11 Facts About Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples.

Southern regions of Scandinavia, which are the most populous regions, have a temperate climate.

Scandinavia extends north of the Arctic Circle, but has relatively mild weather for its latitude due to the Gulf Stream.

The earliest identified source for the name Scandinavia is Pliny the Elder's Natural History, dated to the first century AD.

Term Scandinavia is ordinarily used locally for Denmark, Norway and Sweden as a subset of the Nordic countries .

Related searches

However, in English usage, the term Scandinavia is sometimes used as a synonym or near-synonym for what are known locally as Nordic countries.

The majority of the population of Scandinavia today derive their language from several North Germanic tribes who once inhabited the southern part of Scandinavia and spoke a Germanic language that evolved into Old Norse and from Old Norse into Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Faroese, and Icelandic.

Key ancient description of Scandinavia was provided by Pliny the Elder, though his mentions of and surrounding areas are not always easy to decipher.

The belief that Scandinavia was an island became widespread among classical authors during the first century and dominated descriptions of Scandinavia in classical texts during the centuries that followed.

Pliny mentions Scandinavia one more time: in Book VIII he says that the animal called was born on the island of Scandinavia.

Scandinavia used the name for the biggest, most easterly of the three islands, which according to him were all located east of Jutland.