1. Chapter 16
Central Europe

2. Ch. 16 - sect. 1 France Northern France Paris Basin - large region
drained by the Seine
Center -Paris
Lille, France - industrial center
north of Paris
Southwestern France
Warmer , dryer soil - perfect for
grapes
Bordeaux - best wine producing
city

3. Section 1 continued Southcentral and Southeastern France
Massif Central (middle) and Alps (west)
Rhone river lies between them
Massif central - poor soil
tunnel through Mont
Blanc into Italy

4. France cont.
French Riviera - between the Alps and the Mediterranean sea, low - lying coastal area, popular tourist area
Port of Marseille - busiest in France
Petroleum, wine, electronic goods, and chemicals

5. France - history and culture
France was known as Gaul, Romans took over and ruled for 500 years
Franks came from Germany and conquered the region
Charlemagne - King of France and surrounding area The Holy Roman Empire (768 A.D.)
After Charlemagne’s death and the fall of the Empire nobles took power
Hugh Capet - Paris ruler that expanded the borders of France to what we know today (1589)
end of monarch rule in France

6. French culture
French - main language, but many dialects (variations for a language that are unique to the region)
Artists - Claude Monet, Pierre Renoir
Impressionism - style of painting
France Today
Nationalized - brought under state control
France has done this for some businesses to spark the economy

7. Pictures
The Louve Arc de Triomph Renoir
Water Lilies by Monet

8. Germany 16-2 Germany struggles for unity
Protestant Reformation - divided Germany
East Germany - known as Prussia led a movement to merge states into a Confederation - loose political union
1871 Germany defeats France in the Franco - Prussian war - New German Empire formed

9. Germany
WWI Germany was a part of the Triple Alliance - defeated in 1918
Treaty of Versailles - ended WWI, made Germany pay reparations, and Germany took the blame for the war
Inflation and eventual depression caused Adolf Hitler to come to power
WWII

10. One people, two countries
After WWII Germany was divided into 4 parts - eventually became 2 (East and West)
Federal Republic of Germany (West) established in 1949
Oct. 3, officially reunified East and West
North, Central and Southern Germany - see your region assignment

11. Section 3 Benelux countries
Low countries - Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg
Low, flat and just a little larger than W. Virginia
Population - 26 million (Canada’s pop.)
Netherlands Belgium
Luxembourg

12. Netherlands 1/5 of their land is reclaimed from the sea
1/3 of their land is below sea level
Started with dikes - embankments of earth and rock, hold back water
Polder - reclaiming the land by pumping out the water into canals
Powered by windmills

13. Netherlands - cont.
Randstad - The Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Utretcht - 4 cities that make up an arc shaped metropolis - trying to keep their population in cities
Many key ports

14. Belgium
Diversity in their population - 30% French (Walloons) 55% Dutch (Flemish) - official language
Gained independence from Netherlands in 1830
LUXEMBOURG
998 sq. miles
Lang - diverse French, German and Luxembourg
Part of EC
Economic activity - high tech. and service industries

15. Sect. 4 Switzerland - Confederation Helvetica or Swiss Confederation
3 official languages - German (65%), French (18%) and Italian (7%)
26 cantons - states
Executive branch - 7 member council with 1 elected “President” for 1 year
Swiss Cantons fought the Austrian empire and won - Switzerland was formed
Swiss defeated Napoleon and it was the last time they took sides in a war - NEUTRAL

16. Switzerland cont. Economy - strong even though they have few resources
One Swiss Franc American dollar
Dairy farming - most important ag.
spring - in Mt Fall - valley
Famous for chocolate and cheese
Technology - watches and microscopes
tourism

17. Switzerland - physical
Climate - marine west coast - temperate variations according to elevation
Mountains - Alps (south) Jura (N.W.)
Population 7 million
Religion - catholic with large atheist population
Not in EU
Joined UN in 2002

18. Austria
Modern borders were formed after their defeat in WWI (Austria - Hungarian empire)
Alps - iron ore
Machine tools - manufacturing
Ag. - cattle breeding and dairy
Vienna - smaller since 1918
Heavy influence from Germany (98% )
One Euro = 1.5 American $