Travel and Tourism

Riga is the capital of Latvia (population 2025: 588,911) and by far the largest city in the country. It is located in the southwest of the historical landscape of Livonia near the mouth of the Daugava River in the Gulf of Riga. Riga was an important trading and Hanseatic city with a multi-ethnic, but largely German-speaking population for centuries, whose political supremacy changed repeatedly. Until the end of the Middle Ages, it was mainly spiritual rulers (Archbishopric of Riga, Teutonic Order) who claimed the city and surrounding area for themselves, but after a brief period of Polish-Lithuanian rule, the city came under Swedish control in 1621. A century later, Riga became part of the Russian Empire and the capital of the Baltic governorate of Livonia.

In 1918, Riga became the capital of an independent Latvian state. After the German occupation during the Second World War in 1941, the Jewish population of Riga (8% of the total population) was mainly imprisoned in the ghetto, where numerous Jewish people from the territory of the German Reich at the time were also deported. In the same year, the Wehrmacht organized mass shootings of the Jewish population in the area of today's city. After the Second World War, the ethnic structure of Riga changed - the Jewish, German and Polish populations disappeared and were replaced by Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian populations. The Latvian population lost its majority in the city and fell to almost a third by the time the Soviet Union collapsed. They now make up 47% of the total population.

Livonia (Livonija in Latvian, Liivimaa in Estonian) is a historical landscape in the Baltic States. It comprises the southern part of present-day Estonia and the part of present-day Latvia north of the Daugava River. The landscape was named after the Livonians, a population group that hardly exists today.

Historically, the name Livonia can refer to other, different contexts. The governorate of the same name, which was one of the three Baltic Sea governorates of the Russian Empire, is particularly influential for today's understanding of the historical region. It existed from the beginning of the 18th century until 1918 and its capital was Riga, located at the mouth of the Duna.

Livonia had previously given its name to other states and confederations, most notably the Livonian Confederation, which had existed since the High Middle Ages. The Livonian part of the Teutonic Order as well as regional ecclesiastical states belonged to the confederation. The confederation also included large parts of the present-day states of Latvia and Estonia. After the dissolution of the confederation and the Teutonic Order state in the 16th century, sovereignty changed several times. Without the southern and northern areas, Livonia initially came under Polish-Lithuanian rule, later also under Swedish suzerainty, before coming under Russian rule in the course of the Great Northern War (1700-1721). Until the beginning of the 20th century, the central role of the landowning German-speaking nobility was particularly influential in the internal social organization of the rural area.

Kazan (population in 2024: 1,329,825) is the largest city on the Volga River. The city is located in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan. As the republic’s capital and one of Russia’s largest cities, it is also one of Russia’s most important industrial centers. The city is characterized by a high proportion of Tatar and Muslim residents.

The Soviet Union (SU or USSR) was a state in Eastern Europe, Central and Northern Asia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It emerged from the so-called Soviet Russia, the successor state of the Russian Empire. The Russian Soviet Republic formed the core of the union and at the same time its largest part, with further constituent republics added. Their number varied over time and was related to the occupation of other countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Soviet republics that existed only for a short time (Karelo-Finlandia) or the division or merger of Soviet republics. In addition, there were numerous autonomous republics or other territorial units with an autonomy status that was essentially limited to linguistic autonomy for minorities.

Before its formal dissolution, the USSR consisted of 15 Soviet republics with a population of approximately 290 million people. At around 22.4 million km², it was the largest territorial state in the world at the time. The Soviet Union was a socialist soviet republic with a one-party system and an absence of separation of powers.

Spree Forest is a historic cultural landscape in Lower Lusatia. It encompasses the expansive Spree River valley in southeastern Brandenburg. This wetland, characterized by dead-arms and man-made canals (its Sorbian name—Błota—means “swamps”) is now protected as a biosphere reserve.

Poland is located on the Baltic Sea and is the largest state (population in 2023: 37,636,508, area: 313,964 km²) in East Central Europe. The name of the state is derived from the West Slavic Polans, who brought more and more territories under their rule from the 9th century onwards, which were known as Duchy of Poland in the 10th century. Under Mieszko (ca. 960-992), the extent of the country reached approximately its current borders. He was at times subject to tribute to the German Emperor, at least for parts of his land. Poland probably adopted Christianity in 966 and from 1025 it was a kingdom. Between 1138 and 1295, the country was fragmented as a result of inheritance disputes. The extinction of the ruling Piast dynasty led to a Polish-Hungarian personal union in 1370, which was replaced by a Polish-Lithuanian dual monarchy as early as 1386 due to pressure from the Polish nobility. The growing role of the nobility resulted in an elective monarchy in 1572. However, the disunity of the nobility led to the three partitions of Poland (1772-1795) between Prussia, Russia and the Habsburg Monarchy. Poland only became independent after the end of the First World War in 1918 and lost its independence in 1939 after the German attack from the west at the beginning of the Second World War and the Russian invasion from the east. From 1945-1989 it was a satellite state of the Soviet Union. Poland has been a member of the European Union since 2004.

The Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe with a population of about 10.5 million people. The capital and largest city of the country is Prague. In the Czech Republic lie the historical landscapes of Bohemia, Moravia and parts of Silesia. In 1918 the state of Czechoslovakia was formed, but the Czech Republic was not founded until 1993. The country has been a member of the EU since 01.05.2004.

Moscow (population 2024: 13,146,907) is the capital of the Russian Federation and the most populous city located entirely in Europe. It is situated in the west of the country. Moscow is also the capital of the Central Russian Federal District. The administrative unit “City of Federal Significance Moscow” includes several other towns and has a population of 13,258,262. The city is by far the most important political, economic, scientific, and cultural center of the country.

Moscow was founded around the 11th/12th century. The construction of the fortification (Kremlin) is dated to the beginning of the second half of the 12th century. In the 13th century, Moscow became the capital of a sub-principality of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. In the 14th century, the princes of Moscow established themselves as rulers of the entire Rus. However, from 1247 to 1480, it was required to pay tribute to the Golden Horde, which devastated Moscow in 1238. In 1571, the city, which was almost entirely built of wood, was burned down by Tatar troops. By this time, however, Moscow was already the undisputed center of power in Russia. In 1687, the city's first college was opened, followed by its first university in 1775. Peter the Great moved the capital to Saint Petersburg in 1712. Weakened by unrest and plague, Moscow's development lagged behind that of the new capital. The invasion of Napoleon's troops in 1812 brought a deep cut in Moscow's development, with the city's population setting their houses on fire to repel them. The rapid reconstruction gave Moscow a modern cityscape.

After the October Revolution and the relocation of the capital back to Moscow in 1918, the city experienced an enormous expansion of its public infrastructure, and numerous prestigious buildings were erected until World War II. However, the expansion of residential space was never able to keep pace with population growth. This growth could not be slowed down, even by various restrictions on in-migration, some of which are still in force today. However, the city also grew through incorporations, particularly in 1960 and 2012.

In 1980, Moscow hosted the Summer Olympics. In the years that followed, however, the growing crisis in the Soviet Union also affected the city, which, following decentralization movements in the republics and unrest in Russia itself, was ultimately directly affected by the attempted coup in 1991. After the final collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, Moscow remained the capital of Russia. Since then, the city center in particular has been increasingly characterized by modern, prestigious buildings. Other features of the city's development in the post-Soviet era include the reconstruction of churches destroyed or repurposed during the Soviet era, the renovation of pre-Soviet buildings in the city center, and the expansion of transport infrastructure on the outskirts.

Saint Petersburg (population in 2024: 5,645,943, of which 4,732,198 live in the city proper) is a metropolis in northeastern Russia. It is the country’s second-largest city after Moscow. The city was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great at the mouth of the Neva River in the Baltic Sea. From 1712 to 1918, it was the capital of Russia. Alongside Moscow, St. Petersburg is Russia’s most important site for industry, education, culture, and trade, as well as one of its most important ports. From 1914 to 1924, the city was known as Petrograd, and from 1924 to 1991, as Leningrad.
During World War II, the city was besieged by the German Wehrmacht from September 8, 1941, to January 27, 1944—a total of 871 days. Over one million civilians died in the city, which had been systematically cut off from all supplies.

Vienna (population in 2025: 2,040,914) is the federal capital and the political, cultural, and economic center of Austria. More than one-fifth of the country’s population is concentrated within the city limits, and as much as one-third in the Greater Vienna area. Vienna is of particular historical significance as the capital and, by far, the most important royal seat of the former Habsburg Monarchy. Today, Vienna is home to the headquarters of several important international organizations.

Budapest (population 2025: 1,676,000) is the capital and largest city in Hungary. It is located in the center of the country, on the Danube. Budapest was formed from the merger of the cities of Buda on the left bank and Pest on the right bank of the Danube. Pest was already the capital of Hungary from the beginning of the 11th century and from the 13th century often alternated in this function with Buda. When the both cities were merged as Pest-Buda during the revolution in Hungary in 1848, they already formed a single entity. After the restoration of the monarchy (from 1526 as part of the Habsburg Monarchy), however, this merger was abolished in 1849 and re-established 1873. In this context the Hungarians replaced the Germans as the majority in the city. After the collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1918, Budapest remained the capital of a now independent Hungary. After Hungary's entry into the Second World War on the side of the German Reich in 1941, most of the city's Jews were ghettoized in 1944 and later deported to concentration camps or murdered. The 1956 popular uprising against Soviet tutelage in Hungary began in Budapest. In connection with the uprising and its suppression, the capital lost around 70,000 people. Today, Budapest is not only the country's largest economic and cultural center, but also one of the most important in East Central Europe.

The People's Republic of Hungary was a socialist state in East Central Europe that existed from 1949 to 1989. The occupation of Hungary by the German Wehrmacht began in 1944, followed by the Red Army, which occupied the entire country in 1945. After the end of the war, attempts to establish a democracy failed and the political system was successively transformed into a one-party system under communist leadership.

The People's Republic of Hungary was a member of the Warsaw Pact and was under the strong political influence of the Soviet Union, which violently suppressed the Hungarian uprising in 1956 with the help of the Warsaw Pact states (except Romania). To appease the population after the wave of reprisals against the participants of the uprising, economic and political reforms were introduced in the 1960s that went beyond the usual restrictions in the Eastern Bloc. In connection with the economic crisis of the late 1980s, further economic reforms and extensive political liberalization as well as opening to the West were gradually introduced, which also heralded the end of the socialist People's Republic. In 1989, the present-day Republic of Hungary was finally proclaimed.

Czechoslovakia was a state existing between 1918 and 1992 with changing borders, names, and political systems. Its territories are now part of the modern-day states of Czechia, Slovakia, and Ukraine (Carpathian Ukraine, occupied by Hungary in 1939 and transferred to the Soviet Union in 1945). After 1945, Czechoslovakia came under increasing political influence from the Soviet Union. After the communist party seized power in 1948, the country finally became part of the so-called Eastern Bloc, a satellite state of the Soviet Union, and a member of the Warsaw Pact from 1955. Between 1960 and 1990, the communist country was officially known as the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (abbreviated to ČSSR). The democratic political change was initiated in 1989 with the Velvet Revolution and culminated in 1992 with the founding of the independent Czech and Slovak Republics.

The Principality of Moldova was a state in southeastern Europe founded around 1354. The principality experienced its greatest expansion in 1408, when its borders stretched from the Eastern Carpathians to the Dniester River and from the Danube to the Black Sea. The Romanian "Old Kingdom" emerged from the union of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859 (personal union) and 1861 (real union); along with Romania, the Republic of Moldavia also sees itself as the successor state of the principality.

The Principality of Wallachia was a state in the south of present-day Romania. At the height of its expansion, it also included Dobruja and thus parts of the Black Sea coast. At the beginning of the 14th century, the principality was under Hungarian suzerainty. By the end of the century, it had fallen under Ottoman influence. As early as 1600, it was briefly united with the principalities of Transylvania and Moldavia. In 1659, the capital of the Principality of Wallachia was moved from Târgoviște to Bucharest. In 1859, the principality was once again united with the Principality of Moldavia, and together they formed the Principality of Romania in 1861.

The Kingdom of Prussia existed from 1701 to 1918 and was reigned by the Hohenzollern dynasty. The country was an absolute monarchy from its founding until 1848 and a constitutional monarchy from 1848 until its dissolution. The capital of the Kingdom of Prussia was Berlin. The land was inhabited by about 40 million people. After the November Revolution of 1918 and the abdication of Wilhelm II, the Kingdom dissolved and formed the Free State of Prussia.