What is the name of the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula? Balkan countries

He knows a lot about traveling by train, since traveling around Italy by train is everything to us))) This, by the way, is far from our best and most interesting video! Go to YouTube channel Aviamania and, so to speak, get acquainted with the assortment. And don't forget to subscribe and click on the bell!

Montenegro on the world map: what about the products?

In Montenegro, in many shops and supermarkets you will hardly find goods from local producers. Most of the assortment is imported. There are many Serbian, Croatian and Italian products here. By the way, thanks to low prices compared to most European countries, here you can buy quality things inexpensively.

Aviamania plans to check the assortment and prices on store shelves and tell you what for what and where)

Montenegro on the world map: the smallest and largest country

The people of the country themselves love her selflessly. This is not surprising; even V. Vysotsky in his poem regretted that he only lives once. Many people dream of being born in Montenegro and enjoying its beauty. The Montenegrins themselves joke about the area of the country in a very funny way.

They say that Montenegro has so many mountains and they are so high that if they were “smoothed out”, the area of the country would exceed the area of Russia.

A beautiful story, but you understand...

Montenegro on the world map:

The name Montenegro or Black Mountain is completely justified. It is nature that is the calling card of Montenegro and attracts tourists from all over the world. Those who come here leave a piece of their heart in the small hospitable country.

Airmania wants to convey to the maximum through its videos everything that will open for us amazing country Montenegro!

See you again on the pages of the site and YouTube channel!

When planning to get acquainted with new countries, take a close look at the map of the Balkan Peninsula. These lands can offer travelers unexpected but pleasant surprises; here history, art, and the fusion of a wide variety of cultures create amazing routes for family holidays, active pastime and even for exotic travel.

Unique and bustling city centers, historical places from different eras, museums replete with various artifacts, original architecture, lively embankments and pedestrian streets full of restaurants and cafes...

And the Balkan Peninsula and its map are famous for their unique natural landscapes, which create ample opportunities for active recreation, including on mountain lakes, in winter - skiing from the mountains, in summer - historical tourism, introducing the ruins of ancient civilizations. Add the fact that the Balkan countries themselves are quite compact, but at the same time have a very developed transport infrastructure, and the prices for holidays here are quite low, which makes them undoubtedly very interesting for the budget traveler. In addition, a significant part of the population in the Balkans are Slavic peoples, close to us in spirit, religion, and character...

Map of the countries of the Balkan Peninsula

The countries on the map of the Balkan Peninsula, whose territory is partially or completely within the Balkans, include: Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania, Turkey.

The European Union includes Greece, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania, so to visit these countries you need a Schengen visa. Other countries listed above offer visa-free regime entry into your territory.

Balkan Peninsula visa map

The majority of countries on the Balkan Peninsula practice visa-free entry. For example, the Republic of Macedonia has once again unilaterally extended the possibility of free entry for our compatriots. The visa-free regime, which has been in effect continuously in this country since March 15, 2012, has now been extended once again for citizens of the Russian Federation and Ukraine - until March 15, 2020.

You can also visit Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina without a visa. Until recently, Croatia also had a visa-free regime, but after joining the European Union, it introduced Schengen visas (see the post “Visa to Croatia”). Montenegro today - too visa-free country(see "Montenegro summer").

You can stay continuously in the territory of visa-free Balkan countries for 30-90 days within a six-month period.

Holiday season in the Balkans

The best time for a holiday in the Balkans is May-September, and for those who love skiing - January-February.

Macedonia and Serbia are landlocked, but holidays mountain lakes these countries, on their balneological resorts could be a great addition to excursion tours across the Balkans.

In the north and northwest, the Balkan Peninsula, which is part of Southern Europe, borders countries such as Austria, Hungary and Italy.

Climate and weather

The north of the Balkan Peninsula and its central regions (Serbia, Slovenia, partly Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) have a temperate continental climate, characterized by cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers. Here in July average temperature is about 22 -25C; in January, the air temperature ranges from −1C in the plains and −5C in the Balkan Mountains.

Balkans video

The climate in the south and west (Greece, Turkey, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia) is typical subtropical Mediterranean, characterized by hot summers and cool winters. In July the average air temperature is 26C, and in January + 10C.

The climate in the northeast (part of Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria) is characterized by warm summers and cool winters. In July, the average air temperature here is 22C, and in January + 5C.

Macedonia is famous for its hot and dry weather in summer and wet and cold winter, which is typical of a continental climate. In the south of this country the climate is reminiscent of the Mediterranean - mild and warm. In July, the warmest month of summer, the average air temperature is +22C. In January you can expect mild frosts with temperatures of -3C.

The Balkan Peninsula is in southern Europe. There are few such places on the Balkan Peninsula. Modern photo The Balkan Peninsula has rich vegetation.

In antiquity, the Balkan Mountains were called in ancient Greek Αἶμος, in Latin Haemus. In addition, the Balkan countries are a real center of recreational childhood: there are a lot of children’s and youth camps and a whole bunch of schools teaching foreign languages. You can stay continuously in the territory of visa-free Balkan countries for 30-90 days within a six-month period.

In the north and northwest, the Balkan Peninsula, which is part of Southern Europe, borders on countries such as Austria, Hungary and Italy. To get acquainted with the color of the countries on the map of the Balkan Peninsula, it is worth visiting the eight most interesting directions. The climate in the north and east is temperate continental, in the south and third it is subtropical Mediterranean. In the north and east there are broad-leaved and coniferous forests; in the south and third there are Mediterranean hard-leaved forests and shrubs; the plains are cultivated.

The steppes and forest-steppes in the north and east are plowed; corn, wheat, tobacco, and grapes are grown; gardens; in the south there are plantations of olives, citrus fruits, and pomegranates. Southern Europe. On ter. The peninsula contains parts of Slovenia and Romania, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece and the European part of Turkey. It juts out into the sea for 950 km. It is washed by the Mediterranean, Adriatic, Ionian, Marmara, Aegean and Black Seas.

To the south it forms the Morea Peninsula (Peloponnese). To the east are the Balkan Mountains and the eroded Dobruja Highlands. With the intensification of the struggle for markets, the Balkan Peninsula with its 43 million population is also gaining interest as a place for selling goods.

Balkan Mountains (see Stara Planina). In the mountains there is a high altitude climate. On the north and in the mountains int. parts of the Baltic region are dominated by forests from Central Europe. The shores of the peninsula are strongly dissected. The northern border of the peninsula is considered to be a conventional line drawn along the Danube, Sava and Kupa rivers, and from the source of the latter to the Kvarner Strait.

Faith - and only the Orthodox faith - lifts this peninsula above the East and West. In ancient times, Greeks, Macedonians, Illyrians, Thracians and other ancient peoples lived on the peninsula. After the conquest of most of the peninsula by the Roman Empire, many peoples became Latinized, although some remained under the influence of Greek culture.

What countries are located on the Balkan Peninsula?

As a result of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of the First World War, the political structure and organization changed significantly Balkan region. Jovan Kvizic, the compiler of this “ethnographic map” of the Balkan region, published in 1918 by the American geographical society New York, taught geography at the University of Belgrade.

The Balkan Peninsula and adjacent islands are washed by Mediterranean Sea. The climate on the Balkan Peninsula is favorable. The people who inhabited this territory had to conquer difficult mountains, because they occupy 4/5 of the Balkan Peninsula. Find Mount Olympus on the map (p. 113). Describe its location. Occupations of the ancient Greeks The population of the Balkan Peninsula was engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding, fishing, and hunting.

Look at the map and name the areas and islands near the Balkan Peninsula that are rich in the named minerals. Fresco Ancient Greek ship The sea played a huge role in the life of the ancient Greeks. The shores of the Balkan Peninsula are indented with a great variety of bays and coves in which one could hide from bad weather. An ancient, highly detailed map of the Balkans with an additional map of Constantinople (modern Istanbul) and the Central Balkans in the area of Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv, Bulgaria).

The southeast of Europe, washed by the waters of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, the Balkans is a kind of corner for intimate neighborly gatherings in a friendly way. In a general cultural sense, the Balkans are all of the above without taking into account Turkey and Italy: the first is usually attributed to Asia, the second to Southern Europe.

Macedonia and Serbia are landlocked, but relaxing on the mountain lakes of these countries and at their balneological resorts can be an excellent addition to excursion tours in the Balkans. In the south of this country the climate is reminiscent of the Mediterranean - mild and warm.

Balkan Peninsula, its nature

South Europe, jutting into the Mediterranean Sea. Hall. the shores are indented, rocky, eastern. - low. The relief is predominantly mountainous (Rhodope Mountains, Dinaric Highlands, Rida Mountains - up to 2925 m). Plains in the north and in intermountain depressions, in places along the coasts. The peninsula has been inhabited since ancient times. See these articles. This book will be produced in accordance with your order using Print-on-Demand technology.

The coasts are heavily indented, with many adjacent islands, especially in the south (Greece) and east. In the west stretch the Dinaric Mountains, to the south passing into Pindus and the mountains of Greece. More significant flat areas (Lower Danube and Thracian lowlands, Bulgarian plateau) - in the east. parts. The rivers (except the Danube) are small. Europe south to the Aegean Sea and further to Asia. The interests of England, Italy, France, and before the war, Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary are connected with these directions of world communications.

When planning to get acquainted with new countries, take a close look at the Balkan Peninsula. The majority of countries on the Balkan Peninsula practice visa-free entry.

The northern border of the Balkan Peninsula is drawn along the flow of the Sava and Danube, and in the east - from the latitudinal section of the Danube, approximately 44° N. sh., to the Black Sea. In the west, the region is washed by the Adriatic and Ionian seas. In the east, ero is limited by the Black Sea, the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean. The region also includes numerous islands of the Ionian and Aegean seas and the island of Crete.

Massive and wide in the north, the Balkan Peninsula narrows to the south, and the dismemberment of its coasts increases. The surface of the Balkan Peninsula is mountainous. The name itself comes from the Turkish word “balkan”, which means “mountain”. Plains, lowlands and basins occupy a relatively small area.

The modern contours and topography of the land were formed as a result of the movements of the end of the Neogene and the beginning of the Anthropocene. The Aegean Sea was formed on the site of the fragmented and sank land that connected the Balkans with Asia Minor. Islands Aegean Sea represent the remnants of this land, and the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits arose as a result of the subsidence and flooding of wide river valleys that existed in the Neogene. On the western and northeastern outskirts of the Balkan Peninsula, mountain systems of Cenozoic age rise; its inner part is filled with a hard middle massif, which experienced splits in the Neogene.

In the northeast of the peninsula, the Balkan Mountains, or Stara Planina, as they are called in Bulgaria, stretch in an arc convex to the south. In terms of age of folding and structure, the Balkans are close to the Carpathians and obviously belong to the system of structures of the Alpine folded belt, which continues through Dobruja to the Crimean Peninsula.

The northern slope of the Balkans gradually turns into the foothill Bulgarian plateau, which, in turn, descends to the Lower Danube lowland. The Bulgarian plateau and the northern slope of the Stara Planina are dissected by deep valleys, and the Iskar River cuts right through the Balkans, forming the famous Iskar Gorge, along which pass Railway and the highway to Sofia. The highest, central part of the mountains is composed of crystalline rocks. Its maximum height is 2376 m (Mount Botev), the passes lie at altitudes significantly exceeding 1000 m. The Shipka Pass is a road in memory of the Russian and Bulgarian peoples during the war of 1877-1878, when Russian troops, together with the Bulgarian ones, liberated Bulgaria from Turkish rule.

At the southern foot of the Stara Planina lie the Trans-Balkan basins - Sofia, Karlovskaya, Kazanlakskaya and Slivenskaya. The most extensive Sofia Basin has a height of 500 m, the rest are somewhat lower. The transition from mountains to basins is expressed very sharply in the relief. The bottom of the basins is flat, and the surrounding mountains are visible from each point.

From the south, the Trans-Balkan basins are closed by a mountain range called Sredna Gora in Bulgaria, and in Russian literature known as the Anti-Balkans. In terms of geological structure, the Anti-Balkans are close to the Balkans, but inferior to them in height. Precipitating steeply to the north, towards the basins, they descend more gently to the south.

Another one mountain system The Balkan Peninsula stretches along its western edge from north to south and passes to the coastal islands. It is more extensive than the Balkans and more complexly built. These are the Dinaric Highlands and Pindus.

The Dinaric Highlands begins north of the Istrian peninsula, where it meets the South-Eastern Alps. Further it extends from northwest to southeast, along the Adriatic coast to the northern border of Albania. Recent subsidence caused the fragmentation of the western marginal zone of the Dinaric Highlands and its subsidence below sea level. This led to the formation of a highly dissected Dalmatian coast, accompanied by hundreds of large and small islands. Islands, peninsulas and bays are stretched along the coastline in accordance with the extent of the mountain ranges.

Most of the highlands are composed of Mesozoic limestones and Paleogene flysch. Limestones make up ridges and vast plateaus, and loose flysch deposits fill the synclinal depressions between them. The predominance of limestone and heavy rainfall caused the development of karst processes in the western part of the highland. This was also facilitated by the destruction of forest vegetation. In this area, the patterns of karst formation and the shape of karst relief were studied for the first time (the name of the phenomenon itself comes from the name of the Karst plateau in the north-west of the Balkan Peninsula). In the Dinaric Highlands you can find all forms of the so-called “bare” or Mediterranean karst. Large areas have been turned into completely barren and impassable carr fields, where there is neither soil nor vegetation. The underground forms of karst relief are varied - wells up to several hundred meters deep, branched caves reaching many kilometers in length. Of the caves, Postojnska is especially famous , east of Trieste.

The karst zone of the Dinaric Highlands is almost devoid of surface watercourses, but there are many karst rivers that disappear and reappear on the surface. The population in this part of the region is sparse and concentrated mainly in the fields where springs emerge and a cover of red-colored weathering crust forms.

Continuing south under the name Pindus, the mountains occupy almost all of Albania and western part Northern Greece, the Peloponnese peninsula and the island of Crete. Almost everywhere they approach directly to the coast, and only within Albania there is a strip of coastal hilly plain up to several tens of kilometers wide between the mountains and the sea. The Pinda ridges are composed of limestones, and the valleys are made of flysch. The highest parts of the mountains are characterized by sharp shapes and a wide distribution of karst. The slopes of the ridges are usually steep and devoid of vegetation. The most high peak Pinda is Mount Zmolikas in Greece (2637 m). The entire Pinda system experienced severe fragmentation, which is reflected in the relief features and character coastline. The coast is cut by large bays and small bays, and the transverse type of dissection predominates. A continuation of the mountain ranges of the western part of Pindus are the Ionian Islands, recently separated from the mainland, deeply dissected and surrounded by shallow waters. The large Gulf of Corinth separates the Peloponnese peninsula, connected to the rest of the land only by the Isthmus of Corinth, about 6 km wide. A canal dug at the narrowest point of the isthmus separated the Peloponnese from the Balkan Peninsula. The Peloponnese itself is dissected by large bays-grabens and forms four lobed peninsulas in the south.

The interior of the Balkan Peninsula is occupied by the ancient Macedonian-Thracian massif. In the Neogene, the massif was fragmented into mountain uplifts separated by depressions. Initially, these depressions were occupied by the sea, which subsequently broke up into a number of lakes. By the beginning of the Anthropocene, the lakes gradually dried up, and terrace steps appeared on the slopes of the basins, indicating a consistent decrease in the level of the lakes. The bottoms of the basins are flat or slightly hilly and lie at different heights. Dense populations are concentrated in the basins. The center of each basin is usually a city or a large village, the name of which is the basin (for example, the Skop-le basin in Yugoslavia, Samokovskaya in Bulgaria). The most extensive basins on the Balkan Peninsula lie along the Maritsa River: Upper Thracian - in Bulgaria, Lower Thracian - along the border between Greece and Turkey. In the middle part of Greece there is the vast Thessalian Basin, the center of an ancient agricultural culture.

Between the basins, sections of mountain crystalline massifs rise. Later processes, especially glaciation, dissected the relief of some massifs and created a complex of high-mountain forms. The highest massifs in this part of the Balkan Peninsula are Rila, Pirin and the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria, and the isolated Olympus massif in Greece. The highest massif of the Balkan Peninsula is the Rila Mountains. Their highest peak reaches 2925 m. The calm outlines of the relief of the lower part of the mountains are replaced by sharp mountain-glacial forms on the peaks. Snow lies there for most of the summer and gives rise to avalanches.

Thus, the relief of the entire Balkan Peninsula as a whole is characterized by dissection, which is the result of vertical movements of the end of the Neogene and the beginning of the Anthropocene, which covered folded structures of various ages. Thanks to this young tectonics, the mountain-basin relief was created, so characteristic of this region. Tectonic activity has not ended at the present time, as evidenced by frequent earthquakes in different areas. Its most recent manifestation was the catastrophic earthquake in 1963, which destroyed a significant part of the city of Skopje in Yugoslavia.

The bowels of the Balkan Peninsula are especially rich in ores of various metals. In Serbia, in the area of the city of Bor, there are significant reserves of copper ores in young volcanic rocks; In the ancient crystalline massifs of Yugoslavia, Greece and Bulgaria, deposits of chromites, iron ores, manganese and lead-zinc ores are common. Large reserves of chrome and copper ores are found in the mountains of Albania. Along the entire Adriatic coast and on the islands, bauxite occurs in the strata of Cretaceous sediments.

In the Paleogene deposits of intramountain basins there are deposits of brown coal. There is oil in the sediments of foothill troughs in Albania and Bulgaria. Albania has the world's largest deposits of natural asphalt.

Many rocks on the Balkan Peninsula are valuable building materials (marble, limestone, etc.).

A typically Mediterranean climate is characteristic only of a relatively narrow strip of western and south coast Balkan Peninsula. In the north and in its inland parts the climate is temperate, with a touch of continentality. These features are due to the fact that the Balkan Peninsula occupies the extreme eastern position within the European Mediterranean and is closely connected with the mainland. In the north, between the peninsula and the rest of Europe, there are no significant orographic boundaries, and the continental air of temperate latitudes freely penetrates the peninsula during all periods of the year. Coastal areas occupy a more southern position and are protected by mountain ranges from the penetration of continental air masses.

Mountainous terrain plays a major role in shaping the climate of the Balkan Peninsula. The difference in the climate of basins and mountain ranges is manifested primarily in the annual amount of precipitation: plains and basins usually receive no more than 500-700 mm, while on mountain slopes, especially on the western slopes, more than 1000 mm falls. The climate of the Bulgarian plateau is characterized by the greatest continentality, where winter frosts can reach -25°C; Maximum precipitation occurs in the first half of summer. This part of Bulgaria suffers from droughts quite often. In winter there is stable snow cover, with snow appearing around the second half of November. The most severe frosts in this area are associated with breakthroughs of relatively cold continental air masses coming from the northeast.

In the mountain basins of the peninsula, due to their more southern position, the climate is warmer, but also with a distinct continental tint. The average winter temperature is negative, although only slightly below 0° C. Almost every winter there are significant temperature inversions, when it is relatively warm on the mountain slopes, and frosts in the basins reach - 8 - 10 ° C.

The climate of the mountain ranges of the northern and. The central parts of the Balkan Peninsula are more humid and cooler. The winter temperature differs little from the temperature of the basins, but the summer in the mountains is much cooler and winter comes much earlier than in the lowland areas. In November, when it still rains in the Sofia Basin, located at a high altitude above sea level, there is already snow cover in the Balkans or Rila and most of the passes are closed due to snow drifts.

On the Dalmatian coast and islands, summers are dry and hot with predominantly cloudless weather; winters are mild and rainy, although in the northern part of the coast the maximum precipitation occurs not in winter, but in autumn. The annual rainfall on the coast is very high - the wettest areas of Europe are located there. On the shores of the Bay of Kotor in Yugoslavia, in some years more than 5000 mm of precipitation falls, but in closed fields and on mountain slopes protected from westerly winds, the amount of precipitation does not exceed 500-600 mm per year. The average winter temperature along the entire coast is positive, but in its northern part every winter there are strong and very sharp drops in temperature due to the breakthrough of relatively cold masses of continental air. These air masses fall from the Danube plains in the place where the Dinaric Mountains have the smallest width and smallest height. The air does not have time to warm up and spreads to the coast in the form of a cold hurricane wind, causing the temperature to drop below 0 ° C, icing of buildings, trees, and the surface of the earth. This phenomenon, very close in nature to the Black Sea nor'easter, is known as bora.

The further you go south, the more clearly the features of the Mediterranean climate appear. The average temperature of the winter and summer months increases, the maximum precipitation shifts to winter, and its amount decreases. On the coast of the Aegean Sea, in South-Eastern Greece, the Mediterranean climate acquires some continental features, which are primarily expressed in decreased precipitation. For example, in Athens, the average annual number of them is no more than 400 mm, the temperature of the hottest month is +27, -(-28 ° C, the coolest is +7, +8 ° C, there are temperature drops below 0 ° C, sometimes snow falls The climate is also relatively dry on the islands of the Aegean Sea, where it is probably the warmest compared to all other areas of the region.

The water network of the Balkan Peninsula is not dense. There are almost no large navigable rivers; all rivers are characterized by sharp fluctuations in level and inconsistent regime.

A significant part of the peninsula belongs to the middle Danube basin. The most large rivers— The Danube and its tributary the Sava, flowing along the northern edge of the peninsula. Significant tributaries of the Danube are the Morava and Iskar; Sava - Drina River. The large rivers Maritsa, Struma (Strimon), Vardar, Vistritsa and Penei flow into the Aegean Sea. The basins of the Adriatic and Ionian seas have short rivers, since the main watershed of the Balkan Peninsula runs through the Dinaric Mountains and is close to its western edge.

The watershed between the Danube basin and the Aegean Sea is the Balkans, the Rhodope Mountains and the Rila. In the Rila Mountains there are especially many watercourses that give rise to large and small rivers; Iskar and Maritsa start from there.

On most rivers of the Balkan Peninsula, high water occurs in winter or autumn; then they represent turbulent streams carrying masses of muddy water. In summer, many rivers become very shallow, and small rivers in the southeast dry up.

Typically, the nature of the river flow in the upper reaches is mountainous; in the lower reaches they go out onto the plains and are slow-flowing watercourses that do not have clearly defined valleys. In the past, during floods, these rivers overflowed and flooded large areas. This was the case, for example, in the northern plain of Bulgaria and in the coastal plain of Albania. In the lower reaches of the rivers, wetlands formed, which were the center of the spread of malaria and were almost not populated. Currently, in socialist countries, a lot of work is being done to prevent river floods, drain wetlands and turn them into land suitable for ploughing.

Along with excessively wet areas, there are many areas on the Balkan Peninsula where agriculture systematically suffers from droughts. For the rational use of these areas, for example, the lowlands of the upper and lower Maritsa and most of the closed intermountain basins, artificial irrigation is necessary. A network of irrigation canals cuts through the Maritsa Lowland in Bulgaria; irrigation systems are being created on the Bulgarian Plateau, in the Sofia Basin and other areas.

Power plants have been built and are being built on many rivers of the Balkan Peninsula. Very large works have been carried out at Iskar in Bulgaria. In the upper reaches of the Iskar, reservoirs (yazovirs) were built, power plants were built and the irrigation system of the Sofia Basin was created.

The lakes of the Balkan Peninsula belong to various types. The largest of them are of tectonic or karst-tectonic origin: Shkoder and Ohrid on the border of Yugoslavia and Albania and on the border of Albania, Yugoslavia and Greece - Prespa. In the Dinaric Highlands and the Pindus Mountains, lakes are usually small in area but deep. In some karst lakes, the water disappears during the dry season.

Within the karst areas of the Dinaric Highlands there are also vast areas that are completely drainless or devoid of surface water. The population of these areas suffers especially greatly from a lack of drinking water.

Predominance mountainous terrain, diversity climatic conditions and differences in the distribution of runoff create greater diversity of soil and vegetation cover. The climatic conditions of most of the region are favorable for forest growth, but the natural forest vegetation there has been severely destroyed. Along with this, there are areas that were originally treeless. The floristic composition of the vegetation of the Balkan Peninsula is richer than in other parts of the Mediterranean, since during the glaciation the heat-loving Neogene flora found shelter there. On the other hand, the Balkan Peninsula was a hotbed of ancient European cultures, the vegetation has been exposed to human influence for thousands of years and has changed significantly.

The vegetation and soil cover of the northern and central parts of the region is characterized by a combination of forest and steppe types. Forests and their corresponding soils are common in mountainous regions, while the plains and intramountain basins are treeless, and steppe soils predominate within them.

Modern landscapes of the Bulgarian Plateau, Maritsa Lowland and inland basins do not give an idea of their original vegetation cover, since their land and climatic resources are intensively used. On the Bulgarian Plateau, among the flat, cultivated surface, covered with chernozem-like soils, only isolated trees have been preserved. The Maritsa lowland has been even more developed. Its surface is a mosaic of fields of rice, cotton, tobacco, vineyards and gardens, lined with irrigation canals. Many fields are planted with sparsely standing fruit trees; This achieves better use of the fertile soils of the lowlands.

In the natural vegetation cover of the Maritsa lowland and Black Sea coast elements of the Mediterranean flora appear. There you can find some evergreen shrubs, as well as ivy covering the tree trunks.

The lower parts of the mountain slopes are most often covered with thickets of shrubs, in which both deciduous and some evergreen species are found. This is the so-called shiblyak, especially characteristic of the Balkan Peninsula. It usually appears on the site of cleared forests. Deciduous forests of various types of oak with an admixture of beech, hornbeam and other broad-leaved species rise into the mountains up to a height of 1000-1200 m. On some mountain ranges they give way to tall coniferous forests of Balkan and Central European species of pine, spruce and fir. Such valuable and relatively little destroyed forests cover the slopes of the Rila, Pirin and Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria. At an altitude of about 1500-1800 m, the forests turn into subalpine bush thickets of rhododendron, juniper and heather. The highest mountain ranges you are covered with alpine meadows, which are used as pastures.

IN mountainous areas before high altitude affects the human impact on nature. In many places, wheat fields rise to a height of 1100-1300 m, the upper limit of orchards lies slightly lower, and the lowest parts of the southern-facing slopes are occupied by vineyards.

Areas with a Mediterranean climate also have corresponding soil and vegetation cover. The soils of the coastal lowlands of Yugoslavia, Albania and Greece under evergreen vegetation are red soil (on limestone) or brown. The upper limit of the distribution of subtropical soils and vegetation increases as you move from north to south. In the northern part of the Adriatic coast it does not rise above 300-400 m above sea level, in Southern Greece its height is about 1000 m or more.

The vegetation of the western part of the peninsula, which receives large amounts of precipitation, is richer than that of the dry southeast. The natural and cultural vegetation of the Ionian Islands is especially diverse and lush, while some islands of the Aegean Sea are almost completely deserted and scorched by the sun.

In the western regions, maquis is widespread, which covers the coast and the lower parts of the mountain slopes; in the southeast, the more xerophytic phrygana predominates; higher in the mountains they are replaced by shiblyak. In some places, small areas of Mediterranean forests of evergreen oaks remain (Quercus ilex, Q. coccifera etc.), seaside pine and laurel. On the coast and lower parts mountain slopes natural vegetation is in most cases replaced by cultivated vegetation. A significant area is occupied by olive groves, which, as they move south, rise higher and higher into the mountains, and citrus orchards, which appear in the southern part of the Yugoslav coast and are widespread in Albania and Greece (especially in the Peloponnese). In Yugoslavia, large areas are occupied by various fruit trees: apple trees, pears, plums, apricots. In all areas with a warm Mediterranean climate, there are many vineyards on the mountain slopes. They rise especially high on terraced slopes in Southern Greece.

Above the belt of Mediterranean vegetation and soils lies a belt of deciduous forests consisting of oak, maple, linden and other broad-leaved species. The undergrowth of these forests contains many evergreen plants. Broad-leaved forests on the coastal mountain ranges have undergone significant destruction. Deforestation was a sad consequence of a difficult period in the history of the Balkan countries - the rule of the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

In many places, forests have suffered from livestock grazing (goats and sheep) and logging for fuel. Especially many forests have been cleared on the limestone plateaus of Yugoslavia - in the area of the so-called Dinaric karst, as well as in the Pinda Mountains in Greece. In some places, these plateaus have been turned into a real desert, devoid of soil, covered with rubble and large blocks of limestone. Areas convenient for processing are usually found in fields where the products of limestone destruction accumulate in the form of the so-called terra rossa. There you can see small patches of plowed and sown land. Along with them there are meadows used as pastures, and even rare forest vegetation - the remnants of former broad-leaved forests.

The fauna of the Balkan Peninsula contains elements of both Central European and typically Mediterranean fauna. In some sparsely populated areas, the fauna is well preserved, but some large animals have disappeared a long time ago and completely without a trace. For example, it is known that in historical times lions lived in the south of the peninsula.

Wild boar can be found in the riverine and swampy thickets of some areas of the peninsula; deer and chamois are still preserved in the mountain forests; On the islands of the Aegean Sea there is a wild goat - the ancestor of the domestic goat. In the most remote mountain areas you can sometimes see a brown bear. There are many rodents, among which hares occupy the first place in terms of numbers.

The bird fauna is diverse. Predators include the vulture, falcon and serpentine eagle. There are a lot of different passerines, woodpeckers, and there used to be a pheasant.

Among the typically Mediterranean animals, reptiles are numerous. There are especially many lizards, including a viper and a small boa constrictor. In the south there is an endemic Greek groin turtle.

Rivers and lakes of the Danube basins and Adriatic Sea rich in fish. The southern part of the peninsula, which belongs to the Aegean Sea basin, is relatively poor in freshwater fauna.

The Balkan region is often called the “powder keg” of Europe. And it is by no means accidental. In the 20th century, wars and conflicts of various scales broke out here every now and then. Yes and the first World War began right here, after the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was killed in Sarajevo. In the early 90s, the Balkan countries experienced another serious shock - the collapse of Yugoslavia. This event significantly changed political map European region.

Balkan region and its geography

Comparatively small area All Balkan countries are located in 505 thousand square kilometers. The geography of the peninsula is very diverse. Its coastline is heavily dissected and washed by the waters of six seas. The Balkans are predominantly mountainous and heavily rugged deep canyons. However, the most high point peninsula - Mount Musala - does not even reach 3000 meters in height.

Two more natural features characteristic of this region: this is the presence huge amount small islands off the coastline (mainly in Croatia), as well as the widespread occurrence of karst processes (it is in Slovenia that the famous Karst plateau is located, which served as the donor of the name for a separate group of landforms).

The name of the peninsula comes from the Turkish word balkan, which means “large and wooded.” mountain range". The northern border of the Balkans is usually drawn along the line and Sava.

Balkan countries: list

Today, there are ten state entities in the Balkans (of which 9 are sovereign states and one is partially recognized). Below is a list of them, including the capitals of the Balkan countries:

Slovenia (capital - Ljubljana).
Greece (Athens).
Romania (Bucharest).
Macedonia (Skopje).
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo).
Serbia (Belgrade).
Montenegro (Podgorica).
Croatia (Zagreb).
Republic of Kosovo (a partially recognized state with its capital in Pristina).

It should be noted that in some regional classifications Moldova is also classified as a Balkan country.

In the second half XIX century all Balkan peoples were under the yoke of Turkey, as well as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which could not contribute to their national and cultural development. In the 60-70s of the century before last, national liberation aspirations intensified in the Balkans. Balkan countries, one after another, are trying to take the path of independent development.

The first of them was Bulgaria. In 1876, an uprising began here, which, however, was brutally suppressed by the Turks. Outraged by such bloody actions, which resulted in the death of about 30 thousand Orthodox Bulgarians, Russia declared war on the Turks. Ultimately, Türkiye was forced to recognize Bulgaria's independence.

In 1912, following the example of the Bulgarians, Albania also achieved independence. At the same time, Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece created the so-called “Balkan Union” in order to finally free themselves from Turkish oppression. Soon the Turks were driven out of the peninsula. Only a small piece of land with the city of Constantinople remained under their rule.

However, after the victory over their common enemy, the Balkan countries begin to fight among themselves. Thus, Bulgaria, with the support of Austria-Hungary, attacks Serbia and Greece. The latter, in turn, received military support from Romania.

The Balkans finally turned into a big “powder keg” on June 28, 1914, when the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Prince Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo by the Serbian Princip. Thus began the First World War, which involved almost all of Europe, as well as some countries in Asia, Africa and even Central America.

Collapse of Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia was created back in 1918, immediately after the liquidation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The process of its collapse, which began in 1991, significantly redrew the political map of Europe that existed at that time.

Slovenia was the first to leave Yugoslavia as a result of the so-called 10-day war. Croatia followed, but the military conflict between Croats and Serbs lasted 4.5 years and claimed at least 20 thousand lives. At the same time, it continued and resulted in the recognition of the new state entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

One of the last stages of the collapse of Yugoslavia was the referendum on the independence of Montenegro, which took place in 2006. According to its results, 55.5% of Montenegrins voted for secession from Serbia.

Kosovo's shaky independence

On February 17, 2008, it unilaterally declared its independence. The international community's reaction to this event was extremely mixed. Today, Kosovo, as an independent state, is recognized by only 108 countries (out of 193 UN members). Among them are the USA and Canada, Japan, Australia, most and also some countries in Africa and Latin America.

However, the independence of the republic has not yet been recognized by Russia and China (which are part of it, which does not allow Kosovo to become a full member of the main international organization on the planet.

Finally...

Modern Balkan countries began their path to independence back in late XIX century. However, the process of border formation in the Balkans has not yet been completed.

Today, there are ten countries within the Balkan region. These are Slovenia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, as well as the partially recognized state of Kosovo.

It might be useful to read: