 Heart of Europa |
... carries together and compiles interesting and worth knowing information about a major European region |
| Heart of Europa |
... 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
It stretches from the northern Adriatic region including the Po Valley across the Eastern Alps and the Pannonian Basin to the Carpathian mountain range and adjacent geographical areas. 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.
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
Rijeka 2020 European Capital of Culture
Nestled between the Mediterranean, Central European and Eastern European influences, Rijeka has been part of as many as seven different countries over the past century of its development. A small-scale Europe of sorts, Rijeka is part of the European Capital of Culture project in 2020,
In Croatian 'Rijeka' means 'river' (river in other languages spoken in the Heart of Europa - Slowenian: reka - Czech: řeka - Slovakian: rieka - Polish: rzeka - Ukranian: рі́чка), its historical name is/was 'Fiume' which is 'river' in Italian.
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
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)
Railway tunnel between Slovenia and Austria
At the beginning of the 20th century a huge development project was started: the Karawanks railway tunnel between Carinthia and Slovenia (then Carniola). The eight kilometer tunnel was opened in 1906. In 2020 Slovenia and Austria will renovate the tunnel in a joint project.
kaernten.orf.at - Karawanken-Bahntunnel (german)
More information about History of Railway Network
Corridor night train arrives from Timisoara
On Monday, 5 May 2020 a first corridor night train with 80 care workers and nursing staff arrived at Vienna.
The train had departed on Sunday evening from Timisoara, Romania and passed through Hungary.
Austrian Minister for European Affairs Edtstadler stated that it had been difficult to organise and coordinate this connection. Some of the waggons were provided by CFR, Romanian State Railways.
Several more trains between Vienna and Timisoara and other destinations are planned.
noe.orf.at - Sonderzug mit Betreuerinnen eingetroffen (german)
www.opiniatimisoarei.ro - Masuri fara precedent la Gara de Nord din Timisoara (romanian)
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)
Danube-Black Sea Gateway Region Cooperation Platform
In June 2019 the Danube-Black Sea Gateway Region Cooperation Platform was founded at the project's closing conference in Krems, Austria.
DBS Gateway Region project aims at supporting the Danube-Black Sea region to become an attractive gateway region for maritime and inland waterway transport between Central Europe and the Black Sea, the Caspian region and the Far East.
Founding members are: Regions of Lower Austria and Vienna (A), cities Varna, Burgas (BG) and Galati (RO), Bulgaria Ports Infrastructure Company (BG), Port of Budapest (H), Port Authority Vukovar (CRO), Slovak Public Ports (SK), Working Group Donauländer, Eurovienna, University Novi Sad (SRB).
Donau-Schwarzmeer-Region - Plattform für Kooperation in Krems gegründet, NÖN.at, 14.6.2019 (german)
Interreg Danube Transnational Programme - DBS Gateway Region
Lipizzan Horses - Common Cultural Heritage
In May 2019 the Slovenian and Austrian foreign ministers signed an agreement to submit the "Tradition of breeding Lipizzan horses" as an UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. This will be a multinational initiative involving 8 countries (stud farms in Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia) from the Heart of Europa.
Breeding of Lipizzan horses dates back to 1580 when the stud farm was established in Lipizza, today Lipica, Slovenia. The white horses are world-famous for their performances of Equestrian Art at the Spanish Riding School, Vienna .Today, only the best stallions from Piber, Austria present the exercises of the High School at the Spanish Riding School.
Young Lipizzaner foals with their mothers in Piber, Styria, Austria
© Spanische Hofreitschule – Lipizzanergestüt Piber GöR
Diagram based on information from German Wikipedia 2/2019. Partnership relations between EU capitals are not included in the diagram.
 | 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: |
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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 |
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Lost Places
Borovniški / Franzdorfer Viadukt, SLO
Szegedi vasúti híd
Theiss Eisenbahnbrücke, HU
Viaductul Caracău / Karakó völgyhíd, RO
Baja Bátaszéki vasúti híd, HU
Gara Timișoara-Iosefin
Temesvár Józsefváros indóház, RO
Danube Port & Railway Station
Baziaș / Báziás, RO
Border Railway Station
Vârciorova / Verciorova, RO
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).
European Cultural News (german)
