Image description and license information

Scandinavia is a historical and cultural-linguistic region in Northern Europe characterized by a common ethno-cultural North Germanic heritage and related languages. It comprises the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula, whereas modern Denmark consists of Jutland and the Danish islands.

The term Scandinavia is usually used as a cultural term, but in English usage, it is occasionally confused with the purely geographical term Scandinavian Peninsula, which took its name from the cultural-linguistic concept. The name Scandinavia originally referred vaguely to the former Danish, now Swedish, region Scania. The terms \"Scandinavia\" and \"Scandinavian\" entered usage in the late 18th century as terms for the three Scandinavian countries, their Germanic majority peoples and associated language and culture, being introduced by the early linguistic and cultural Scandinavist movement. Sometimes in foreign usage, the term Scandinavia also includes Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Finland, on account of their historical association with the Scandinavian countries and the Scandinavian peoples and languages.

Pre-Modern West High Middle Ages Russia