Under the high patronage of the European Union EN A FASCINATING JOURNEY AROUND EUROPE PARTNER 1 Welcome to Mini-Europe FOLLOW THE GUIDE In front of you are two symbols of the construction of Europe: the offices of the European Commission and the house where Jean Monnet wrote the speech that would lead the founding fathers to form the European Discover all of Europe in just a few hours and enjoy Throughout the guide, take a look Union. For any institution, even one as strong as this, depends on individuals. a unique experience! Explore the cities, buildings, at the stories that appeal to you by These two buildings illustrate the philosophy behind Mini-Europe: it is a history and innovations of the Old Continent… Dive following the thematic symbols: miniature world that allows me to share with you my vision of the European into the past, taste the present and imagine the future Union. of Europe. THIERRY MEEUS You will see monuments and scenes lining your path through the park. They Manager of Mini-Europe In the order of the tour, you will find a description symbolise the great eras and the rich heritage that have marked Europeans, Education asbl forged our shared values and led to the creation of the European Union. and stories on all the monuments. Are you lost? Every monument has a sign with its name. HISTORY GEOGRAPHY This guide will introduce you to this heritage and these democratic values, which have taken concrete form today in the shape of town halls, the British parliament, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and the Extra information on the heritage of the past can offices of the European Commission, and are also symbolised by the animation of the fall of the be found next to these monuments to illustrate the Berlin wall. period concerned: p. 15, 22, 30, 31, 36, 38, 40, 46, 52, 63 As in the “Spirit of Europe” exhibition at the end of the tour, we will look at the EU's successes but EUROPE BEHIND THE SCENES also at the great challenges facing it in a world of globalisation. Information on the EU: Thanks to all of you who have shared with me a passion for the story told by Mini-Europe. Feel free p. 02, 03, 08, 10, 17, 19, 29, 34, 42, 49, 55 to share your comments and suggestions with us. The park undergoes continual change, as does the European Union. It is built with you! ART & FUN & Enjoy your discoveries and above all, have fun! ARCHITECTURE GOSSIP “I said that Europe needs to be big on big things and small on small things. A common Well, Mini-Europe is now the only place thread in the EU where it is allowed to be small on big things!” Go a step further and follow the common thread of the guide… The different sets of heritage that connect and punctuate the history JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER of Europe and Europeans. Learn more about themand the influences that President of the European ENJOY YOUR have shaped the Europe of today. European Commission Commission from 2014 to 2019 VISIT! House of Jean Monnet The Industrial Revolution Royal Salt Works 1775 - 1779 Ancient Greece Celtic Middle Ages Lights Acropolis The Renaissance Guimarâes Royal Crescent Modern Age 500 BC heritage Villa Rotonda Castle c. 950 AD Notre-Dame-du-Haut 1592 1767 - 1774 1951 - 1956 –1000 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 1914-18 War Megalithic period Roman Empire Viking Age Colonialism French Revolution Post-modern Age Temple of Mnajdra Porta Nigra Trelleborg Torre de Belem Arc de Triomphe Centre Georges Pompidou 3600 - 2500 BC c. 180 AD c. 980 AD 1515 - 1519 1806 - 1836 2 1977 3 Why a European Union? Together, the countries of the EU are stronger TOGETHER STRIVING FOR A HIGH TOGETHER FACING NEW Divided, the countries that make it up would and better able to promote their Standard of no longer be up to scratch faced with the new living and their vision. STANDARD OF LIVING CHALLENGES economic powers. The single market, the free movement of The European Union remains a key player on TOGETHER WORKING FOR PEACE goods and capital has enabled unprecedented the world stage, although global development TOGETHER PROMOTING GLOBAL The construction of Europe has allowed development. European citizens are amongst the has reduced its importance. In 1989, at the DEVELOPMENT collaboration between former rival countries wealthiest inhabitants of the planet with one of start of Mini- Europe, the European Union still the best wealth distribution ratios. represented: The European Union and its Member States after centuries of war. 70 years is the longest contribute almost 50% of international aid. period of peace since the fall of the Roman • 10% of the global population, as opposed To this is added the diplomatic efforts of the Empire. to 6.8% in 2018 and probably less than 6% in European Union in a world undergoing constant 27 MEMBER STATES 2030. change. • 25% of world trade as opposed to 15% 1952 1995 1973-2020 Azores (P) in 2018. 1973 2004 1981 2007 Proud to be EUROPEAN (IMF 2019) 1986 2013 Finland Madeira (P) POPULATION GDP in M$ GDP per inhabitant in $ Potential candidate (in millions) Sweden Canary Isles (E) (in Purchasing Power Standards) (in Purchasing Power Standards) Guadeloupe (F) Norway CHINA : CHINA : USA : Estonia 1,400 27,380 65,110 INDIA : Martinique (F) USA : United Kingdom Latvia 1,350 UK : Ireland Denmark 21,440 Lithuania 46,330 The Netherlands French Guyana (F) EU 27 : EU 27 : Belgium EU 27 : 444 42,740 Poland 19 640 Germany La Réunion (F) Czech Republic RUSSIA : Slovakia INDIA : USA : 29,640 Mayotte (F) 11,330 Grand Duchy France Austria Hungary of Luxembourg 329 CHINA : Romania Italy 19,500 Slovenia Saint-Martin (F) RUSSIA : Bulgaria 147 RUSSIA : Croatia INDIA : 4,350 Portugal Spain 8,380 Greece UK : UK : 67 3 130 Ceuta (E) Melilla (E) Malta Cyprus 4 → Direction of visit: go down to the bottom of the park, towards Denmark. 5 43,000 km2 1973 DENMARK Stock exchange COPENHAGEN Standard of living: 1619-1640 – Nordic Renaissance 5.7 million 125/100 Monarchy 100 = EU average To give a fresh boost to the Danish economy, King Christian IV ordered the construction of the On this same brass turret, notice The strategic gateway to the Baltic Sea, the Copenhagen stock exchange. To state his title of King the 4 interwoven dragon's tails territory of Denmark was once a lot larger. The of the three Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway on the building to prevent against country – made up of 406 islands – is surrounded and Sweden), he had 3 crowns placed at the top of the attack and fire. brass turret. COPENHAGEN by the sea. The Vikings left from the Scandinavian Trelleborg countries (Denmark, Sweden and Norway) to discover Iceland, Greenland… The Faroe Isles and Greenland have been independent territories since 1979, but they are still attached to Denmark. They do not, however, belong to the European Union. Trelleborg ZEALAND 980 AD – Medieval Scandinavian style The most famous restored Viking camp is at Trelleborg, the circular fortress with 31 ‘longhouses’ surrounded by ditches and Forget the Vikings from the TV battlements. Between 500 and 800 soldiers – often accompanied series… contrary to modern by their wives and children – were stationed here before their Nyhavn COPENHAGEN beliefs, the Vikings never wore sea voyages. Harald Bluetooth (958-987 AD), King of Norway and 1670-1673 horned helmets. Denmark, ordered the construction of five fortresses of this type. He is also said to have introduced Christianity to Denmark. The large numbers of wooden ships and painted harbour fronts are proof of the importance of Nyhavn as a commercial port in the 17th and 18th centuries. The port was built using Dutch expertise and labour from Swedish prisoners captured during the Danish-Swedish War (1658- Viking heritage (8th - 11th century) 1660), who dug the foundations of the houses. Now it is mainly visited by tourists, but sailors Scandinavian Vikings profoundly changed the social and political still come and have themselves tattooed there, structures of European populations by forcing them to defend as the former King Frederik IX did in earlier themselves and organise and centralise power. Exceptional navigators, times. they gave a huge boost to trade, in particular through the circulation of precious metals and the establishment of new trade routes punctuated with port and bar towns and cities. By doing this, they brought Scandinavian countries closer to the rest of Europe. Their Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, famous for his novellas and fairy tales, lived in Nyhavn. civilised laws and justice systems form the basis of our modern juries. It was there that he wrote – among others – the tale “The Princess and the Pea”. He wrote many traditional European tales that have been translated into 125 languages. 6 7 SWEDEN 441,000 km2 1995 FINLAND 338,000 km2 1995 10.1 million Standard of living:123/100 5.5 million Standard of living:110/100 Monarchy 100 = EU average Republic 100 = EU average Sweden, “on the roof” of Europe, is a sparsely populated A buffer state between Russia and Sweden down the centuries, industrialised nation. It was the birthplace of Alfred Nobel (1833- Finland is one of a select few countries which is naturally gaining 1896), a rich industrialist and the inventor of dynamite, who land (approximately 10 km² a year) from the Baltic Sea. This dedicated his entire fortune to the creation of the Nobel Prizes. phenomenon is the result of a rise in the Earth’s crust in Northern These international awards are given to individuals who act for Europe after the melting of the ice caps which covered much of STOCKHOLM the whole of humanity, whether in the field of physics, chemistry, this part of the continent 40,000 years ago.