Welcome to the green light district
by Jan Mulder
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Welcome to the green light districtThe World > Europe > Netherlands > Enschede |
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Pedestrian crossing over a cycle road at the campus of the University of Twente, surrounded by the buildings Bastille, Vrijhof and church tower of Wim T. Schippers in the pond. Photo's taken on may 29, 2010.
The side wall of a student flat on the campus of the University of Twente is a challenge for these cl...
New student housing on the campus of the University of Twente. Photo's taken on october 10, 2010.
This piece of art consisting of wooden beams and steel cables is located on the campus of the Univers...
New buildings on the campus of the University of Twente, apparently also housing a nanolab. Photo's t...
Building "Horst" of the faculty CTW with the departments of civil and mechanical engineering of the U...
At the roundabout Auke Vleerstraat - Capitool - Jupiterstraat. Photo's taken on May 27, 2012.
Platform at railway station Drienerlo, just across the FC Twente football stadium. Photo's taken on m...
Photo's taken on May 27, 2012.
Europe is generally agreed to be the birthplace of western culture, including such legendary innovations as the democratic nation-state, football and tomato sauce.
The word Europe comes from the Greek goddess Europa, who was kidnapped by Zeus and plunked down on the island of Crete. Europa gradually changed from referring to mainland Greece until it extended finally to include Norway and Russia.
Don't be confused that Europe is called a continent without looking like an island, the way the other continents do. It's okay. The Ural mountains have steadily been there to divide Europe from Asia for the last 250 million years. Russia technically inhabits "Eurasia".
Europe is presently uniting into one political and economic zone with a common currency called the Euro. The European Union originated in 1993 and is now composed of 27 member states. Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.
Do not confuse the EU with the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states and dates to 1949. These two bodies share the same flag, national anthem, and mission of integrating Europe. The headquarters of the Council are located in Strasbourg, France, and it is most famous for its European Court of Human Rights.
In spite of these two bodies, there is still no single Constitution or set of laws applying to all the countries of Europe. Debate rages over the role of the EU in regards to national sovereignty. As of January 2009, the Lisbon Treaty is the closest thing to a European Constitution, yet it has not been approved by all the EU states.
Text by Steve Smith.
