www.initaly.com/regions/calabria/sims.htm http://www.rusticocooking.com/regions.htm http://www.azureva.com/gb/italie/itgastronomie.php3
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] bar on the way to work. Cereals and milk are slowly making an impact at home. Lunch is at 12.30-
14.00. It is based on pasta at home or pizza slice in work. In the evening, between 19.30-21.30 there is a family meal. As far as typical dishes as pizza and spaghetti are concerned there are several curiosities about that. Typically, Italian pizzas are very thin (in some cases as thin as a Mexican tortilla) which makes them difficult to eat by hand. They are also very large Being extremely large and extremely thin, the pizzas tend to get cold. What is also surprising Italians rarely use fork and spoon for eating spaghetti. Italians wind their spaghetti clockwise onto their forks with no spoon attached.
Greek cuisine 487
Greece is a republic of 50,962 square miles in area. What’s very important to its cuisine about a fifth of Greece consists of islands and no part of Greece is more than 85 miles from the sea. Greece, apart from giving birth to Dionysos, patron god of wine, is the birthland of Archestratos (330 B.C.), who wrote the first cookbook in history In fact Greece has a culinary tradition of some 4,000 years! Nevertheless, like most national cuisines, the Greek, has both influenced others and embraced ideas from its easterly and westerly neighbours, Turkey, the Middle East, and the Balkans. Although regional gastronomic differences do exist in this country; they are not significant and Greek cuisine should be treated as a whole national cuisine. What distinguishes the traditional Greek cuisine from others is a combination of the following factors: the unique ingredients, the Greek philosophy concerning matters of eating and sharing meals, and the country itself, the total environment. For the Greeks, sharing a meal with friends, either at home, in a restaurant or a taverna, is a deeply rooted social affair.
The Greek word symposium, a word as ancient as the country itself, if translated literally means drinking with company. The atmosphere in typically Greek restaurants and tavernas, is very relaxed, informal and unpretentious. Food preparation, on the other hand, has its own sacred rules. Good amateur cooks are held in great esteem in their social circles. A good houseperson in Greece, means a good cook. And a good cook can spend days preparing a meal for his or her friends. Greece is a land of vibrant cuisine. It is food that is neither spicy nor bland, but rich in the flavors of the Mediterranean Greek specialties have arisen from the bounty of foods that grow on the sun-kissed land, especially olives, lemons, nuts, tomatoes, and grapes. The Greek cuisine has the following secrets: the good fresh ingredients, the judicious use of herbs and spices, unique vegetables, the famous
Greek olive oil, which is present in almost all Greek dishes. Due to the mild Greek climate, forced growth of vegetables is not widespread. Therefore most vegetables are grown naturally and full of aroma and taste. The herbs, that almost all the Greeks collect from their mountains and countryside, are renowned for their taste, scent and healing properties. That’s why Greek dishes are famous for its aroma of oregano, thyme, spearmint or rosemary. Greek cuisine is also well known for its cheeses and particularly feta. As lambs and goats in Greece are free-grazing and the pastures are very rich in herbs, the meats have a unique taste not to be found anywhere else in the world. Greek olives, of which there are many varieties, adorn salads, meat and fish dishes, and even hearty breads. Olive oil, of course, is the primary fat used in Greek cooking. Ripe lemons are used to add tang to both sweet and savory delights. Pine nuts are used particularly with pilafs, appetizers, and meats. Almonds and walnuts are used generously in desserts. Fresh tomatoes are an important part of meat and fish preparations, often used along with spinach and eggplant. Tomatoes also make perfect salads, served simply with olive oil and traditional aged red-wine vinegar. Grapes are not only used in cooking and for wine, but grape leaves are used to wrap a variety of fillings for unique appetizers. As far the meat is concerned it is the lamb, that is the principal meat in Greek cooking. The common Greek herbs are basil, parsley, mint, and dill. Garlic and onions are also an integral part of Greek seasoning.
There is also a great choice among the Mediterranean fishes. They are often seasoned with herbs, and marinated in olive oil and lemon juice. As in other European countries, legumes are commonly
86
487 The data was collected from: http://www.focusmm.com/greece/gr_coumn.htm http://www.sallys-place.com/food/ethnic_cusine/greece.htm http://www.a-zoftourism.com/travel-tip-1831-c4-Greek+Cuisine.htm http://www.thatsgreece.com/online/article.asp?returnPage=SECTION&group=2&section=45&articleid=462 http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce/ExecMacro/hellasintl/greece.d2w/report

used in Greek menus. Chick peas, or garbanzo beans, are probably the most common. These are often cooked, then pureed to a paste-like consistency - seasoned with garlic and sometimes lemon juice and herbs - to create first course salads. The purees are also served as spreads along with hearty breads. Cheese is an important part of Greek cuisine. Feta cheese, made from goat's milk, is white, crumbly, and very pungent. It is used on salads, meat dishes, spread on bread, or even wrapped in grape leaves and grilled. Kefalotiri is another popular variety that is harder; it is grated and used like Parmesan. Yogurt is also important to Greek cooking. It is used for desserts, sauces and soups. As far as pasta is concerned it is also rarely used in Greek menus. Finally desserts also play a significant role as a part of the Greek meal. Typically these are sweetened by a honey syrup that is poured over the prepared desserts.
Spanish cuisine 488
Spain controls the crossroads between two seas -- the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. It is exceptionally mountainous and climatically it is much drier than the rest of Europe. The landscape ranges from arid mountain pasture to lush orchards and meadows, from magnificent coasts to rural or sophisticated towns. History and geography have intertwined to create one of the most varied and rewarding cuisines in the world. It was influenced the most by two cultures. The Spaniards inherited
Moors cooking elements and imported tomato, potato, sweet potato, vanilla, chocolate, many varieties of beans, zucchini, and the pepper tribe from the New World. That’s why cuisine in the Iberian peninsula echoes the cooking of the Middle East (honey and cumin) and that of the Americas (dishes combining meat with chocolate). Essentially, Spanish cooking is relatively simple to prepare and characterized by fresh ingredients. Besides meat, poultry, game, and fish entrees, there are a wealth of dishes featuring beans, rice, eggs, vegetables, and savory pies that make a meal. Tapas -- small morsels or appetizers in great variety -- play a role in meals throughout the day. Spaniards are very fond of garlic, they love all types of sweet and hot peppers and their beloved jamon serrano -- cured ham. The golden spice saffron enhances many Spanish foods, paella in particular. Spain's most famous wine -- sherry, both dry and sweet -- flavors entrees and desserts. Spaniards also adore oils and citrus fruits. Food in Spain is taken very seriously. Dining is an indispensable ingredient in the country's ebullient social lifestyle. Meals are long and leisurely, providing an opportunity to enjoy good company, freshly prepared dishes, and fine wines, such as the world-famous Riojas. Breakfast and dinner are very simple meals in Spain. Breakfast is usually just coffee or hot chocolate. It is served with a biscuit or churros, a kind of fritter. Lunch isn't eaten until about 2:00. Dinner is rarely eaten before 9:00. Dinner is often just soup, bread, cheese, and fruit. A potato and onion omelet is sometimes served. While eating habits and hours are more or less uniform throughout Spain, the cooking can be quite different. Spain is sharply divided by regions, each with its own culinary traditions and dialects. In general, there are six major gastronomic zones in mainland Spain.
The North is one of the richest culinary areas. The fish and seafood of Galicia is one of the worlds finest. Basque cooking is world famous, and its codfish recipes, "pil-pil" or Vizcayan style, and its delicious baby eels are some of Spain's finest food attractions. Asturias proposes "fabada", a magnificent bean stew, and the excellent regional cheeses with a good bottle of cider.
The Pyrenees is a zone that specializes in marinade sauces known as "chilindrones". Aragon offers an infinite number of dishes with these tasty sauces as well as the fine ham made in Teruel.
Cataluna is the land of casseroles. Besides these typical dishes are its fine sausages, cheeses and regional sauces, some of them world famous, such as "ali-oli", made with garlic and olive oil.
Valencia and the surrounding region specialise in rice dishes. Besides their famous "paella", the Valencians are able to prepare exquisite rice dishes with any type of ingredients - meat, chicken, seafood, vegetables or fish. Also exquisite is the rice dish from the region of Murcia known as "caldera",
488 The data was collected from: http://www.spaintour.com/cusine.htm http://www.auburn.edu/~jfdrake/teachers/gould/cuisine.html http://www.epicureantable.com/spanish.htm http://www.sallys-place.com/food/ethnic_cusine/spain.htm
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
87 or caldron.
Andalucia is the land of fried food. There is also gazpacho, the exquisite cold vegetable soup, and
Jabugo ham from the province of Huelva which is a true delicacy.
Central Spain is known for its roasts. Lamb, veal, sucking pig, young goat and other meats are slowly roasted in wood ovens to give them an especially delicious texture and taste. The fine hams and cheeses, and some of the best sausages in Spain, round out this region's culinary offering. Madrid, so closely linked to Castille, has strong cuisine identity with a large number of typical dishes from the city. Among them are "cocido madrileńo", a nourishing meat and vegetable stew, Madrid style triple and exquisite sweets
The Balearic Isles have created certain celebrated specialties that have been exported around the world. Among them are mayonnaise, originally created in the city of Mahon, in Menorca. In Mallorca,
"ensaimadas" are exquisite light pastries, while "sobrasada" is a tasty sausage.
The Canary Islands offer a very imaginative cuisine that has had to overcome the limitations of the islands produce. Many dishes include fish and a famous hot sauce known as "mojo picón". There are also magnificent tropical fruits from the island such as bananas, avocados and papayas.
The most popular snack in Spain is tapas. They are small portions of food that are eaten before lunch or dinner. They are not like potato chips or pretzels but are prepared dishes. Some examples are pieces of fried squid or octopus, spicy sausage, cheese, eggs, olives, fruit squares, and candy made with almonds. Wine and beer are very popular in Spain. The most famous drink is sherry, a blend of several wines and a little bit of brandy. Sangria is a national drink of wine mixed with fruit and spices.
Horchata is a milky drink made from almonds. Chilled coffee with milk and ice cream floating on top is a popular drink with many children. The most popular dish in Spain is paella. It consists of mainly rice and meat, fish, shellfish, and vegetables are added to it. Many foods from all over the world are also sold in Spain. For examples, Spain now has all of the major American burger chains like McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's.
Gmyrek Paweł, Jurczak Marta, Maksym Agata
FILM FESTIVALS IN EUROPE
Introduction
It will not be a mistaken judgment to call film festivals, particularly those international ones, the events that keep on changing not just the spirit of film art but also the course of world-famous cinematography. This is the fact, that there are no literature festivals running and those devoted to the theatre are rare. To the contrary, film festivals are blooming and multiplying, giving national cinematography a chance to develop.
Those who know festivals from written relations only, disclosing nothing but their official side and those who do not immerse themselves into their backstage and history– they do not know anything at all about their mystery and glamour. Each festival has two faces– the one the spectators can see and admire and the one that exists only in the backstage; where film makers and film producers fight for new opportunities to make their artistic dreams come truth.
The most famous festivals have pioneered the way to international success to several, yet unknown, national cinematography and made rather provincial film makers become prominent and worldfamous artists. But for Venice or Cannes, the world would have never known Akiro Kurosawa, Ingmar
Bergaman and Andrzej Wajda whose Grand-Prix award for
„Kanał” drew world’s attention to polish cinematography yet mostly ignored.
For such kind of cinema– diverse but undercapitalized– international film festivals should rightly be considered a way of promotion too daring to be even dreamt of. As the festivals expanded after the
World War II, the number of participants increased as did the number of films accepted, the festivals

have become even more promotion– focused events and tourist attraction. Such a good attendance of the festivals attract encourage the national authorities to support the events in order to promote not just the festival venues but also the whole regions. Thousands of accredited journalists and critics responsible for promotion devote in-depth articles and specials to the festivals and its films. Crowded press conferences organized on a daily basis with the participation of directors and actors from the films presented attract a mass audience to each screening.
Opposite to the Hollywood’s hierarchy of values, paid by show business bosses, festivals have introduced distinctive criteria based on artistic rather than commercial values.
Nonetheless, the participation itself in the festival does not guarantee an ultimate success. A decision about where to show, that is to say, which festival to choose is equally important, since the film has ambitions to leave its rivals behind and eventually win the competition.
Not including around hundred television festivals and film fairs organized at present, there are 165 festivals of film running on an annual basis, 9 of which are classified by IFFP in, so called, group A.
However, only three international film festivals- Cannes, Venice and Berlinale– are commonly regarded as „main” or „decisive”. It is worth emphasizing that all those important events are originally held in Europe.
The group A, mentioned above, consists of feature films’ festivals with a competition statute, hence official international juries and Grand-prix awards. According to IFFP’s regulations nothing but „virgin” films, with no former festival experience, that is to say, yet unknown to international audience, can be presented on festivals of such prestige.
This compilation is devoted to the greatest extent to those three, so called, „main” international film festivals run in Cannes, Venice and Berlin and partially to four other, less glamorous, but, in my opinion equally attractive festivals held in Karlovy Vary, San Sebastian, Łódź and Warsaw.
In further parts of this compilation festivals will appear in order of importance, testified by their vivid history and the approval given by the international audience.
The Beginnings
There is no doubt that Cannes has always been the first and the most important film festival. Always increasing number of guests nowadays reaches up to 10000- including 4000 accredited journalists
(over 50% from the international press ), and over 1500 media from approximately 75 countries.
Remaining 5000 consists of the main actors of the films shown at the festival, official representatives of film institutions and other film festivals, producers and distributors.
Showing a film in Cannes guarantees a maximum number of spectators compared to what the same film could achieve at any other festival or event in the world.
In 1939 the French government decided to create the “Festival International du Film” as a reaction to the growing political influences at the main European film festival in Venice , which at that time began to favour German and home productions. The French chose Cannes “because of its sunny and enchanting location”, however the first festival was postponed due to the war. In 1945 the “Association Francaise d’Action Artistique” was asked once again to organize, for the following year, a Festival that would be held under the aegis of The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and from 1946 onwards, of the newly founded National Centre for Cinematography. From 26.IX.1946
Cannes has been gaining in fame and has become a major crossroads for the international film scene, reflecting new trends and evolution of the world cinema.
Cannes has kept is original atmosphere of a feast (very strongly emphasized in the 50’s and 60’s), luxurious gala assembling the famous and wealthy from all over the world. Promoters try to attract the maximum number of so called “film stars”, in order to satisfy the crowds of fans awaiting their arrival at the famous red stairs of the palace and in front of TV screens all over the world.
Due to an always growing number of participants the organizers decided to show each film three times. This resulted in separating shows into those for critics (usually taking place one day before an
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] official premiere), and the main gala gathering the producers, film stars and special guests.
The festival has discovered, established and honored directors who, by their presence in Cannes, also contribute immensely to the prestige of the event. Aside from the screenings, numerous cultural and artistic activities (debates, tributes, retrospectives, productions and filmed documents) have enriched the palette of the Festival, thus helping both the art and industry of cinema.
Cannes Official Awards: Palme d”Or, Grand Prix, The Award for Best Actress, The Award for Best
Actor, The Award for Best Director, The Award for Best Screenplay.
Cannes’ Palme d’Or is the most important and desired of all film awards. The jury also grants the second Grand Prix, and the Camera d’Or –an award for the best first-time feature film, sponsored by
Kodak. In order to satisfy as many people as possible the promoters have also introduced a few other, smaller awards, which often don’t have a big, if any prestige or importance.
A glamorous and snobbish atmosphere of the festival has unfortunately a few negative consequences. One of them is underestimating the East-European cinematography, which does not have so many world famous film directors and almost none equivalent to the western perfectly looking film stars, with their catchy names. It is much more difficult for Eastern films to get through the preelimination process, than to compete in the main Festival.
Until 1992 Polish films were qualified to the Festival 27 times, which place our country in the 12 th position, right after Mexico. The biggest Polish success in Cannes was Andrzej Wajda’s “Człowiek z żelaza”, which won The Golden Palm in 1981. Furthermore in years 1954, 1957 and 1961 Poland won
Silver Palm (“Piątka z ulicy Barskiej”, “Kanał”, “Matka Joanna od aniołów”) in 1973 and 1988 The Jury
Prize (for “Sanatorium pod klepsydrą”, ”Krótki film o zabijaniu”) in1980 a prize for direction (“Constans”) and in 1990 and 1991 two awards for the best actors (“Przesłuchanie”, “Podwójne życie
Weroniki”).
The Beginnings
The Venice International Film Festival is the world’s oldest festival of film, and was first held seventy years ago, as part of the XIII Venice Biennale (sculpture exhibition), from 6 to 21 August, 1932. The
„Prima Esposizione d’Arte Cinematografica” came into being under auspices of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, President of the Biennale, the sculptor Antonio Maraini, General Secretary and Luciano
De Feo, General Secretary of the International Institute for Educational Cinema.
It was Rouben Mamoulian's "Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde" screened on August 6th, 1932, on the terrace of Hotel Excelsior, Lido, which gave birth to the first Venice Festival. 25 film selected, in the first
Mostra by its director, represented 7 countries. Foremost films, presented within that 15 day event, became classics in the history of cinema. Italy was represented by Mario Camerini's „Gli uomini che mascalzoni”, whereas René Clair's "A nous la liberté" was outstanding among French films.
As there were no official awards, an audience referendum was conducted which chose the Soviet
Nikolaj Ekk for „ Putjovka v zizn” the best director and Rene Clair’s „A nous la liberte” the best comical film.
The second festival was held from 1 to 20 August 1934 and for the first time it included a competition, however, there was no official jury. The „Coppa Mussollini” awards for best foreign film and best
Italian film were assigned by the President of the Biennale, after taking into consideration the opinions of both experts and audiences. Not until 1935 did the festival become an annual event under the direction of Ottavio Croze. The official statute it was given testified its granted international success and prestige. Other cities– Brussels and Moscow- started to copy Venice but, at the end of the day, they hosted only single events for the Venice Festival become an annual event. In 1935 the actors’ award was renamed „Coppa Volpi” and a year later, in 1936, an international jury was nominated for the first time.
In the 1930s the Festival screened masterpieces such as „A nous la liberté” (1932) by Rene Clair’s,
„La grande iIlusion” (1937) by Renoir, „Un carnet de bal” (1937) by Duvivier, „Quai des brumes”
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(1938) and „Le jour se lève” (1939) by Marcel Carnè. During the Second World War the Festival was held three times, from 1940 to 1942, with screenings temporarily moved to the cinema San Marco in
Venice for safety reasons. They all aroused rather little interest which resulted in a limited audience of the member countries and sympathizers with the Alliance participating. Besides, at those days, the
Festival deeply suffered from the fascist regime that took over the Festival, subjecting it to strong propaganda. In result, at the consecutive festivals in 1940, 1941 and 1942 the Grand Prix awards were invariably assigned to German or Italian films.
Following the pause due to the war, the Festival re-opened again in September 1946, which is the year, when the first Cannes Festival had been held in the spring. In spite of the fascist history and the strong competition, Venice managed to play the key festival role later on. Less international and less glamorous than Cannes, Venice maintained though its outstanding prestige of the most artistically focused event. There were two things that the Venice Festival took advantage of: the most prestigious but not sensational jury and the minimum number of awards assigned, ranging from the Grand
Prix for best film through the Special Award, to two „Coppa Vipoli” for best actor and actress.
The 1947 Festival had a record audience of 90 thousand spectators and it is said to have been one of the best festivals which gave recognition to the USSR and the new democracies including Czechoslovakia, which won first prize for „Sirena” by Karel Stekly.
In 1949 the Festival was transferred back to the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido and the famous
Golden Lion of St. Mark was introduced as a Grand Prix for best film.
In 1950s the Lido was overwhelmed by anything glamorous and soon became an essential part of social life those days. The cinema stars– Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren, Silvana Pampanini, Claudia
Cardinale, Marcello Mastroianni and foreigners Paul Newman, Burt Lancaster, Elizabeth Taylor and
Richard Burton– attended on an annual basis. The Fifties witnessed the contrast between commercial formula and cultural formula. In 1956 the qualitative criteria gained the upper hand to the extent that the jury, chaired by John Grierson, did not award the Golden Lion, which became compulsory as of the following year.
The Festival proceeded during the Sixties and extended its broad international project commenced in the post-war years.
When the era of Luigi Chiarini came, filmmakers were given precedence instead of the country they represented. Chiarini imposed a new artistic rigor and confirmed the role of the Venice International
Film Festival as an authoritative and innovative; from 1963 to 1968 he renewed its spirit and structure. Chiarini was a coherent and authoritative director who spent six years organizing series of films according to strict aesthetic criteria, regarding selection and resisting the social scene, political pressures and the interference of the film industry. However, the Festival still had a statute dating back to the fascist era and could not release from the general political climate. And then the year 1968 turned out to be the one of a great change.
Starting from '69, and for the eleven consecutive years, the Festival had neither jury nor Lions and was even suspended in 1973. The Festival was opened to a mass audience; most of the screenings were free and they were moved from Lido to the historical city center of Venice. The films selected for screenings were usually, contrary to the Festival held on the Lido, low–budget, half amateur but foremost ideologically appropriate productions. Many films of a desirable, artistic quality were deliberately keeping away from Venice in order to compete in more prestigious and, basically, competitive festivals. To top it up, the date of the festival was constantly changed and, in result, it often collided with the fixed dates of other festivals. It must have been to the detriment of Venice. The festival has thereby lost its position, giving precedence to its main rival- Cannes.
It was not until 1980 when the Venice Festival, under the direction of Carlo Lizzani and later on of
Gian Luigi Rondi and Guglielmo Biraghi, regained lost prestige and time. In 1980 the Golden Lion was seen back at the event and along with it came new generation stars. Such influential directors as
Fassbinder, Kusturica, Almodovar, Scorsese, Wenders and Moretti, they all have written the history of recent cinema through the Venice Festival.
In the 1990s the Festival has confirmed its international prestige and has seen a series of ingenious directors, introduced with great success, who herald well for the future history of international cinema.
The Venice Festival Today
Contemporary Festival is made of several sections: official feature and short film competitions as well as a number of parallel sidebars.
Sections:
Venice (Venezia) - traditional competitive section for full-length and short films given their world premiere or not yet publicly screened. The Golden Lion Award is assigned for best film.
Upstream (Controcorrente) - competitive overview of full-length films, which aim to be innovative and offer creative originality, and which represent various trends and features of contemporary cinema. Films will be given here their world premiere or the first screening outside of their countries of origin or in Italy. The San Marco Award is assigned for best film in this section.
New Territories (Nuovi territori) - an experimental workshop, including some remarkable innovations, which is a window on the cinema of tomorrow. Short, medium and full-length films, both documentaries and fiction, realized using traditional or new technology, are presented within this section. Recently produced films in various formats will be presented which have not yet been screened outside of their countries of origin or in Italy.
International Critics' Week (SIC - Settimana internazionale della critica) – a non-competitive series of 7 first feature films selected independently by the National Association of Italian Film
Critics (Sindacato Nazionale Critici Cinematografici Italiani SNCCI).
The Venice Screenings - a projection room and video box are available, thanks to the Industry
Office, to producers and distributors to facilitate their contacts with buyers and promoters.
Mostra also includes retrospectives and tributes, as a contribution to a better awareness of the history of cinema. However, their number is limited due to the fact that the infrastructures is lacking on the Lido (the complex of Palazzo del Cinema and only one small cinema are often insufficient).
Thanks to the Italian government and local authorities who strongly approve of the Festival, there is a chance to extend the festival complex of buildings and even move the screenings to the historical city center. That will certainly change for better the contents of the festival program.
It seems to be incomprehensible why the unique night section Venezia Notte introduced by Rondi was eventually cancelled a couple of years ago. It was the only section of this kind ever running concurrently with the international festival. It was a non–competitive section made up of the best entertaining films of the very year, that is to say, though representing quite interesting and important category, not usually screened at the festivals. Though questionable, its true diversity was giving the map of the world’s best productions. Such initiative is not continued any longer.
The films compete within particular sections for the following awards:
Venice (Venezia). The International Jury assigns the following awards to full-length films, without any possibility of ex-aequo: Golden Lion for Best Film, Jury Grand Prix, Special Director's Award, Award for an Outstanding Individual Contribution, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress,
Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress.
Regarding the short films, the Jury will assign the following awards, without any possibility of exaequo: Silver Lion for Best Short Film, UIP prize for Best European Short Film, One Special Mention.
Upstream (Controcorrente) - the International Jury will assign: San Marco prize of Euro 50,000, without any possibility of ex-aequo, to be divided in equal parts between the director and the producer,
Jury Special Award, Two Special Mentions.
"Luigi De Laurentiis" Venice Award for a First Film-Lion of the Future-this award is assigned to one of the debut feature-length films presented within the different sections of the Mostra.
The Golden Lion of St. Mark was once only assigned to Poland in 1984 for “Rok spokojnego słońca”
89

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] by Krzysztof Zanussi. In 1958 the Golden Lion went to “Ostatniego dnia lata” by Tadeusz Konwicki at the parallel festival Mostra Internazionale del Film Documentaire later suspended.
It is worth mentioning that the Venice Festival’s dossier (extensive catalogue, press cuttings) is up to the highest standards, contrary to Cannes.
BERLIN
The Beginnings
Another leading festival is Berlin Film Festival with its unofficial name- the Berlinale. The founding of this festival in 1951 goes back to an initiative of three western Allies in post-war Berlin. The city saw itself as the “Window on the Free World” and there was a general desire to recapture Berlin’s onetime significance as a European center of the arts and film culture. Its intention was to support a better cooperation and understanding between cultures from around the globe by presenting innovative works of merit.
Dr. Alfred Bauer was named a director of the festival. The inaugural film, shown during the first event in 1951, was “Rebecca” by Alfred Hitchcock. The main award from the very first festival was the
“Golden Berlin Bear”, which was designed by Renee Sintenis. In the initial years recipients of the awards were decided upon by audience vote. However , after the International Association of Producers officially elevated the Berlinale to the status parallel to that of the festivals in Cannes and
Venice, it was possible to appoint an international jury awarding not only “Golden”, but as well “Silver
Bear”.
Notwithstanding, the political status of Berlin hindered the participation of films from Socialist states for many years (with the exception of Yugoslavia). At the beginning of 1970’s, together with the improvement of international relations, films from the Eastern Block took part in the Berlinale, which also consolidated position of this festival.
Berlin has also had very good relationships with “majors” from Hollywood. Americans have not usually been keen on showing their productions at the European festivals; however the predominant part of the best Hollywood films has been shown in Berlin.
Neither the Berlinale nor the festivals in Cannes and Venice were left unaffected by the sociopolitical protests of the late 1960’s. In 1970 situation came to a head as the result of screening of a film
“O.K.” by Michael Verhoeven dealing with the situation in Vietnam and depicting American soldiers killing Vietnamese children. The jury resigned and the competition was halted. In the ensuing discussions the demand for an additional, independent section arose, with its purpose to be the presentation of new, progressive and ambitious films. It was the reason to establish in 1971 the “International
Forum of New Cinema”, which has existed alongside the traditional competition and has had its own jury and awards.
As far as appointing date of the festival is concerned, in 1978 Berlin resigned from organizing festivals in July. Although it was very attractive and touristy date, they changed it into February as to improve its position among two others major rival festivals. And as it turned out later it was really worth it.
In 1979 the participating Socialist countries, including Poland, staged a protest after screening of
“The Deer Hunter” by Michael Camino. After that incident an improvement of relations with the Socialist nations stood foremost on the agenda. The Berlinale proved itself once again to be an important cultural and political junction between East and West, this aspect also finding expression after the reunification of Germany.
Numerous directors and actors, that are today part of film history, were "discovered" at the festival.
Directors such as Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Roman Polanski and Francois Truffaut enjoyed their first successes in Berlin.
Berlin Festival Today
Berlin International Film Festival is divided into several sections, in which different genres of cinema are presented. These are:
Competition- presents a board range of internationals films, which were produced within twelve months preceding the beginning of festival and have not been shown outside their countries of origin.
Panorama- informative section presenting films not accepted to Competition, as well as distinguished world productions,
Children’s Film Festival,
Perspective German Cinema- it is kind of platform for young German filmmakers,
New German Cinema- recently released German films,
Forum- presents new, progressive, ambitious films,
Retrospectives- historical section presenting films of one thematic field, for example cinema of the II world war, totalitarian cinema.
As far as awards are concerned, the international jury grants following prizes for feature films: Golden Berlin Bear for Best Film, Silver Berlin Bear for Best Director, Actor and Actress as well as for an artistic contribution and the best film music. Except these, it also awards Blue Angel for best European film and the Alfred Bauer Prize for a work of particular innovation. This year’s newly established
International Short Film Jury awards prizes for short films screened in the Competition and Panorama sections as well as a scholarship for the New York Academy for the director. There are also plenty of independent juries granting its own awards as ecumenical jury or the International Film Critics Association (FIPRESCI), which makes Berlin a festival with record number of non-statutory prizes.
Among those films awarded with Golden Bear are:
2003- “In This World” by Michael Winterbottom
2002- “Bloody Sunday” by Paul Greengrass, “Spirited Away” by Hayao Miyazaki,
2001- “Intimacy” by Patrice Chereau,
2000-“Magnolia” by Paul Thomas Anderson.
1999-“The Thin Red Line” by Terrence Malick.
KARLOVY VARY
The Beginnings
The most significant film event in Central and Eastern Europe is International Film Festival in Karlovy
Vary. One of the oldest festivals in the world was founded in 1946, but had been considered even before the Second World War. After the nationalization of the Czechoslovak film industry in 1945 the
Ministry of Information and Culture supported the idea of creating festival, being aware of film’s social importance. The first non-competition festival took place in Marianske Lazne and Karlovy Vary and presented not only Czechoslovak films, but also from Western Europe as France, England and the
USA. After the two first years festival moved permanently to Karlovy Vary.
After the Communist takeover in 1948 it was entirely under the control of the current political establishment, which reflected in the selection of films, the conferral of awards and the invitation of guests. In 1948 the festival competition took place for the first time and awarding the Grand Prize
Crystal Globe became a permanent part of this event. The Grand Prize went then to the Polish film
“The Last Stage” by Wanda Jakubowska. The festival was used as a propagandistic tool in the ideological struggle against the West. Films, included in the program, had to present the victory of socialism and the struggle for independence from colonial and imperialist dominance. If any of the films from capitalist countries wanted to find its way to the program, it had to deal with class conflict and the difficult life of working people.
An international jury was selected for the first time in 1951, although it consisted of excessive number of unknown people from Socialist countries. In 1956 a new slogan was given to the festival:
“Towards a more noble relationship between people, and a lasting friendship between nations” as to emphasize its political character. The numerous number of awards also bore predictable names: the
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Europe at Present [Spring 2003] peace and work awards, the award for the struggle of freedom or social progress, the award for friendship between nations, the award for the struggle toward a better world and many, many others of the same kind. What is interesting all these awards were regarded as the main ones, but the award for the best director was only ninth in terms of its importance. Very popular and true, at the time, was the statement that in Karlovy Vary each film was granted an award, except for the best ones (usually Western). The jury tried to ensure than no film from socialist or developing country would lose and recognized socialists’ efforts in competition films.
In the middle of fifties the festival program begun to include films from so-called third world. Thanks to the great international interest in such films, many major filmmakers from Western Europe, especially from France and Italy, were invited. The festival prestige also grew, when in1956 FIAPF designated the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival as a category A-“non-specialized festival with a feature film competition”. Unfortunately, due to the founding of the Moscow International Film Festival and the political decision to organize only one “A” festival per year among socialist countries,
Karlovy Vary was forced to switch off with Moscow between 1959 and1993.
During the sixties, less restrictive era of Communist propaganda, the program of the festival was able to include films of the latest artistic trends in internationals cinema and of the Czechoslovak new wave. Films stars from around the world visited the festival every year and top filmmakers came as members of the festival jury. The festival greatly elevated its standing among others international festivals.
In a year of so-called Prague Spring (1968), the organization of the festival fundamentally changed.
Festival regulations were reworked: the tradition competition was not held and in place of international jury three independent juries were set up.
In the seventies ideology came first again and Karlovy Vary became a festival of slogan films from socialist countries. The system for evaluating films once again went back to that one from the early fifties with a variety of juries conferred as many as forty awards at each festival. The quality of the festival fell together with the public’s interest. Standards were only maintained in the informative section where viewers had still the opportunity to see key international movies as well as films awarded at other festivals.
The great social and political changes that took place after 1989 finally freed the Karlovy Vary festival from political pressure. During the event in 1990 the public enthusiastically welcomed a collection of
Czechoslovak films, which had been locked up for years in storage vault.
In 1992 the festival faced financial problems and nearly ended its long tradition.
Happily, nothing like that happened and the Karlovy Vary festival in 1994 inaugurated an entirely new tradition .An independent foundation, responsible for the preparation and organization of future festivals, was instituted and distinguish film actor Jin Bartoska was asked to be the president of the foundation. Besides, after forty years of alternating with Moscow, it was decided that festival in Karlovy Vary once again would be organized on a yearly basis. The program was divided into several sections that became the basis of the program for the future.
In 1996 the category A of this festival was given to the new Prague International Festival for that year, although crowds of young people filling cinemas in Karlovy Vary quickly quelled the disappointment after that incident. The festival’s popularity was on the rise with thousands of spectators watching films and hundreds of journalists and foreign guests arriving. Thanks to this success Karlovy Vary was once again designated as a category A festival, while Prague IFF died after its second year.
Karlovy Vary Festival Today
The festival program is comprised of the following sections:
Official Selection-Competition- includes films made during past 18 months that have not been previously shown in the competition section of another international film festival,
Documentary Film Competition- is divided into two parts-films less than 30 minutes and films longer than that,
Horizons- informative section presenting important films from last season international festivals as well as many premieres,
Another view- specially chosen collection of experimental films, along with lesser-known film productions, and those with uncommon and creative approach,
East and West- presents contemporary films from former Socialist block countries,
Forum of Independents- productions from the world of recent independent film,
Variety Critics’ Choice- magazine’s critics introduce in cooperation with European Film Promotion a special collection of European films,
Czech Films- an overview of Czech productions made during the past year,
Retrospectives ad tributes- several thematic retrospectives presenting the work of a certain world-renowned film personality or a particular period,
Special Events
According to the Competition section jury grants awards: Grand Prix-Crystal Globe for best feature film, Special Jury Award, Best Director Award, Best Actress and Actor Award. As far as Documentary
Competition is concerned, there are two awards for Best Documentary Film of each category. Every year the festival also presents the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema. Additionally there is Philip Morris Freedom Award, designed for film directors from Central and Eastern
Europe, whose films are included in the “East and West” section and awards granted by non-statutory juries as FIPRESCI, FICC and Ecumenical jury. The official jury, however, is not the only one voting, because audience is also able to choose their own best film.
SAN SEBASTIAN
The Beginnings
International Film Festival in San Sebastian in Spain is one of the oldest festivals in the world and has been held in September each year since 1952. It is not so important as the other mentioned already, but has also an international recognition and is renowned for its high artistic level of productions presented at the festival.
Its main intention is to introduce Latin American Cinema to European public. Its Grand Prix is called
Golden Shell. San Sebastian Awards are probably the highest prizes in the world-around 120 000
USD-to up-and-coming directors and producers. It is very interesting and unprecedented that the award for debutant is higher than for the best film. The reason for that, according to organizers, are problems that beginners have with collecting funds for the next film and the festival wants the award to serve as a contribution to completion of new projects.
September, when the San Sebastian festival is held, is not favorable date in terms of competition for premieres and festival films. It is the most crowded four weeks of the festival calendar, which precede (follow) festivals in Venice and Toronto. That is why San Sebastian has often opted to avoid direct competition with its main rivals by programming impressive sidebars and retrospectives as to create a deceptively rich and busy festival. For this reason, film stars in particular are deliberately courted by the festival, and many are drawn to its beautiful seafront setting.
Notwithstanding, in order to obtain better access to films, while there was a harsh rivalry among international festivals, directors of San Sebastian festival appointed in1991 fourteen ”delgados generales” all over the world, whose task was to observe productions of world cinematography. Such a delegate in Poland was for a long time Jerzy Płażewski.
Polish films were awarded several times at this festival. In 1958 Golden Shell went to “Ewa chce spać” by Tadeusz Chmielewski. 1992 was also very successful for Poles with three awards for
“Zwolnieni z Życia” by Waldemar Krzystek and special mentions for a debutant Marcin Ziębiński for
“Gdy Rozum Śpi”.
San Sebastian Festival Today
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There are four kinds of films presented at this festival: Documentary Films, Feature Films Cinema,
First and Second Films and Short Films. They are evaluated in accordance with sections:
Official Section- the competition of recent world productions not show at others international festivals,
Zabaltegi-this is an informative section, which offers a complete overview of newly released films and the best films that have been presented at others international festivals
Retrospectives- divided into classic, thematic and contemporary, dedicated to classic directors different active filmmakers
Made in Spanish- films from Spain or Latin America or those featuring the Latin community throughout the rest of the world
Films in Progress- includes fictional feature films, which have difficulties with post-production stage. Its aim is to facilitate the completion of films by presenting them to the group of professionals who can contribute to their completion.
As far as awards are concerned, the international jury has the obligation to grant the following awards: Gold Shell for the best film, Silver Shell for the best director, actor and actress, Jury Prize for the best photography and screenplay. Additionally, there are New Director Award, Made in Spanish
Award and A Youth Prize (awarded by over 200 students).
The audience is the one who grants Pearl of the Audience Award by choosing a film from among those in the Zabaltegi section already shown at other International Festivals. In 1986 the Festival created the Donostia Prize, awarded to a great film personality in recognition for their work and career.
CAMERIMAGE
The Beginnings
The history of Camerimage goes back to year 1993 when a small group of Toruń film enthusiasts decided to invite two of the most famous cinematographers, Sven Nykvist and Vittorio Storaro. To their delight (and astonishment of Polish film world), these two distinguished artists accepted the invitation to a brand-new festival. No one doubted that the inaugural Camerimage Festival should focus on the legendary camera virtuoso, Sven Nykvist and his artistic partner, Ingmar Bergman.
Although in subsequent years the idea of the Festival attracted attention of many cinematographers,
Sven Nykvist has remained its greatest enthusiast and ardent supporter by annually celebrating his birthday during Camerimage.
From its debut in 1993, the Festival has been an ever-growing event, which is nowadays attended by over 220 cinematographers, representing some of the most influential societies from all over the world.
Within the last ten years, the organizers succeeded in achieving their stated goals of providing a forum for meetings and discussions about the art of cinematography, and establishing a venue, where opinions and aesthetic impressions regarding contemporary filmmaking could be debated. This aspect of the Festival also proved attractive to many directors and actors, who also became frequent guests at Camerimage.
In the process, Camerimage became an exceptional meeting place, where guests and audiences have a chance to see the latest achievements in filmmaking by attending numerous screenings, workshops, seminars and panel discussions.
In 1997 the promoters decided to create the Student Competition Section, which apart from giving young filmmakers a great opportunity of showing their achievements, plays an important educational role as well. This section includes student film competition (judged by the main competition jury) as well as numerous workshops, seminars and group meetings with master cinematographers and directors. In a few short years, this part of the Festival became very popular, attracting over 800 students from all corners of the world. Foreign students participating in the Festival also benefit from Polish
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] families' hospitality through a specially created Homestay Program, where visiting students are lodged in private housing.
The Festival also relies on a large amount of volunteers, recruited from local schools and colleges, who are fluent in one or more foreign languages. They assist the Camerimage team during the Festival and serve as translators, guides and assistants for international guests. For seven years the Festival took place in Toruń, however in the year 2000, Camerimage moved to its new headquarters in
Łódź, Polish film capital and cradle of national film industry, as well as the site of world-famous Film
Łódź School. For three years now, the Festival was held in the Grand Theatre, located in the heart of the city.
Every year Camerimage Film Festival Jury honors authors of the best films of the year with regard to their visual values with Gold, Silver, and Bronze Frogs as well as film students with Gold, Silver, and
Bronze Tadpoles for the best film etudes. Recognizing important aspects of teamwork during the process of filmmaking, directors of photography created honorary awards for directors with special visual sensitivity and for director–cinematographer duos. Outstanding film personalities like David
Lynch, Peter Weir, Roland Joffe, Norman Jewison, Jim Jarmusch, John Schlesinger, Carlos Saura,
Bernardo Bertolucci, Mike Leigh, Joel Coen and Andrzej Wajda were among the recipients of such honors. Camerimage Golden Frog is also granted to an Actor for Extraordinary Contribution to the
Development of Movie Artistry.
Literature:
IMG, Dynamiczna i statyczna historia kina, „Kino”, 2003, nr3(430)
Kuczok Wojciech, Nigdzie, czyli w Europie, „Tygodnik powszechny”, 2002, nr 30(2768)
Olszewski Jan, Ze ściągą i bez, „Kino”, 2002, nr12(427)
Płażewski Jerzy, 75 najważniejszych, „Film na świecie”, 1992, nr1(392)
Płażewski Jerzy, 75 najważniejszych, „Film na świecie”, 1992, nr2(393)
Płażewski Jerzy, 75 najważniejszych, „Film na świecie”, 1992, nr3/4(394)
Płażewski Jerzy, Berlinale 2003: Nie było nudno, „Kino”, 2003, nr4(431)
Płażewski Jerzy, Nietolerancja niejedno ma imię, „Kino”, 2002, nr9(424)
Płażewski Jerzy, Pierwszy po 11 września, „Kino”, 2002, nr4(419)
Płażewski Jerzy, Z polskiej perspektywy, „Kino”, 2002, nr7/8(422-423)
Sczepański Jerzy, Camerimage 2001-zapiski operatora, „Kino”, 2002, nr 2(417)
Sobolewski Tadeusz, Berlin, 16 lutego, „Kino”, 2003, nr3(430)
Internet sources: http://film.onet.pl/kino http://film.guardian.co.uk http://www.berlinale.de http://www.berlinale.filmweb.pl http://www.camerimage.org.pl http://www.cannes-fest.com http://www.cannes-on-line.com http://www.festival-cannes.com http://www.festival-cannes.org http://www.filmfestival.com/int/overviews/2000 http://www.filmfestivals.com/misc/_content.htm http://www.filmfestivals.com/sanseb http://www.filmfestivals.com/venice_2000/film.htm http://www.german-cinema.de http://www.iffkv.cz http://www.indiewire.com http://www.interfilmberlin.de http://www.mffkv.cz http://www.mostra.com http://www.republika.pl/nagrody_filmowe/festiwale.htm http://www.sansebastianfestival.ya.com http://www.wff.pl http://www.venicefestival.com
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Małgorzata Czoch, Łukasz Momot
LIFE IN IBIZA
A married celebrity was overheard in Ibiza explaining to a friend she was late because "I had the best sex ever this afternoon". This might come as a shock to her long-term partner who was left behind in London.
During every summer up to 2.000.000 of Britons leave their motherland and go to Ibiza. All of them have one (maybe three) thing in common: sex, drugs and... techno. The Spanish island is considered to be the world's capital of clubbing. Clubbing which means alcohol, ear-splitting rythm, being on drugs two weeks in a row, neverending and unconcious sex and finally morning chill-out sessions.
History & Geography
Ibiza is the third largest of the Balearic Islands and together with Formentera forms the "Pitiusas" islands, that is what the Greeks called them, and it means "islands of pine trees". The population is
80.000 inhabitants and the island enjoys an excellent climate with an average annual temperature of
21,5° C maximum and 14° C minimum.
Ibiza is divided between 56 beaches distributed along the entire coastline of Ibiza and thus, while you travel through countryside set off with the remains of more than 2,600 years of history, you can choose, with the help of this guide, the beach which best suits your personality or the needs of your family.
Clubbing
Even though Ibiza is still a notoriously expensive place, its position of world clubbing capital seems to be very stable. Spanish island has still the biggest and the best clubs, spectacular in both their interior decoration and gimmickry. Top DJs and promoters move en masse to Ibiza every year, and they are always followed by numerous punters. The most famous clubs are all in Ibiza Town, San Antonio, or on the road between them. The season begins in May and ends in September. The opening and closing parties are the most important events during the season-they gather the largest crowd of cognoscenti.
The best clubs in Ibiza are:
Amnesia:
Halfway between Ibiza Town and San Antonio, Amnesia used to be open-air club. Unforunatelly for the clubbers the venue's owners have been forced to muffle the sound of thumping bass with special walls and roof. It is best known for its foam parties and a dry-ice maschine that shots jets of cold air up through vents in the floor. Last year Amnesia hosted the Liverpool superclub Cream.
Es Paradis:
Es Paradis is said to the most fashionable and the most famouse venue in Ibiza. It hosted last year another distinguished british club-Clockwork Orange from London. The dance-floor is flooded twice a week for Fiesta del Agua, which people tha \n splash about in. In that club there is even a special hydraulic system that lifts up the roof to let in the early morning sun.
Pacha:
Opposite the Marina in Ibiza Town, this is one of the few clubs on the island to keep its doors open all year round. Ministry of Sound are in residency over the summer.
Privilege:
This enormous club in Santa Rafael has room for 10,000 people in all - and the Monday-night antics
(bad behaviour) when Manumission are in residence, have made it an Ibiza legend.
As well as the British promoters, this year sees an invasion by the Dutch as both Dance Valley and
HQ (both clubs in Amsterdam) take up residency on the island for a season of hard house music.
Two of California's biggest clubs, Giant and Release, are also planning to make their presence felt
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] this summer.
Ibiza as a clubbing capital of the world is also notorious for drugs. For a raver from Britain dancing and later chilling is impossible without drugs. It is estimated that every year over Ł200m worth of drugs are sold on the island. Dealers in Ibiza operate in the open air without any uneasiness. They are aware of the fact that only a handful of arrests will be made.
To come by few ecstasy pills, some cocain or speed is very easy. People like "Lizard" (drug dealer), usually Spaniards, are everywhere. You can find them in every hotel or on every beach curled up on a plastic sun lounger. You can get your order right a way. Sometimes it takes time but in most cases not longer than ten minutes. Otherwise you may change the dealer to the one that is handing out flyers for a club that opens at 8am on Sunday and closes 22 hours later.
Selling drugs has nothing in common with surreptitious hiding or cover. Dealers are not looking over their shoulders. They simply pocket the money and nobody in the vicinity seemsto notice. There are never any police officers on sight.
Playa d'en Bossa, known to everyone as Bora Bora beach, is one of the trendiest places on Ibiza. It is a clubber's idea of paradise - great music, cheap drugs and high expectations of casual sex.
According to Michael Birkett, the vice-consul who resigned in horror at the behaviour of British tourist last year Bora Bora is a hedonistic hell. Very intriguing and surprising is the attitude of the Ibizans.
They constantly moan and nag about the excess every now and then, but they are very pragmatic: drugs and clubs are a fantastic bussiness.
While tales of orgy, hooliganism and vandalism have constantly shown up on the headlines over the past five years, British police have been trying to come to a conclusion how the drugs trade has developed unchecked and why their Ibizian colleagues had not noticed anything alarming.
Some progress was made last year. Both sides, the British and the Spanish rolled up their sleeves.
Investigetors at the national criminal intelligance service (NCIS) began cooperating with the Spanish authorities over ways to stop smuggling drugs to Ibiza and other Balearic islands-Majorca, Menorca, and Formentera.
During their research they uncovered some revaling statistics. In 1997, 600.000 britons were staying in Ibiza. The total number of Britons arrested for ecstasy possesion that year across the Balearic islands was two, neither of them in Ibiza. According to official Spanish reports no Britons were arrested for ecstasy possesion anywhere in the Balearic islands between 1990 and 1996.
In 1999 700.000 Britons went to Ibiza and 23 were arrested for drug offences. In 2000 almost
1.000.000 Britons were staying in Ibiza during summer. Almost thirty of them were arrested, but it is not clear how many of involved ecstasy. The Civil Guard on the island is overworked-out of season, the population is just 83.000 and crime rate is low. Astonishing may be the attitude of the Ibizan police. The anonymous source says: "The island is the drugs capital of Europe, probably the world, during the summer, and it has been for many years, but who would guess it? The police want to be seen to be doing things, but they are not very constructive. They can't understand the idea of intelligence-led policing. If they see someone trafficking or dealing, they will step in. But they don't look for it." Even basic techniques are ignored. Officers do not check tourists at the airports or search cars comming off the ferriesin the ports at San Antonio or Ibiza Town. John Abbott, the director general of
NCIS, led a British delegation to Madrid and Ibiza last year to encourage a more proactive approach, without much success. "We don't get any meaningful information from the police on the island", says
Abott. "Either the police don't know what is going on, or they do know and they are not telling us.
We have to accept that they have their own way of doing things. It's frustrating, but there is nothing we can do."
This idyll for the drug dealers is hopefully about to change. The authorities have began relevant procedures and the investigators from several European countries have begun to concentrate on the island. Although British drug dealers often fly to Ibiza, the bussiness they run is considered to be
"incidental and opportunistic". It is commonly known that most of the drugs are bought in Amsterdam, where prices are cheapest. There is no manufacturing on the island. Currently there are two
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Europe at Present [Spring 2003] pan-european surveillance operations under way that may make traffickers use more sophisticated methods than driving a car crammed with drugs from Holland and cathing a ferry to the island.
"That's about as difficult as it has been up until now," said one dealer, who was drinking in a bar in
San Antonio, a rowdy town on the west of the island that is overrun by Britons between May and
September.
Drugs, mostly ecstasy but also cocaine and speed, fuel the dance culture, and with 35 British clubs hiring venues this year, including Cream, the Ministry of Sound and Manumission, the biggest headache for dealers is letting punters know where to buy their pills and having enough of them to go round.
Accorcing to Howard Marks, the one-time drug baron, who has been working on Ibiza as a writer during the summer, the street trade is controlled mainly by Spanish gypsies, who recruit people such as Lizard to walk along the beaches during the afternoon and tout for business.
The club managers disassociate themselves completely from the dealing, but it is clear that some of the people who hand out flyers are taking advantage of their preferential position to make extra cash. They either supply drugs or they can point you to someone who can.
After eleven the town completly changes. Obese, dressed in knee-length shorts and a t-shirt with print regarding his belly "it's not fat, it's my sex maschine tank" Briton starts crawling towards the beach. Typical view of the British tourists. When he finally gets to the beach he starts almost 20 hours long party. Most of clubs are closed at about 4-5.00am. The streets become flooded with drunk youngsters.
Jose Luis Montoya, a reporter on Diario de Ibiza, the daily newspaper, says: "A lot of holidaymakers tell us this is the way they bought drugs." According to Montoya the gypsies do not have a monopoly: "The dealers who work the clubs in cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and London during the
The situation slightly changed last summer. Among those "party-people" appeared a group of surprisingly sober and fresh holidaymakers. It is a group of young christian missionaries. They were trying to help the unconscious, escort them to a taxi, sometimes give them a ride home. They were trying winter go out to Ibiza in the summer, because that is where the money is."
The notorious Adams family, from north London, have been linked to the trade in newspaper reports, and Pat, the eldest of the brothers, is known to be in Spain after leaving the country to avoid MI5.
However, drugs investigators are sceptical about such claims and suspect British dealers, who use codenames such as Professor and Big M, are only "half-way up the food chain".
So far, local dealers and those who come from Britain for the summer have worked side by side.
There has been no fights and battles for territory. There is simply so much money to be made. In
Ibiza has been no shooting for as long as anyone can remember. "The gypsies run the show," says
Marks, "but there are a lot of Britons taking advantage. The demand for drugs is so high - it's a seller's market, with millions of pounds being made every week." Finding the links between the frontline dealers and the traffickers is problematic. Rumours suggest that criminals in Spain are supervising the operation and they are in connection with a small number of businessmen on the island.
According to Ben Turner, editor of the clubbing magazine Muzik, the club owners have "secret backers who stay in the shadows, but nobody really knows who they are".
The drug squad officers declare war to drug dealers. The number of Britons in nearest holiday will probably reach 2.000.000. Among them there will be more dealers and more drugs. Those dealers will surely become tighter and more aggressive gangs. As one of them says: "With so much money and so few controls, one day the place will explode."
A change?
Last summer a new kind of Britons came to Ibiza. Completly different from previous fat, drunk and delirious sex-tourists.
Before eleven o'clock San Antonio is a regular Spanish town. White small houses, narrow streets and a couple of elderly ladies on their way to church.
The seat of the 24/7 group is placed on "disco road" leading to Manumission-the biggest club in the world. The members of the group are not young christian fanatics. They do not differ from the rest of the tourists in Ibiza. "We love clubbing, otherwise we wouldn't be here", says Mark, "we pray in clubs". They work in groups of 7 and have a very heavy schedule. Things they do are cleaning the beaches, playing their music, talking about Christianity. The 24/7 group do not face any hostile attitude in Ibiza. "Here everything is accepted: sex, drugs, alcohol and even God," says Becs. She thinks that it would be much harder to do similar things in Britain. Every member of team is oblidged to obey strict rules (they are at work here): no alcohol, no drugs, no involvement in closer relationship with other team member. tonight the team was partying in Space(best world club 2001). James and
Vicky were dancing for four hours with hands up in the air without any speed but God.
The idea of the action was put forward by the local parson Edrick Corban-Banks. According to the reverend the local inhabitants hate Britons but on the other hand they need their money. He says that it is good for the Ibizans to see the other kind of the British. "That group of young people goes to work full of faith," says Corban-Banks.
One of the British club managers says "It is pretty obvious the Britons who come out here are smalltime. The island has a way of protecting its own people. They have five months of the year to make as much money as they can before Ibiza goes to sleep. Up until now, there has been very little trouble. I am not paying protection money and I don't get hassled by gangsters. It is the main reason why working out here is such good fun. You don't get the kind of drug-associated violence and intimidation you get in Britain. I am not involved in the drug scene here, and there is no pressure to be involved."
The whole town of San Antonio is very impressed by 24/7. There is even a documenary about them.
Not only clubbing
There's more to the island than the party scene. Far away from the clubbers and San Antonio, the real Ibizan magic and charm can be found in the still relatively undeveloped north-east of the island.
There, amid the pine-clad hills, the beautiful agricultural heart of Ibiza still beats, the deep-red earth supporting groves of almonds, olives and oranges. By virtue of its isolation and precipitous coastal cliffs, the area also lays claim to some of the quietest beaches on the island.
Marks says the criminals have not transfomed into mafia-style gangs - yet: "I am the type of guy who tends to attract that kind of attention wherever I go, and I have to say I have not come across mafias in Ibiza. It is not the Spanish way. The scene is less organised than that at the moment, probably because security on the island on the whole is so poor and the police don't get uptight about who is selling what. The relationship between the clubs and the police is surprisingly good."
Techno fans in Ibiza are delighted. The conditions in Ibiza are as if especially created for them.
Turner, who flew to the island to join 7.000 others at a Ministry of Sound evening at Pacha nightclub says: "Most of the people who go to Ibiza for the music don't get involved in any trouble, so what's the big deal? The island has a unique atmosphere. We have tried other places, such as Portugal and
Cyprus. But nowhere else give you the freedom to misbehave."
Cala Benniras, about 5km north of Sant Miquel, is the long-standing hang-out of the island's dreadlocked division who also provide a dramatic drumming accompaniment to the sunset on Sundays. A little further east along the coast, Cala Xarraca is a great spot for swimming, while east of the quiet, unassuming village of Santa Carles lies Cala Mastella.
Some of Ibiza's most beautiful apartments and hotels are also found in the north of the island. Can
Marti, placed among the hills outside Sant Joan lies at the end of a long road and is the very charcteristic for an Ibizan rural idyll.
If you should happen to gain consciousness during the daylight hours, don't neglect the beauty of the island itself - it's surprisingly easy to find the perfect secluded cove. If you want fire-twirling, nudity and a continuous soundtrack, on the other hand, then head south of Ibiza town for the beaches of
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Las Salinas and Es Cavallet. Beniras beach in the north of the island has sunset drumming and more of a hippy vibe, while some of the best beach bars can be found along Playa d'en Bossa. You could also try your luck at jet-skiing, water-skiing, banana and ringo rides on San Antonio's beaches. Learning to dive in Ibiza's clear waters is another good way to refresh.
Not only Ibiza
We should not forget about other islands and places of the region not only for clubbers. Here are some Places of strong recommendation
Ayia Napa (Cyprus):
This is not the new Ibiza, but the holiday home of UK garage. Going out here costs a fraction of the price of a night in Ibiza, which means it tends to draw a younger, downmarket crowd. There are a lot of venues to choose from, many of them with new sound systems this year; most are clustered around Seferis Square in the centre of town.
Faliraki (Rhodes):
With some of the best beaches on the island, Faliraki is where sun- loving fun-seekers head for.
There are two help fully-named streets in Faliraki, Bar Street and Club Street - and that's really all you need to know.
Kavos (Corfu):
Corfu's clubbing capital gets damn hot in the summer and visitors respond by being most active at night. Booze is cheap and the bars are heaving. Kavos is most lively during June, July, August and early September. Clubs and bars start to close around the third week in September, although the season continues until the end of October.
Bibliography: http://www.bangkok-private.com/ibiza_e/index.htm http://wiem.onet.pl/wiem/000f34.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/ http://www.wrx.zen.co.uk/britnews.htm http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Forum, Seks, piwo i Bóg, nr 45, s. 32-33.
F. Northampton, Ibiza-a mediterraean lifestyle, Oldenburg 1999.
Monika Straszak, Dawid Borys
ORGANISED CRIME IN EUROPE
I Organised crime in general
1. Does organised crime mean the same what mafia?
When most people think of organised crime their point of reference is often one that is informed by
American gangster films. The portrayal is of a somewhat romantic hierarchical 'mafia' family, who hale from the 'old country' of Sicily, and dominated by an immigrant Italian Godfather who came to prominence through the importation of olive oil. The term Mafia is often used generically to describe all organised crime, but this is somewhat misleading. Much of the organized crime that exists in
Europe today is extremely varied in its makeup and structure. At the opposite end of the scale to the tightly woven fabric of a Mafia hierarchy that forges strong 'family' allegiances, is the loan operators who buys in criminal expertise from freelancers, who specialize in violence, and sophisticated organized theft etc., as and when it is required. There also appears to be much co-operation and interaction between criminals, which can serve to make themselves more profitable and more efficient, benefiting from each others skills and criminal expertise.
But the problem in any study of organised crime is the lack of research in this field, largely because of the necessity of organised crime to remain clandestine in its operations. Many observers have pointed to the fact that there still exists a Mafia 'Godfather' myth attitude towards organised crime within many policing and security institutions within Europe. This has hampered criminologists attempts at formulating an operational definition of organised crime in order to reach a de facto understanding of the complexities of organised crime. Much of the evidence on organised crime is based on empirical studies only, and as a consequence this has led to simplistic definitions that have given rise to the idea of organised crime as an homogenous entity, and without variation. The Mafia, hierarchical family-based model, as discussed above, is an all pervasive definition. Another is that all criminal group activity that requires some form of co-operation should be defined as organised crime.
2. Finest and detailed definition of organised crime.
The Fijnaut group, created in 1995 by a Dutch Parliamentary Committee, more usefully defines organised crime as 'a group or network of people which is primarily focused on illegally obtained profits, and in a systematic way commit serious crimes with great societal consequences. These groups or networks are capable of effectively covering up their crimes, in particular by using violence or means of corruption.' (cited by Jansen and Bruinsma, 1997, pp.85-98). They also seek to distinguish organised crime from professional, corporate and white collar crime, and terrorism. In essence, organised crime then falls into two distinct criminal categories: the supply of illicit consumer goods (esp.drugs) and services and the infiltration of legitimate business such as banking, toxic waste industry, transportation, construction industry etc. etc. (Jansen and Bruinsma, 1997, pp.85-98).
What seems to mark out organised criminal activity from ordinary crime is the high level of entrepreneurial skill that is applied to its operations. This leads to the conclusion that many organised criminals are highly intelligent, and often possibly highly educated, extremely adaptable and adept at utilising and exploiting political and economic changes and technological advances. They then make use of these factors and take advantage to their great benefit, ultimately amassing huge amounts of money and making massive profits.
3.Terrorists- should we count them to organised crime groups and why?
It is perhaps even more erroneous to exclude terrorism from a definition of organised crime. This can be argued on three levels: firstly, historically, organised crime has been known to evolve from political resistance groups; the IRA, perhaps, empirically provides an example of the blurring of terrorism and organised crime. Secondly, it is widely thought that there is a high level of collusion between terrorist and conventional organised crime groups. Thirdly, the areas of criminal activity that are profit motivated are identical.
It could be argued that the only difference is one of ultimate motivation, namely the furthering of political ideology rather than profit for its own sake. But it is, perhaps, naïve to regard their criminal activities as the pursuit of ideology only. Terrorist groups are well documented as being involved in drugs trafficking, and making extremely large profits. The PKT are said to command much of the drugs trafficking flowing through Turkey that eventually ends up in Europe. The profits made from drugs is said to be used to buy arms for the Kurdish revolt against Turkey. It has also been suggested that they also launder money, and this has '...grown into a full-service business co-ordinating the production, use, and transportation of illegal drugs, particularly in Western Europe.'
Within the above definitional framework it could be argued that the criminal behaviour of terrorist organisations, such as the PKK, is very much akin to that of more conventional organised crime. With drugs production, trafficking and the subsequent laundering of money, arises the assumption of a high level of organisation and high level of entrepreneurial ability; one of the major defining factors and aspects of organised crime.
II Organised crime in certain countries
1. Italy
1.1. Mafia’s history
Italy is often referred to as a home of all organised crime, as in this country mafia was created. The origin of the word mafia is a bit of a mystery. Some say that it is derived from an Arabic word for refuge, while others say that it is derived from a Sicilian adjective implying courage, strength, agility,
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Europe at Present [Spring 2003] quickness, endurance, and intelligence. Others claim that the word mafia was an acronym for Morte
Alla Franciese Italia Annella, which meant Death to the French is Italy's Cry and that it was at the beginning a resistance group fighting against the usurping French Bourbons, who annexed Italy around 15 489 th century.
I have come across two others theories concerning the origin of mafia. According to the first one the Mafia was started in Sicily during medieval times to protect the estates when the landlords were not there. The second one claims that the mafia originated in Sicily as a secret society to unite the Sicilian natives, who had fled to the hills in order to escape from Arab and
French invaders.
By the 19th century, the Sicilian mafia had grown larger, more powerful, and more criminally oriented. The members were sworn by a strict ethical code called omerta. That was a group of rules and if you broke one you died. The Mafia became so strong that they became politicians and were able to influence police forces and gain access to weapons. By 1924, the Italian mafia had become powerful enough to attract the attention of Mussolini 490 . The Italian government under Benito Mussolini tried to control the Mafia but it came out strong again after World War II. Because of Mussolini being so strict members of the Mafia moved to the United States where they then led many criminal activities especially during Prohibition. By the 1930's it moved into other illegal activities. What is interesting is that the Mafia helped the Allied forces during invasion of Sicily in 1943 and Allied forces in return gave the
Island back to the Sicilians ( that is also to the Mafia ) 491 .
After the World War II mafia got interested in drug trafficking 492 .Since than the face of the mafia has changed from the faceless, mysterious, and impenetrable power that it was fifty years ago. Fifty years ago, no member of La Cosa Nostra would have considered breaking omerta, the code of silence which, in many ways, is responsible for the power of the mafia. To do this was to be labeled a "rat"
(called that because a rat will do anything to survive) and be marked for certain death. Today, things are different. It has been blamed on drugs, and it has been blamed on youth. One thing is certain: powerful members of the mafia have broken omerta, and the entire organization has paid the price.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s the mafia was making an explicit attempt to seize actual power in Italy.
They were corrupting 493 , or decapitating, the legitimate leadership of the civil state. Everything started with the declaration of a war pitting the Castellemmarese and their sometime ally, the Corleone fraction headed by the ruthless Toto Riina, against two enemies: other mafia clans, who for their own reasons opposed the new strategy, and the Italian state. Since the struggle began in 1978 as many as 900 Italians per year have died in its gunfire and bombings. In the mid 1980’s government decided to put an end to this blood bath. Thanks to testimonies of Mafiosi Tomasso Buscetta and splendid work of judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borselino in 1984 maxi trials nearly 400 mafiosi were put behind bars. But the Mafia was not defeated.
In the end of 1980’s and 1990’s it started to cooperate with organizations based in Turkey and post-
Soviet Russia; the Colombian cocaine cartels and their operations in Spain; and ethnic Chinese triads from East and Southeast Asia, which have established key overseas bases in Rotterdam and London.
At a lower level, the transport and marketing of contraband was and still is managed by syndicates of
Nigerians, Moroccans, Pakistanis, Lebanese, Albanians, and a potpourri of ex-Yugoslavs.
In 1992 – after judges Falcone and Borselino were both brutally murdered
Giulio Andreotti 495
494 - another war against the
Mafia has begun. 1993 one of top mafiosi Toto Riina was arrested and sentenced and Prime Minister
was indicted for connections to organized crime. But this war is still far from being won by authorities. Some people claim that the front-page arrests were only to distract public opinion and that mafia is now stronger than ever 496 .
Proof for that might be the research by the French government, according to which more than $20 billion per year in laundered cash alone winds up in Palermo.
What is more Palermo ranks a dismal 80th among Italian urban areas in reported per capita income
(it has virtually no legitimate profitable industries or commercial significance) - but a dynamic fifth in annual consumer spending.
By tradition, only men could take the blood oath that seals entrance into the Honored Society, as the
Mafia calls itself, however nowadays evidence is building that many women are now as much a part of the Mafia as their men. Some women have taken the place of their arrested husbands, taking over businesses ; some are lending their "clean" names to money-laundering businesses ; others are used by the mafia to slip messages in and out of high-security prisons.
1.2 Mafia in today’s Italy
A parliamentary report issued last month said the Mafia controled 30% of Italy's rubbish disposal companies, including toxic waste disposers, generating £4.6bn annually. According to Confcommerci, a business association, mobsters control 20% of the shops and 15% of the factories, generating around £92bn a year. Their combined assets are thought to be enough to pay Italy's national debt 497 .
Generally the term 'mafia' 498 is nowadays used to describe all organised crime groups operating in
Italy. These include the Cosa Nostra 499 and the Stidda (Sicily), 'Ndrangheta (Calabria), Camorra
(Naples) and the Sacra Corona Unita (Puglia).
The largest and most important once are Sicilians and their Calabrian counterparts from ‘Ndrangheta.
The Sicilians import the drugs; the Calabrians distribute them, mainly to northern cities. The whole
Italian drug trade is apparently controlled by families from Calabria.
In Sicily there exist 190 clans with 5,192 members. The Palermo region alone has 89 families with
3,201 members. They range from the Brancaccios, whose 203 members run rackets and drugs, to a two-member operation in the Vucciria food market.
Trapani, on Sicily's western tip, comes next with 982 members, followed by Agrigento, Caltanissetta,
Catania, Enna, Messina and Syracuse. Historically the Mafia has been weaker in the east. Running the show is the new boss of bosses, Bernardo Provenzano, known as "the tractor" for mowing people down. He has been on the run since 1963, raising the suspicion that he has bought off the police.
And according to the GDF 500
5,194 members.
, there are about 144 'Ndrangheta 'families' in Calabria, comprising some
'Ndrangheta 501
The 'Ndrangheta is very much like other mafia groups. It is involved in a number of activities. These include drugs and arms smuggling, standover, extortion, kidnapping, inter-family violence, other violence, bribery, corruption, ballot rigging and so on. But there are also characteristics which distinguish it from other such groups, these are:
Fida. This is when all members, including women and children, of a family, ‘Ndrangheta or non-
'Ndrangheta, are killed. The reason for the fida may be for revenge or for a minor reason such as a fiance reneging on a promise to marry or a dispute on the road.
Attitude towards becoming a pentito
489 According to “Bloodletters and Badmen : A Narrative Encyclopedia of American Criminals from the Pilgrims to the Present” by Jay
Robert Nash.
490 He was known as the iron prefect ( Cesare Mori).
491 For more detailed history of Mafia look at : http:// glasgowcrew.tripod.com/sicilian.html
492 1980s every year Sicilian-processed heroin worth $750 million was exported to New York City alone.
493 More than 6,000 Italian bureaucrats, corporate executives, and politicians (among them a staggering 438 deputies and senators) are under investigation or have been indicted on corruption charges of one kind or another. One estimate is that the mob has paid $40 billion in bribes to executives and officials over the past decade.
494 They were not the only victims. See : http://www.mojones.com/mother_jones/MJ95/viviano.html
495 However he was never sentenced.
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496 See : http://www.mojones.com/mother_jones/MJ95/viviano.html
497 See : http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4104072,00.html
498 It has been also called The Outfit, The Arm, The Clique, The Tradition, The Syndicate, The Honored Society, The Office, and The
Combination.
499
500
501
This means : this thing of ours.
GDF - Guardia di Finanza (Italian Financial Police).
More information about ‘Ndrangheta : http://www.austrac.gov.au/text/publications/austracpapers2/paper6.html

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Pentito is other name for state witness. A lot of the success against Sicilian organised crime has been due to the valuable information passed to law enforcement by pentiti. There have been more than
100 Sicilian pentiti. A pentito's life span (and the information he provides) is often short and the penalty for disloyalty to the Cosa Nostra is death. In Calabria, the pentito tradition is very weak there had been only one to twelve Calabrian pentiti.
Sicilians tend to make a decision to join an organised crime family when they are young men; Calabrians are more born into an organised crime family and it is almost inevitable that their future will involve the 'Ndrangheta. Because of these factors, the code of silence (omerta) is exceptionally strong amongst the 'Ndrangheta and it seems that few even contemplate becoming a pentito.
2. Russia
When Gorbachev effectively dismantled Communism in 1989, the pre-existing Organised criminal network, both of Eastern Europe and Russia, were quick to take advantage of the new opportunities that the politically and economically weak situation afforded. The process of transition meant that there was a fundamental change in the role of the state in East European countries and Russia. The state now had a diminished role in the economy and society as a whole, which is synonymous with the limited interventionism of the liberal, laissez-faire, capitalist economics that were embraced by
Gorbachev.
The coercive tendencies and strict monitoring of civil society, that characterized the communist state, were greatly weakened, and the state's role in regulating the behaviour of the citizens was considerably lessened. The re-introducing of the concept of private property rights through the privatisation of
'national' property and the re-privatisation of property taken unlawfully from the owners by the state in the communist period, was also a factor in the increase in crime. The freedom for people to engage in private business enterprise, and the opening up of borders between the former communist countries, which allowed for the relatively free movement of people and goods, all facilitated organised criminal activities. Jerzy Jasinski points to the fact there was a fundamental turn around in attitudes to the law. He says that 'Under communist rule, what was permitted by law was often also forbidden; during the period of transition, in the practice of everyday life, what is forbidden is also allowed: the weak state has no effective means and its functionaries do not have the political desire to enforce the law.' (Jasinski, 1996, pp.40-50).
This point is an important one to make. Many of the police forces of the new CIS countries and Russia have been left somewhat in the wilderness, and are ineffectual because of the lack of resources, proper training and low morale. Because of their former role as agents of the state, there to enforce ideology, their public and self-image is confused, and far from the 'service' role that has been fostered by the UK police, for instance.
2.1 Smuggling of nuclear weapons
Another lucrative Mafia interest is the trafficking of radioactive material. The soft frontiers of Eastern
Europe let cesium, mercury and uranium pass and reach different countries where there are laboratories for the manufacture of nuclear weapons.
Mr Joseph Genovese of the FBI expressed concern of this new crime at a conference in Catania: "The nuclear weapons' traffic is very worrying. Plutonium and uranium are easily stolen from Eastern
Europe laboratories, even though the amounts are too little for the nuclear weapons' building." The conference in Catania also looked at illegal control of public construction contracts in the former East
Germany, where Mafia gangs have invested many billions of Marks
2.2
Organization and Structure. Facts about Russia- conclusion
Russian Organized Crime Groups and Structure in Russia - In early 1993, the Russian Ministry of
Internal Affairs reported there were over 5,000 organized crime groups operating in Russia. These groups were comprised of an estimated 100,000 members with a leadership of 18,000. Although
Russian authorities have currently identified over 5,000 criminal groups in that country, Russian officials believe that only approximately 300 of those have some identifiable structure. Organized crime groups in Russia are not nearly as structured as those in the U.S., such as the LCN.
502 Translated from: Dictionary: Prison, Camp, Blotnoi, Jargon
97
Knowledgeable sources within the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have provided one model of the structure of groups in Russia. The principle behind this structure is to minimize contact with other cells that could lead to the identification of the entire organization.
Each boss, called a "pakhan," controls four criminal cells through an intermediary called a "brigadier."
The boss employs two spies that watch over the action of the brigadier to ensure loyalty and that he does not get too powerful. At the bottom of the structure are criminal cells specializing in various types of criminal activity or functions such as drugs, prostitution, political contacts, and "enforcers." A similar structure places an elite leadership on top which is buffered by support and security personnel from the street operators who are commifting the crimes. Street operators are not privy to the identity of their leadership. Strategy and planning is done only at the top echelon in order to minimize the risk of detection
2.3 The Thieves’ Code 502
Thieves' Code of Conduct - There is a traditional code of conduct within this old style of organized crime in Russia called "Vory v Zakone," or thieves in law. This group existed throughout the Soviet era and continues today throughout the republics of the former Soviet Union. In this society the thieves in law live and obey the "Vorovskoy Zakon," the thieves' code. The members are bound by 18 codes and if they are broken, the transgression is punishable by death.
A thief is bound by the Code to:
1.
Forsake his relatives-mother, father, brothers, sisters...
2.
Not have a family of his own - no wife, no children; this does not however, preclude him from having a lover.
3.
Never, under any circumstances work, no mafter how much difficulty this brings-, live only on means gleaned from thievery.
4.
Help other thieves - both by moral and material support, utilizing the commune of thieves.
5.
Keep secret information about the whereabouts of accomplices (i.e. dens, districts, hideouts, safe apartments, etc.).
6.
In unavoidable situations (if a thief is under investigation) to take the blame for someone else's crime; this buys the other person time of freedom.
7.
Demand a convocation of inquiry for the purpose of resolving disputes in the event of a conflict between oneself and other thieves, or between thieves.
8.
If necessary, participate in such inquiries.
9.
Carry out the punishment of the offending thief as decided by the convocation.
10.
Not resist carrying out the decision of punishing the offending thief who is found guilty, with punishment determined by the convocation.
11.
Have good command of the thieves'jargon ("Fehnay").
12.
Not gamble without being able to cover losses.
13.
Teach the trade to young beginners.
14.
Have, if possible, informants from the rank and file of thieves.
15.
Not lose your reasoning ability when using alcohol.
16.
Have nothing to do with the authorities (particularly with the ITU [Correctional Labor Authority]), not participate in public activities, nor join any community organizations.
17.
Not take weapons from the hands of authorities; not serve in the military.
18.
Make good on promises given to other thieves.

3. Mafia in Eastern Europe
Opening borders has been a growing problem in Eastern Europe which has been left politically, economically and institutionally weak and vulnerable. Since 1986 and 1989, and open border policy in
Europe, there has been much collusion between European organised criminal groups. It is widely thought that Dutch groups, seeking to extend their operations and drugs markets, quickly infiltrated those of the East, and this had a dramatic effect in raising the sophistication of those groups. Russian organised crime was quick to exploit the new opportunities and they in turn extended their operations westward, and are thought to be heavily involved in the production and trafficking of synthetic designer, drugs such as ecstasy, in Holland.
Organised crime in the former Eastern Block has become a major concern since the iron curtain fell in
1990.
"The situation of organised crime in Eastern Europe is directly connected with economic differences between the East and the West," said Raimond Edward Kendall, the Secretary general of Interpol, at a visit in Slovakia in April 1995. As the country's society has undergone transformation it has seen changes on the criminal scene too: an unprecedented rise in the crime rate and the emergence of new elements in criminal activity, like organised crime. "Because of the high figures involved in illegal operations, certain people are able to commit large-scale criminal activities in an indirect way, using others entrusted with specific assignments. Such groups show a clear tendency to engage in criminal activities in a well-planned and systematic manner," Jozef Holdos, President of Police Corps in Slovakia said as he explained the complexities of the almost impenetrable structures.
Organised crime has all the features of illegal business. Dirty money is invested to increase the dimensions of crime or it is legalised through money laundering. Although organised crime existed before 1989, it inevitably lacked the strong international character of today.
It has been only too visible since the borders were opened.
3.1 Slovakia
According to the Slovak police, former Yugoslavians seem to be prominent organisers of the new forms of criminal activities in Slovakia. They use Slovakia as a go-between country, where they stay after committing offences in western countries. Before 1989 their practices were eased by there being no cooperation with Interpol. Nor were international warrants valid in Slovakia or the other
Central and Eastern countries. That all changed in 1990. Organised crime was then able to reflect the situation in a given country. Within the country changes have been made that have benefitted criminals. Since it was re-written, Slovak law has included loopholes that are favourable to the rise in organised crime. As the economy moved towards a market economy it became easier to commit economic crime, but it has not yet reached the dimensions of the advanced economic countries.
3.2 Smuggling of cars and drugs
The police and judiciary too have been reorganised and a government body established to counter corruption and tax evasion. The opening of the borders in 1989 also allowed for the smuggling of cars and drugs. Slovakia has also become an important part of the `Balcan Route' for drug smuggling. These new crimes reflect the current social and economical changes. All have a character of economic crime and include the transit and procurring of jobs for illegal aliens, environmental and computer crimes. "As regards international cooperation, we are interested in mutual exchange of experience, scientific research data from the field of criminology, exchange of information concerning new techniques and general trends in crime," President of Slovak Police Corps explained.
Kosowo and Croatia etc.
Everyone in Kosovo knows that there are only two commodities to discuss in the endless negotiations here: weapons and human beings. And two currencies to pay for them: dollars and drugs.
Kosovo is 90 percent ethnic Albanian, and mostly Muslim. Its people are under the heel of a government in Belgrade that appears ever-more determined to make the province Serbian and Orthodox
Christian again, as it was in the Middle Ages. With good reason, the Kosovo Albanians see themselves as the next candidates for ethnic cleansing; and the Bosnian tragedy suggests that no one in the
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] outside world will take the risks necessary to help them.
No one, that is, except the masters of the Empire of Crime. In return for guns to defend themselves -
- and the greenbacks necessary to smuggle their wives and children to safety abroad -- the Kosovo
Albanians have become central players in the European drugs-for-arms trade. Organized crime reaps the profits. The wretched of the earth pay the price, which in the charnel house of ex-Yugoslavia already amounts to more than 250,000 dead and 3.7 million refugees.
These human numbers are mirrored in a vast flow of cash and contraband that keeps the armies on the march - and the refugee figures mounting. "The Serbs have financed a part of the war in ex-
Yugoslavia thanks to counterfeiting, and also through the laundering of drug money deposited in 200 private banks or currency exchange offices," said German Secret Services coordinator Bernd Schmid
Bauer, following an inquiry into the sources of narcotics in his country. He estimates that $1.5 billion in drug profits were laundered in Serbia last year alone.
Vienna Police Commissioner M. Gunter Bogl says that "part" of the war is an understatement; he is convinced that international crime syndicates are playing "the dominant role" in the Balkan catastrophe. "Their profits are filling a war chest that is managed in ex-Yugoslavia by members of the Italian and Russian mafias," he recently told journalists.
The term used to describe the Kosovo Albanians' role in the drugs-for-guns trade is "camel." By the hundreds, they cross the mountains, lakes, and seas that comprise affluent Europe's outer frontiers -- usually in the dead of night -- carrying the mob's narcotics in one direction and its laundered money in the other.
The Kosovo Albanians have no monopoly on the lower, expendable ranks of the Empire. They are part of an immense tidal wave of desperation that will fuel organized crime recruiting long into the next century. Put simply, the world's stateless nations -- Kosovan Albanians, Kurds from Turkey and
Iraq, Tamils from Sri Lanka, Chechens from Russia, Ibos and Ogoni from Nigeria, and hundreds of other tribes and ethnic groups whose names are not yet in the headlines -- are the army-in-waiting of the new criminal superstate. Or the army already in the field, altering its composition at a rate that befuddles law enforcement authorities
III How to fight with organised crime in globalising world
Although organised crime is certainly not a new phenomena it has become, in recent years, increasingly more widespread and highly sophisticated, taking advantage of the advances in technology, particularly in the field of communications.
It has also been quick to adapt and exploit the changing political and economic mechanisms within
Europe. The last ten years have witnessed great changes in the political makeup of Europe: the collapse of Communism in 1989 and the deepening and widening of the European Union, through the establishment of the Treaties, have all been factors in the contribution to the growth of organised crime. The reasons for the increase in organised crime are many and varied. One of the most important reasons for the sudden increase in organised criminal activity was the signing of the SEA
(Single European Act) in 1986 and its introduction and provision, through Article A, of '...an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured...' also provided a favourable situation for organised crime.
Another important reason for the sudden increase was the collapse of communism in 1989. Although it is widely held that organised crime existed in a form during the Communist years, the end of Communism provided greater and increased opportunities for organised criminal groups. The reintroducing of the concept of private property rights through the privatisation of 'national' property and the re-privatisation of property taken unlawfully from the owners by the state in the communist period, was also a factor in the increase in crime. The freedom for people to engage in private business enterprise, and the opening up of borders between the former communist countries, which allowed for the relatively free movement of people and goods, all facilitated organised criminal activities.
Crime in Europe has been growing since the 1960s, despite considerably increased budgets dedicated
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Europe at Present [Spring 2003] to crime repression. In fact new forms of criminality have appeared. Child pornography on the Internet and worldwide money laundering are to examples of this trend.
1. "organised crime can no longer be fought with national laws alone." 503
Organised crime is becoming highly transnational in character, operating cross-border criminal activities with ease, constituting a problem that touches all societies throughout Europe. It has often been said that criminals might live in one country, commit their crimes in another and sell their illicit goods in another third country. Also organised criminal groups in one country are forging links with groups in other countries and so extending their operations and broadening their markets. That is why most countries are trying to fight with it on international arena. The most important thing is the exchange of experiences between countries. That is why countries such as Italy 504 and United States, which have the best anti – mafia laws and the best law enforcement agencies, should share their knowledge with other countries and help to implement there efficient anti – mafia laws. Such cooperation can take different forms, I will try to discuss the most important of them.
1.1Task Forces
Task Forces are created by groups of neighbouring countries. They are created in order to improve the exchange of experience and information between member states, and to strengthen the ability to prevent and combat organised crime by setting up a close co-operation between law enforcement agencies in each country. An excellent example of such an organisation is the Task Force on Organised Crime in the Baltic Sea Region 505 . To this Task Force belong : Denmark, Estonia, Russia, Finland,
Norway, Poland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, European Commission. This Task
Force focuses on criminality related to narcotics, illegal migration, trafficking in stolen vehicles, illegal arms trade, smuggling of highly taxed goods, forgery of money and securities, money laundering, violent crime, trafficking in women, foreign gangs and environmental crime.
There are other such organisations in different regions in Europe.
1.2European Union
The priorities set by the EU in its fight against organised crime range over: a common approach to crime prevention ; the creation of groups and forums to draw up policy initiatives; the struggle against human trafficking , especially including women and children, sometimes for sexual purposes; reinforcing Member States policy on illegal possession and trafficking in firearms ; tackling money laundering and other economic and financial crime , as well as drugs-related crime and cyber-crime , by which is meant crime of various types carried out on the Internet.
1.2.1 The Treaties
The EU regards organised crime as a major threat to internal security and the democratic process.
First response to organised crime was the Schengen Agreements 506 , signed by France, Germany and the Benelux States in 1985. This then led to the signing of the Schengen Convention in 1990 and then the Schengen Implementation Agreement (SIA) in 1995. Schengens purpose has been to provide the security backup needed for an 'area without internal frontiers.' Schengenland was created to foster greater cooperation between Member State police forces: (particularly hot pursuit and surveillance) and their respective judicial systems (Art 39-47 & Art 67-69 SIA); co-operation in the suppression of drugs trafficking (Art 70-76 SIA); implementing stricter external border controls (Art 3-8 SIA); the co-ordination of asylum policy and the homogenisation of entry and visa requirements (Art 9-27
SIA) and the creation of the Schengen Information System (SIS), a central databank of 'people and objects', (Art 92-119) 507 .
With the Maastrict Treaty (1992) the issue of internal security and crime was dealt with by the creation of the third pillar, Justice and Home Affairs. One of the biggest hurdles that still exists in the combat against organised crime is the lack of co-operation and the diversity and variations in police culture and practices amongst the Member States. Although it is widely accepted that customs cooperation, as promoted in Article K of Maastrict Treaty, has been the most efficient and successful area of all policing and security collaborations within the EU. There has been two customs databases set up, which are SCENT (System Customs Enforcement Network) and CIS (Customs Information System).
The entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999 provided for the development of common actions in the field of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. However, criminal matters taking place within the borders of EU Member States remain under national responsibility.
1.2.2 Europol, Eurojust, European Judiciary Network
By far the most important advance in EU law-enforcement cooperation in recent years has been the development of Europol 508 , the EU’s own law-enforcement agency. Staffed by police and customs officers, Europol started life in January 1994 as the Europol Drugs Unit (EDU). Its purpose then was to coordinate the efforts of national European police forces in the fight against illegal drug trafficking. In July 1999, its responsibilities widened, following ratification by EU Member States of the
Europol Convention. Its fuller range of activities came into operation in July 1999. These include illegal trafficking in drugs, in stolen vehicles and in human beings, as well as illegal immigration networks, sexual exploitation of women and children, pornography, forgery, smuggling of radioactive and nuclear materials, terrorism, money laundering and counterfeiting of the euro.
Eurojust is a unit of national prosecutors, magistrates or police officers of equivalent competence which shall reinforce the fight against serious organised crime.
In1998 the European Judiciary Network (EJN)was established, it provides contact points in the
Member States to help anti-crime professionals with the efficient of information.
1.2.3Programmes
509
The Commission also makes use of its programmes to contribute to improving cooperation between authorities and people engaged in the fight against and the prevention of organised crime. The
Falcone (1998–2002) and Hippokrates (2001–02) programmes are complementary to specific programmes on judicial cooperation (Grotius) and police and customs cooperation (OISIN) as well as cooperation against trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of children (STOP). These programmes will be merged into one single programme from 2003 onwards.
 OISIN programme, which enhances cooperation between law enforcement agencies.
 Falcone programme of exchanges, training and cooperation of persons responsible for action to combat organised crime.
 STOP II programme, for exchanging information between Member States on human trafficking and sexual exploitation of the children.
 Octopus programme, to tackle corruption in eastern Europe. It was set up by the Commission and the European Council.
1.3. United Nations
United Nations organize conferences on organised crime ( the last one was held in Sicily in December
503 According to Liliana Ferraro ( UN representative). See : http://www.prophezine.com/search/database/Issue2/is2.6.html
504 More information concerning anti – mafia law and law enforcement agencies : http://www.austrac.gov.au/text/publications/austracpapers2/paper6.html
505 http://www.balticseataskforce.dk/index.htm
506 http://oz.acmecity.com/magic/583/schengen.doc
99
507
508 http:// www.ex.ac.uk/politics/pol_data/undergrad/Neilson/
http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/fsj/crime/structures/wai/fsj_crime_structures_en.htm
509 http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/fsj/crime/wai/fsj_crime_intro_en.htm

2000 ). During one of such conferences UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime 510 was prepared and signed by more than 120 countries. The Convention is intended to serve as a blueprint for countries to effectively shut down international criminal organizations, eliminate “safe havens”, protect witnesses and block money laundering.
In UN structures there exists also the UN Office Crime Programme (UNODC), which is conducting a systematic assessment of the world's major and emerging transnational organized crime groups according to how dangerous they are and the level of threat they pose to society. Each assessment aims to identify global trends and predict new types of unsavory enterprises and new demands for illicit goods and services 511 .
UNODC launched the Global Programme against Transnational Organized. In collaboration with the
United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), the Global Programme assists Member States in their efforts to curb organized crime.
The main objectives of the Global Programme against Transnational Organized Crime are: to assess organized crime groups worldwide according to how dangerous they are and their level of threat to society; to provide Member States, interested organizations and academic institutions with reliable information and analysis on major existing and emerging transnational organized crime groups; to support and expand the technical cooperation activities of UNODC in devising anti-organized crime strategies; and to assist requesting countries in the formulation of policies and guidelines aimed at preventing and combating transnational organized crime.
Follow the money
"The most important thing we have to remember is that the Mafia is an economic organisation. We have to strike its main interests, that is money because we have learned that this is what hurts such criminal organisations the most. Only in this way can we beat it." – said Gherardo Colombo, a magistrate of the Tribunal of Milan. However "A lot of launderers put their money in the countries where there are no controls on the financial activities," he added. "It is also difficult to receive information from some countries" 512 .
For example in Europe only Italy, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands and Great Britain have national regulations about the money laundering of all criminal activities: drugs, terrorism, weapon traffic, prostitution, smuggling, extortion, organised crime and other illegal activities. Other European countries have national regulations about the money laundering coming from drug trafficking.
Italy is now experimenting with an important new method for fighting money laundering, called
Gianos. It is a computer system that is already used by more than 300 banks which automatically identifies anomalous operations and traces suspect transactions.
But although Italy has a system of identification of suspected transactions it does not work well.
There are so many transactions that it is very hard to identify the illegal activities.
Julia Patorska
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] thing 513 . FBI defines it as the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives 514 . But terrorism has got many faces that vary along the world. So how does the terrorism in Europe look like? I see many patterns that may describe this problem.
Some terrorists groups that operates in Europe are well organised, with clear structure and usually with political party as a legally existing wing. They have many members of which some are very well trained and can cause lots of dangerous situations. Often such organisations are supported financially from other countries. This kind of terrorism exists in the Northern Ireland and in Spain where minorities want to separate from the matrix and gain sovereignty and later create an independent country.
There are also groups that are usually smaller and their actions are more spontaneous. Their arguments are not as strong as those who call for their own country. Sometimes they just assume shape of anarchical movements that oppose legal authorities however can be very dangerous and threaten the society.
There are also terrorists operating outside their native country and often pretend to have a normal life as a refugee or an emigrant in one of the European places. However they still have connections with their motherland’s terrorist organisations and can be dangerous to their new home country. As far as nations are concerned I see mostly Muslims that practise such terrorism.
While there is a talking about terrorism in Europe, most of the people would start thinking about
Ireland and the IRA. The IRA, Northern Ireland’s biggest republican paramilitary group, was founded more than 80 years ago to fight for a united Ireland. Throughout many years the IRA changed a lot, split into fractions and took different lines. Irish Republican Army is not the only terrorist group that operates in Ireland.
515 Besides IRA there are four other organisations that fight with legal power in order to achieve sovereignty for Northern Ireland. They are: Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), Real Irish
Republican Army (RIRA), Red Hand Defenders (RHD) and Ulster Defence Association/Ulster Freedom
Fighters (UDA/UVF). Those organisations count up to 5000 members 516 , with several hundred active in paramilitary actions.
So how it is possible that so many terrorists groups exist in a developed country? Ireland gained independence in 1921 from the UK for 26 southern counties, after the guerrilla warfare. But still there were 6 northern counties (Ulster) that remained as a part of Great Britain.
517 This region became the bone of contention between those two countries. The UK was directly committed to the terrorist problem of Ulster, but the republic of Ireland also had imported role having in its constitution notice about aiming to the unification of an island.
In the 60’s the problem was intensified and started to be perceived as the civil war, where catholic and protestant fighters were clashing at the streets. British army forces had to intervene. But these solutions only strengthen the hatred and terrorists groups were active for many years. The attacks occurred also in the Great Britain and even that following British prime ministers had tried to resolve the issue, not much changed. Finally the IRA declared a ceasefire in August 1994 following the Dowing Street Declaration. This was broken by the Docklands bombing in early 1996, but restored in July
1997. This move allowed Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, to join the peace talks with new
Prime Minister Tony Blair.
518 The agreement was signed in April 1998, and it states that the unification of the Ulster to the Ireland and also any other changes in its status have to be adopted by the most of citizens. The native differentiation of Irish Catholics is accepted and Parliament is the main authority where the proportional principle protects Catholics against the total power of Protestants.
The referendum of May 22, 1998 brought peace to this region, however there are still those that fight
Defining concept of terrorism is not easy. It can be described as the use of violence, especially murder, kidnapping and bombing, in order to achieve political aims or to force government to do some-
510 http://odccp.org/odccp/crime_cicp_convention.html
511
512
http://www.odccp.org/odccp/organized_crime.html
http://www.jmk.su.se/jmk/eurorep/32.html
100
513 J. Sinclair (red): Collins Cobuild English Dictionary, (HarperCollinsPublishers, Glasgow 1997), p. 1723.
514 http://www.fbi.gov 2003-04-01.
515 K. Jałoszyński: Zagrożenie terroryzmem w wybranych krajach Europy Zachodniej oraz w Stanach Zjednoczonych, (Akademia Obrony
Narodowej, Warszawa 2001), p. 16.
516
517
http://www.terrorism.com 2003-04-01.
518
R.Smolski (red): Słownik Encyklopedyczny Edukacja Obywatelska (Wydawnictwo Europa, Warszawa 2000), p.345.
Ibidem p. 347.

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] for independence of Ulster. The death toll of the conflict between Catholics and Protestants was more than 3 thousand of people while another 67 thousand were injured.
519
But it seems that the problem is not completely solved. Still there are attacks of terrorists group in which people die. Not long time ago, in March of this year, there was an apparent political attack on two man in Cullavill, Armagh County, Northern Ireland and as a result one person was killed and another one was injured.
520
Another well-organised terrorist group with hundreds of members and many supporters from all around the world is ETA. Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, is a secret organisation that operates in Spain and by using terrorists attacks on the Spanish officials tries to win the independence for Basque country.
It was founded in 1958 and is being perceived as the military wing of the National Party of the
Basques.
521
For the last three decades ETA has waged a bloody campaign for independence for the seven regions in northern Spain and southwestern France that Basque separatists claim as their own. Euskadi Ta
Azkatasuna, whose name stands for Basque Homeland and Freedom, first emerged in the 1960s as a student resistance movement bitterly opposed to General Franco's repressive military dictatorship.
Under Franco the Basque language was banned, their distinctive culture suppressed, and intellectuals imprisoned and tortured for their political and cultural beliefs. The death of Franco in 1975 changed all that, and the transition to democracy brought the region of two million people home rule.
522
But despite the fact that Spain's Basque country today enjoys more autonomy than any other - it has its own parliament, police force, controls education and collects its own taxes - ETA and its hard-line supporters remain determined to fight for full independence.
That fight has led to some 800 deaths over the last 30 years
ETA's separatist demands.
523 , many of them members of the Guardia Civil, Spain's national police force, and both local and national politicians who are opposed to
ETA seems to be not the only terrorist problem in Spain. Although week, First of October Antifascist
Resistance Group, has conducted and attempted several attacks against US targets since 1977. This organisation was formed in 1975 as the armed wing of the illegal Communist Party of Spain during the Franco era. Advocating the overthrow of the Spanish Government and replacement with a Marxist-Leninist regime, GRAPO is vehemently anti-US and calls for the removal of all US military forces from Spanish territory.
524 The group issued a communiqué following the 11 September attacks in the
United States, expressing its satisfaction that "symbols of imperialist power" were decimated and affirming that "the war" has only just begun.
GRAPO has killed more than 90 persons and injured more than 200. The group’s operations traditionally have been designed to cause material damage and gain publicity rather than inflict casualties, but the terrorists have conducted lethal bombings and close-range assassinations. The French and Spanish authorities arrested several key leaders in 2002, however fewer than dozen of active members still can threaten the nation.
525
There are more organizations and other informal groups in Europe that oppose the power of the
United States. Not well known, but they show their presence every once in a while. For example Anti-
Imperialist Territorial Nuclei (NTA) leftist extremist group that appeared in the Friuli region in Italy in
1995. Fights against what it perceives as US and NATO imperialism and condemns Italy’s foreign and labour polices. They criticize the US/NATO presence in Italy and put their words into action by attacking property owned by USAir Forces personnel at Aviano Air Base.
526
Some of the Greek organisations also do not like the US either other regimes: NATO and even the
European Union authorities. Revolutionary Organisation of 17 November is a radical leftist group established in 1975 and named for the student uprising in Greece in November 1973 that protested the military regime. Although it is presumed to be small it has some considerable actions on its account. Initial attacks were assassinations of senior US officials and Greek public figures. They added bombings in 1980s. Since 1990 has expanded targets and now include EU facilities and foreign firms investing in Greece. Most recent attack claimed was the murder in June 2000 of British Defence
Attaché Stephen Saunders.
527
Europe is also an arena where huge and powerful organisations from other continents play their role.
Al-Qaida seems to be the most dangerous among many Islamic groups that exists in European environment. Al-Qaida, meaning "the base", was created in 1989 as Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden and his colleagues began looking for new jihads.
528 The organisation grew out of the network of Arab volunteers who had gone to Afghanistan in the 1980s to fight under the banner of Islam against Soviet Communism. The "Arab Afghans", as they become known, were battle-hardened and highly motivated. In the early 1990s Al-Qaida operated in Sudan. Since 1996 its headquarters and about a dozen training camps have been in Afghanistan, where Bin Laden forged a close relationship with the Taleban. However, the organisation is thought to operate in 40 to 50 countries, not only in the Middle East and Asia but also in North America and Europe. In western
Europe there are known or suspected cells in London, Hamburg, Milan and Madrid. These are important centres for recruitment, fundraising and planning operations.
529
In Austria and in the United Kingdom has its presence Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group, IG),
Egypt’s largest militant group, and active since the late 1970s. Primary goal of the IG is to overthrow the Egyptian Government and replace it with an Islamic state, but its disaffected members may be also interested in carrying out attacks against US and Israeli interests. The Egyptian Government believes that Iran, Bin Ladin, and Afghan militant groups support the organization. Their most spectaculars attacks were aimed at the tourists in Egypt, most notably the attack in November 1997 at
Luxor that killed 58 foreigners.
530
Aum Supreme Truth (Aum) is a cult established in 1987 by Shoko Asahara in Japan. The Aum aimed to take over Japan and then the world. With its ridiculous arguments this group managed to gather over 40 thousands members all around the world including in Europe. The actions were only taken in
Japan however there are known cells in Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, the former
Yugoslavia, and the United States. The biggest terrorist action was taken in Tokyo where twelve persons were killed, and 5,700 were injured in a Sarin nerve gas attack on a crowded subway station in the centre of city. A similar attack occurred nearly simultaneously in the Yokohama subway system.
531 Although the group is not as strong as it used to be in 90’s, still there may be some follies of its members.
Besides all the groups that operate in Europe of which some are very well organised and other that are the fanatics who take just movements with radical slogans also individual actions. Sometimes it is hard to draw a clear line between the terrorist, the organised crime groups and politicians. Often there are many connections between those three worlds. On March 12, 2003 pro-Western and reform-minded Zoran Djindjic, Prime Minister of Serbia, was assassinated in Belgrade. Many scenarios are possible while Prime Minister had many enemies including people from his closest surround-
519 http://wiem.onet.pl 2003-04-02.
520 http://www.ds-osac.org 2003-04-02.
521 K. Jałoszyński: Zagrożenie terroryzmem w wybranych krajach Europy Zachodniej oraz w Stanach Zjednoczonych, (Akademia Obrony
Narodowej, Warszawa 2001), p. 27.
522
523
M. Kuczyński: Krwawiąca Europa, (Dom wydawniczy Bellona, Warszawa 2001), p. 344.
524
http://www.terrorism.com 2003-04-02.
525
http://www.terrorism.com 2003-04-02.
http://www.elpais.es/archivo 2003-04-02.
101
526 K. Jałoszyński: Zagrożenie terroryzmem w wybranych krajach Europy zachodniej oraz Stanach Zjednoczonych; Warszawa 2001; p.121.
527
528
529
http://www.terrorism.com 2003-04-02.
http://www.adl.org/terrorism_america/bin_l.asp 2003-04-02.
530
B.Hoffman: „Oblicza terroryzmu”, Warszawa 2001; p.55.
531
http://www.terrorism.com 2003-04-02.
http://www.terrorismfiles.org 2003-04-02.

ings.
532
Terrorism in Europe has got many faces. There are many groups and organisations that can be described as terrorists. However still European countries are generally safe and even that brutal actions take place on streets of the old continent many people do not fear the danger. Most of the governments already know how to deal with so called old kind of terrorism where there is a fight for sovereignty. For instance, the most bloody organisation, IRA, has signed the peace agreement and seems to follow the rules. But these days other actions are more probable. Individual fanatics and single members with radical slogans can cause more people to die than before. The attacks of September
11, 2001 show the real power that small group may have. The international authorities were to stand together to fight terrorism, but the actions that the US has taken do not satisfy most of the European society. As a result there are different ideas about the ways to resolve the problem of terrorism.
Europe is now divided and seems to suffer a lot because of the Iraq war.
Justyna Borudzka, Monika Hryciuk, Magdalena Marciniak, Jakub Frantówka
TOURISM IN EUROPE
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
In this paper tourism in Europe will be presented. Firstly, an overview of data concerning tourism in
Europe will be given. Secondly, Italy as one of the Europe top tourism earner will be described. Thirdly, France as the top tourism destination will be shown, then Germany as the Europe tourism spender will be analysed. Finally, Finland as one of the countries that reported a considerable increase in tourist arrivals will be presented.
Europe generates more than half of total international tourist arrivals. The rate of growth since 1990 has been equal to the world average. Within the continent, it is the big urban centers of the Western
European countries that generate the most tourists.
According to results in 2000 an estimated number of 699 million international tourist arrivals were recorded. Of all international tourists in the world the majority travel to or within Europe. Together they generated over 403 million arrivals in 2000. Europe is still the main tourist-receiving region. But since other regions are growing at a faster pace, its respective share in the world total shows a declining tendency. In 2000 Europe accounted for 58 per cent.
In 2000, 46 countries recorded more than US$ 1 billion in international tourism expenditure (excluding international fare expenditure), with the big industrial economies clearly in the lead. The United
States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan top the list with spending ranging from US$ 30 billion to US$ 65 billion. These four countries represent over one-third of international tourism expenditure worldwide. France, Italy, Canada and the Netherlands are the next on the list. Each of these countries spends between US$ 11 and 18 billion, adding up to 12 per cent of worldwide international tourism expenditure.
The substantial growth of tourism in Europe and in the whole world activity clearly marks tourism as
532 P.K.: „Podejrzany o zamach na Djindjicia” w Rzeczpospolita, z dnia 26 marca 2003; http://arch.rp.pl 2003-04-02.
102 one of the most remarkable economic and social phenomena of the past century. The number of international arrivals shows an evolution from a mere 25 million international arrivals in 1950 to the
699 million of 2000, corresponding to an average annual growth rate of 7 per cent. In the same period, international tourism receipts, at current prices and excluding international transport costs, had an average annual growth rate of 11 per cent.
Europe is still the main tourist-receiving region. From 1950 to 2000, international tourist arrivals in that region grew at an average annual growth rate of 6.6 and 5.9 per cent. In absolute terms, they registered an additional 387 million with respect to the number registered in 1950.
According to figures up to 1998, leisure, recreation and holidays still represent the main purpose of visit in Europe, accounting for 62 per cent. Business travel accounts for 18 per cent of the total, the remaining 20 per cent being represented by other motives, i.e. visiting friends and relatives, for religious purposes/pilgrimages, for health treatment and other. In the last ten years especially, the share of this last category has been rising. This pattern doubtless mirrors the aforementioned trend towards market diversification and the division of holidays, with people travelling for shorter periods of time and for different reasons. This increase has basically detracted from the share of total trips made for leisure, recreation and holiday purposes, the share ascribed to travel for business and professional purposes having remained relatively stable.
Europe, where most of the countries are relative by small and partly or completely landlocked, is characterized by the large share of road and rail transport as the means of entering the destinations in the region.
Europe was the star performer of world tourism in 2000, with tourists attracted to Germany for Expo2000 and to Italy for the Vatican Jubilee. Eastern European countries recovered following the
Kosovo conflict and Turkey recuperated after 2 years of declining tourism due to instability and natural disasters. Croatia continued its strong expansion with an interruption of 1-year (1999) adding 2 million arrivals. Significant progress was also made by Slovenia (+23%), the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (+24%) and the Russian Federation (+15%). Despite their cooler temperatures, northern countries emerged as the year’s ‘hot’ destinations, especially Iceland (+15%), Finland
(+10%) and Estonia (+16%).
The total tourist arrivals by region show that by 2020 Europe will be the top receiving region (717 million tourists). Europe will maintain the highest share of world arrivals, although there will be a decline from 60 per cent in 1995 to 46 per cent in 2020.
533
ITALY
Italy is one of the most visited tourist countries at all. According to results in 2001, an estimated number of 39.0 million tourist arrivals were recorded. In 2001 Italy generated 25.9 billion dollars of income and spend 14.2 billion dollars on developing tourism. 534
Situated in Mediterranean Europe, it has land frontiers with France in the north-west, Switzerland and
Austria in the north and Slovenia in the north-east.The peninsula is surrounded by the Ligurian Sea, the Sardinian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea in the west, the Sicilian Sea and the Ionian Sea in the south and the Adriatic Sea in the east. The islands of Elba, Sardinia, Ischia, Capri, the Aeolians and
Sicily lie offshore.
535
ENVIRONMENT
There is a great deal of variety in the landscape in Italy, although it is characterized predominantly by two mountain chains: the Alps and the Apennines. The former extends over 600 miles from east to west. It consists of great massifs in the western sector, with peaks rising to over 14,000 feet, including Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc), Monte Rosa and Cervino (the Matterhorn). The chain is lower in the
533 www.world-tourism.org/market-research/facts&figures/latest_data/Mje.Highlights2002
534 http://www.world-tourism.org
535 http://www.italy.com

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] eastern sector, although the mountains, the Dolomites, are still of extraordinary beauty.
536
The Po River Valley in the country's northeast forms the largest lowland area, and is heavily populated and industrialized as a result. Underground rambunctiousness is evident from the country's three active volcanoes - Stromboli in the Aeolian Islands, Vesuvius near Naples and Etna on Sicily - and the devastation wrought by earthquakes, especially fierce in 1908 and 1980. Beauty abounds in Italy but, unfortunately, so does pollution, particularly in the big cities and along the coast.
537
Italy's climate varies from north to south and from lowland to mountain top. Winters are long and severe in the Alps, with snow falling as early as mid-September. The northern regions experience chilly winters and hot summers, while conditions become milder as you head south. The sirocco, the hot and humid African wind that affects regions south of Rome, produces at least a couple of stiflingly hot weeks in summer.
538
Therefore, Italy is at its best in spring (April-May) and autumn (October-November). During these seasons, the scenery is beautiful, the temperatures are pleasant and there are relatively few crowds.
August, is the time that most Italians take their vacations, so many shops and businesses are closed as a result.
The ski season generally lasts from December to late March; sea swimming is best between June and
September; and July and September are the best months for walking in the Alps. The further south you go, the longer you can linger into November and December without feeling the pinch of winter.
539
ROME
Rome means history. The city is halfway down Italy's western coast, about 20km (12mi) inland.
There are layers of the stuff - Etruscan tombs, Republican meeting rooms, Imperial temples, early
Christian churches, medieval bell towers, Renaissance palaces and baroque basilicas. In this city a phenomenal concentration of history, legend and monuments coexists with an equally phenomenal concentration of people busily going about their everyday life.
It is a vast city, but the historic centre is quite small. Most of the major sights are within a reasonable distance of the central railway station. The Palatine Hill and the Forum are the centre of ancient
Rome. Via del Corso runs north from the Forum to Piazza del Popolo, with the Spanish Steps and the
Trevi Fountain just to its east. The fountain attract more tourist coins than any other fountain in
Rome, due to the clever rumour that a thrown coin will ensure your return to the Eternal City. The
Vatican is northwest of the Forum, across the River Tiber.
540
The commercial, political and religious centre of ancient Rome, the Forum spreads along the valley floor between the Capitoline and Palatine hills. It was constructed over about 900 years, with buildings sitting in juxtaposition with temples from the Imperial era. The site's disrepair and disintegration into pastureland mirrored the fall of the Roman Empire, and 541 horrors, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. excavations have been underway since the 18th century. The Forum is entered from the piazza leading from the Colosseum - that house of
You immediately enter another world: the past. Columns rise from grassy hillocks, and repositioned pediments and columns aid the work of the imagination. Just some of the many must-sees include the Arch of Septimus Severus, the Temple of Saturn, the House of the Vestals, the Temple of Antoninus & Faustina and the Arch of Titus.
From the Forum, you can climb the Palatino - where the wealthy and powerful built their palaces and personal temples. A layer of medieval churches and Renaissance gardens and villas transformed the hilltop ruins into a magical, ivy- and agapanthus-covered land of grottos and secret vistas. Look out for the House of Livia, the Domus Augustana, the Palace of the Flavians and the ruins of the Baths of
Septimus Severus. You can look down on ruins of the Circus Maximus, though not much remains of what was once a chariot racetrack that held more than 200,000 spectators.
542
Random Roman Relics
Marcus Agrippa's Pantheon is one of the world's most sublime architectural creations: a perfectly proportioned floating dome resting on an elegant drum of columns and pediments. It was built in 27
BC, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in 120 AD. The temple has been consistently plundered and damaged over the years; it lost its beautiful gilded bronze roof tiles in Pope Gregory III's time. The
Baths of Caracalla are the best-preserved imperial baths in the city. Covering 10 hectares, the baths could hold up to 1600 people and featured shops, gardens, libraries and gym facilities.
The Appian Way, the more than two-millennia-old road that runs all the way from Rome to Brindisi, is littered with monuments, in particular the Circus of Maxentius, and Roman tombs, such as the Tomb of Cecilia Metella. The route is also known for its catacombs - tunnels carved into the volcanic rock that were the meeting and burial places of Rome's persecuted early Christians. The atmospheric tunnels are not for the claustrophobic, overweight or chronically unfit.
543
Holy See
Not many religions actually own a country, but Catholicism isn't just any religion, and the Holy See - or Vatican City - isn't any ordinary country. Headed up by his holiness, the tiny enclave in the heart of
Rome is the administrative and spiritual capital of Roman Catholicism, and the world's smallest independent state. During the working week, the population increases fivefold as residents of Rome cross the 'border' to do the Lord's work. 544
Rome's mild climate makes it visitable year-round; however, spring and autumn are without doubt the best times to visit, with generally sunny skies and mild temperatures (although late autumn,
November, can be rainy). Unfortunately, these times are also the peak tourist season. July and August are unpleasantly hot, and Romans traditionally desert the stiflingly hot city in August, with many businesses closing. From December to February there is briskly cold weather, although it's rarely grey and gloomy. 545
Events-wise, Italy's calendar bursts year-round with cultural events ranging from colourful traditional celebrations with a religious and/or traditional flavour, through to cultural events. Summer is definitely the best time to visit and catch the best of the festivals; however, the Romaeuropa festival is now a feature of the autumn calendar, the Roma opera season runs from December until June and the classical and contemporary music scene is lively all year round. 546
VENICE
Venice is simply unique. For a thousand years the city led an independent existence as one of the most enduring mercantile sea powers in history. Today the brilliance and influence have long since faded, leaving a town of tarnished glories that's out of time and out of place, so achingly beautiful and complete it's hard not to look for evidence of props. This is a pedestrian's city on a very human scale; cars are almost nonexistent, and beguiling narrow paths take the place of ugly city roads. The harmonious architecture seems to have sprung uniformly from somewhere between the 12th and
16th century, its secretive walls and enticing balconies sparkling with flashes of water glimpsed through cracks and windows. Dark paths suddenly emerge into the clear, bright daylight of a pigeonpacked piazza or cross the city's myriad canals by way of numerous and wonderful little bridges. The atmosphere is magical and inexplicably festive. 547
The city is built on 117 small islands,has 150 canals and 409 bridges. The Grand Canal insinuates
536 http://www.discoweritalia.com
537 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/Italy/
538 http://www.eurovacations.com
539 http://www.seekitaly.com/Tourism_Italy/
540 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/Rome/
541 http://www.bellaitalia.com
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543 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/Rome/
544 http://www.italy.com
545 http://www.eurovacations.com
546 http://www.discoveritalia.com
547 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/Venice/

itself around the city, emerging at the unforgettable vista of Piazza San Marco, boasting its campanile, Doges' Palace, St Mark's Basilica and elegant piazza. The Bridge of Sighs links the palace to the gloomy old prisons, and the bobbing gondolas are overlooked by the stunning Santa Maria della
Salute, San Giorgio Maggiore and del Redentore churches. To appreciate the fine palaces that line the
Grand Canal,you can take a gondola.
548
St Mark's Basilica
St Mark's has to be one of the most spectacular houses of worship in the world, attesting to the
Venetian Republic's former maritime and commercial might. Adorned with an incredible array of plundered treasures, the seething mass of domes and arches was modelled on Constantinople's
Church of the Twelve Apostles and consecrated in 1094. The basilica is famous for its golden mosaics, particularly those above the doorways in the facade and decorating the interior domes.
The basilica's many treasures include the gleaming Pala d'Oro altarpiece of gold, enamel and precious jewels. The Tesoro (Treasury) contains most of the booty from the 1204 raid on Constantinople, including a thorn said to have come from the crown worn by Christ. On the loggia above the main door are copies of the delightful prancing horses that were also hijacked from Constantinople (the gilded-bronze originals are on display inside). The basilica's 10th-century campanile collapsed without warning on 14 July 1902, and was rebuilt brick by brick over the following 10 years.
St.Mark’s Square
549 most atmospheric and pleasant, retaining a strong resemblance to the small late-medieval centre that contributed so much to the cultural and political development of Europe. Unfortunately, it can also be one of Italy's most clogged tourist traps, with up to 2000 tourist buses arriving daily in the peak season. 554
Where Rome is a historical hot-pot, Florence is like stepping back into a Fiat and Vespa-filled Renaissance: the shop-lined Ponte Vecchio, the trademark Duomo, the gem-filled Uffizi Gallery, the turreted
Piazza della Signoria and the Medici Chapels. Florence has hundreds of hotels, hostels and private rooms, and more than 150 budget hotels; even so, it's best to book ahead. Hotels and pensions are concentrated near the train station and in the old section of the city, from the Duomo to the river.
Tuscany is known for its fine culinary traditions - in particular, its olive oil, meat dishes and classic
Chianti.
555
Piazza del Duomo
The remarkable Duomo, with its pink, white and green marble façade and characteristic dome, dominates the city's skyline. The building took almost two centuries to build (and even then the façade wasn't completed until the 19th century), and is the fourth-largest cathedral in the world.The enormous dome was designed by Brunelleschi, and its interior features frescoes and stained-glass windows by some of the Renaissance-era's best: Vasari, Zuccari, Donatello, Uccello and Ghiberti. The dome still defines the scale of the city, and no building in town is taller. 556
MILAN
Napoleon dubbed St Mark’s Square the 'finest drawing room in Europe', and visitors and pigeons alike have been flocking here for centuries to strut and crow. The square has a constant carnival atmosphere, thanks to the cacophony of the ceaseless parade, the duelling cafe orchestras of Florian and
Quadri, and the hourly clanking of the bronze Mori (Moors) as they strike the bell of the 15th-century
Torre dell'Orologio. The piazzetta's two columns bear emblems of the city's patron saints: the winged lion of St Mark and the figure of St Theodore.
Visitors come to Milan for its fashion, cuisine, opera, church (the world's fourth-largest), Renaissance castle and da Vinci's Last Supper fresco. But this is very much a working city, the country's business and finance capital. Shopping is huge, the food is legendary and nightclubbing is the best. This stylish city rivals Paris as a leading fashion centre. The top international artists always include Milan while on tour. Immigrants dish up eclectic cuisines to the delight of denizens and visitors alike. 557
The Gallerie dell'Accademia houses Venice's single most important art collection, brilliantly illustrating the progression of Venetian art from the 14th to 18th centuries.
550
The huge city sprawls for miles, but the main historical attractions can be found between the two most important: the huge cathedral - commissioned in 1386 and still unfinished - and the spiky Sforza
The winding Canal Grade, once described as the finest street in the world, with the finest houses.
Venice is surrounded by equally enchanting islands: the Lido, Murano (the home of Venetian glass),
Burano (famous for its lace) and strangely time-warped Torcello, with its Byzantine cathedral.
551 castle. The Piazza del Duomo is bordered by the world's most beautiful shopping mall: the Galleria
Vittorio Emanuele II.
Also the most significant place is Teatro alla Scala. Its museum is pretty good too. Milan has plenty of art galleries and collections, but the most popular venue is the Vinciano Refector, which is home to the Last Supper. 558
It's almost always high season in Venice, although the city is busiest in spring (Easter-June) and
Sept-Oct. Like Italy's other great tourist hubs, Venice is at its worst in high summer (June-August): it's crowded and hot. The most pleasant time of year to visit is late March into May, with clear spring days and comparatively fewer crowds. September is the next best in terms of weather, but October is quieter. Flooding occurs in November and December, and winter can be unpleasantly cold - but seeing Venice under snow is the stuff of fairy tales.
552 There's no denying that the proud city of the winged lion is slowly expiring, attacked by submergence, neglect and pollution. Rationally speaking she shouldn't exist at all. Venice is too small and her attractions too dainty to cope with the mass tourism she receives year in, year out. The preservation of her crumbling monuments and churches is almost an industry; the debate on how to stem the Adriatic floods is never ending; and the battle to clean the lagoon of toxic petrochemical waste is highlighted by media reports on building subsidence and rotting foundations. Venice will have to pull a pretty good stunt to survive, but love her or loathe her, life without her is utterly unthinkable. 553
FLORENCE
The cultural and historical impact of Florence can be overwhelming. However, the city is one of Italy's
ASSISI
Walled Assisi is miraculous: it has somehow managed to retain some tranquil refuges amid the tourist hubbub. Perched halfway up Mt Subasio, the visual impact of its shimmering white marble buildings is magnificent. The city is dominated by the massive 14th-century Rocca Maggiore - a hill fortress that offers fabulous views over the valley and back to Perugia. St Francis was born here in 1182, and work began on his basilica two years after his death in 1228. It's a magnificent tribute to the patron saint of animals, with frescoes by Giotto, Cimabue and Martini. Relics from Imperial days include the excavated forum and the pillared facade of the Temple of Minerva; Roman foundations are a common feature of many buildings. The town's many churches include Santa Maria Maggiore, San Pietro, St
Clare and the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli.
BOLOGNA
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Bologna offers a chance to rest and savour all the pleasures of Italian city life. Surrounded by hills,
548 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/Italy/
549 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/Venice/
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551 http://www.italiantourism.com
552 http://www.eurovacations.com
553 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/Venice/
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554 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/Italy/
555 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/Florence/
556 http://www.bellaitalia.com
557 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/Italy/
558 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/Milan/
559 http://www.seekitaly.com/tourism_italy/

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] the city's centre is still much as it was during the Renaissance: dusky red-coloured buildings, wide piazzas and covered walkways with floors laid with marble. But Bologna provides the best of several worlds; it has beautiful piazzas, churches and museums, but is also a thriving university town, filled with cafes, bars and nightlife. 560
Piazza Maggiore and Piazza del Nettuno
At the centre of the oldest part of Bologna, the broad open spaces of the Piazza Maggiore and the adjoining Piazza del Nettuno are surrounded by some of the city's most impressive medieval and
Renaissance buildings and monuments. But these huge pedestrian squares are not rarefied, contemplative places; in the midst of all the splendour you'll see hundreds of busy Bolognesi carrying on with their everyday business, meeting in cafes, and crowding around the many musicians and street performers.
The wide street connecting the two piazzas is graced by an enormous fountain, the Fontana del
Nettuno. The fountain, built in 1566, has bronze statuary by a Flemish sculptor, Jean Boulogne de
Douai, who became so famous for the job he was nicknamed 'Giambologna'. A massive figure of
Neptune stands on top of the fountain, trident in hand. Neptune is attended by four angels, symbolising the four winds, and four sirens - gleefully watching water spouting from their own breasts - representing the four continents known to the Renaissance world. 561
Most people who visit Bologna spend a lot of time looking at the city's superb churches, museums and galleries. But the city is also famous for it's dining. Bologna's many restaurants, cafes and food stores offer excellent locally made delicacies and drinks: hand-made pasta in all kinds of sauces, delicious Mortadella (Bologna sausage), cheese, cakes, pastries, local wines like the Lambrusco red and the region's full, dry Sauvignon, and for desert- gelato. 562
SICILY
The island of Sicily is a place of contrasts, from the crumbling grandeur of its capital, Palermo, to the
Greek ruins at Syracuse, volatile Mt Etna and the Aeolian Islands. It's home to touristy Lipari, jet-set
Panarea, rugged Vulcano and spectacularly spouting Stromboli. Squatting strategically in the Mediterranean, and its largest island, Sicily has attracted waves of invaders and colonisers, whose detritus includes Greek temples, Roman ruins, Norman churches and castles, and Arab and Byzantine domes.
Sicilians remain strongly tied to the land, despite the summer heat, which can be utterly scorching.
Other sights include the magnificent 12th-century cathedral at Monreale and the touristy but unmissable Taormina, with its Greek theatre, panoramic public gardens, palazzo, cathedral and beautiful beaches.
563
SARDINIA
The island of Sardinia has been colonised and invaded by the Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Pisans,
Genoese and Spaniards. Through these ravages, the locals (known as the Sardi) have retained their identity and singularity, remaining strangely insular people. The landscape is rugged and the remaining wildlife distinctive, from albino donkeys to griffon vultures. Cagliari, the capital, is surprisingly attractive, with an interesting medieval section and a beautiful beach. Other attractions include the magnificent and relatively unspoiled Costa Verde coastline, the beaches and grottoes around the tourist enclave of Alghero, and the trekking and traditional culture offered in Nuoro Province. 564
If the museums, galleries and espresso are not enough to occupy the traveller’s time in Italy, there are plenty of options for the active and adrenalin-seeking. The Italian Alps, in particular the Dolomites, offer well-marked trails and strategically placed refuges for the long-distance hiker. Be prepared, even in summer, for sudden changes in the weather. The Apennines also have good hiking
560 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/Italy/
561 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/Bologna/
562 http://www.discoveritalia.com
563 http://www.infsicily.com
564 http://www.regione.sardegna.it/inglese/index.htm
105 trails, especially in the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo and the Sila Massif in Calabria. Other options include the challenging but well-marked trails in the Apuane Alps in Tuscany, and the spectacular hikes in the rugged eastern ranges of Sardinia, such as Gennargentu.
There are plenty of excellent ski resorts in the Italian Alps - particularly in the Dolomites, which have the most dramatic scenery. The five major resorts are Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Veneto; Madonna di
Campiglio, San Martino di Castrozza and Canazei in Trentino; and Courmayeur in the Valle d'Aosta.
The ski season generally extends from December to late March, though there is year-round skiing on
Mt Blanc, the Matterhorn and in the Valle d'Aosta.
Windsurfing and sailing are extremely popular, and at most beach resorts it's possible to rent boats and equipment. Cycling is a great way to see the country. The only problem is that 75% of Italy is mountainous or hilly, so some stamina and a good bike will be needed. Popular cycling areas include the hills of Tuscany, and the Valnerina in Umbria.
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Of all the countries in the world, there is none more magical than Italy, a traveller’s dream destination. Ancien monuments and archeological sites are perfectly preserved. All its treasures come packaged in a gorgeous country of majestic mountains, placid lakes, idyllic islands, splendid cities and wonderful walled villages. An ideal climate plus warm and gracious people make Italy a perfect destination for an active vacation, the art lover, the gourmand, the hedonist combined, why not, with business. Its three millennia of history, culture and cuisine seduce just about everyone.
566
FRANCE
According to the World Tourism Organisation France remains the world top tourist destination. The
French government reports that about 75 million people visited this country last year, which is much more than for example in Spain (50 million), the US (45 million), Italy (40 million) or China (33 million) 567 . France is undoubtedly living now the real breakdown of foreign visitors showing that more than 88% come from Europe, about 7% from both Americas and only 4% from Asia and Oceania.
Getting the biggest number of foreign tourists it became the second country in the world behind the
US for the tourism income. In 1998 France reached nearly 30 million Euros 568 . It is clear that for
France tourism is economically very very important.
Every year millions of tourists come to visit the land of high fashion, fairytale castles, fine wine and good food. This is what is the largest country in Western Europe – the home to more than 58 million people.
Whatever Baudelaire might say, travellers know exactly why they are going to France. With the world's grandest art museums, an infinite number of châteaux, and all the glorious vestiges of aristocratic life, France arguably remains the cultural capital of the world. “The French reign supreme in the smaller details of life, creating the most impossibly intricate pastries, the most prestigious wines, the most elegant cuts of clothing, and raises them all to the level of an aesthetic experience.” 569 And if that isn't quite enough, there is simply nothing comparable to France's natural beauty: the breathtakingly misty isles off Brittany, the lush rows of vines in sleepy towns in Alsace, the dazzling turquoise beaches of the Riviera, the fields of lavender and poppies in Provence 570 .
Much French art and culture is concentrated in Paris which is Europe’s fashion centre and the birthplace of modern art. The famous city of lovers is France’s glittering showcase, where each area has left its handiwork 571 . The region encircling Paris is dotted with royal chateaux and gardens, including
Fontainebleau and Versailles. Here, too, you can find the soaring Gothic monuments like the sublime cathedrals at Chartres, Bourges, Beauvais and Reims.
565 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/italy/
566 .http://www.travel.it/
567 www.unesco.org/courier/1999_08/photoshr/26_2uk.htm
568 www.unesco.org/courier/1999_08/photoshr/26_2uk.htm
569 www.alltravelfrance.com
570 www.letsgo.com/FRA/00-Discover-2
571 www.paristouristoffice.com

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
During the Renaissance, the French nobility moved southwest, down the gentle valley of the Loire,
France's longest river. The lively cities of Tours and Angers provide excellent bases to visit scores of majestic chateaux filled with art, tapestries, and frescoes.
North of the Loire, Brittany has preserved its Celtic character. Its lovely coastline is dotted with traditional fishing villages, its landmarks are stone megaliths, erected some 4,000 to 5,000 years ago.
Normandy, just to the east, is the land of cheese and apples and monuments left by the medieval
Normans, as well the D-Day beaches and other sites associated with the World War II.
The regions north and east of Paris, around Epernay, are the land of Champagne. Alsace-Lorraine, along the German border, has its own cuisine and Strasbourg is the seat of the European parliament.
Burgundy, with its famous wine, romanesque art, and Dijon mustard is to the south.
South of Burgundy, Lyon, on the river Rhone, is one of the culinary capitals of France. East of Lyon tower the majestic French Alps, one of the nation's summer and winter playgrounds; to the west the mountains of the Massif Central include the beautiful extinct volcanoes of the Auvergne around Le
Puy.
On the Mediterranean, the Cote d'Azur (the French Riviera) and Provence are among the most beautiful regions, where medieval hill villages, olive groves, lavender, and sunflowers combine with the sizzling attractions of Nice, Monte Carlo, St. Tropez, and Antibes. West of Provence towards Spain,
Languedoc-Roussillon is famous for the Roman Pont du Gard and arena at Nimes. Then there is the mountainous, lushly forested Corsica, the "Isle of Beauty," which is just off the Southern Coast 572 .
The Pyrenees, Gascony, and Aquitaine in southwest France also get plenty of sun. This is the land of
Bordeaux, the world's largest wine region, rose-colored Toulouse, thousands of medieval chateaux and villages, prehistoric caves, and huge Atlantic beaches 573 .
It is commonly known that whether it’s a year in Provence, a weekend in Paris, or a fortnight in the
Pyrenees, France is just waiting to be discovered! France is synonymous with style. From the wide, tree-lined boulevards of its sophisticated and exciting capital city to the breathtaking Loire Valley castles and the glittering Cote d’Azur with its air of faded grandeur and romance, it is not hard to see why France has enchanted generations of visitors.
I will now try to describe the most interesting sites in France, the most frequently visited ones. They are generally considered to be the biggest French tourist attractions that I also think are really worth seeing.
To one of them surely belong the Loire Valley. It was the capital of the French aristocracy from the
15 th to 18 th centuries and the area is dotted with the most beautiful castles in France. The most famous chateaux include Angers, Chinon, Chambord, Chenonceau, Saumur and Villandry. A tour of the
Castles over several days is highly recommended and in summer many of them play host to outdoor spectacles of music, dance and fireworks. The town of Chartres, with its magnificent 13th-century cathedral, is regarded as Europe's most superb Gothic building. The United Nations has designated the Cathedral an international cultural heritage site 574 . Make sure to visit the ‘Maison de Jeanne d’Arc’ in Orleans, which honours her life and times. The Loire Valley is regarded as the "garden of France," so make sure to savour the very affordable and delicious foods and wines of the regions – bon apetit!
The stretch of coastline from Toulon to the Italian border has long cast a spell on visitors. Known as the Cote d’Azur or the French Riviera, it boasts beautiful sunshine, chic towns and villages, azure-blue sea, a spectacular coastline and an almost tangible sense of romance. The glamorous towns of Antibes, Juan-Les-Pines, Saint Tropez, Nice and Monaco are synonymous with style and beauty.
The best idea is to start the exploration of the Cote d’Azur in its capital - Nice. A town of broad palm-fringed avenues and grand hotels, of fine restaurants and outstanding museums, its spectacular quality of light has long been an inspiration for artists and musicians. Stroll along the Promenade des
Anglais, sip an aperitif in the pink-domed Hotel Negresco and marvel at the paintings in the city’s
Matisse Museum. Head west down the coast for the beautiful sandy beaches and narrow winding streets of Antibes. Here it is possible to find out easily why the town so enchanted artists like Picasso and Nicolas de Stael.
Experience a slice of lively nightlife in Juan les Pins before bracing yourself for the outrageously expensive chic boutiques and restaurants of Cannes. Famous for its film festival in mid-May, Cannes is probably one of the best cities in the world for people-watching. Stroll down the impressive palmfringed Boulevard de la Croisette and take in the style, glitter and wealth all around you. Journey 15 kilometres north of Cannes to Grasse, one of the most important perfume-producing centres in
France. The heady smell of perfume wafts through the town. Visit one of the three perfumeries open to the public and discover how it is made. Travel west further down the coast, past the towns of
Frejus and St. Raphael until you come to St.Tropez. Immortalized in the film “Et Dieu Crea la Femm e” with Brigitte Bardot, it is an alluring little town immensely popular with the jet set. Watch them dine on their huge yachts before strolling down the Quai Jean Jaures to choose a restaurant for yourself.
Journeying east of Nice you’ll discover the gem of a town that is Villefranche-sur-Mer. With a tiny little port, a 16th century citadel and church and a beautiful beach, it has a relaxed and laid-back feel.
Ideal for recuperating in after a night on the town in Nice! The seaside resort of Saint Jean-Cap
Ferrat is situated on the attractive wooded peninsula of Cap Ferrat. Travel east again to the beautiful town of Eze lying on a rocky hilltop above the sea. Travel through Menton to the tiny principality of
Monaco. Walk up the hill to glamorous Monte Carlo - famous for its casino, royal palace and the
Formula 1 Grand Prix held each May. Visit the palace’s state apartments, watch people gamble for high stakes in the gaming rooms of the casino, have a drink in the world-famous Hotel de Paris. A stay on the Cote d’Azur makes returning home particularly difficult!
The French capital is one of the most stimulating cities on earth. Although described countless times, words still fail to capture the exact quality that renders Paris enduringly seductive 575 . Is it the elegance of the tree-lined boulevards? The radiance of the light? The magnificence of the architecture?
The style and ambience of the cafes? You’ll never find out if you don’t come..
Biarritz is a sophisticated coastal town in French Basque Country, which first became popular with the aristocracy and then with wealthy British tourists in the mid-19th century, when Empress Eugenie
(the wife of Napoleon III) fell in love with this part of the Basque country and built a Palace on the beach at what is now the world class Hotel de Paris. Today, Biarritz draws a cosmopolitan crowd from all over the world. The beaches, casinos, golf courses and surfing spots have made it a haven for outdoor-loving sun worshippers. Make a visit to the Museum of the Sea, which contains a vast aquarium and research centre.
The Chateau at Versailles is one of the most stunningly beautiful attractions in France. Built by
Louis XIV in just 40 years, it was designed to be the court and the capital of France. Versailles is of gigantic proportions (the western facade is nearly 2,000 feet wide) and masterpieces by French artists and craftsmen were used by Louis XIV to showcase the power of the French Monarchy. Being in France it is impossible not to visit the splendid Galerie des Glaces, the Salon d'Apollon, the Royal
Chapel and the Petit Appartement. There is also a park of over 200 acres surrounding the Chateaux.
There you can find the Grand Trianon, Louis XIV's summer private residence and the Petit Trianon, built by Louis XV and which became Marie-Antoinette's favourite retreat.
Even if you are not a devout Catholic, or seeking miraculous cures, Lourdes is a fascinating stop on any itinerary. Just over six million Catholic pilgrims arriving each year can’t be wrong! Lourdes was little more than a village in 1858 when Bernadette Soubirous experienced the first of eighteen visions of the Virgin Mary in a spot called the Grotte de Massabielle. You can visit the Grotto and the Shrine, reputed to seat over 20,000 people at one time 576 . Visit any of the hundreds of shops which sell innumerable, and sometimes very kitsch religious souvenirs. Lourdes is not only a pilgrimage city, it is
572 www.letsgo.com/FRA/00-Discover-2
573 www.tourisme.gouv.fr/documentation
574 www.francetourism.com
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576 www.tourisme.gouv.fr/politique.html

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] also a very charming little Pyrenean town. Wander through the town and discover a very rich historical and natural heritage from the fortified castle to the Pic du Jer, as well as Lourdes Lake and the many very interesting private museums.
Created in 1967, the Pyrenees National Park extends about 100km along the French-Spanish border and covers an area of 460 sq km. The park contains an amazing array of high-altitude lakes and contains the highest point in the French Pyrenees, the 3300m Sommet du Vignemale. The protected fauna of the park include the brown bear, lynx, chamois, marmot and endangered birds of prey such as the bearded vulture and golden eagle. The park is popular for rock-climbing and hiking and there are many marked trails, some of which are linked with Spain. Why not stay in one of the well-known mountain cabins, basic accommodation which will get you truly back to nature.
Mont St. Michel is a small quasi island off the coast of Normandy. It is separated by approximately one kilometre of sea from the mainland at high tide. This tiny outcrop of rock sports a massive abbey featuring a number of architectural styles. It is topped by a copper statue of Michael the Archangel killing a dragon and tailed by ancient ramparts and the houses of people who actually live on the island. Try and see Mont St Michel at night when it is brilliantly illuminated.
Setting of the 1944 D-Day landings, home to the world-famous Bayeux Tapestry and producer of the fiery apple brandy known as Calvados, the historic northern region of Normandy is a perfect location for a holiday. Offering a magnificent coastline, interesting towns and villages and the truly spectacular Mont Saint Michel, Normandy is universally appealing.
The city of Rouen is the capital of the region. The old part of town was heavily destroyed in World
War II but has since been carefully restored. Visit the Place du Vieux Marche where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for heresy in 1431. Roeun’s Cathedrale Notre Dame is a masterpiece of French
Gothic architecture. Built between 1200 and 1514, it fascinated the artist Claude Monet who made it the subject of many of his paintings. Take a trip to the village of Giverny nearby and visit the house where the artist lived from 1883 to 1926. He painted some of his most famous works here. The old seaside resort of Dieppe is well worth a visit, particularly for its dramatic location between two limestone cliffs. Journey south from Dieppe to Etretat down the Cote d’Albatre (Alabaster Coast), named after the towering white cliffs that line it. Stop off in the picturesque seaside resorts of Honfleur,
Deauville and Trouville for a swim or to sample some local cuisine. Journey inland to the famous town of Bayeux. The first French town to be liberated from Nazi rule during World War II, it is home to the
Bayeux Tapestry. Dating from 1077, the tapestry tells the story of the dramatic Norman invasion of
1066 in 58 remarkable panels. View this extraordinary piece of history in the Musee de la Tapisserie de Bayeux in the Centre Guillaume le Conquerant.
On 6 June 1944 - D-Day - 135,000 Allied troops stormed ashore on the beaches of Normandy.
This action was to effectively bring the war to an end with the Allies going on to liberate Europe from
Nazi occupation. The troops came ashore along 80km of beach north of Bayeux. The fiercest fighting took place at Omaha Beach - a stretch of coastline 15km north-west of Bayeux. Stroll along these peaceful beaches today and try and imagine what it must have been like to have been a soldier wading to shore on that fateful morning. The Musee du Debarquement in Arromanches explains the importance of the invasion and is well worth a visit. Bring your trip to Normandy to a spectacular end by visiting Mont St. Michel - a small quasi island in the west of the region, separated by approximately one kilometre of sea from the mainland at high tide 577 . This tiny outcrop of rock sports a massive abbey featuring a number of architectural styles. It is topped by a copper statue of Michael the Archangel killing a dragon and tailed by ancient ramparts and the houses of people who actually live on the island. Try and see Mont St Michel at night when it is brilliantly illuminated.
One of the most spectacular mountain ranges in the world, the French Alps stretch from Lake
Geneva in the north to Provence in the South. The area is divided into two regions - Savoy and Dauphiné. Savoy is home to Europe’s highest mountain - Mont Blanc. Whether you’re a ski enthusiast, a hiking fanatic or just want to enjoy the stunning scenery, this part of France will provide you with
577 www.franceway.com
107 unforgettable memories for years to come.
The city of Grenoble is the capital of the Alps. Enjoying a spectacular setting surrounded by Alpine peaks, Grenoble is a university city with a progressive reputation. It is home to a number of interesting museums including the Musee de Grenoble which boasts an excellent collection of modern art.
The attractive town of Chamonix lies at the base of Mont Blanc. A winter ski resort since the turn of the century, the town has nine ski areas. Check out the huge Mer de Glace glacier - the second largest in the Alps. You can actually go inside it at the Grotte de la Mer de Glace. The area around Chamonix also boasts some of the best hiking trails in the Alps. Savour the traditional Alpine village atmosphere of places like Morzine and Megeve.
Corsica is known as “l’ile de beauté” - the island of beauty. An apt name for this Mediterranean gem of fine sandy beaches, azure seas, dense forests, snowcapped mountains and unspoilt countryside.
Despite belonging to France, the island’s close affinity with Italy is clearly to be seen in its wealth of
Italianate churches and a language that’s closely linked to the Tuscan dialect.
The most mountainous and geographically diverse of all the Mediterranean islands, Corsica has something to offer every kind of tourist be they sun seekers, mountaineers or anglers. The sunny coastal town of Ajaccio, birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, is where most people begin their Corsican adventure. Located in a beautiful sweep of bay, Ajaccio is a pastel-coloured city of yachts, pavement cafes, elegant squares and palm trees. Head for the Pointe de la Parata, a wild black-granite headland west of the city, famous for its spectacular sunsets. A group of small islands known as the Iles Sanguinaires are visible offshore and turn a beautiful deep red as the sun goes down 578 . The wildest and most breathtaking coastal scenery can be found running northwards from Ajaccio to Calvi. Don’t miss
Les Calanches - the most stunning natural sight in Corsica. Just south of the seaside town of Porto,
Les Calanches is a dramatic mountain landscape of red and orange granite forms in the most amazing and unusual shapes 579 .
The prosperous citadel town of Calvi is located on top of a promontory in the north-west of the island. The beautiful turquoise waters of the Golfe de Calvi surround the town and the coast between it and l’Ile Rousse to the north is studded with spectacular sandy beaches. Journey to the extreme south of the island to see the Citadelle of Bonafacio which sits precariously on top of a headland of white limestone cliffs. The town retains a medieval atmosphere with its narrow alleyways and stone houses. If you’re a keen hiker, head for the fortified old town of Corte in the centre of the island. As well as being a young, lively town, it makes an excellent base for hiking excursions, ringed as it is with snow-capped mountains.
Occupying the rugged north-western tip of France, Brittany is the wildest and most untamed of all the French regions. Buffeted by the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel, the coastline is strewn with lighthouses, rocky coves, windswept heaths, sheltered beaches and charismatic seaside villages.
Brittany did not become part of France until 1547. This independence, along with its relative isolation from the rest of the country, has created a distinctive Breton culture, language and heritage closely related to those of Scotland, Cornwall and Ireland.
Brittany is the most popular summer resort area in France after the Cote d’Azur 580 . The unspoilt white sandy beaches, soaring cliffs and offshore islands attract thousands of tourists each year. Some of the finest beaches in the province include those at Carnac, Quiberon, Saint Malo and Dinard. Dinard has been a seaside resort since the turn of the century. Its belle époque mansions, old-fashioned bathing tents, and elegant cedar trees transport you effortlessly back in time. Carnac is home to some of the world’s most important megalithic sites. The megaliths stretch for 13 kilometres north and east of the town.
Drive around the region’s most western department - Finistere. The most Breton of all the departments in Brittany, it is dotted with appealing fishing villages and boasts a spectacularly rugged coast-
578 www.franceguide.com
579 www.france.com
580 www.tourisme.gouv.fr/actualite.html

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] line. Visit Quimper, the cultural and artistic capital of the department, take in the important naval port of Brest or dine in the windswept Channel port of Roscoff. A trip to the mysteriously beautiful Ile d’Ouessant is a must. Lying 20 kilometres from the mainland, it is a great place to observe Breton traditions and customs. The town of Vannes in south-central Brittany is a lively medieval town with some interesting museums and excellent restaurants. The city of Rennes has been the capital of
Brittany since the 16th century. Stop for a coffee in the attractive pedestrianised old city. The Paimpont Forest lies 40 kilometres to the south of Rennes. It is here, according to Arthurian legend, that the young Arthur received the sword Excalibur from the fairy Vivian. Mysterious and enchanting,
Brittany is an unforgettable holiday destination.
GERMANY
Germany is located in Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark.Germany encompasses a wide variety of landscapes: mountains, forests, hills, plains, rivers, and seacoasts.It consists of three major geographical regionslowland plain in the north, an area of uplands in the center, and a mountainous region in the south.
581 In the North, "the plain" zone, formed by flat, marshy extensions, high and dry lakes and lands denominated "Geest". The North Sea coast is dominated by the Elbe river, while the coast of the Baltic Sea combines level and sandy zones with imposing cliffs. Off the coast are several islands, including the North Frisian Islands, the East Frisian Islands, Helgoland in the North Sea, and Fehmarn and Rügen in the Baltic Sea. Between both seas, there is a peninsula called "Holstein Switzerland".Towards the south is the region of the "middle mountains", that draw up to a natural border between Northern and Southern Germany, and that continue in the Alps spurs. The most important rivers are: Rhine, flowing to north; Elbe, flowing to northwest; and Danube, flowing to southeast.
582
Germany has a mild weather, with hot summers and cold winters, although long periods of freeze or snow are very rare. It rains during the year, specially in July. During the summer, the storms usually bring thunders and lightning storms.
583 The average temperature in July varies from 16°to 20°C according to location. In January, the variation is from 1°to 6°C 584 . The most reliable weather is from
May to October. This coincides, naturally enough, with the standard tourist season (except for skiing).
The shoulder periods can bring fewer tourists and surprisingly pleasant weather. There is no special rainy season.
585
Tourism in an important pillar of the German economy. It is of particular importance in regions with a less developed industry which are situated from industrial or service-producing locations. There, the income derived from tourism is important to safegueard jobs and to maintain and develop the regional economic power.
586 Germany remained the top tourim spender in Europe and is firmly in second place on the list of World’s Tourism Spenders with $ 46.2 billion spent in 2001 and represents one tenth of international tourism expenditure worldwide according to the data of World Tourism
Organization (WTO). As far as the number of tourists is concerned, in 2001 more than 17 mln people visited Germany and conduced to the 2001 tourism income of $17.2 billion .
587
An important indicator for tourism is the number of overnight stays by tourists. In 2002 326.63 million overnight stays were counted. Regarding the overnights in tourism by Länder Bavaria (74.51 million overnights), Baden-Württemberg (39.29 million), Lower Saxony (33.88 million) were leading.
588
BERLIN
Berlin is the heart of Germany and has a special independent länder status. It is a good city to explore on foot. Berlin has a well deserved fame as an European centre of the culture thanks to the so called "museums island", its three opera houses, the Philharmonic Orchestra, its cinemas and theatres, the International Movie Festival, its three universities, the four Fine Arts schools and the 250 extra university research centres. 589
MUNICH
The Bavarian capital – Munich is so attractive for visitors from all over the world because of its special
“Munich mix” that combines big city flair and rural charm, Alpine heartiness and Mediterranean chic, art treasures and Oktoberfest, traditional customs and hi-tech, beer gardens and haute cuisine, opera and Art Park. The Munich’s most famous landmarks are the Frauenkirche and Marienplatz (St Mary’s
Square) which is dominated by the neo-Gothic Town Hall with the glockenspiel in its tower.
Worthseeing is also Olympiapark and Stadium. The 3 km 2 sports complex was created especially for the 1972 summer Olympics Today, the Olympic complex is a venue for sporting events, concerts, events and festivals that attract thousands of spectators to Munich.
590
It is highly recommended to visit Ludwig II’s legacy that consists of three castles he had built near
Füssen : Neuschwanstein (which inspired Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle), Hohenschwanstein and
Linderhof.
591
HAMBURG
The "Free and Hanseatic City" of Hamburg is Germany's second-largest metropolis with one of Europe's biggest ports. Hamburg is now a city of palatial office buildings, magnificent promenades, international musicals, extravagant shopping malls. Hamburg is also Germany's greenest city, with many spacious lawns and lovely parks.
592 Nevertheless, it’s worth the trouble to know St Michael church, with his 132 m tower and good panoramic views of the city; the old Post House Office, now an elegant commercial centre; the building of the City Council and the House of Chile, a red brick building of expressionist style. But the true enchantment of Hamburg is in its harbor zone, with the
Clock tower, the green cupola of St Pauli Landungsbrücken, the old warehouses and the Freihafen.
593
There are 31 theaters in Hamburg, 6 musical performing halls, 10 cabarets as well as 50 public and private museums.
FRANKFURT UPON MAIN
Frankfurt upon Main is the financial (the seat of the European Central Bank) 594 and geographical centre of western Germany. Its inhabitants produce a disproportionately large part of Germany's wealth, and over 10% of the city's taxes are devoted to culture; the richest collection of museums in the country can be found here.
Museum. 596
595 In all, the city has over 40 museums, including the Museum of
Modern Art, the Kunsthalle Schirn (art), the Städelsches Kunstinstitut (art) and the German Cinema
Frankfurt is an ideal base for short sightseeing trips to the nearby Taunus Mountains and Odenwald
Forest.
COLOGNE
Cologne is 2,000-year-old Roman sites, mighty Romanesque churches, medieval houses, lively shopping streets, super-modern architecture, museums and art galleries. A centre of business and the media and a major trade fair venue.
It is a major centre of the art world and venue of the international Art Cologne fair. Countless art galleries and over 30 outstanding museums, including the Museum Ludwig (modern art), the Wallraf-Richartz Museum (14-19C art), the Römisch-Germanisches
581 www.1uptravel.com/international/europe/germany/topography.html
582 www.nationbynation.com/Germany/Geo.html
583 www.sprachcaffe-deutschland.com/ingles/clim.html
584 www.1uptravel.com/international/europe/germany/topography.html
585 www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/germany/printable.htm
586 www.destatis.de/basis/e/tour/tourtxt/htm
587 www.world-tourism.org/market_research/facts&figures/latest_data/Mje.Highlights2002
588 www.destatis.de/basis/e/tour/tourtab3.htm
108
589 www.sprachcaffe-deutschland.com/ingles/reco_berl.html
590 www. germany-tourism.de/e/dest_cities_muenchen_e.html
591 www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/germany/printable.htm
592 www.germany-tourism.de/e/dest_cities_hamburg_e.html
593 www.sprachcaffe-deutschland.com/ingles/reco_hamb.html
594 www.germany-tourism.de/e/12408_2848
595 www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/germany/printable.htm
596 www.germany-tourism.de/e/dest_cities_frankfurt_e.html

Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Museum (Roman and Germanic history) and the Schnütgen Museum (6-19C religious art).
Other attractions are :Germany’s biggest cathedral, unique ensemble of 12 great Romanesque churches in the innercity, Kölner Philharmonie (one of Europe’s top concert halls, around 400 events every year), Imhoff-Stollwerck Chocolate Museum, Rheingarten and Old Town.
597
DRESDEN
Dresden, founded in 1206, is a metropolis of unique art treasures and lively culture.
598
It offers a unique blend of stunning architecture, world-famous art collections and living traditions in both music and the fine arts - plus the great natural beauty of the countryside along the Elbe river.
Dresden's highlights include the magnificent palatial buildings around the Theaterplatz and the Brühl
Terraces, and the many art treasures at the state museums.
To the most important attractions belong: the Frauenkirche, Zwinger Palace with the Old Masters
Gallery (the most important late Baroque building in Germany), Semper Opera House (modelled after the late Renaissance style).
599
Located on the Rhine, Düsseldorf made a name for itself as a city of fashion and culture.
600
It offers the visitor eighteen museums, the German Opera House, countless theatres large and small and numerous other attractions as the Old Town, schloss Benrath (one of the most beautiful surviving examples of Rococo architecture), Kunstsammlung Nord-Rhein-Westfallen (one of the world’s most prestigious modern art museums).
601
STUTTGART
Stuttgart has one of the most beautiful settings in all Europe, surrounded by a wonderful panorama of rolling green hills, forests and vineyards. This exciting and lively city also has many attractions for visitors within its borders, with sights including two castles, theoutstanding Staatsgalerie art museum and the unique combined zoo and botanical gardens. This motor industry town (museums of the world’s oldest car manufacturer- Mercedes-Benz and the famous sports car manufacturer – Porsche)is also a centre of Germany's lively musical scene. 602
Tourism traffic is not only directed towards beautiful cities but also towards scenic landscapes. Germany offers travellers a lot of nature and interesting landscapes, many of which have remained unspoilt by man. In order to preserve these natural areas for humankind, it has been necessary to take special protective measures. Therefore, a large number of vast protective areas have been created in Germany, all worthwhile visiting. Germany´s nature parks, biosphere reserves and national parks are havens consisting of valuable natural and cultivated landscapes. Some of these protected areas are unique worldwide. Natural parks cover areas that are protected because of their beautiful landscape and their special recreational value for the people.
603 Agriculture and forestry are not restricted there, Furthermore, nature parks are developed for recreational purposes with parking spaces, hiking trails, tourist routes for motorists, view points, shelters, park, benches, nature trails, trim trails, recreational facilities, sunbathing lawns, as well as accommodation in hotels, guest houses, and youth hostels. In contrast to natural parks that serve mainly recreational and leisure needs, national parks are founded for the protection of plants, animals and typical landscapes from exploitation and extinction.
604 National parks (e.g., Nationalpark Harz or Nationalpark Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer) are ‘legally fixed, homogeneously protected areas that are extensive and of special kind and reach the expectations of a nature reserve in most of their territory.
Germany has more than 90 nature parks, 13 biosphere reserves and 13 national parks, which are all internationally recognized.
605
One in every three Germans is a member of a sporting club, so it’s not surprising that the to the tourism destinations belong also sport areas. Cycling is a favoured recreation, with many western
German cities and the countryside cycling trails. Eastern German back roads can be great for cycling too. Hikers are well catered for with marked trails in the Black forest, the Harz mountains, the bavarian Alps. Germany’s rivers and lakes are great for boating, with cruises operating around Berlin and
Potsdam, the huge lakes in southern Germany and the Baltic Sea. Sailing and windsurfing are popular leisure pursuits, especially on Lake Constance in the South.
606
Germany is worth a trip not only from May to November but also in winter.The winter sport areas have much to offer: Alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, ice skating, snow-hiking, curling and much more. The winter sport areas are conveniently situated and easy to reach by car, train and airplane. To the winter sport areas belong : Bavarian Alps, Bavarian Forest, Allgäu, Erzgebirge, the Black Forest, Harz, Sauerland, Thuringian Forest.
In the middle of the Bavarian Alps, an hour drive south of Munich and the airport, lies Garmisch-
Partenkirchen with the biggest ski-jump in Germany. It is actually an Olympic ski-jump that was built for the 1936 Olympic games.
607 Garmisch-Partenkirschen with the Zugspitze(Germany’s highest mountain) offers excellent snow conditions November through May. The Germany's highest ski area is located on a glacier at an altitude of 2,000 - 2,830 meters (6,000 - 8,490 feet.).
608
The tourists are also attracted by the graet number of festivals that are held in Germany. The Germans are keen to party. The Winter Carnival (Fasching) season occurs throughout Germany, with big cities such as Cologne, Munich and Mainz erupting into commotion just before Ash Wednesday. Germany's rich musical heritage is showcased in a plethora of festivals. Some towns concentrate on a particular composer, such as the Thuringian Bach Festival in March or the Richard Wagner Festival in
Bayreuth each July, whereas others focus on a particular style. The jazz festivals in Stuttgart (April) and Berlin (November) are lively and popular.
609 Berlin is also known for Berlin Film Festival, the second largst film festival in the world that is held in February. Mention must be made of Munich. The city is best known abroad for this annual 16-day celebration of beer known as the Oktoberfest. Beer lovers from all over the world gather in Munich to hear the traditional Bavarian cry of "O'zapft is" which means 'the keg is tapped', signalling the start of the city's annual Oktoberfest. Christmas fairs are held by German families, including those in Munich, Nuremberg, Lübeck, Berlin, Münster and
Heidelberg. 610
Germany is worthseeing in every year season. Elegant big-city charm, a wealth of art and culture, peace of beautiful landscapes, as well as a winter paradise and a festivals’ confusion can be experienced here. No visitor will remain untouched by this country.
FINLAND
Finland is a Nordic country situated between the 60th and 70th degrees of Northern latitude. Finland's land area is 338 000 sq.km (130 500 sq. miles), making it the 7th largest country in Europe. Of the total 10% is water, 69% forest and 8% cultivated land.
611
Finland is a country for the discerning vacationer; a country that offers a wide array of holiday options for the special-interest traveler looking for something original, something not likely to be found elsewhere.
Finland is not a land of mass tourism, nor does it aspire to that position. Finland gives the holiday visitor a chance to experience a lifestyle that is not on offer where the masses assemble. If you want
597 www.germany-tourism.de/e/dest_cities_koeln_e.html
598 www.germany-tourism.de/e/12408_2850
599 www.germany-tourism.de/e/dest_cities_dresden_e.html
600 www.germany-tourism.de/e/12408_2849
601 www.germany-tourism.de/e/dest_cities_duesseldorf_e.html
602 www.germany-tourism.de/e/dest_cities_stuttgart_e.html
603 www.naturpark.de/naturparke/main.html
604 www.nationalparke.net/home/nationalparke.html
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605 www.germany-tourism.de/e/2766.html
606 www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/germany/printable.htm
607 www.germany-tourism.de/e/2408_2579.html
608 www.zugspitze.de/english/index.htm
609 www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/germany/printable.htm
610 www.1uptravel.com/international/europe/germany/festivals.html
611 http://virtual.finland.fi

to get away from noise and traffic and overcrowded beaches, you can go to Finland.
Let me start with some of the simple things, the ones that can be the most rewarding. If your preference is for an unspoiled landscape of lakes, rivers, forests, meadows and fells, Finland is for you. If you love outdoor sports; fell walking, sailing, cruising, canoeing or cycling - come in summer. If you would rather try a bracing breakaway on skis, snowmobile or reindeer sled - make it winter.
Nature is not Finland's only attraction. People who come here do not do it for a single, exclusive reason, like pilgrims. And before describing major attraction in Finland let me introduce some reasons for visiting Finland. The Finnish Tourist Board has identified a range of Finland's assets that appeal to different nationalities.
612
As far as Swedes are concerned they go for a romantic and exotic Finland that they find on the sea crossing aboard the luxury ferries that sail between Finland and Sweden every day of the year. Eating well, drinking, dancing and shopping tax-free all add to the experience.
613
Italians, individualists that they are, look for something out of the ordinary. The Tourist Board has discovered that what Italians enjoy most about Finland is the straightforwardness and friendliness of the people. Finnish-Italian friendship apparently flourishes regardless of language differences.
614
In fact, language is not much of a problem in Finland. The inability to speak Finnish is certainly not a drawback because virtually all Finns know some foreign language and many of them speak several.
English is the most widespread foreign language and Swedish has the special status of being the country's second official language. Then there are plenty of folks who know some German or French.
Returning to the Italians for a moment; they like good food and friendly service and they find both in farmhouse holidays out in the lovely Finnish countryside.
615
The Germans have known Finland as a holiday destination for years and they like to come here for what they call Natur mit Unterhaltung, which one could translate as "nature with amenities". These are such luxuries as time to think, the colors of nature, interesting outdoor pursuits, good food, entertainment and the Finnish winter. The Germans know that Finland is country where the people know how to live with snow and how to make winter fun for visitors. The British, too, have learned something appealing about the Finish Winter. They know that Santa Claus lives in Finnish Lapland and British families fly there in increasing numbers to meet him during the Christmas season.
616
If you would rather come to Finland by sea than by air one of the best ways is aboard one of the many Finnish ships that sail daily to and from Germany. They are cargo vessels that offer high quality accommodation and gourmet food for passengers who appreciate a bit of seclusion. The ferries provide the most enjoyable, if boisterous, route to Finland via Sweden. And obviously you can fly there in two or three hours from most European capitals.
The Finland's strategy includes highlighting excellent transport and communication services, its stable political culture, personal safety and uncluttered roads. These are positive features for visitors from countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Britain whose high population densities make Finland's modest 17 inhabitants per square kilometer seem like a real luxury.
617
Americans have discovered The King’s Way, the historical overland route from Turku, in south-west
Finland, to St Petersburg, Russia's second city, some 600 kilometers to the east. Visitors from “the
New World” in particular enjoy feeling that, to them, Europe is so old, so traditional, so quaint, so rooted in the past. Now, while I would hesitate to call Finland ”quaint” in the way that some say
Britain is, the sense of a bygone world does strike the traveler who walks the ancient streets of Turku or Porvoo or stop to admire the rapids that thunder past the former Russian emperor's fishing lodge outside Kotka, that splendid Finnish seafaring city on the Gulf of Finland, close to the Russian bor-
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] der.
618
Finland's history was deeply influenced by its geographical position between Sweden and Russia.
Today it is a sovereign republic and a member of the European Union. The King's Way offers a reminder of that long and sometimes turbulent history.
I should not omit one of the most typical events for Finland, which are festivals. Finland, at a guess, has more cultural festivals than any other country of similar population size, some of them consistently offering a level of quality that is regularly praised by the pundits of the press here and abroad. The emphasis in Finland's festival culture is on music, the universal language. Among Finland's most rewarding musical gatherings are the Savonlinna Opera Festival, the Pori Jazz Festival, the Kaustinen
Folk Festival and the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival - what a gem that last one is. There's plenty of rock and Finnish tango. There is of course no point in listing them all, Finland Festivals will do that for us. FF is the umbrella organisation that coordinates the lives of dozens of festivals covering virtually every branch of the arts in this country, and it provides information about them and how to get to them.
619
Helsinki and Turku: Finland's Capital Assets
Let me now focus on main tourist attractions in Finland. Helsinki, the present capital of Finland on the southern tip of the country, and Turku, the city in the southwest that once held the title, offer firstrate options for unique city breaks. The cities come into their own at the glorious height of summer, when the sun hardly sets. Both are important passenger and commercial ports, and in both the presence of the sea is never far away. The biggest passenger ferries in the world serve their harbors, berthing close to their centers, while a modern and efficient international airport serves each city.
The cities themselves are big enough to offer all the facilities and attractions of a lively metropolis, including excellent riverbank and island restaurants and luxurious hotels. Yet they are also sufficiently compact to explore on foot or by using some of the best-planned public transport in the world. From
Helsinki's open-air museum on the Seurasaari island to the Uspenski Cathedral, the biggest Orthodox church in western Europe, and from Turku's medieval castle to its museum ships on the River Aura, these cities have more than enough to occupy a weekend visit. The chances are you'll leave with the intention of coming back for a longer stay.
620
If your are looking for a good night out, Helsinki's bars and restaurants are opened until the early hours, or you can relax on one of Turku's bar boats or riverside terraces. Culture vultures have an excellent choice of cinemas, concerts and music festivals, including the Helsinki Festival Weeks in
August and the annual Naantali Music Festival near Turku.
621
Moominworld
Moominworld is a theme park for the whole family. It is located by the sea in the sunny town of
Naantali in Finland. There are two special islands there: the beautiful Moomin Homeisland of Kailo and Adventure Island of Väski. You’ll also find the Moominmamma´s Doughnut House and Moomin shop in Naantali Old Town.
Moominworld is a fairytale you can step into. In Moominworld you can really meet the Moomin family and everyone else who lives in Moomin Homevalley.
In fact, there are many kinds of creatures running round the island, from Hattifatteners to Stinky.
You’ll also find Summer Theatre Emma in Moominworld with shows all through the day 622
Santapark
Santa's Cave, SantaPark is located inside small mountain. Cave offers nice Christmas experiences with
Santa Claus and his elfs. Santa's Cave on the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland, home of Santa Claus,
612 http://www.mek.fi
613 ibidem
614 ibidem
615 ibidem
616 ibidem
617 http://e.finland.fi
110
618 http://www.mek.fi
619 http://www.festivals.fi
620 http://www.finland-tourism.com
621 http://www.turku.fi
622 http://www.muumimaailma.fi/

will be caught up in joyful Christmas spirit even in the summertime. Santa's Cave is situated 2 km from Santa Claus Village and Rovaniemi airport, and 5 km from the center of Rovaniemi. A visit to the family in Santa's Cave, deep inside Syväsenvaara Fell, is one you will never forget. SantaPark is packed with fun things to see and do. The plaza and the hall are filled with attractions and rides, each more exciting than the last.
623
In conclusion, this paper has given the overview of the latest data concerning tourism in Europe and about four European countries- Italy, France, Germany and Finland, coutries are one of the main tourist destinations. However, their economic results would not be achieved without their specific, unique character.
1. INTRODUCTION
Gender equality is not a new problem, women have been fighting for their rights for ages. However, nowadays it seems to be a principle objective for many European governments, especially in developed countries. Most of the European Union states have undertaken some particular actions in order to implement the equality between men and women. In many European countries gender equality is guaranteed by the constitution. However, the problem seems to remain despite various legislative measures. Quite common is an opinion that women are discriminated in most of the fields of life activity, especially on labour market and in politics.
Women movements are still very active, they try to obtain the equality. Some results are visible, the situation has improved. Let’s see how it looks like now and how much it has changed in three major fields of life activity: education, labour market and politics. The last problem concerns violence against women in order to show that women have managed to enter the areas unavailable for them before but their basic rights are still violated.
2. WOMEN AND EDUCATION
Nowadays formal education reaches ever more women. Even in spite of unequal opportunities, women begin to construct their own history. But about two hundred years ago the situation didn’t look like that. Here is a brief look into the history.
In the eighteenth century education was available only for "exceptions", it was a privilege for unusual women, the princess, the noblewoman, aristocracy. Even though some women were educated, politics and business remained spaces reserved for men. The nineteenth century brought changes. Obligatory primary education for girls became more widespread. Opening of the doors to education became a very important change in the status of women. However, the problem of differences in content as well as quantity of education remained. From the earliest years in school, girls in all countries tended to be directed toward subjects that are of more use in the kitchen and living room than in the outside world. They were encouraged to study art, literature, domestic science, and dressmaking, whereas boys were studying engineering, mathematics, physics, and mechanics. The twentieth century is a century of professional opportunities for women as a result of winning the vote and having control over one’s own body, etc. Nevertheless, in spite of unequal scholarly opportunities and the segregated nature of employment, it is true that women’s improved education has, among other things, allowed them a greater professional, cultural and political presence. This has led to the evolution of personal rights and to changes in domestic life and motherhood; these have in their turn facilitated greater female participation in the public sphere. However the daily life of the majority of women changed very little. No one disagreed with the ideal domestic woman image, in spite of the
623 http://www.santapark.com
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
111 fact that so many women were working outside the home.
624
Throughout the region of the Central and South – Eastern Europe the practice of the last decades was to pay much attention to education both, boys and girls, but the countries are quite different in this respect. In the developed countries there are about equal numbers of males and females at school at all levels. In the developing countries, schools males still outnumber females, but the gap is narrowing.
In Estonia the right to education has always been considered as a basic human right and is highly valued and accessible. The higher level of education of Estonian women is an evident when comparing the share of females in total number of students and the average level of education among the employed population. The share of females is above 50% (e.g. 56,6 % in Higher education, 57,9 % in Masters courses in 1998). Girls have dominated in secondary schools for many years and the longterm tendency for boys not to continue with secondary education created a threat of feminization to university education. The result is that the educational levels reached by Estonian women have been rising more rapidly than the levels reached by men.
625
At present, Lithuanian girls and women make great efforts to acquire as high education as possible: an analysis of statistical data enables the conclusion that the higher the level of education, the fewer the number of boys. According to the data provided by the Department of Statistics, in the 1998/99 academic year, women comprised 50.7% of the total student population in all educational institutions
- 50% in secondary schools, 39.2% in secondary vocational training schools, 65.2% in colleges and
57.8% in universities.
A similar situation is to be found in other countries as well.
626
It should be noted that although women attain a higher level of education than men, men have better prospects in the labor market. This could be accounted for by the fact that in vocational and higher schools there is a distinction between “male” and “female” professions, i.e. in vocational schools the majority of young men enter production - related professions, whereas women tend to choose professions connected with office work. For example, in the 1998/999 academic year, in vocational training schools the largest number of women studied craft and manufacture related professions, household management (61.4%), trade and business (78.4 %), teacher’s training (91.9%), health care and treatment (91.8%). Young women were least represented in engineering, transport and communications.
627
At the same time, in some countries there is an evident discrimination between boys and girls attending particularly higher education, determined either by religious influences or simply by poverty. In
Albania in fact more girls than boys complete the educational cycle, but the problem is that education is not seen as a way to secure a better life. Children are expected to support their families from an early age. In rural areas there are problems with providing teaching staff. As far as girls are concerned, they face further difficulties since the school often is far away and transportation is not provided. Other factors that prevent girls from attending school relate to the strong patriarchal mentality, many parents do not allow girls to continue their schooling due to a fear of kidnapping. Girls are also particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and are not allowed to leave the house unless accompanied by a male adult. Many parents, especially in rural areas, want their daughters to get married at an early age, and keep them home for this reason, covering their faces with a veil. Another difficulty -
Islamic schools in Albania do not allow girls to enroll.
628
Women in Turkey are subjected to discrimination and inequality. Firstly, although the female population is larger than the male, female participation in educational establishments at every level is much
624 http://www.helsinki.fi/science/xantippa/wee/weetext/wee223.html, Pilar Balarin,… “Women in the European Union”, Women in the history of Europe.
625 http://www.ihf-hr.org/reports/women/Woman_2000.pdf, “ Women 2000 An Investigation into the Status of Women’s Rights in the former Soviet Union and Central and South-Eastern Europe”, p. 158.
626
627
Ibidem, p.10
628
Ibidem, p. 275.
Ibidem, p. 23 – 24.

lower than males’ and the illiteracy rate is much higher for females (28.03% of the female population over the age of six is still illiterate, and in the southeast it is more than 48%). In Turkey girls are more likely to drop out than boys and this is mainly determined by either the economic level of the household or the number of children in the family. The main reasons given for girls dropping out of school are: disinterest in school (24.7%), high school expenses (17.2%), lack of family permission
(14.0%), obligation to help parent in housework (11.3%). Religion requires girls to cover their head with a scarf, and it creates obstacles because wearing a “turban" is forbidden in public institutions, including schools 629 .
These were some examples of countries in the South- Eastern Europe. The situation seems to be different in the West, especially in the European Union. Let’s see how it really looks like.
In Spain the percentage of illiterate women was 4.4%, whereas for men, the percentage was 2.1% in
2001. The gross rates of women and men in compulsory education are equal: between the ages of 6 and 15 years old, all the boys and girls were attending school in 1998/99. More girls complete compulsory education (42.6%) than boys do (33.4%, data refer to 1998/99). More girls participate in higher secondary education (55.8%) than boys do (49.1%) in 1998/99. The number of women in university education is higher (34.5%) than the number of men (29%) in 1999/00.
630
In United Kingdom women’s participation in higher education dominates.
In 1999/2000 54% of full-time undergraduates were women, rising from 50% in 1994/95. The number of women undertaking post-graduate study also increased over recent years and they accounted for half of all post-graduate students in 1999/2000. Across all age groups, men still have higher levels of qualification than women, as older women are less likely to have any qualifications. In 2000, 18% of women of working age had no qualifications, compared with 14% of men; this gap has narrowed from 26% and 19% respectively in 1993.
631
Summing up, the situation of women in West European countries is still better than in the South –
East.
3. WOMEN AND EMPLOYMENT
There are certain features, concerning employment, which are common to all women in Europe, e.g. a steady increase in women's employment rates, a concentration of women's employment in certain sectors, a lack of access to more senior positions, high levels unemployment, under-employment and job insecurity.
Despite an overall increase in women’s employment rates in Europe, important differences between
EU counties remain. While men’s activity rates vary from 62% in Finland to 80.5% in Portugal, the differences in the women’s employment rates are clearly greater: from 32.3% in Spain to 76.1% in
Sweden. It is worth noting that these levels are still lower than those found in other industrialised countries in the world such as the United States.
The patterns of women’s economic activity have changed over time. Women were initially employed in rural and agrarian production, trade and crafts. They were excluded for several decades from the most prestigious positions in the labor market, under the pretext of their natural inferiority and due to the “male breadwinner model”. During the second half of the 20th century, the introduction of salaried employment outside the home has totally transformed the domestic and professional reality of women across Europe.
In all European countries, highly qualified women are increasingly gaining access to professions which were previously dominated by men, especially in the areas of management, intellectual professions and administration.
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
According to the data, leading occupations of employed women in 2001 were: secretaries, receptionists, bookkeepers and accounting clerks, hairdressers and cosmetologists, nurses, general office clerks, elementary school teachers, cashiers, waitresses, administrative support. Women accounted for 75% and more of total employed in these occupations.
632
Women are proportionally more represented than their male counterparts in the scientific, technical and liberal professions. Education constitutes one of the biggest employers of well educated women across Europe. The number of women teachers varies enormously from country to country. Thus more than 60% of the women are teachers in Portugal, while less than 20% of women are teachers in Denmark. However one still finds that men clearly predominate in university education, while women are mainly concentrated in primary and secondary education. Women are less likely than their male counterparts to be discouraged from a career in teaching, even when the wage levels of this sector are particularly low. 633
Most of women work in the service sector, there are some reasons explaining the situation. Firstly, throughout the 1980's and 1990's, the majority of new jobs were created in the service sector and that corresponded to the massive arrival of women on the labor market. Secondly, as access to public sector management jobs in most European countries depends on relatively objective criteria, i.e. holding a university degree, or passing recruitment exams, women are less likely to experience the same degree of direct sexual discrimination in access to high level public sector jobs as they may encounter in the private sector, where recruitment procedures are less formal. Thirdly, working conditions in the public sector offer a number of advantages to women who wish to combine a professional career with domestic and family responsibilities, e.g. more flexible working hours, more paid holiday and child-care leave. The proportion of women in the tertiary sector varies from country to country, ranging from 55.6% in Denmark to 36.7% in Greece, but it is always higher than the proportion of women in the labor market as a whole.
634
This analysis of the small minority of women managers and professionals should not overshadow the reality of the vast majority of women who usually work at the bottom of the social and professional hierarchy, as low grade administrative work, sales and direct services. In all countries, with the exception of Spain and Luxembourg, women occupy over half of the low paid administrative jobs, secretaries, office staff, etc. In Denmark, France and the UK, women occupy more than 70% of these positions
Although unemployment rates vary widely from country to country, from 3.5% in Luxembourg to
24% in Spain, women’s unemployment rate is higher than men’s everywhere in the E.U., with the exception of Sweden and the United Kingdom. This situation persists despite the fact that women tend to work in the tertiary sector, which has been less affected by the massive redundancies of recent years than the male dominated industrial sector.
There is not a single country where women are not discriminated, despite many constitutional and other legal guarantees. Here are some examples.
In Belarus there are reports that during job interviews women are asked ”special questions” about their marital status, family obligations, and plans with respect to children. Sometimes, especially in the case of state institutions, not having a child is one of the prerequisites for employment. In Lithuania, job advertisements targeted at women contain requirements as to age and appearance. In
Bosnia, employers require giving an additional document from a gynecologist to discover whether a woman is pregnant before hiring her. Sometimes in order to get the job women are required to sign a blank resignation in case they would become pregnant. The list of examples could continue with any other country. Women are constantly discriminated not only in terms of access to jobs. Even when they work in the same areas as men, their earnings represent between 60 to 85% of their male
629 Ibidem, p. 444 – 445.
630 http://www.unece.org/stats/documents/2002.09.gender.htm, Time uses as indicators of gender discrimination” Submitted by the
Instituto Nacional de Estadística of Spain, Geneva, Sept.2002, p. 3.
631 http://www.unece.org/stats/documents/2002.09.gender.htm, “Gender statistics and key indicators of women’s position in Britain”,
Submitted by the Women and Equality Unit and the Office for National Statistics of the United Kingdom,Geneva, Sept. 2002, p. 4.
112
632 http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0873003.html, “20 leading occupations of employed women”
633 http://www.helsinki.fi/science/xantippa/wee/weetext/wee223.html, “Women in the European Union”, Women, work and employment in Europe.
634 Ibidem

colleagues. Furthermore, employers give priority to men in promotions and increases in remuneration particularly because they are seen as the main ”breadwinners” of the family.
635
In Romania private employers avoid paying for maternity and other leave simply by hiring women without a contract. This is obviously illegal and prejudicial, and deprives women of their social security, health care, and record of employment for pensions, unemployment, and other benefits. Women perform the majority of unpaid work like household, child and elder care. Even when they work for wages, they are more likely to be employed in low-paid occupations. Women's average wage is only
75% of the average wage earned by men.
636
Before 1989 women in Central Europe had access to education on a par with the more advanced countries of Western Europe, and greater access to employment than women in the latter. However, recent critics agree that despite this emancipation, women did not have as much power as might be thought at first sight : women earned on average 30% less than men, their jobs were concentrated in the lowest-paid and least-respected sectors, they were maintained as a reserve labor supply and their working conditions depended on the need for extra workers other than men, they had no representatives on decision-making bodies, they were overworked because of their triple roles as mothers, housewives and full-time workers, and they had no control over the importance attributed to their various roles as women, mothers and workers.
637
The governmental report on the situation of Polish families admits that women are discriminated against in the labor market and that this is manifested in lower pay for equal work, difficulties in being promoted, the greater number of women among the unemployed and the fact that women are more likely to loose their jobs. The report notes a number of positive trends though, such as the growing number of women in managerial positions in the public and private sectors and the growing number of women entrepreneurs.
638
Discriminatory practices in the area of job-hunting, work performance and leaving employment can also be observed. The unequal treatment of women and men seeking work manifests itself amongst others in job offers and the construction of questions during job interviews. Such questions are related to marital status, potential pregnancy, family situation or the number of children. Women receive lower pay for work of equal value and they are less often delegated to training facilitating further promotion. The reality shows that discrimination against women begins already in lay-offs. Despite their higher qualifications women are more often than men threatened with job loss. Discrimination concerns also the phase of launching a job search, as job offers are more often addressed to men than to women (without any explanations). There is also a large gender difference in economic activity and employment rates. According to the labor force survey, in 2001, 64% of men were economically active and only 50% of women. Meanwhile, it is worth indicating that women are on average better educated than men - the proportion of people who completed their education at a level not lower than secondary level is higher among women than among men. The majority of workingwomen has at least secondary education. Nevertheless, women held managerial positions significantly less often than men did. Women constitute 32% of the total number of the employed among managers and only 30% of the employers. However, women predominate among employees and in a group of contributing family members. The most feminised occupational group is office clerks - there are 289 employed women per 100 men. The fewest number of women are employed as operators and assemblers of machines and devices – only 13 women per 100 men. Women are most often employed in healthcare and social work (511 women per 100 men), education (320 women per 100 men) and financial intermediation (237 women per 100 men). The largest difference between women and men’s salary appears at the managerial level, while the lowest difference can be observed in the most feminised group of office clerks. The dominant group among the unemployed is women. They lose
635 http://www.ihf-hr.org/reports/women/Woman_2000.pdf, “Women 2000”, p. 11.
636 http://www.crlp.org/pdf/sr_rom_0600_eng.pdf, “Women’s Reproductive Rights in Romania: A Shadow Report”, New York, 2000, p.
30-35.
637 http://www.europarl.eu.int/workingpapers/femm/pdf/102_en.pdf, Dolores Morondo “The situation of women in Poland, Hungry and the Czech Republic”, The European Parliament, Women’s Rights Series, 1998, p. 9.
638 Ibidem, p. 28.
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] their jobs and stay long-term unemployed (over 12 months) more often than men. 639
The situation of women in Western European countries seems to be more optimistic, but the data indicate, that it is not truth in each country. Despite various legislative measures in favour of equal pay in all the European countries, gender based inequalities continue to exist. The size of these discrepancies varies from country to country and according to employment status, i.e. manual or nonmanual employment. The situation in the European Union looks as follows. Female manual workers receive between 67% in the UK and 84% in Denmark of the average male manual worker's income.
The difference between salaries for non-manual workers is even more pronounced. Non-manual women workers only receive two thirds of the average male salary in four countries, Germany,
Greece, France and Portugal and this falls to around 60% in Ireland and the UK.
640
Here are some data about the situation of women in Spain. Women represent approximately 39.2% of the active population in 2001. In 2001 the female unemployment rate was 15.2% whereas the male one was 7.5%, 80.9% of the employed women worked in the service sector, 16.8% of the employed women worked part time, whereas only 2.7% of the men did so. Women’s earnings are in general 30.7% less than men’s earnings (data refer to October 1995). Women are increasingly entering the labor market but this does not occur to the neglect of domestic responsibilities. Rather, it has forced women to take on a "double working day" at the expense of personal commitments to the home, cultural and leisure activities.
641
In Great Britain women’s economic activity rates accounted for 72% (84% for men) in 2000, 56% of women in employment worked full-time (91% of men). Women are more likely to work in public administration, education and health which account for 41% of women employment (and only 16% of men’s) and in distribution, hotels and catering, which account for another 22% (and 17% of men’s employment).
8% of women worked in managerial/professional occupations in 2001, compared with 18% of men.
Over the 1990s, these occupations have been growing and this growth has been experienced by both men and women.. The gender gap in hourly earnings reduced from women earning just 63% of men’s hourly earnings in 1970 to 82% in 2000.
642
4. WOMEN IN POLITICS
„If women are to have say in the lives they lead thy must enter politics” – Fernanda Nissen (1862-
1920), Norwegian feminist and politician
Women around the world at every socio-political level find themselves under-represented in parliament and far removed from decision-making levels. While the political playing-field in each country has its own particular characteristics, one feature remains common to all: it is uneven and not conducive to women's participation. Women who want to enter politics find that the political, public, cultural and social environment, are often unfriendly or even hostile to them. Even a quick glance at the current composition of political decision-makers in any region provides evidence that women still face numerous obstacles in articulating and shaping their own interests.
643
Women effectively constitute half the world’s population, and half of each and every single population. Women’s studies repeatedly have pointed out that women are not and should not be considered as minority. It is no longer credible in today’s world to conceptualize issues and develop policies which will affect directly or indirectly, citizens’ lives without taking into account the situations, per-
113
639 www.unece.org/stats/documents/2002.09.gender.htm, “Gender Differences in the Labour Market in Poland in the Light of Macroeconomic Changes”, Submitted by Central Statistical Office of Poland1, p. 3-6.
640 http://www.helsinki.fi/science/xantippa/wee/weetext/wee223.html, “Women in the European Union”, Women, work and employment in Europe.
641 http://www.unece.org/stats/documents/2002.09.gender.htm, “Time uses as indicators of gender discrimination” Submitted by the
Instituto Nacional de Estadística of Spain, p. 3.
642 www.unece.org/stats/documents/2002.09.gender.htm, “Gender statistics and key indicators of women’s position in Britain”, p. 4.
643 http://www.idea.int.women/parl/ch2b.htm , Obstacles to women’s participation in parliament, “Women in Parliament: Beyond
Numbers”

spectives and realities of all those who will be affected.
644
The European Network of Experts "Women in Decision-making" lists five reasons for including women in political decision-making. First, even though the concept of equality between women and men has been generally accepted, it will not be reality unless women and men participate also in decisionmaking on equal terms. Second, democracy has been accepted as a fundamental principle of the
European Union, but again, what kind of democracy is it, if only half of the population is adequately represented. Thirdly, the non-participation of women means the loss of the effective use of talent of both women and men. Furthermore, women form an important social group that needs to represented. Not all women have the same interests, but as a group women can have some common experiences related i.e. to issues of motherhood, abortion and violence against women, that do not concern men to the same extent. Additionally, the network of experts also argues that including women to the field of politics may also result in a new political culture, which can lead to better government.
645
Women understood long time ago that the only way to decide on their lives is to take part in politics, in decision-making. However, they have had to fight for that really hard. For ages they didn’t have any political rights. Nowadays it is nothing extraordinary that women can take both active and passive part in political life but a century ago in any European country women could neither vote nor take part in elections. The first country that granted the rights to women both to vote and to stand for election was Finland ( see: Tabel 1). However, it wasn’t the first country in the world-before were the United States, New Zealand ( just to vote) and Australia ( with some restriction).
Women have still been discriminated and there is no country when this phenomenon doesn’t exist.
Although some serious efforts have been made and many countries have some constitutional and other legislative guarantees, women still are the minority as far as politics are concerned.
Although the Treaty of Rome (1957) includes, as one of its founding principles, the concept of equality between women and men, women are still under-represented in political decision-making both at the national and the European level. However some positive changes can be observed. On average
15.4% of the members of parliament in the EU countries and 27.6% of the members of the European parliament were women in 1995. In the governments of the EU countries the proportion of women was on average 16% and in the EU Commission 25% in 1995.
646 Current figures show some small progress in the situation of women in politics: the members of parliament in the EU countries- 20.6%, the members of the European parliament – 31%, the members of the governments of the EU countries – 24.7% and in the EU Commission without changes – 25%.
647
The participation of women in national politics varies a lot among the European countries. It is very high especially in the case of Nordic countries, where women have long traditions of extensive participation in local and national politics.
Women in Norway are present in the formal political institutions to the extend that is still quite unusual in the rest of the world. Women as actors in the political power elite in Norway is nowadays a phenomenon that the Norwegians regard as a normal practice and to them, as the Equal Status
Council puts it, "a Government Cabinet where much less than half of the members were women would look strange and undemocratic". Usually favorable contextual factors (proportional representation and multi-party competition), political activism and receptive political culture have been stressed when explaining women's position in Norwegian politics. However, the position Norwegian women today have in politics, is not only the result of these favorable contextual factors, but to a great extent also the accomplishment of a strong new women's movement which emerged in Norway in the late 1960s. It regarded the recruitment of women into politics as an important goal and as a result women's representation both at the national and the local levels increased. The third important factor in Norwegian politics is that gender has been accepted as politically relevant category. This can be
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] called receptive political culture which has on its part helped women in arguing for representation in the political field. Support for the argument that women can only be represented by women has been easier to obtain than in many other western countries. A perspective that emphasized genderstructured interests in politics brought with it the idea of difference. Difference between sexes began to be viewed as relevant and increasingly important feature also in political representation. Women representing women was regarded necessary because of women's complementary resources and conflicting interests compared to those of men's.
648
Swedish women are far better represented in politics than most countries outside the Nordic Area.
The reasons are seen in the high educational level. (The "Education Act "and "Higher Education Act" contain provisions on equality). Progress towards equality was made possible by substantial demand for labor in the 1960s and 70s. It was mainly due to the expansion of the public sector, and by consistent reforms in economic, social and family policy. Important aims of Swedish family law are to put women and men on the equal footing in marriage and to protect the financially weaker party in the event of divorce or death. The legal entitlement to parental leave such as "Code of Parenthood", the
"Parental Leave Act" and certain provisions of the "National Insurance Act" have combined with the existence of municipal child and elder care systems. This combination lays the conditions of shared responsibilities for the home and children equally on women and men. In recent years a consequent trend toward a better balance has been discernible. The number of women in the Parliament has almost tripled since 1971. Conditions in the municipal (41 per cent) and county councils (48 per cent) are similar to those prevailing in the Parliament. Among all political parties is a firm conviction about the need to increase the number of women candidates. Women are most represented on committees dealing with foreign affairs, justice, law and social insurance. The speaker of Parliament is also a woman.
Not until the 1960s did Swedes begin to address the issue of the disadvantaged position of women in political life. Now the Government consists of an equal number of women and men - 10 women, 10 men. This balance was deliberately chosen by the Swedish Prime Minister in 1994.
649
When looking at the statistics concerning political participation in Finland, it can be concluded that the proportion of women in the democratically elected bodies is relatively high in Finland, especially since the 1980s. In addition, Finnish women have an exceptionally long history of political participation behind them: already in the first democratically elected parliament in 1906 their proportion was 10%.
Also the division of labor between sexes in politics is not so clearcut anymore: particularly since the end of 1980s, women have been appointed also as ministers of defense, ministers of justice and foreign affairs. However, it has to be noted that women are still a minority in the real centers of power: in the preparatory ministerial committees, e.g. those concerning budget matters, and in the higher levels of state administration.
650
On the contrary to the Nordic countries, the situation of women in the Southern countries of European Union, especially as far as their governments are concerned, is much worse. Four Southern countries: Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal are at the bottom of the table presenting the percentage of women in the government.
The integration of women into the field of public politics in Spain has started later and has been much slower compared to their participation on other social spheres. As late as in 1984, when people were asked in a poll by the Center for Sociological Research, 92% of the women, and 85% of the men, said that they had never been members of political parties. More recent studies by the Woman's
Institute continue to demonstrate women's lack of interest in participating in the political parties. Only
3.2% of Spanish women were members of a political party in the beginning of the 1990s. Only one woman in hundred said that they would want to participate politically. However, women's membership in the parties has increased in recent years. Young, well-educated women, who live in urban
644 http://www.about.com
645 http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/kvtok/1997/2531_3.htm#6696 , Women in politics, “Women and politics in Western Europe”
646 Ibidem
647 http://www.db-decision.de/index_E.htm European database:women in decision-making (see: tabel 1, 3 and 6)
114
648 http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/kvtok/1997/2531_6.htm#6776 Analyzing the success story of Norwegian women in politics, “Women and politics in Western Europe”
649
650
http://www.db-decision.de/CoRe/Sweden.htm , Country Reports-Sweden, European database:women in decision-making
http://www.helsinki.fi/science/xantippa/wee/weetext/wee252.html Situation of women in politics, „Women in the EU”

areas and support the ideas of the political left are reported to be the most interested in political activities. It is possible that in the near future these young women will be increasingly taking part in politics in Spain.
651
As far as the Central and South-Eastern Europe is concerned, the situation of women in politics changed during the period of transition.In all ex-socialist countries in the transition period there has been a considerable fall down of the representative women rates in the high government positions, at all levels. Analysing the figures in Albania, for instance, if we refer to the period before the 90s, women participation in the political life was very high: more than 30%. Since 1991, with the new elections, there are only 8 women out of 140 MPs, 5.7% of the total. There is one woman in the government, but no women as prefect or mayor.
areas and social groups to which women belong.
653
652 However, it is difficult to assess the impact of transition on the situation of women since this has not been homogenous but varies according to the
Although there are fewer women in parliament, there has been a considerable increase in the numbers occupying decision-making positions: the percentage of women at ministerial level has doubled, while at sub-ministerial level the figure has risen from 0% to 11.8%.
654 cerned. In Parliament women constitute 20.2% of the members. In the government this number is lower and is 12.5% (Eurodatabase)13 655
These figures in comparison to the current ones show the positive changes in Poland as far as the gender equality in politics is con-
As far as Hungary is concerned, according to the figures for the 1994 May elections , women occupied 11.4% of the seats in the Hungarian Parliament. However it must be remembered that women accounted for only 9.2% of the candidates. Women represented between 8% and 12% of the candidates on the Hungarian parties’ lists. The Hungarian Democratic Forum is interesting in that its female candidates represented 7.8% of its list, but its elected members account for 15.8% of its delegation. According to United Nations figures for the same year (1994), there were no women in ministerial posts and only 6% in sub-ministerial jobs.
656
According to the current data, there has been a slight decrease in the representation of women in
Parliament (8.4% from 1998). In the Government women constitute 6.1% 657
In the Czech Republic there was a drastic reduction in the number of women in the Parliament which occurred with the abolition of the quota system applied prior to1989, with representation falling from
30% to 9%. In the second elections, in 1992, women accounted for
9.5% of all seats. However after the 1996 elections we can see a major increase in the number of women to 15%. This increase can be explained by the importance of women’s affairs during the 1996 electoral campaign.
658
As it may be noticed, the situation of women in politics is not very satisfactory but it veries in different countries. Women are much better represented in Nordic countries than in the rest of Europe.
5. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Women campaigned throughout the twentieth century to have their basic human rights respected.
Now they have the right to vote and that of representation. And yet, throughout the European Union, thousands of women are still unable to assert the most basic rights of all: the right to life; the integri-
Europe at Present [Spring 2003] ty of the person; and the right to human dignity.
659
In today's Europe, women are still being beaten, threatened, bought, sold, prostituted and killed, simply because they are women. Violence cuts across all cultural, national and class boundaries. A
Dutch survey found that one in five women had been subjected to physical violence by a partner or ex-partner. The figure in Portugal was one in two. Available data suggests that, across the Union, one woman in every four has been the victim of violence at some time in her life.
660
Violence against women can take physical, sexual and emotional forms. For women, violence may also involve restrictions on their physical movements, such as not being allowed to leave the house, or being timed when they go to the shops, or not being allowed to take up employment. Violence includes economic deprivation, such as never being allowed to handle money or not having access to their own earnings or their own state benefit entitlements. Women's children may also be directly attacked physically or sexually, or emotionally harmed through the way they and their mothers are treated 661
Surveys taken in the European Union countries show a massive condemnation of violence, and in particular sexual violence, against both women and children. A vast majority of the Europeans are aware of the fact that this problem exists and they also hold the view that this type of violence is fairly widespread. However, most people have become aware of the problem through information in the media (89% through television, 65% by press and 44% through radio), while the subject still seems to be little discussed among friends and family. Only few claim to know any victim of violence.The findings give a lot of positive signals. Firstly, of course, the fact that there is such a widespread knowledge of the existence of this problem. And secondly that almost all Europeans find violence against women and children unacceptable.
662
The fact that most people have learned about this problem through the media, and that it seems to be seldom talked about among friends and family, indicates that the problem is still subject to certain taboos. These crimes are happening in our neighborhood and contrary to popular belief the perpetrator is in most cases someone close to the victim".
663
Far from being a safe place, home is often the most dangerous place of all.
664 Violence to women in their homes from known men is the most common form of violence against women. Estimates vary, but data suggests that a large percentage of women are subject to this form of control and domination. According to the surveys one European in two thought that this type of violence was fairly common (50%), one in four (24%) that it was very common and only 19% answered not very common or not at all common.
665 In Ireland in 1998, over half of all women murdered were killed by their partners or husbands. In Austria, 50 percent of divorces are filed on the grounds of violence against women. As for Finland, 22 per cent of women have suffered violence by their partners.
666 Figures show that in Spain over 50% of total accusations of personal violence concern violence against wives by their husbands. Most of the violence to women takes place within the family, and only a small proportion of it reaches the statistics, as it is often regarded as an internal, private matter with no information given to outsiders. Violence in the family is the most common cause of violent deaths among women, more common than all other causes put together. Work-related violence is the second most common locus of violence for women. Half of all violent deaths of women are caused by
651 http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/kvtok/1997/2531_5.hym#6766 Some comparisons and conclusions about the countries, “Women and politics in Western Europe”
652 http://www.medmedia.org/review/numero2/en.art5.htm Diana Çiuli , “Albania: opportunities and obstacles”
653 http://www.europarl.eu.int/working papers/femm/pdf/102_en.pdf Dolores Morondo, “The situation of women in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic”, p. 26
654
655
Ibidem, p.27
656
657
European database...
Dolores Morondo, „The situation of women...”, p.20
658
European database...
Dolores Morondo ..., p.34
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659 http://europa.eu.int./rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=SPEECH/oo/161|0|RAPID&Ig=EN , Anna Diamantopoulou, “Viloence against women: zero tolerance”, International Conference, closing of the European Campaign, Lisbon, 4-6 May 2000
660 Ibidem
661 http://www.helsinki.fi/science/xantippa/wee/weetext/wee236.html , Violence directed at women and children in the family from men, “Women in the EU”
662 http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/99/508|0|RAPID&Ig=EN , “Eurobarometer: Attitude to violence against women and children”
663
664
665
Ibidem
Anna Diamantopoulou,…
666
„Eurobarometer: Attitude to violence…”
Anna Diamantopoulou,...

Europe at Present [Spring 2003] their husbands (Statistics Finland, 1995). Studies on women also draw attention to rape and other sexual assaults, incest, harassment, threats, abduction, and homicide. Representational forms of violence, including pornography, may be used to create a harassing home or work environment. It is estimated that a majority of women are seriously victimised in one or more of these ways, sometime during their lives.
667
More than two out of three Europeans (67%) felt that the European union should definitely get involved in combating domestic violence against women. However, 79% were unaware of any such policy measures put forward by the EU.
668
As for the causes of domestic violence the most cited by the Europeans were alcohol (96%), drug addiction (94%), unemployment (79%), poverty/social exclusion (73%), having oneself been a victim of violence (73%).
669 Contrary to some people's expectations, poverty and lack of education are not significant factors. In this respect, official crime statistics may be misleading because reporting rates and conviction rates appear to be higher amongst low-income groups. If anything, the incidence of domestic violence seems to increase with income and educational achievement. That was the surprising finding of a Dutch study, corroborated by surveys in Finland and Italy, where almost half of all those who commit violence against their partners, are holders of a university degree Domestic violence cannot be dismissed or properly dealt with as a drink or drug-related problem. To judge from the available evidence, a surprisingly small proportion of violence is committed when the perpetrator is drunk or has taken drugs.
670
Contrary to the European Union countries, in the Russian mentality, domestic violence has never been considered a crime. It’s Russians’ favourite adage, 'If he beats you, that means he loves you'.
That's why it is so important to get women to realize that it's not right to be beaten. And even when a woman finally understands what is right, tens of years can go by before she seeks help.
671 The problem seems to be neglected though the statistics are really scarying. The statistical data is as follows: 80% of all violent crimes are cases of domestic violence, there are between twelve to fifteen thousand cases of rape per year, and approximately 14,000 women are killed by their family members per year, primarily by their husbands. Research shows that about 2 million children under the age of 14 are beaten by their parents annually.
672
Russian men prone to violence often refuse to see their actions as criminal, and they receive more understanding than condemnation from the police, who regularly fail to file complaints about what they call "private family affairs." 673 This is partly due to the non-specific nature of the Russian legal provisions and partly due to police unwillingness to deal with such cases. The police refuse to register complaints from women victims of domestic violence, citing the absence of witnesses and the legal invalidity of a doctor’s medical evidence. According to accounts of women who turn to crisis centres, the police usually refuse to respond to information concerning domestic violence. Data show that
40% of victims of violence do not turn to law enforcement agencies because they do not believe those bodies can recognise and punish acts of violence Police officers often intentionally procrastinate and refuse to send victims for a medical examination, which makes it more difficult to punish a perpetrator since material evidence are perishable. Since Russian legislation does not provide a protective program for witnesses and victims, they are at risk of being contacted by the rapist and the rapist’s relatives and friends. A victim can be forced to withdraw her application and, significantly, according to data provided by a police officer in Murmansk, 70% of women who submit applications con-cerning domestic violence, including rape, subsequently withdraw them.
674 A 1998 report on violence and women in Russia by Human Rights Watch -- based on interviews with the abusers as well as the abused -- showed that the prevailing mentality tends to see victims as "deserving" their fate.
675
Women in Russia are very dependent. That's a change over the past years because a lot of women now don't work. In Soviet times, that was not so. Everyone worked under the same conditions. Now a man often forces his wife to leave her job to take care of him and their children. And then, when she wants to leave him, she is unable to divorce because she owns nothing and has not the slightest hope of earning money.
676
Work-related violence is the second most common locus of violence for women.
677 This problem is very serious in Russia. Specialists stated that in 35% of private firms in Moscow the major step in climbing the employment ladder for women is the bed. In looking at the job search section of a newspaper you will see, practically everywhere, notices such as "except intimacy" or "intimacy is not offered." Because of the crisis on the labour market and growing unemployment, women often have to agree on such conditions.In the Criminal Code, Russian Federation, (CC RF), there exists a law which prohibits utilization of an office position and material dependence for coersion of sexual interactions (Article 118, current CC RF). However, in practice, the courts do not examine these issues.
Until 1990, there were annually 20-25 legal cases regarding this article; in the beginning of 1990, there were no more than 2-3 cases; and in 1994 there was not one case. Finally, the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace, in spite of its sharpness and widespreading, proves to be a social, invisible, ''transparent problem". In fact, a low percentage of victims of sexual harassment apply to the courts, and a high percentage of crimes are hidden (analogously to rape). The reason for this is that victims of sexual harassment do not know their rights, they are afraid of publicity and undesirable consequences. They also do not believe in the possibility of receiving legal protection. In addition, due to society's widely-held patriarchal stereotypes, a victim of sexual harassment quite often condemns herself for her employment surroundings and perceives that she with provokes these surroundings. The woman does not see herself as victimized. Not only men, but women and judges are not free from similar stereotypes in a majority of cases.
678
6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Although gender equality is one of the basic points of the consitutions of many European countries, it is clearly visible that women are still discriminated. Despite many legislative measures undertaken in order to minimize this phenomenon, the problem still exists. The situation varies in different countries. However, the statistics look better in developed countries.
Women, as it has been shown, have to face obstacles, which for men don’t exist, while seeking a job or trying to enter politics. As far as labour market is concerned, the most common cases of discrimination concern lower pay for women, often despite their better qualifications, and unequal attitude to women seeking a job (questions about marital status, family situation, potential pragnancy etc.).
Women often realize that to get a job or enter the politics they must be much better educated than men while trying to get the same post. This is one of the reasons that in some European countries women are better educated if we concider the persentage of people with higher education.
As far as politics are concerned, the differencies between countries are quite big. It is visible especially while comparing Nordic and Southern countries of Europe. One of the reasons is the women’s attitude to politics, another one is the attitude towards women in politics. The traditional role of a mother and the stereotypical picture of housewife are still the obstacles that women have to face in everyday life in many European countries. However, some positive changes may be seen in most of the European countries. The persentage of women in parliaments and goverments still grows.
Although the situation has positively changed as far as politics, work and education are concerned,
667 Violence directed at women and children...
668 „Eurobarometr: Attitude...”
669 Ibidem
670 Anna Diamantopoulou...
671 http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2001/03/07032001120749.asp Sophie Lambroschini, “Russia: domestic violence persists”
672 „Women 2000...”, p.381
673 Sophie Lambroschini, „Russia: domestic violence persists”
674 „Women 2000...” , p.381-382
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675 Sophie Lambrouschini...
676 Ibidem
677 Violence directed at women and children...
678 http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/63/071.html Dr Zoya Khotkina, „Sexual harassment in Russian workplaces”

the problem of violence against women is still very serious. Presented statistics show how widespread this phenomenon is. This is the most common human rights violation in Europe. Although most Europeans are aware of the problem, they don’t realize that it exists in their neighbourhood, that the victims are often their friends and family. Many people may think that violence against women concerns mainly developing countries, that it is the problem of poor societies. However, the statistics show that this phenomenon widely exists also in developed countries and is not only connected with alcoholism or drug abuse as it is commonly believed. It is difficult to discuss the improvement of the situation of women in education, politics or on the labour market while remembering that a high persentage of women is still exposed to sexual abusement, domestic violence, trafficking, prostitution etc.
CHECK YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Europe at Present [Spring 2003]
Note:
A test sheet contains four questions to answer. You choose them out of six. An answer cannot be shorter as
2/3 of a page and longer than 1 page.
Additionally you will have to fill in a ‘yes or no’ test covering materials distributed earlier, the lecture and the papers. However, no detailed information like figures or data will be required.
An example:
A dominant confession in Scandinavia is:
 Lutheranism  Catholic Church
 Calvinism or
Officially bilingual countries are:
 Belgium  Malta
 Macedonia  Finland or
Monaco is:
 relaying on revenue from gambling
 dependent area of France
 a tax haven for companies
 a tax haven for private individuals
 host of Formula 1 rallies
 hereditary monarchy
117