3600 BC Event Antiquity Malta
Megalithic temples
Ġgantija and Ħaġar Qim are built a millennium before the Egyptian pyramids.
A shared history
European construction did not begin in 1950. This thread links the ancient inheritance, the Judeo-Christian matrix and the contemporary Union.
326
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3600 BC
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Ancient Greece
Early Middle Ages
Renaissance
Enlightenment
Concert of Europe
European integration
Rome
High and Late Middle Ages
Reformation and wars of religion
Age of revolutions
World wars
Cold War
600 BC
714
2029
326 events
3600 BC 3501 BC
1 event600 BC 501 BC
Ancient Greece 2 events509 BC Event Antiquity Italy
Birth of the Roman Republic
Kingship is abolished. Consuls, Senate and assemblies invent the balance of powers that modern constitutions will echo.
508 BC Event Antiquity Greece
Reforms of Cleisthenes
Athens entrusts power to the citizens’ assembly: the first documented democracy in history.
400 BC 301 BC
Ancient Greece 2 events387 BC Institution Antiquity Greece
Plato’s Academy
The West’s first philosophical institution; Aristotle studies there for twenty years before founding the Lyceum.
336 BC Event Antiquity North Macedonia
Ancient Macedon
The kingdom of Philip and Alexander carries Hellenism from Egypt to the Indus.
300 BC 201 BC
Ancient Greece 1 event250 BC Event Antiquity Greece
The Septuagint
The Hebrew Bible is translated into Greek in Alexandria: a decisive bridge between Judaism and the Hellenistic world.
200 BC 101 BC
Rome 1 event146 BC Event Antiquity Albania
Via Egnatia
Rome opens the road linking Dyrrachium to Constantinople: a major imperial axis for a thousand years.
100 BC 1 BC
Rome 2 events52 BC Event Antiquity France
Alesia
Vercingetorix surrenders to Caesar. Gaul enters the Roman orbit for five centuries and adopts Latin.
19 BC Event Antiquity Spain
Hispania pacified
Augustus completes the conquest. Mérida, Tarragona and Italica become leading Roman cities.
0 99
Rome 5 events9 Event Antiquity Germany
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
Arminius annihilates three of Varus's legions. Rome abandons the conquest of Germania and fixes its frontier on the Rhine and Danube.
14 Institution Antiquity Slovenia
Foundation of Emona
The Roman colony, on the site of Ljubljana, guards the road from Italy to the Danube.
45 Event Christianisation Cyprus
Paul and Barnabas in Cyprus
The first Christian mission outside Judaea recounted in Acts; the Roman proconsul converts.
60 Disaster Christianisation Malta
Shipwreck of Saint Paul
The Acts of the Apostles recount the Maltese welcome: Christianity takes root at once.
64 Figure Christianisation Vatican City
Martyrdom of Peter
Tradition places the apostle’s death and tomb at the Vatican; the basilica follows from it.
100 199
Rome 2 events106 War Antiquity Romania
Trajan conquers Dacia
Trajan’s Column immortalises the campaign. Latinisation will give birth to the Romanian language.
122 Event Antiquity United Kingdom
Hadrian’s Wall
The Empire fixes its northern frontier; the wall remains the island’s greatest Roman relic.
200 299
Rome 1 event212 Text Antiquity Italy
Edict of Caracalla
Roman citizenship is extended to nearly all free men of the Empire: a legal, not ethnic, community.
300 399
Rome 5 events301 Institution Christianisation San Marino
Traditional foundation
Marinus, a Dalmatian stonecutter, establishes a Christian community on Mount Titano.
305 Event Antiquity Croatia
Diocletian’s Palace
The emperor builds his retirement residence at Split: the modern city grew inside its walls.
313 Text Christianisation Italy
Edict of Milan
Constantine grants freedom of worship to Christians. The Empire turns to Christianity and hands it its administrative frameworks.
325 Religion Christianisation Türkiye
Council of Nicaea
The first ecumenical council formulates the creed common to all Christian churches.
330 Institution Christianisation Greece
Foundation of Constantinople
Constantine moves the imperial capital. A thousand years of Greek-speaking Christian empire begin.
400 499
Rome 3 events431 Religion Christianisation Cyprus
Autocephaly of the Church of Cyprus
The Council of Ephesus recognises the Cypriot Church’s independence, maintained for fifteen centuries.
432 Religion Christianisation Ireland
Mission of Saint Patrick
The island is Christianised without ever having been Roman: a unique case in Western Europe.
496 Religion Christianisation France
Baptism of Clovis
At Reims the Frankish king converts to Nicene Christianity. The alliance of throne and altar shapes the medieval West.
500 599
Early Middle Ages 5 events529 Event Christianisation Italy
Rule of Saint Benedict
At Monte Cassino, Benedict writes the rule that will structure Western monasticism and preserve ancient texts.
537 Event Christianisation Türkiye
Hagia Sophia
Justinian completes a dome that European architecture will take a thousand years to equal.
589 Religion Christianisation Spain
Third Council of Toledo
The Visigothic king Reccared abjures Arianism. Spain joins Nicene Christendom and shapes its liturgy.
590 Event Christianisation Ireland
Columbanus on the continent
The Irish monk founds Luxeuil then Bobbio and replants monastic life in Gaul and Italy.
597 Religion Christianisation United Kingdom
Augustine’s mission
Sent by Gregory the Great, he founds the see of Canterbury and ties the island to Rome.
600 699
Early Middle Ages 1 event681 Event Middle Ages Bulgaria
First Bulgarian Empire
Byzantium recognises a Bulgarian state south of the Danube: Europe’s oldest still-named Slavic state.
700 799
Early Middle Ages 3 events711 War Middle Ages Spain
Muslim conquest
The Visigothic kingdom collapses. By the tenth century Córdoba is one of the largest cities in the world.
756 Event Middle Ages Vatican City
Birth of the Papal States
The Donation of Pepin founds a temporal power that will last eleven centuries.
793 War Middle Ages Norway
Raid on Lindisfarne
The sack of the English monastery conventionally opens the Viking age.
800 899
Early Middle Ages 7 events800 Figure Christianisation Germany France
Charlemagne crowned Emperor
In Rome, Pope Leo III restores the Western Empire for the King of the Franks — the shared political matrix of France and Germany.
800 Text Middle Ages Ireland
The Book of Kells
A masterpiece of insular illumination, symbol of Ireland’s role in transmitting texts.
863 Religion Christianisation Slovakia
Mission of Cyril and Methodius
The two brothers from Thessalonica create the Glagolitic alphabet and the first Slavic liturgy.
864 Religion Christianisation Bulgaria
Baptism of Khan Boris
Bulgaria adopts Byzantine Christianity and welcomes the disciples of Cyril and Methodius.
870 Event Middle Ages Malta
Arab period
Two centuries of Aghlabid rule give Maltese its Semitic base.
886 Institution Christianisation North Macedonia
School of Ohrid
Clement and Naum train thousands of clerics there and spread Slavic writing.
893 Event Christianisation Bulgaria
Birth of the Cyrillic alphabet
The school of Preslav devises the script that will serve Russian, Serbian and Ukrainian.
900 999
Early Middle Ages 9 events907 Event Middle Ages Slovakia
End of Great Moravia
The first West Slavic state collapses; the territory passes to Hungary for a thousand years.
925 Event Middle Ages Croatia
Kingdom of Croatia
Tomislav is recognised as king; the country anchors itself in Latin Christendom.
930 Institution Middle Ages Iceland
Foundation of the Althing
At Þingvellir the world’s oldest still-functioning parliament is born.
962 Event Middle Ages Germany
Birth of the Holy Roman Empire
Otto I is crowned in Rome. The Empire claims direct descent from ancient Rome and acts as the secular arm of the Church.
963 Institution Middle Ages Luxembourg
Foundation of Lucilinburhuc
Siegfried acquires a rock on the Alzette: the castle will give the country its name.
965 Event Christianisation Denmark
Jelling stone
Harald Bluetooth proclaims the Christianisation of the Danes: the kingdom’s birth certificate.
966 Religion Christianisation Poland
Baptism of Mieszko I
Poland chooses Latin Christianity, a decision that durably fixes its cultural place in Europe.
988 Religion Christianisation Ukraine
Baptism of Rus’
Vladimir chooses Byzantine Christianity; Eastern Europe swings into Constantinople’s orbit.
996 Event Middle Ages Austria
First mention of Ostarrîchi
An imperial charter names for the first time the “eastern realm”, origin of the name Österreich.
1000 1099
High and Late Middle Ages 8 events1000 Figure Christianisation Hungary
Coronation of Stephen I
Pope Sylvester II sends a crown: Hungary enters Latin Christendom.
1000 Religion Christianisation Iceland
Christianisation by vote
The assembly collectively decides to adopt Christianity to preserve civil peace.
1000 Religion Christianisation Sweden
Christianisation of Sweden
The baptism of Olof Skötkonung anchors the kingdom to Latin Christendom and to writing.
1016 Event Middle Ages Denmark
Empire of Cnut the Great
The Danish king rules England, Norway and Denmark: a North Sea empire.
1030 War Christianisation Norway
Battle of Stiklestad
The death of Olaf II makes him a saint: the kingdom’s Christianisation is completed.
1066 War Middle Ages United Kingdom
Norman Conquest
William imposes a French-speaking aristocracy; English absorbs thousands of Latin words.
1085 Institution Middle Ages Spain
Capture of Toledo and school of translators
The reconquered city becomes the workshop where the West recovers Greek science via Arabic and Hebrew.
1088 Institution Middle Ages Italy
University of Bologna
Europe’s oldest university is born around the study of the Digest: Roman law becomes a living science again.
1100 1199
High and Late Middle Ages 4 events1102 Event Middle Ages Croatia Hungary
Union with Hungary
An eight-century personal union, Croatia keeping its diet and its ban.
1143 Event Middle Ages Portugal
Independence of Portugal
The Treaty of Zamora recognises Afonso Henriques as king. Today’s borders begin to take shape.
1163 Event Middle Ages France
Notre-Dame and the Gothic surge
From Saint-Denis to Chartres, Gothic architecture turns light into theology and spreads across Europe.
1191 Event Middle Ages Cyprus
Lusignan kingdom
After the crusade, a Frankish dynasty rules the island for three centuries.
1200 1299
High and Late Middle Ages 16 events1201 Institution Christianisation Latvia
Foundation of Riga
Bishop Albert establishes a mission city that will become the metropolis of the eastern Baltic.
1215 Event Middle Ages United Kingdom
Magna Carta
The barons impose written limits on King John: the first milestone of constitutionalism.
1219 Religion Christianisation Serbia
Autocephalous Serbian Church
Saint Sava obtains Serbian ecclesiastical independence from Nicaea, a bedrock of national identity.
1219 Institution Christianisation Estonia
Foundation of Tallinn
The Danish crusade establishes a fortress; the town will join the Hanse.
1220 Event Middle Ages Iceland
The age of the sagas
Snorri Sturluson and his contemporaries commit Norse mythology and settler history to writing.
1222 Event Middle Ages Hungary
Golden Bull
Seven years after Magna Carta, the Hungarian nobility obtains written guarantees against royal arbitrariness.
1240 War Middle Ages Ukraine
Sack of Kyiv
The Mongol invasion destroys the capital and disperses the political legacy of Rus’.
1243 Event Middle Ages San Marino
First captains-regent
Two heads of state elected for six months: the system still operates today.
1253 Figure Middle Ages Lithuania
Coronation of Mindaugas
Lithuania’s only king is crowned with papal approval; the state enters the European concert.
1262 Treaty Middle Ages Iceland Norway
Old Covenant
Iceland recognises the sovereignty of the king of Norway; the free state ends.
1278 Event Middle Ages Andorra
First paréage
The feudal act sharing sovereignty is still the country’s constitutional basis.
1278 Event Middle Ages Austria
Rise of the Habsburgs
Rudolf’s victory on the Marchfeld opens six centuries of dynastic rule.
1282 Event Middle Ages Latvia
Riga joins the Hanse
Trade in timber, flax and grain links Livonia to Lübeck, Bruges and Novgorod.
1290 Institution Middle Ages Portugal
University of Coimbra
Founded by King Dinis, it transmits canon and Roman law to the whole Lusophone world.
1291 Treaty Middle Ages Switzerland
Federal Charter
Three Alpine valleys swear mutual assistance: the founding act of the Confederation.
1297 Event Middle Ages Monaco
Capture of the rock
Francesco Grimaldi seizes the fortress; the dynasty has reigned ever since.
1300 1399
High and Late Middle Ages 15 events1302 War Middle Ages Belgium
Battle of the Golden Spurs
Flemish communal militias crush the French chivalry: an assertion of urban power.
1346 Event Middle Ages Kosovo
Patriarchate of Peć
The seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church is established in Kosovo, spiritual heart of the kingdom.
1348 Institution Middle Ages Czechia
Charles University
Charles IV founds Central Europe’s first university and makes Prague the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.
1349 Event Middle Ages Serbia
Dušan’s Code
The emperor promulgates a code inspired by Byzantine law, among Europe’s oldest.
1354 Event Middle Ages Luxembourg
Elevation to duchy
Charles IV raises his native county to a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire.
1358 Event Middle Ages Croatia
Republic of Ragusa
Dubrovnik becomes an independent merchant republic and a diplomatic model.
1359 Event Middle Ages Romania
Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia
Two Orthodox, Romance-speaking states take shape between the Carpathians, Danube and Dniester.
1364 Institution Middle Ages Poland
University of Kraków
Casimir the Great founds one of Central Europe’s oldest universities; Copernicus will study there.
1377 Event Middle Ages Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kingdom of Bosnia
Tvrtko I is crowned king; the country reaches its medieval zenith.
1387 Religion Christianisation Lithuania
Christianisation of Lithuania
The last country in Europe to convert, Lithuania seals its union with Poland.
1389 War Middle Ages Serbia
Battle of Kosovo
Defeat by the Ottomans becomes the founding narrative of Serbian memory.
1389 War Middle Ages Kosovo
Battle of Kosovo
The clash becomes a contested site of memory between Serbian and Albanian narratives.
1396 War Middle Ages Bulgaria
Ottoman conquest of Bulgaria
The fall of Vidin completes the conquest; five centuries of domination begin.
1397 Treaty Middle Ages Denmark
Kalmar Union
The three Scandinavian kingdoms are united under a single crown for more than a century.
1397 Treaty Middle Ages Norway
Kalmar Union
Norway enters a Scandinavian union dominated by Denmark for four centuries.
1400 1499
Renaissance 12 events1400 – 1550 Event Renaissance and Reformations Italy
The Florentine Renaissance
Brunelleschi, Alberti, Michelangelo: antiquity becomes again an aesthetic norm and an intellectual programme.
1410 War Middle Ages Lithuania
Battle of Grunwald
Poles and Lithuanians break the Teutonic Order and redraw the Baltic.
1415 Event Middle Ages Czechia
Jan Hus burned at the stake
Condemned at Constance, the Czech reformer becomes a national martyr and a forerunner of Luther.
1432 Event Renaissance and Reformations Belgium
The Ghent Altarpiece
In Ghent Van Eyck completes the altarpiece that inaugurates oil painting and the Northern Renaissance.
1443 War Middle Ages Albania
Skanderbeg’s revolt
Twenty-five years of resistance to the Ottomans make him a hero of Christendom.
1453 Event Middle Ages Greece
Fall of Constantinople
Byzantine scholars flee to Italy with their manuscripts, feeding the Renaissance directly.
1453 Event Middle Ages Türkiye
Capture of Constantinople
Mehmed II ends the Eastern Roman Empire; Europe’s commercial and intellectual horizon shifts.
1457 Figure Middle Ages Moldova
Reign of Stephen the Great
Forty-seven years of resistance to the Ottomans and of monastic foundations.
1463 War Middle Ages Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Four centuries of rule begin; a large share of the population converts to Islam.
1492 Event Renaissance and Reformations Spain
1492
The fall of Granada, the decree expelling the Jews, Columbus’s departure: three ruptures in a single year.
1498 Discovery Renaissance and Reformations Portugal
Vasco da Gama reaches India
The sea route to the spices opens; Europe’s economy shifts from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.
1499 War Renaissance and Reformations Switzerland
Swabian War
The Confederation becomes de facto free of the Holy Roman Empire, formally recognised in 1648.
1500 1599
Renaissance 23 events1506 Event Renaissance and Reformations Vatican City
Building of St Peter’s
Bramante, Michelangelo then Bernini build the largest Christian edifice in the world.
1516 Text Renaissance and Reformations Netherlands
Erasmus edits the Greek New Testament
The return to biblical sources opens the way to the Reformation and to modern textual criticism.
1516 Event Renaissance and Reformations Montenegro
Ecclesiastical principality
Power passes to the metropolitans of Cetinje: an Orthodox theocracy unique in Europe.
1517 Text Renaissance and Reformations Germany
Luther’s 95 Theses
At Wittenberg, Luther challenges indulgences. His German Bible founds the modern language and fractures Western Christendom.
1517 Text Renaissance and Reformations Belarus
Skaryna’s Bible
The first book printed in Ruthenian appears in Prague, a year after Erasmus.
1523 Event Renaissance and Reformations Sweden
Gustav Vasa
Break with Denmark and with Rome: the birth of the modern Lutheran Swedish state.
1526 Event Renaissance and Reformations Hungary
Disaster of Mohács
The Hungarian army is annihilated by Suleiman. The kingdom is partitioned for 150 years.
1534 Event Renaissance and Reformations United Kingdom
Act of Supremacy
Henry VIII breaks with Rome and declares himself head of the Church of England.
1536 Religion Renaissance and Reformations Denmark
Lutheran Reformation
The Church becomes a state Church; universal religious instruction prepares national literacy.
1536 Event Renaissance and Reformations Switzerland
Calvin in Geneva
The Institutes of the Christian Religion make Geneva a centre of the European Reformation.
1536 Event Renaissance and Reformations Slovakia
Pressburg, capital of Hungary
After Mohács, Bratislava becomes capital and coronation city of the Hungarian kingdom.
1539 Institution Renaissance and Reformations Spain
School of Salamanca
Francisco de Vitoria founds modern international law by questioning the legitimacy of conquest.
1539 Text Renaissance and Reformations France
Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts
Francis I imposes French in public acts: the vernacular supplants Latin in administration.
1548 Text Renaissance and Reformations Finland
The New Testament in Finnish
Mikael Agricola creates written Finnish so that Scripture is accessible to all.
1550 Event Renaissance and Reformations Slovenia
First books in Slovene
Primož Trubar publishes a catechism and a primer: the birth of the written language.
1565 War Renaissance and Reformations Malta
The Great Siege
The Order of Saint John repels the Ottoman army; all Europe follows the siege.
1566 Event Renaissance and Reformations Bosnia and Herzegovina
Old Bridge of Mostar
The architect Mimar Hayruddin completes a work that became the symbol of Bosnian intermixing.
1569 Treaty Renaissance and Reformations Poland Lithuania
Union of Lublin
Poland and Lithuania form a joint Commonwealth: elective monarchy and a powerful parliament.
1571 War Renaissance and Reformations Cyprus
Ottoman conquest of Cyprus
The fall of Famagusta shortly precedes Lepanto; a Turkish-speaking community settles.
1573 Event Renaissance and Reformations Poland
Warsaw Confederation
The nobility guarantees religious peace while Europe sinks into wars of religion.
1579 Institution Renaissance and Reformations Lithuania
University of Vilnius
A Jesuit foundation, it becomes the intellectual hearth of the grand duchy.
1581 Event Renaissance and Reformations Netherlands
Act of Abjuration
The United Provinces depose their sovereign: one of the first texts asserting that power serves the people.
1588 Treaty Renaissance and Reformations Belarus
Statute of Lithuania
A code in the Ruthenian language, among the most advanced in Europe of its time.
1600 1699
Reformation and wars of religion 13 events1600 Treaty Renaissance and Reformations Romania
Union under Michael the Brave
A brief union of the three principalities, later the founding symbol of Romanian unity.
1602 Institution Early modern period Netherlands
First joint-stock company
The East India Company and the Amsterdam Exchange invent financial capitalism.
1607 Event Early modern period Andorra France
Co-principality confirmed
Henry IV rules that the king of France, later the head of state, will be co-prince.
1620 War Early modern period Czechia
Battle of White Mountain
Protestant defeat opens three centuries of Habsburg domination over Bohemia.
1631 Event Early modern period San Marino
Papal recognition
The Holy See formally recognises the republic’s independence.
1632 Institution Early modern period Estonia
University of Tartu
Gustavus Adolphus founds the university that will train the Baltic’s scholarly elite.
1632 Event Early modern period Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus at Lützen
Death of the “Lion of the North”, who had made Sweden the dominant Baltic power.
1648 Treaty Early modern period Germany
Peace of Westphalia
The end of the Thirty Years’ War enshrines state sovereignty and invents modern European diplomacy.
1648 Event Early modern period Netherlands
Independence of the Netherlands recognised
The Peace of Münster confirms the United Provinces as a fully fledged European power.
1670 Event Early modern period Netherlands
Spinoza and tolerance
The Theological-Political Treatise founds historical criticism of the Bible and argues for freedom of thought.
1683 War Early modern period Austria
Siege of Vienna
The Christian coalition breaks the Ottoman offensive: the ebb begins in Central Europe.
1685 Text Early modern period Latvia
Bible in Latvian
Ernst Glück’s translation fixes the written language and spreads reading through the parishes.
1688 Event Early modern period United Kingdom
Glorious Revolution
The Bill of Rights subjects the crown to Parliament: the matrix of parliamentary government.
1700 1799
Enlightenment 7 events1710 Text Early modern period Ukraine
Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk
The Cossack text separates powers and limits the hetman: one of Europe’s oldest.
1719 Institution Early modern period Liechtenstein
Creation of the principality
Emperor Charles VI raises the two lordships into an imperial principality.
1739 Text Early modern period Estonia
Bible in Estonian
The complete translation fixes the literary language and accelerates rural literacy.
1755 Disaster Early modern period Portugal
Lisbon earthquake
The disaster inspires Voltaire and Kant: the problem of evil becomes central to the Enlightenment.
1766 Text Early modern period Sweden
First freedom of the press act
Sweden adopts the world’s first law guaranteeing public access to official documents.
1789 Text Early modern period France
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The Assembly proclaims universal rights. The political vocabulary of contemporary Europe flows directly from it.
1791 Text Early modern period Poland
Constitution of 3 May
Europe’s first written constitution, adopted shortly before the country’s third partition.
1800 1824
Age of revolutions 8 events1804 Text Early modern period France
Civil Code
Napoleon commissions a synthesis of Roman and customary law, exported from Spain to Poland.
1806 Event Early modern period Liechtenstein
Sovereignty acquired
The dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire leaves Liechtenstein fully sovereign.
1809 Event Early modern period Finland
Autonomous grand duchy
Attached to Russia, Finland keeps its Swedish laws and develops its institutions.
1812 Event Early modern period Moldova
Annexation of Bessarabia
Russia takes the eastern half of the principality at the Treaty of Bucharest.
1814 Text Early modern period Norway
Eidsvoll Constitution
On 17 May Norway adopts one of the most liberal constitutions of its time.
1814 Event Early modern period Sweden
Beginning of neutrality
Sweden’s last war. Two centuries of non-alignment begin.
1815 Treaty Early modern period Austria
Congress of Vienna
Metternich reorganises post-Napoleonic Europe: the continent’s first collective security system.
1815 Institution Early modern period Luxembourg Netherlands
Creation of the Grand Duchy
The Congress of Vienna makes Luxembourg a sovereign state in personal union with the Netherlands.
1825 1849
Concert of Europe 8 events1830 Event Early modern period Belgium
Belgian independence
The Brussels revolution creates a constitutional kingdom, neutral and guaranteed by the powers.
1830 Event Early modern period Greece
Greek independence
Backed by European philhellenism, Greece becomes a state again after four Ottoman centuries.
1835 Text Early modern period Finland
Publication of the Kalevala
Lönnrot compiles the national epic, the foundation of the Finnish cultural awakening.
1843 Event Early modern period Slovakia
Codification of Slovak
Ľudovít Štúr fixes the literary standard, a precondition of modern nationhood.
1845 Disaster Early modern period Ireland
The Great Famine
A million dead, two million exiled: the island’s population has never recovered.
1848 Text Early modern period Switzerland
Federal Constitution
After a brief civil war, Switzerland becomes a federal state with direct democracy.
1848 Event Early modern period Slovenia
United Slovenia programme
The springtime of peoples sees the first national political claim formulated.
1849 Text Early modern period Denmark
Liberal constitution
Absolutism ends; Denmark becomes a constitutional monarchy.
1850 1874
Concert of Europe 10 events1859 Event Early modern period Romania
Union of the principalities
Cuza is elected in both Iași and Bucharest: modern Romania appears on the map.
1861 Event Early modern period Italy
Italian unification
The Risorgimento produces the Kingdom of Italy; Rome joins in 1870, ending the Papal States.
1861 Treaty Early modern period Monaco
Franco-Monegasque treaty
Monaco cedes Menton and Roquebrune and sees its independence recognised.
1863 Institution Early modern period Switzerland
Founding of the Red Cross
Henry Dunant creates in Geneva the institution that will give birth to humanitarian law.
1863 Event Early modern period Monaco
Monte-Carlo Casino
The Société des bains de mer turns a poor rock into a European destination.
1864 Event Early modern period Lithuania
Ban on the Lithuanian press
Forty years of book smuggling keep the language alive.
1867 Treaty Early modern period Hungary
Austro-Hungarian Compromise
Budapest becomes the second capital of an empire of fifty million people.
1867 Treaty Early modern period Luxembourg
Treaty of London
The fortress is dismantled and the country’s neutrality guaranteed by the powers.
1871 Event Early modern period Germany
Proclamation of the German Empire
At Versailles, Bismarck completes unification. A first-rank industrial power arises at the centre of the continent.
1873 Event Early modern period Latvia
First song festival
Dozens of choirs gather in Riga: song becomes the nation’s political expression.
1875 1899
Concert of Europe 4 events1878 Treaty Early modern period Bulgaria
Treaty of Berlin
An autonomous Bulgarian principality is reborn after the Russo-Turkish war.
1878 Event Early modern period Serbia
Independence of Serbia recognised
The Congress of Berlin confirms Serbian sovereignty after four Ottoman centuries.
1878 Event Early modern period Montenegro
Independence of Montenegro recognised
The Congress of Berlin confirms a state the Ottomans had never fully subdued.
1878 Event Early modern period Bosnia and Herzegovina
Austro-Hungarian administration
The Congress of Berlin entrusts Bosnia to Vienna, which annexes it in 1908.
1900 1924
Concert of Europe 20 events1900 Event Early modern period Austria
Vienna 1900
Freud, Klimt, Mahler, Wittgenstein: the capital becomes the laboratory of European modernity.
1903 War Early modern period North Macedonia
Ilinden Uprising
The revolt against the Ottomans becomes the founding reference of the Macedonian state.
1905 Event Early modern period Norway Sweden
Independence of Norway
The union with Sweden is peacefully dissolved after a massive referendum.
1906 Event Early modern period Finland
Universal suffrage
Finland is the first country in Europe to grant women both the vote and eligibility for office.
1910 Event Early modern period Portugal
Proclamation of the Republic in Portugal
The monarchy falls; the instability that follows will open the way to the Estado Novo.
1912 Event Early modern period Albania
Independence of Albania
Proclaimed at Vlora on 28 November, at the end of the Balkan wars.
1914 War Contemporary period Serbia
Sarajevo assassination
The killing of the archduke sets off the chain reaction of the First World War.
1914 Event Contemporary period Belgium
Violation of neutrality
The German invasion brings the United Kingdom into the war and freezes the Yser front.
1916 War Contemporary period Ireland
Easter Rising
The Dublin revolt, at first isolated, sets the independence process in motion.
1917 Event Contemporary period Finland
Independence of Finland
On 6 December Finland separates from revolutionary Russia.
1918 Event Early modern period Romania
Greater Romania
Union with Transylvania and Bessarabia doubles the territory and population.
1918 Event Early modern period Czechia
Birth of Czechoslovakia
Masaryk founds a parliamentary democracy that will remain unique in Central Europe.
1918 Event Early modern period Latvia
Proclamation of independence
On 18 November the Republic of Latvia is proclaimed in Riga.
1918 Event Early modern period Estonia
Independence of Estonia
Proclaimed on 24 February, it is successfully defended in the war of liberation.
1918 Event Early modern period Slovenia
Entry into Yugoslavia
The fall of Austria-Hungary brings Slovenia into the kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
1918 Event Early modern period Montenegro
End of the kingdom
Montenegro is absorbed into the kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
1918 Event Early modern period Moldova Romania
Union with Romania
The Sfatul Țării votes for union, annulled by the USSR in 1940.
1920 Treaty Early modern period Hungary
Treaty of Trianon
Hungary loses two-thirds of its territory; three million Magyars become minorities.
1923 Institution Contemporary period Türkiye
Founding of the Republic
Mustafa Kemal launches rapid Westernisation: Latin alphabet, Swiss civil code, secularism.
1923 Event Contemporary period Liechtenstein Switzerland
Customs union with Switzerland
The Swiss franc becomes official currency; Bern represents the principality abroad.
1925 1949
World wars 14 events1929 Event Contemporary period Vatican City
Lateran Accords
Vatican City State is created; the Roman question is closed.
1932 Disaster Contemporary period Ukraine
Holodomor
The famine engineered by Stalin kills millions; several states recognise it as genocide.
1939 War Contemporary period Poland
Invasion and occupation
Invaded by Germany then the USSR, Poland loses nearly a fifth of its population.
1939 War Contemporary period Finland
Winter War
Facing Soviet invasion, Finnish resistance saves independence at the cost of Karelia.
1941 War Contemporary period Belarus
Occupation and destruction
A quarter of the population perishes; hundreds of villages are razed.
1942 Event Contemporary period Malta
George Cross
King George VI decorates the entire island for its endurance under bombardment.
1943 Event Contemporary period Bulgaria
Rescue of the Bulgarian Jews
Under pressure from the Orthodox Church and parliamentarians, deportation is cancelled.
1943 Event Contemporary period Denmark
Rescue of the Danish Jews
In a few nights, more than 7,000 Jews are evacuated to neutral Sweden.
1944 Event Contemporary period Iceland
Proclamation of the Republic in Iceland
On 17 June, at Þingvellir, Iceland breaks the link with the Danish crown.
1944 Event Contemporary period San Marino
Sheltering refugees
The neutral republic houses more than 100,000 people, ten times its population.
1944 Event Contemporary period Netherlands
Benelux customs union
Signed in London by the governments in exile, it prefigures the common market.
1944 War Contemporary period Slovakia
Slovak National Uprising
One of the largest armed revolts against the Axis in occupied Europe.
1949 Text Contemporary period Germany
Bonn Basic Law
“Human dignity shall be inviolable”: Article 1 places the person — a Christian and humanist legacy — at the summit of the legal order.
1949 Institution European construction
Council of Europe
Ten states found in London the first European political organisation, matrix of the Convention on Human Rights.
1950 1974
European integration 24 events1950 Text European construction
Schuman Declaration
On 9 May France proposes placing coal and steel under a common authority. Community Europe is born of a material pooling.
1951 Treaty European construction
Treaty of Paris — ECSC
Six states create the European Coal and Steel Community, the continent’s first supranational institution.
1952 War European construction Luxembourg
Seat of the High Authority
Europe’s first supranational institution settles in Luxembourg.
1955 Treaty Contemporary period Austria
Austrian State Treaty
The four powers withdraw; Austria proclaims perpetual neutrality.
1956 War Contemporary period Hungary
Budapest uprising
The revolt is crushed by the Red Army; 200,000 Hungarians go into exile.
1957 Event European construction
Treaties of Rome
The EEC and Euratom are established; the common market and the four freedoms are laid down.
1957 Text European construction Belgium
The Spaak Report
Belgian Paul-Henri Spaak drafts the preparatory text of the Treaties of Rome.
1960 Event Contemporary period Cyprus
Independence of Cyprus
The Republic of Cyprus is born of a compromise between Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
1962 Religion Contemporary period Vatican City
Second Vatican Council
The Church reforms its liturgy and redefines its relations with the modern world and Judaism.
1963 Treaty European construction France
Élysée Treaty
De Gaulle and Adenauer seal Franco-German reconciliation, the institutional engine of integration.
1963 Treaty European construction Türkiye
Ankara Agreement
Association with the EEC explicitly envisages an accession perspective.
1963 Text European construction
Van Gend en Loos judgment
The Court of Justice asserts direct effect: Community law creates rights for citizens themselves.
1964 Event Contemporary period Malta
Independence of Malta
Malta leaves the British Empire and becomes a republic ten years later.
1967 Event Contemporary period Albania
Religion banned
Albania proclaims itself the world’s first atheist state; churches and mosques are closed.
1968 Event Contemporary period Czechia
Prague Spring
“Socialism with a human face” is crushed by Warsaw Pact tanks in August.
1968 Event European construction
Customs union
Internal tariffs disappear eighteen months ahead of schedule.
1969 Discovery Contemporary period Norway
Discovery of Ekofisk
North Sea oil transforms the economy and founds the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund.
1973 Event European construction Denmark
Accession of Denmark to the Communities
The first Nordic member, Denmark enters alongside the United Kingdom and Ireland.
1973 Event European construction Ireland
Accession of Ireland to the Communities
Ireland joins with the United Kingdom and begins its economic transformation.
1973 Event European construction United Kingdom
Accession of the United Kingdom to the Communities
After two French vetoes, the United Kingdom enters the EEC with Denmark and Ireland.
1973 Event European construction
First enlargement
Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the Communities, which grow from six to nine.
1974 Event Contemporary period Portugal
Carnation Revolution
On 25 April an almost bloodless military coup restores democracy.
1974 Event Contemporary period Cyprus
Division of the island
The coup and Turkish intervention cut Cyprus in two; the Green Line crosses Nicosia.
1974 Event Contemporary period Kosovo
Constitutional autonomy
The Yugoslav constitution grants Kosovo near-republican attributes.
1975 1999
European integration 47 events1975 Treaty European construction Finland
Helsinki Final Act
Thirty-five states sign a text placing human rights at the heart of détente.
1978 Text Contemporary period Spain
Democratic constitution of Spain
Three years after Franco, Spain adopts a parliamentary monarchy and a state of autonomies.
1979 Event European construction
First European elections
For the first time citizens directly elect their MEPs; Simone Veil chairs the assembly.
1980 Event Contemporary period Poland
Solidarity
At the Gdańsk shipyards the Soviet bloc’s first free trade union is born. Communism loses its workers’ legitimacy.
1980 Event Contemporary period Iceland
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
Iceland elects the world’s first woman head of state by direct universal suffrage.
1981 Event European construction Greece
Accession of Greece to the Communities
As the tenth member, Greece anchors its restored democracy in Community Europe.
1984 Event Contemporary period Liechtenstein
Women’s suffrage
The last country in Europe to grant it, by a male-only referendum.
1985 Treaty European construction
Schengen Agreement
Five states sign on the Moselle an agreement progressively abolishing internal border controls.
1986 Event European construction Spain
Accession of Spain to the Communities
With Portugal, Spain joins the EEC: southern enlargement consecrates democratisation.
1986 Event European construction Portugal
Accession of Portugal to the Communities
Portugal joins the EEC on the same day as Spain and begins rapid economic catch-up.
1986 Disaster Contemporary period Belarus
Chernobyl fallout
Nearly 70 % of the radioactive fallout lands on Belarusian territory.
1986 Treaty European construction
Single European Act
The internal market is scheduled for 1993 and qualified majority voting extended.
1988 Event Contemporary period Estonia
Singing Revolution
Three hundred thousand Estonians sing banned anthems together: dissent becomes massive.
1989 Event Contemporary period Romania
December revolution
The only violent fall of a European communist regime; Ceaușescu is executed on 25 December.
1989 Event Contemporary period Czechia
Velvet Revolution
In a few weeks and without violence the regime falls; Václav Havel becomes president.
1989 Event European construction Hungary
Pan-European Picnic
On 19 August Hungary opens its border with Austria: the first breach in the Iron Curtain.
1989 Event Contemporary period Lithuania
Baltic Way
Two million people form a human chain from Tallinn to Vilnius.
1989 Event European construction
Fall of the Berlin Wall
9 November opens German reunification and, in time, that of the continent.
1990 Event Contemporary period Germany
German reunification
A year after the Wall fell, the five eastern Länder join the Federal Republic and the European Community.
1990 Event Contemporary period Lithuania
Independence restored
On 11 March Lithuania is the first republic to leave the USSR.
1991 Event Contemporary period Croatia
Independence of Croatia
The declaration of 25 June opens four years of war on Croatian territory.
1991 War Contemporary period Slovenia
Ten-Day War
Slovenia leaves Yugoslavia after the shortest of the decade’s conflicts.
1991 Event Contemporary period Latvia
Independence of Latvia restored
After the Singing Revolution, Latvia regains its sovereignty.
1991 Event Contemporary period Estonia
Independence of Estonia restored
On 20 August Estonia again proclaims its sovereignty.
1991 Event Contemporary period Ukraine
Independence of Ukraine
More than 90 % of voters approve leaving the USSR on 1 December.
1991 Event Contemporary period Albania
End of the communist regime
After forty-seven years of isolation, pluralism is restored.
1991 Event Contemporary period North Macedonia
Peaceful independence
The only Yugoslav republic to separate without war.
1991 Event Contemporary period Moldova
Independence of Moldova
The republic proclaims sovereignty on 27 August, days after the Moscow putsch.
1991 Event Contemporary period Belarus
Independence of Belarus
The Belavezha Accords, signed in Belarus, formalise the dissolution of the USSR.
1992 War Contemporary period Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnian War
The siege of Sarajevo lasts 1,425 days; Srebrenica is recognised as genocide.
1992 Treaty European construction
Maastricht Treaty
The European Union is created, with European citizenship and the timetable for the single currency.
1992 Event European construction Switzerland
Rejection of the EEA
The people reject the European Economic Area; the bilateral path prevails.
1992 Event Contemporary period Moldova
Transnistria conflict
A ceasefire freezes a de facto secession that has lasted more than thirty years.
1993 Text Contemporary period Andorra
Democratic constitution of Andorra
Andorra becomes a sovereign state under the rule of law and joins the UN the same year.
1993 Event Contemporary period Slovakia
Independence of Slovakia
On 1 January the Slovak Republic is born of a negotiated, peaceful separation.
1993 Event Contemporary period Belgium
Federal Belgium
The fourth state reform enshrines in the Constitution a federal state of communities and regions.
1993 Event Contemporary period Czechia Slovakia
Velvet Divorce
Czechia and Slovakia separate peacefully on 1 January, a rare case in Europe.
1994 Event European construction Norway
Second rejection of membership
52.2 % of Norwegians reject Union entry; the EEA takes over.
1995 Event Contemporary period Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dayton Accords
Peace establishes a two-entity state whose architecture still governs the country.
1995 Event European construction Sweden
Accession of Sweden to the Union
With Austria and Finland, Sweden joins the EU; it will reject the euro by referendum in 2003.
1995 Event European construction Liechtenstein
EEA accession
The principality joins the European internal market without entering the Union.
1995 Event European construction Austria
Accession of Austria to the Union
Austria joins the EU by referendum and becomes a pivot towards Central Europe.
1995 Event European construction
Nordic enlargement
Austria, Finland and Sweden bring the Union to fifteen members.
1998 Treaty Contemporary period Ireland
Good Friday Agreement
Thirty years of conflict end; the Irish border becomes invisible.
1999 War Contemporary period Kosovo
NATO intervention
After months of conflict, the territory passes under United Nations administration.
1999 Treaty European construction Türkiye
Candidate status for Türkiye
The Helsinki European Council recognises Türkiye as a candidate country.
1999 Event European construction
Birth of the euro
Eleven currencies are irrevocably fixed; the European Central Bank takes up its functions.
2000 2024
European integration 39 events2002 Event European construction
Euro notes and coins
Three hundred million Europeans change currency on 1 January.
2002 Event European construction Montenegro
Unilateral euro adoption
Without being in the euro area, the country makes the euro its official currency.
2002 Treaty Contemporary period Monaco France
Friendship treaty with France
The text modernises the bilateral relationship and secures dynastic succession.
2004 Event European construction
The big bang enlargement
Ten states, eight of them formerly communist, join the Union: the continent’s division ends.
2004 Event European construction Poland
Accession of Poland to the Union
With nine other states, Poland joins the EU: the political reunification of the continent.
2004 Event European construction Slovenia
Accession of Slovenia to the Union
The only former Yugoslav republic in the great enlargement of 2004.
2004 Event European construction Cyprus
Accession of Cyprus to the Union
Cyprus joins the EU; the acquis remains suspended in the northern part of the island.
2004 Event European construction Malta
Accession of Malta to the Union
The smallest member state joins the EU and adopts the euro four years later.
2005 Discovery Contemporary period Estonia
First national online vote
Estonia becomes the first country in the world to hold elections over the internet.
2006 Event Contemporary period Montenegro
Independence referendum
55.5 % of voters choose separation from Serbia.
2007 Event European construction Romania
Accession of Romania to the Union
With Bulgaria, Romania joins the EU and becomes its eastern frontier on the Black Sea.
2007 Event European construction Slovenia
Euro adoption in Slovenia
The first of the 2004 new member states to join the single currency.
2008 Text Contemporary period Kosovo
Declaration of independence
On 17 February Pristina proclaims independence; recognition remains partial.
2008 Disaster Contemporary period Iceland
Banking collapse
The three big banks fail; the crisis leads to an EU application, withdrawn in 2015.
2008 Event European construction Switzerland
Schengen entry
Without Union membership, Switzerland abolishes its border controls.
2009 Treaty European construction
Treaty of Lisbon
The Charter of Fundamental Rights becomes binding; Parliament becomes a full co-legislator.
2009 Event European construction Slovakia
Euro adoption in Slovakia
The first Visegrád economy to join the euro area.
2010 Disaster European construction
Sovereign debt crisis
The euro area urgently creates unprecedented financial solidarity mechanisms.
2011 Treaty European construction Andorra
Monetary agreement with the EU
The principality is authorised to mint its own euro coins.
2012 Treaty European construction Serbia
Candidate status for Serbia
Serbia becomes a Union candidate; negotiations open in 2014.
2013 Event Contemporary period Ukraine
Euromaidan
The refusal to sign the EU association agreement triggers months of protest.
2013 Event European construction Croatia
Accession of Croatia to the Union
As the twenty-eighth member state, Croatia is the first Western Balkan country to enter.
2014 Event European construction Latvia
Euro adoption in Latvia
The lats gives way to the euro five years after one of Europe’s severest financial crises.
2015 Disaster European construction
Migration crisis
More than a million asylum seekers arrive in a single year; Schengen is put to the test.
2016 Event European construction
British referendum
51.9 % of voters choose to leave the Union: a first in the history of European construction.
2017 Event Contemporary period Montenegro
NATO accession of Montenegro
The country joins the Alliance despite strong internal opposition.
2018 Treaty European construction North Macedonia Greece
Prespa Agreement
The compromise with Greece over the name unlocks thirty years of diplomatic deadlock.
2020 Event European construction United Kingdom
Brexit
On 31 January the United Kingdom becomes the first state to leave the European Union.
2020 Event Contemporary period Belarus
2020 protests
Contestation of the presidential election is repressed; the EU does not recognise the result.
2020 Event European construction
NextGenerationEU
Facing the pandemic, the Union borrows 750 billion jointly: a major break in its budgetary workings.
2020 Event Contemporary period North Macedonia
NATO accession of North Macedonia
The country becomes the 30th member of the Atlantic Alliance.
2022 Treaty European construction Ukraine
Candidate status for Ukraine
Four months after the Russian invasion began, the European Council grants candidate status.
2022 War European construction
War in Ukraine
The Russian invasion brings sanctions, the reception of millions of refugees and candidacies from Ukraine and Moldova.
2022 Treaty European construction Moldova
Candidate status for Moldova
On 23 June Moldova becomes a Union candidate at the same time as Ukraine.
2022 Event European construction Albania
Opening of negotiations
Union accession talks open, jointly with North Macedonia.
2023 Event Contemporary period Finland
NATO accession of Finland
On 4 April Finland doubles the Alliance’s land border with Russia.
2023 Event European construction Croatia
Euro and Schengen
On 1 January Croatia joins the single currency and the free movement area on the same day.
2024 Event Contemporary period Sweden
NATO accession of Sweden
On 7 March Sweden becomes the 32nd ally, ending two centuries of neutrality.
2024 Event European construction
2024 European elections
720 members are elected in 27 states; the right and sovereignist groups gain ground.
2025 2049
European integration 4 events2025 Event European construction Romania
Full Schengen entry
Land border controls are lifted on 1 January, thirteen years after the first application.
2025 Event European construction
Schengen at 29
The area has twenty-nine members: twenty-five Union states and four EFTA neighbours. Two member states remain outside — Ireland, by choice, and Cyprus, which has yet to join.
2026 Event European construction Bulgaria
Euro adoption in Bulgaria
On 1 January the lev gives way to the euro: Bulgaria becomes the area’s 21st member.
2026 Event European construction
Euro area at 21
Twenty-one of the twenty-seven member states now share the currency. Of the six outside, only Denmark holds an opt-out: the other five are legally bound to join, with no deadline.