Europe Day 2020 Facts: Interesting Trivia About The European Continent That You May Not Know

Europe Day, held on 9th May every year marks the anniversary of the ‘Schuman Declaration’ which is considered the building block of present-day European Union. It is a day of celebration of peace and unity of one of the most prosperous continents of the world – Europe. Robert Schuman in his speech in Paris in 1950 gave a call for strong co-operation between European countries. He was of the belief that the nations will prosper through mutual understanding in various sectors and tide over their differences. What started off with bonhomie in iron and steel sectors soon turned out to be dominated by principles and today the European Union is one of the most powerful international body in the world. On European Day, we take a look at some interesting facts surrounding the continent. Victory Day in Europe 2020: Date and Significance of The Day When Nazi Germany Surrendered in World War II.

• Europe is said to have got its name from the Phoenician princess Europa.

• Humans settled in Europe around 38,000 BC and came from Central and West Asia.

• Europe has 51 countries with Russia as the biggest occupying an area of 37%. Its smallest country is Vatican City with an area of 100 acres and is also the smallest country in the world.

• Five European nations – Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are transcontinental countries with their landmass in both Asia and Europe.

• Rome, the capital of Italy is a 3000-year-old city and it has been the capital of Italy since 1871.

• Europe has a landmass of 4,000,000 square miles and is the second smallest continent in the world after Australia.

• Disneyland in Paris receives 9.7 million visitors per year and is one of the most sought after tourist attraction of the world.

• Europe has a 3,500-acre rainforest in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its called Perucica. It is rare for rainforests to exist though in the European climate.

• Mount Etna in Italy is the second most active volcano in the world and has had several eruptions in the past.

• Switzerland is one of the leading financial centres of the world and has more banks than dentists.

• The Spanish national anthem has no words. It has lyrics in the past but they are no longer used.

• Britain’s archives are so vast that it can display only 1% of its collection in its museums.

• Europeans consume 50% of the chocolate produced in the world and almost half of the world’s wine is produced here.

• The Black death plague killed nearly 60% of all Europeans and an estimated 200 million Europeans perished in the pandemic.

• There are more UNESCO World Heritage sites in Europe than any other continent.

• There are more than 200 languages spoken in Europe and has several cultures with Christianity being the popular religion.

• Istanbul is the biggest city in Europe followed by Moscow, London, Saint Petersburg and Berlin.

Europe is driving the world in terms of finance, tourism, culture and knowledge. Its inhabitants take pride in their history and leave a lot for others to learn from them.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 09, 2020 09:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).