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In this gallery of 10 maps on European history, we explore the dynamic borders and the fragile quest for peace on the continent. Witness the shifting borders and the persistent efforts of nations to achieve stability amidst the ever-changing geopolitical landscape.
From the year 1000 until the end of the First World War (1918), a multitude of transformative events shaped the continent's political, social, and cultural fabric. The devastating impact of the Black Death, the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, the Protestant Reformation, and the French Revolution were just a few of those monumental events. Efforts for peace, such as the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 and the Congress of Vienna in 1815, aimed to restore stability. However, the revolutions of 1848 highlighted deep-seated tensions, and the outbreak of World War I in 1914 underscored the failure to achieve sustained harmony on the continent.
A map illustrating the changing patterns of Christian pilgrimage during the Middle Ages - for the average European, a pilgrimage to Jerusalem was out of the question - a journey to the Holy Land was too far, dangerous, and forbiddingly expensive. It became common for Christians who sought to close the distance between themselves and God to make a pilgrimage closer to home, visiting more local sites associated with saints, martyrs, and holy relics.
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