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Country: Austria Capital: Vienna Official language(s): German Population: 8 348 233 Area: 83 871 km2 EU accession: 1 January 1995 Currency: Euro Famous for:
Mozart’s music; national dance – waltz; the Schönbrunn Palace (the summer residence of the emperors); one of the UN headquarters - located in Vienna; the funfair called "Prater"
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Country: Belgium Capital: Brussels Official language(s): Dutch, French, German Population: 10 827 519 Area: 30 528 km2 EU accession: 25 March 1957* Currency: Euro Famous for:
being the heart of EU – the headquarters of major EU institutions, like Commission, Council of EU, European Council, partly Parliament, but also many NGOs; cuisine: french fries, chocolates, waffles
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Country: Republic of Bulgaria Capital: Sofia Official language(s): Bulgarian Population: 7 563 710 Area: 110 993.6 km2 EU accession: 1 January 2007 Currency: Bulgarian lev Famous for:
tourist destination - good and cheap cuisine, nice, warm weather, beautiful sandy beaches; many interesting places and buildings like The Church of Saint Cyril and Methodius in Burgas city,
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Country: Republic of Cyprus Capital: Nicosia Official language(s): Greek, Turkish Population: 798 045 Area: 9.251 km2 EU accession: 1 May 2004 Currency: Euro Famous for:
its history - many cultures are cumulating on this island: from ancient Persia, Assyria to the Turkish Empire times; legends about the birthplace of the ancient Greek Goddess Aphrodite
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Country: Czech Republic Capital: Prague Official language(s): Czech, Slovak Population: 10506813 Area: 78 866 km2 EU accession: 1 May 2004 Currency: Czech koruna Famous for:
Czech cuisine, traditional dish called "knedlicki"- dumplings, beer; Prague - one of the most visited cities in Europe because of the architecture and interesting sights, such as the Bridge of Charles
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Country: Kingdom of Denmark Capital: Copenhagen Official language(s): Danish Population: 5 540 241 Area: 43 098.31 km2 EU accession: 1 January 1973* Currency: Danish krone Famous for:
places to relax like Legoland; ports; studies for free; TV series such as "the Olsen Gang"
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Country: Republic of Estonia Capital: Tallinn Official language(s): Estonian Population: 1 340 021 Area: 45 228 km2 EU accession: 1 May 2004 Currency: Estonian kroon Famous for:
forests; limestone; oil shale; ports
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Country: Republic of Finland Capital: Helsinki Official language(s): Finnish, Swedish Population: 5 359 538 Area: 338 424 km2 EU accession:1 January1995 Currency: Euro Famous for:
Rovaniemi - Santa Claus’ village; reindeers; sauna; sports: ski jumping, skiing; music: rock bands like The Rasmus, Nightwish, Lordi; food - various kinds of meet, dumplings, especially those from Karelian region; unique language from the Ugro-Finnish group
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Country: French Republic Capital: Paris Official language(s): French Population: 65 447 374 Area: 674 843 km2 EU accession: 25 March 1957* Currency: Euro Famous for:
rich and fascinating history; cuisine - mussels, cheese (roquefort, camembert), fondue dish, french croissants, tarts; fashion; Paris; Eiffel Tower; the Lumiere brothers beingthe founders of movie; music - artists like Joe Dassin, Edith Piaf, Jean-Michel Jarre
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Country: Federal Republic of Germany Capital: Berlin Official language(s): German Population: 81 757 600 Area: 357 021 km2 EU accession: 25 March 1957* Currency: Euro Famous for:
rich history; popular top model Claudia Schiffer; music – Wagner, bands such as Tic Tac Toe; literature – J. W. Goethe; sport – football, ski jumping, skiing; traditional festivals such as "October Fest"; cuisine - various types of sausages, beer, special dishes, like "Maultaschen", "Pratzel"; Berlin being one of the most important capitals in Europe
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Country: Republic of Greece Capital: Athens Official language(s): Greek Population: 11 306 183 Area: 131 990 km2 EU accession: 1 January 1981* Currency: Euro Famous for:
the antiquity period; mythology; cuisine - wines, olives, moussaka dish; light blue colour of houses; mineral water sources; country with sea, islands; country which is tourist oriented
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Country: Republic of Hungary Capital: Budapest Official language(s): Hungarian Population: 10 007 000 Area: 93 030 km2 EU accession: 1 May 2004 Currency: Forint Famous for:
national dance - Chardash; cuisine - spicy dishes with a lot of paprika; the Hungarian language belongs to the Ugro-Finnish group
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Country: Ireland Capital: Dublin Official language(s): English, Irish Population: 4 459 300 Area: 70 273 km2 EU accession: 1 January 1973 Currency: Euro Famous for:
many green places; natural gas and hydrocarbon sources; Dublin being the main tourist destination; music - traditional Irish folk music
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Country: Italian Republic Capital: Rome Official language(s): Italian Population: 60 231 214 Area: 301 338 km2 EU accession: 25 March 1957* Currency: Euro Famous for:
Rome - as one of the most often visited European cities because of the ancient places and buildings, like the Colosseum, Forum Romanum, di Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Basilica di San Marco; cuisine – various types of pasta, olives, wine, pizza, tiramisu cake; sport - football, volleyball; music - opera; warm climate
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Country: Republic of Latvia Capital: Riga Official language(s): Latvian Population: 2 217 969 Area: 64 589 km2 EU accession: 1 May 2004 Currency: Lats Famous for:
music - Brainstorm band; Riga; many interesting castles; protestant cathedrals; food - black bread, a drink called "Gira"; numerous lakes and mineral water sources
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Country: Republic of Lithuania Capital: Vilnius Official language(s): Lithuanian Population: 3 341 966 Area: 65 200 km2 EU accession: 1 May 2004 Currency: Lithuanian litas Famous for:
sport - especially basketball (Zalgiris team being the best club), ice-hockey; cuisine - traditional dishes: fried bread with cheese, potato cakes, cold beetroot soup, pancakes with cheese, drink called "Gira"; full of sights located in Vilnius, Trakai, Kaunas
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Country: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Capital: Luxembourg Official language(s): German, French, Luxembourgish Population: 502 202 Area: 2 586.4 km2 EU accession: 25 March 1957* Currency: Euro Famous for:
being a headquarter for many financial institutions, such as European Investment Bank; place of European Parliament administration
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Country: Republic of Malta Capital: La Valletta Official language(s): Maltese, English Population: 413 609 Area: 316 km2 EU accession: 1 May 2004 Currency: Euro Famous for:
second highest amount of Catholics (Vatican being the first); cuisine – varied dishes because of the influence of Britain and Italy; warm climate
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Country: Kingdom of the Netherlands Capital: The Hague Official language(s): Dutch Population: 16 620 900 Area: 41 526 km2 EU accession: 25 March 1957* Currency: Euro Famous for:
traditional cheese production - Emmentaler, Maasdamer, Gouda (from the Gouda city); flowers - tulips as a symbol of the country; healthy lifestyle - the highest percentage of bicycle users and the best bicycle routes infrastructure among other EU member states; numerous tall people; windmills
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Country: Republic of Poland Capital: Warsaw Official language(s): Polish Population: 37 810 793 Area: 312 685 km2 EU accession: 1 May 2004 Currency: Złoty Famous for:
rich history; varied landscape - mountains, lakes and sea; literature - writers and poets such as Henryk Sienkiewicz, Wisława Szymborska, Czesław Miłosz; directors - Roman Polański, Andrzej Wajda; music - Frederic Chopin etc.; traditional dance - polonaize; it’s a country that was notmuch touched by the recent economic crisis
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Country: Portuguese Republic Capital: Lisbon Official language(s): Portuguese Population: 11 317 192 Area: 92 090 km2 EU accession: 1 January 1986* Currency: Euro Famous for:
traditional music – Fado; cuisine – wines; Lisbon - place where the EU treaty was signed; interesting sights such as University in Coimbra (the oldest in Portugal); places of religious importance; pilgrim routes - Fatima
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Country: Romania Capital: Bucharest Official language(s): Romanian Population: 22 215 421 Area: 238 391 km2 EU accession: 1 January 2007 Currency: Romanian leu Famous for:
legends about the Dracula; good cuisine; wine; music
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Country: Slovak Republic Capital: Bratislava Official language(s): Slovak Population: 5 379 455 Area: 49 035 km2 EU accession:1 May 2004 Currency: Euro Famous for:
high mountains; cheap products, numerous sights put on the UNESCO world heritage list; sport - tennis players like Martina Hingis, Daniela Hantuchova
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Country: Republic of Slovenia Capital: Ljubljana Official language(s): Slovene Population: 2 054 199 Area: 20 273 km2 EU accession 1 May 2004 Currency: Euro Famous for:
many green places; interesting caves- Vilenica as a meeting point for guests of Central-European literary festival; sport – ski jumping competition in Planica, skijumpers Robert Kranjec, Primoz Peterka, Damjan Fras
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Country: Kingdom of Spain Capital:Madrid Official language(s): Spanish Population: 45 989 016 Area: 504 030 km2 EU accession:1 January 1986* Currency: Euro Famous for:
traditional celebrations such as Corrida, Pampeluna; cuisine - paella, olives, wine; impressive history – the great fleet of Spain called "Armada"; traditional dance - Flamenco; sport - football clubs: FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, tennis -Raphael Nadal, Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero
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Country: Kingdom of Sweden Capital: Stockholm Official language(s):Swedish Population: 9 354 462 Area: 449 964 km2 Accession: 1 January 1995 Currency: Swedish krona Famous for:
music - Abba band; cold climate; the best welfare system in Europe; forests; lakes; good conditions for winter sports
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Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Capital: London Official language(s):English Population: 62 041 708 Area: 243 610 km2 Accession: 1 January 1973* Currency: Pound sterling Famous for:
tradition of royalty - Buckingham Palace, Queen as a symbol of the British Empire; fashion – London being one of the most important fashioncentre; food - coffee with milk, eggs with bacon, toasts; music – numerous bands and singers of various genres, forexample the Beatles, Robbie Williams, the Spice Girls; British Museum, Westminster Abbey; sights to visit like Stonehenge, the Tower
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| * Precise date of the accession to the European Community. The European Union was created in 1992. |