Top 10 history of Europe facts

Sweyn Forkbeard the King of Denmark and Norway in 1013 after many tries finally has conquered British soil and announced himself as the King of England. Another Vikings that became the King of England were his son Cnut and William the Conqueror.

Aachen (modern Germany). The geography of the Kingdom of Franks varied over time, but it was centered on the Rhine and Meuse rivers in northern Europe. Charlemagne himself probably spoke a Rhenish Franconian dialect of Old High German. Eventually, the singular use of the name Francia shifted towards the region of Paris.

Tuscan, specifically its Florentine variety, became the language of culture for all the people of Italy, thanks to the prestige of the masterpieces of Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, Giovanni Boccaccio and Niccolò Machiavelli. It would later become the official language of all the Italian states and of the Kingdom of Italy, when it was formed. Only 2.5% of Italy’s population could speak the Italian standardized language properly when the nation unified in 1861.

Greece. The Greek Civil War, was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek government army—backed by the UK and US — and the communist Democratic Army of Greece, backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania. It is estimated that 158,000 people were killed.

Poland. Back in 1980, Poland had land borders with Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and German Democratic Republic. Today it is neighboring Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Russia.

The Holy Roman Empire. Holy Roman Empire lasted from 962 to 1806 (it was eventually dissolved during the Napoleonic Wars). The II Reich was the German Empire of 1871-1918.

Hungarians. The possible homeland of the Hungarians was situated in the regions of Southern Ural. In 895/896, after several centuries of migration, they crossed the Carpathians and entered the Carpathian Basin. The land was inhabited only by a sparse population of Slavs, who were either assimilated or enslaved by the Hungarians.

Poland. Historians aren't sure why Poland was spared the worst of the plague, even though all its neighbours got depopulated. It was the only place not affected by the disease on the European continent (Iceland was also spared because it was rarely visited and Black Death never reached there).

Denmark. In 1943, 95% of Jews from Nazi-occupied Denmark were evacuated to Sweden in an event known as the rescue of the Danish Jews. It was a collective achievement of the Danish resistance movement, German diplomat Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz (who warned the Danish Jews about the intended deportation to Germany) and many ordinary Danish citizens, mostly policemen and fishermen.

Russian ruble. The new ruble, introduced by the monetary reform of Peter the Great in 1704, was the first currency based on the decimal system.