Continental Europe

Continental Europe, also called mainland Europe, is the connected mainland of Europe, without the islands that surround it.

People can also call it the European continent, but that name can be confusing because it can also mean the whole of Europe. Some people simply call it "the Continent." For other meanings of that phrase, see Continent (disambiguation).

When Eurasia is treated as a single continent, Europe is considered both a continent and a subcontinent.

Readers who want to learn more can also visit these related pages: Pan-European corridors, Trans-European Transport Network, International E-road network, and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

Conceptual history

Long ago, the land of the old Carolingian Empire was one of many older ideas about mainland Europe. In the 1950s, this idea was deliberately used as one of the foundations for the planned European integration (see also multi-speed Europe). The most common definition of mainland Europe leaves out nearby continental islands. These include the Greek islands, Cyprus, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, the Balearic Islands, Great Britain, Ireland and the islands around them, Novaya Zemlya, and the Nordic archipelago. It also leaves out faraway oceanic islands, such as the Canary Islands, Madeira, the Azores, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Svalbard.

The Scandinavian Peninsula is sometimes left out too, even though it is part of "mainland Europe." This is because its de facto connections to the rest of the continent were historically across the Baltic Sea or North Sea. A land route would be much longer, going north around the peninsula where it meets Finland and then south through northeast Europe.

Great Britain and Ireland

Great Britain, off the western coast of the continental landmass, is the largest island of Europe by both area and population. It is close to the mainland, and the Strait of Dover is 34 kilometres (21 mi) wide at its narrowest point. In Great Britain and Ireland, which together make up the countries of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, people often use "the Continent" to mean the mainland of Europe. A funny British newspaper headline supposedly once read, "Fog in Channel; Continent Cut Off". It has also been claimed that this was a regular weather forecast in Britain in the 1930s. The word "Europe" is also often used to mean anywhere on continental Europe.

The word "continental" also describes the customs or fashions of continental Europe, or of some parts of it. Examples include breakfast, topless sunbathing, and long-distance driving, which was once often called Grand Touring before Britain had motorways. Differences such as electrical plugs, the use of left-hand traffic, and, in the United Kingdom, the continued use of some imperial units alongside the metric units (which have long since replaced customary units in continental Europe) have helped keep this idea alive. In 1994, Britain became physically connected to continental Europe for the first time since becoming an island 8000 years ago, when the undersea Channel Tunnel opened. The tunnel carries passengers between the island and northern France while keeping border controls on each side.

Scandinavia

The Scandinavian Peninsula is joined to continental Europe, but the land route runs along the 66th parallel north, in the north of the peninsula. Historically, the main links to the rest of the continent were across the Baltic Sea or the North Sea. This made Scandinavia work like an "island," which is why it is often left out of continental Europe. The European Union also makes a difference between Scandinavia and Mainland Europe. In traditional Germanic studies, "continental" means the European continent without the Scandinavian Peninsula, Britain, Ireland, and Iceland. In Denmark, which is not on the peninsula, Jutland is called the national mainland and is counted as part of continental Europe.

People in Scandinavia have seen their region as separate from continental Europe, similar to Britain. In Swedish, "Kontinenten," and in Norwegian, "Kontinentet" ("the Continent"), are everyday phrases for continental Europe that leave out Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Denmark is included, even though the Danish Archipelago is technically not part of continental Europe. The Great Belt Bridge (Great Belt Bridge) and the Øresund Bridge opened in 1998 and 2000. They were the first direct land link from the Scandinavian Peninsula to the Jutland Peninsula, the Danish mainland, and so to mainland Europe. This also reached the Danish islands Zealand and Funen. A New York Times headline said: "Copenhagen is linked to the Continent."

Mediterranean and Atlantic islands

People who live on the islands of a country may use the words The Continent to mean the mainland part of their country, or the mainland as a whole. For example, "continent" can refer to the continental part of France, which leaves out Corsica and overseas France. It can also refer to the continental part of Greece, which leaves out the Aegean Islands, Crete, and the Ionian Islands. It can refer to the continental part of Italy, which leaves out Sardinia, Sicily, and other islands. It can refer to the continental part of Portugal, which leaves out the Azores and Madeira. It can also refer to the continental part of Spain, which leaves out the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, the plazas de soberanía, and other areas.

The part of mainland France in Europe is also called l'Hexagone, which means "the Hexagon," because it looks roughly like that shape on a map. Mainland Italy is also called lo Stivale, which means "the Boot," because it looks roughly like a boot on a map. Mainland Spain is called peninsular Spain.