20 Ways to Slice Europe

Last modified 20.03.2022 | Published 10.04.2014Travel

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How do you slice Europe based on prejudices? Here are 20 maps indicating the stereotypes which surround us in everyday life.

What kind of prejudices do you think exist in, and about, Europe? How do you draw a map indicating the stereotypes? Well, a Bulgarian called Yanko Tsvetkov offers a fascinating answer to these questions. 

He has produced a couple of books called Atlas of Prejudice volumes 1 and 2. In these books he asserts that man’s first domesticated animal was not the dog, but the scapegoat – and that America was discovered by Socialist Scandinavians, the Vikings.

The reason I’m publishing this is that Tsvetkov has produced a selection of twenty maps. They are all quite revealing for us Europeans. The maps slice Europe based on prejudices. 

There is a portion of truth in all prejudices. For instance I do believe the author has a point drawing a line across Europe between the “Olive Oil Europe” in the south, and the “Butter Europe” in the north. Some of his other divisions are more debatable in my view, although they’re all quite amusing.

His continental slices vary between religions, rich and poor, degrees of traditionalism and various types of personalities. Here’s how to slice Europe based on prejudices. Click on this image to expand it.

The Map