During the Viking Age (late 8th century-mid 11th century) the Norsemen travelled, traded, and established permanent colonies in many locations throughout mainland Europe and overseas. In their way to Iceland, they encountered the Faroe Islands, disposing of슠the small archipelago as a resupplying check point for stockpiles of resources that they could subsequently transport in their…
Historians have tried to discover the main reasons that determined the territorial expansion of the Norsemen beginning in the 8th century. As there are several competing theories on the matter, it is clear that each of them can’t be universally accepted and that each can match the historical background. As such, four main causes/scenarios that…
It seems that the rites of the old Norse mythology haven’t quite faded away completely in Iceland, where plans for a construction of an슠Asatru shrine to the Norse gods are just about to become reality as soon as possible in the capital of Reykjav쎭k. Although Christianized around a thousand years ago, a sizable minority of…
The Bran Castle (known in German as Die T쎶rzburg or, alternatively, Toerzburg respectively Terzburg) is one of the most reputed tourist attractions of Romania and also one of the most imposing and mesmerising medieval strongholds in Transylvania. It is located in the proximity of a former significant Transylvanian Saxon city, namely Kronstadt (known in Romanian…
The Transylvanian Saxons (or ‘Die Siebenb쎼rger Sachsen’ as they are known in Standard German/Hochdeutsch as well as ‘Siweberjer S쎥ksen‘ or ‘Soxen‘ in the Transylvanian Saxon dialect) are perhaps the most significant major German ethnic group of Romania and doubtlessly one of the most renowned from Central and Eastern Europe. They are part of the broader…
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