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... carries together and compiles interesting and worth knowing information about a major European region |
The Heart of Europa is a large region in central Europe. It is situated roughly between 45°-50° north latitude and 10°-26° east longitude and is currently divided among several EU members and their neighbouring countries.
Signpost in Satu Mare
Calpadunnia
It stretches from the CArPAthian mountain range to the Eastern ALPs, embracing the PANNonian Basin with the entire Danube (DUNa, Dunaj, Dunav, Dunărea) river system, reaching the northern AdrIAtic in the west. The region is extremely rich in culture and natural beauty, with dozens of languages spoken and a most diverse history reaching back to the Roman Empire.
Enjoy your tour through the Heart of Europa! If you would like to see some information about your region or town you are kindly invited to send your ideas to info@heartofeuropa.eu.
Conference on the Future of Europe
The Conference on the Future of Europe is a unique and timely opportunity for European citizens to debate on Europe’s challenges and priorities.
The European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission have committed to listen to Europeans and to follow up, within their sphere of competences, on the recommendations made.
By spring 2022, the Conference is expected to reach conclusions and provide guidance on the future of Europe.
Who can take part?
European citizens, from all walks of life and corners of the Union.
European, national, regional and local authorities, as well as civil society and other organisations who want to organise events and contribute ideas.
Conference on the Future of Europe
Did you know?
AEIOU
AEIOU (A.E.I.O.U.) is a historical motto of Frederick III (Holy Roman Emperor, 15th century)
Frederick started using his motto when he was Duke of Styria. It is not known what exactly was meant by it, most of the countless interpretations in Latin or German refer to "Austria". The five-letter abbreviation is still found today on various buildings (for example the Castle of Wiener Neustadt in the south of Vienna which houses the Military Academy)
Heart of Europa proposes a present-day interpretation:
All Europa Is One Unity
Josefstadt - Iosefin - Jószefváros
Josefstadt is a district in the city of Vienna, Austria (8. Bezirk). There is also a district Iosefin in the west-romanian town Timişoara, Romania and a district Jószefváros in Budapest, Hungary (VIII kerület). The names date back to emperor Joseph II. The three districts maintain a partnership.
In March 2019 Asociaţia Culturală Salvaţi Patrimoniul Timişoarei (Association for the Salvage of Cultural Heritage Temesvar) organised the photo exposition Iosefin - Die Josefstadt von Temesvar in cooperation with Österreichisch-Rumänische Gesellschaft (Austrian Romanian Society).
300 years brewing tradition in Temesvar, RO
In 2018, the local brewery in Temesvar, Romania (Fabrica de bere) celebrated its 300 years anniversary. In 1718, 2 years after Prince Eugene of Savoy, general of the Imperial Army, had conquered back the fortress of Timisoara from Ottoman occupation the brewery was established in connection with the improvment of infrastructure for water supply (hot water boilers). Today, the brewery is part of an international brewing empire.
Pannonia & Dacia
Pannonia and Dacia were provinces in the Roman Empire which existed from the 1st to 5th century and 2nd to 3rd century, respectively. Pannonia covered the western part of modern Hungary (west of river Danube), Dacia corresponds to the region of Transylvania, Romania, reaching southwards to the river Danube. The names of both provinces survived until today and are popular in tourism and they are also frequently used in other domains such as geography or transportation. There are the 'Pannonian basin' and 'Pannonian climate'. In general the name ist frequently used in tourism both in Hungary and in the Austrian province "Burgenland". Dacia is the name of an auto brand, the night train D347 from Vienna to Bucharest is called "Dacia Express" and in Romania it is a popular oppinion that the Romanian nation has its ancient roots in Dacia. The landmark Hotel Dacia in the town of Satu Mare, northwest Romania, was previously named Pannónia when the region belonged to Hungary.
Hotel Dacia, Satu Mare in 3/2019, desperately waiting for renovation
In the News
Mura-Drava-Danube 5-countries biosphere reserve
Mura-Drava-Danube 5-countries biosphere reserve
In September 2021 UNESCO declared the Mura-Drava-Danube river system as 5-countries biosphere reserve. The respective region is entirely situated in the Heart of Europa, it stretches from Austria via Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary to Serbia. 13 protected areas of various size and composition (national parks, reservations, Natura 2000 sites) form the biosphere network with a length of 700km and a total size of 930.000 hectares.
Danubian Limes becomes UNESCO World Heritage site
Danubian Limes in Austria and Slovakia
On July 30, 2021, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided to add the western part of the Danubian Limes to the list of World Heritage Sites. "Limes" is the modern term for the military frontier of the Roman Empire. The Danubian Limes, or "wet" limes, stretched from Bavaria to the Black Sea. The site was nominated by Austria, Germany and Slovakia. Originally, Hungary was also a partner in the nomination process but decided later to withdraw from the partnership. The Danubian Limes is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage project "Frontiers of the Roman Empire".
derstandard.at - Donaulimes mit Österreich-Abschnitt zum Weltkulturerbe erklärt
spectator.sme.sk - Another UNESCO world heritage site in Slovakia dates back to the Roman Empire
hang.hu - A magyar szakasz nélkül is világörökségi védettséget kap a dunai limes
"Vindobona" train returns to Franz Joseph Railway
31 March, 2021, Lower Austria. Between 1957 and 1992 this representative fast train connected the capitals Vienna, Prague and Berlin in the Heart of Europa, following the historic route of Franz Jospeh Railway.
Starting in December 2022, there could be a revival of this direct, important connection. Technical and organisational requirements are under investigation.
Train Vindobona
© Büro LR Schleritzko/Wolfgang Andraschek
noen.at - "Vindobona" vor Rückkehr auf die Franz-Josefs-Bahn? (german)
Flavia Solva Discovery
8 March, 2021, Styria, Flavia Solva. Explorations in the area of the Roman city Flavia Solva in Styrian district Leibnitz have revealed new historical details.
An almost 2 kilometer long moat once protected the settlement. Hence, Flavia Solva must have been larger than previously assumed and a flourishing Roman centre.
For many decades archaeologists suspected the existance of such a moat, now these speculations were proven right.
meinbezirk.at - Sensationelle Neuentdeckung im Reich Flavia Solva (german)
C5 Foreign Ministers agree upon coordination at regular intervals
15 September, 2020. Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia intend to coordinate their activities in the fight against Corona virus at regular intervals. This was agreed upon by the Foreign Ministers of these C5 countries at their meeting in Brdo near Kranj, Slovenia.
"The centraleuropean economic space can move forward and act as a model, independently from discussions going on in Brussels", said Austrian foreign minister Schallenberg at a joint press conference after the meeting. The ministers proposed unified criteria for travel restrictions at EU level.
"In Europa, we are facing a second wave. Therefore, tight cooperation is essential", said Schallenberg, referring to this informal initiative of the five countries. "The common goal is to avoid getting into a situation like in March and April". The foreign ministers agreed upon regular contacts at the level of secretaries general, in order to coordinate national Corona virus measures.
orf.at - C5-Außenminister vereinbaren regelmäßige Koordinierung (german)
sta.si - Zunanji ministri C5 za redno usklajevanje ukrepov za zajezitev koronavirusa (slovenian)
30th Anniversary - Destruction of the Iron Curtain
On June 27, 1989 the so-called Iron Curtain which divided the Heart of Europa in two halves for several decades was opened by Hungarian and Austrian foreign ministers in a symbolic act (cutting of the fence) near the city of Sopron/Ödenburg. This historic event was commemorated by both foreign ministers of the two EU-memberstates and the Head of federal country Burgenland at the very same location which is marked today by a commemorative boundary stone.
Foreign ministers Schallenberg and Szijjártó and Governor Doskozil meeting at the "Grenzstein"
Source: Landesmedienservice Burgenland
Treffen am Grenzstein zum Fall des Eisernen Vorhangs, www.burgenland.at, 27.6.2019 (german)
![]() | Central European Initiative | |
![]() | Centrope | ![]() |
![]() | Österreichisch-Rumänische Gesellschaft | |
![]() | Institut für den Donauraum und Mitteleuropa | |
![]() | Interreg Central Europe | |
![]() | Danube Transnational | |
![]() | Interreg Czechia - Austria - interreg.eu - www.at-cz.eu Czechia - Slovakia - interreg.eu - www.sk-cz.eu Czechia - Poland - interreg.eu - www.cz-pl.eu Slovakia - Austria - interreg.eu - www.sk-at.eu Slovakia - Poland - interreg.eu - pl.plsk.eu Slovakia - Hungary - interreg.eu - www.skhu.eu Romania - Hungary - interreg.eu - interreg-rohu.eu Romania - Serbia - interreg.eu - www.romania-serbia.net Serbia - Hungary - interreg.eu - www.interreg-ipa-husrb.com Croatia - Serbia - interreg.eu - www.interreg-croatia-serbia2014-2020.eu Croatia - Hungary - interreg.eu - www.huhr-cbc.com Croatia - Slovenia - interreg.eu - www.si-hr.eu Croatia - Italy - interreg.eu - www.italy-croatia.eu Slovenia - Hungary - interreg.eu - www.si-hu.eu Slovenia - Austria - interreg.eu - www.si-at.eu Slovenia - Italy - interreg.eu - www.ita-slo.eu Italy - Austria - interreg.eu - www.interreg.net |
All trademarks, trade names, product names and logos appearing on the site are the property of their respective owners.
The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is a European Commission policy directed towards the implementation and development of a Europe-wide network of roads, railway lines, inland waterways, maritime shipping routes, ports, airports and rail-road terminals. It consists of two planning layers:
The Comprehensive Network: Covering all European regions
The Core Network: Most important connections within the Comprehensive Network linking the most important nodes
![]() | 4 Core Network Corridors pass through the Heart of Europa: |
Corridor Rhine Danube - Mediterranean Vienna/Bratislava - Budapest - Níregyháza - Ukrainian border/Romanian border Satu Mare
road layout based on © OpenStreetMap contributors 2/2019
Corridor Rhine Danube Vienna/Bratislava - Budapest - Szeged - Timisoara - Sibiu - Bucharest
One section of motorway A1 in Romania between Ilia and Deva was opened to traffic in August 2019, the second section between Holdea and Ilia was opened on December 23, 2019 (speed and weight limitation).
road layout based on © OpenStreetMap contributors 2/2019
The diagram presents a selection of direct end-to-end connections between major cities in the Heart of Europa (1/2019)
In October 2019 Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB announced new direct connections between Vienna and Satu Mare, RO, and Przemysl, PL, starting with winter timetable 2019.
RegioJet Vienna - Prague
EC 143 Transilvania, Vienna - Cluj
IR 72 Traianus, Timisoara - Budapest
All trademarks, trade names, product names and logos appearing on the site are the property of their respective owners.
Station Satu Mare, built in 1899
History of railway network - Overview |
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Timeline |
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Südbahn Gesellschaft |
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North - East |
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Marchthalbahn |
History Marchthalbahn (PDF, german) |
South - Central |
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Romania |
Lost Places
Timetable train Bucharest - Vienna "Dacia" from Ilustratiunea Drumului de Fier, September 1933
European Commission > Creative Europe > European Capitals of Culture
Theatrescu encourages the information exchange between and offers visibility to artists from the Romanian, Moldavian and Italian theatre scenes. Theatrescu serves as polyglot networker and offers organizational support for cross-border, multi-language theatre projects.
Theatrescu projects in: Milano, Udine, Ingolstadt, Wien, Graz, Timisoara, Cluj, Bucuresti, Iasi
Aurel Popovici (1863 - 1917) was a Romanian intellectual and politician. In 1906 he published the concept of "United States" in the Heart of Europa, a federation of autonomous states based on national and ethnic principles, 101 years before the EU Treaty of Lisbon was signed in 2007.
Weblinks
"United States", Proposal by Aurel Popovici, Verlag B. Elischer Nachfolger, Leipzig, 1906, Austria Forum Web-Book
Popovici, Aurel C., 1863-1917 [Verfasser], Leipzig : Elischer Nachf. ; 1906, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek / Austrian National Library, onb.ac.at
1 | A, I | Tyrol | Tirol | |
2 | A, SLO | Lower Styria | Untersteiermark | |
3 | SLO | Carniola | Krain | |
4 | I, SLO, HR | Austrian Littoral | Küstenland | |
5 | HR, SRB | Slavonia | Slawonien | |
6 | HR, SRB | Syrmia | Syrmien | |
7 | H, SRB | Bačka | Batschka | |
8 | H, RO, SRB | Banat | Banat | |
9 | RO | Transylvania | Siebenbürgen | |
10 | RO, UA | Bukovina | Bukowina | |
11 | PL, UA | Galicia | Galizien | Galicia is a historical and geographical region in central-eastern Europe, today divided between western Ukraine and eastern Poland. ForgottenGalicia.com is a place to collect, document, share and help preserve remnants of the past before they are forgotten or disappear forever. |
12 | CZ, D, PL | Silesia | Schlesien |
In the period of the Roman Empire 5 provinces existed in the Heart of Europa from 1st-5th century: Pannonia, Noricum, Dacia, Dalmatia, Moesia. Venetia & Histria were regions in Italia. Provinces were reorganized several times, the map shows approximate borders at the beginning of the 2nd century (in the time of Hadrian).