Europe’s long and very storied history is one of the reasons why many overseas visitors are so fascinated by the continent. Indeed, history lurks around every corner if you know how to look for it. There are palaces and castles of course, monuments and statues that serve as well-preserved reminders of times gone by. But there are also less obvious witnesses to the past that are interesting to study because their historical meaning leads to an understanding of why things today are the way they are.
European history, that’s ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. But that’s also many centuries of warfare between neighboring nations, unspeakable cruelties and dark times. For example, in Eastern European countries, visitors will encounter the brutalist architecture that came in the Stalin era. In Germany, many cities suffered near-total destruction in World War II, in many cases causing an entirely new town layout in what was thought to be practical in the 1950s. In Central Europe, many historical buildings, in particular clerical ones, suffered greatly from years of neglect, traces of which often can still be seen.
For these reasons, history comes in many forms in Europe and can actually be found in one or the other form everywhere on the continent. Reading up on the places you are going to visit will open your eyes for the historical meaning of these places.
The following is a list of articles covering notable history experiences in Europe.
| Germany | Heligoland |
| The former intra-German border | |
| United Kingdom | Royal Palaces in Great Britain |