Like the states of the continent, Europe's capitals are some of the world's oldest cities and true centres of human culture and civilisation today. Athens was one of the city-states of antiquity and an important centre of culture, democracy and science. The cities of Rome, London, Paris and Vienna emerged as urban centres and fortresses in the heyday of the Roman Empire, but most of today's capitals date back to the medieval period, being fortified city-cities built to meet the challenges of the time, including Bucharest, Budapest, Madrid, Amsterdam, Berlin and many others.
Table showing population and geographical position of capital cities.
*The table can be reordered by clicking on the columns at the top of the table.
| Capital | State | Population (2018)[1] | Latitude | Longitude | Altitude[2] | Period of appearance | First attestation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | Netherlands | 1 132 000 | 52° 22' 26" N | 4° 53' 23" E | -2 | Middle Ages | year 1300 |
| Andorra la Vella | Andorra | 23 000 | 42° 30' 28" N | 1° 31' 16" E | 1 020 | Middle Ages | year sec. IX CENTURY |
| Ankara | Turkey | 4 919 000 | 39° 55' 12" N | 32° 51' 15" E | 872 | antiquity | year 2000 BC |
| Athens | Greece | 3 156 000 | 37° 57' 12" N | 23° 44' 56" E | 114 | antiquity | 7th millennium BC |
| Belgrade | Serbia | 1 389 000 | 44° 49' 3" N | 20° 27' 48" E | 109 | antiquity | year 269 BC |
| Berlin | Germany | 3 552 000 | 52° 31' 28" N | 13° 24' 38" E | 44 | Middle Ages | year sec. XIII |
| Bern | Switzerland | 422 000 | 46° 56' 53" N | 7° 26' 51" E | 549 | Middle Ages | year 1191 |
| Bratislava | Slovakia | 430 000 | 48° 8' 54" N | 17° 6' 24" E | 161 | Middle Ages | year 907 AD |
| Brussels | Belgium | 2 050 000 | 50° 50' 48" N | 4° 21' 0" E | 26 | Middle Ages | year 700 AD |
| Bucharest | Romania | 1 821 000 | 44° 25' 58" N | 26° 6' 15" E | 79 | Middle Ages | year 1459 |
| Budapest | Hungary | 1 759 000 | 47° 29' 53" N | 19° 2' 24" E | 96 | Middle Ages | Pest - first attestation 1148 |
| Chisinau | Republic of Moldova | 510 000 | 47° 0' 20" N | 28° 51' 27" E | 57 | Middle Ages | year 1436 |
| Copenhagen | Denmark | 1 321 000 | 55° 40' 33" N | 12° 33' 56" E | 17 | Middle Ages | year 1167 |
| Dublin | Ireland | 1 201 000 | 53° 19' 59" N | 6° 14' 56" W | 11 | Middle Ages | year 841 AD |
| Helsinki | Finland | 1 279 000 | 60° 10' 9" N | 24° 56' 25" E | 28 | modern period | year 1550 |
| Kiev | Ukraine | 2 957 000 | 50° 26' 43" N | 30° 31' 7" E | 173 | Middle Ages | year 482 AD |
| Lisbon | Portugal | 2 927 000 | 38° 43' 1" N | 9° 8' 24" W | 27 | antiquity | believed to have been founded by Phoenicians |
| Ljubljana | Slovenia | 286 000 | 46° 3' 4" N | 14° 30' 18" E | 297 | Middle Ages | year 1141 |
| London | United Kingdom | 9 046 000 | 51° 30' 31" N | 0° 0' 0" W | 24 | antiquity | year 47 AD |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 120 000 | 49° 36' 42" N | 6° 7' 48" E | 314 | antiquity | first bibliographical reference 963 |
| Madrid | Spain | 6 497 000 | 40° 24' 59" N | 3° 42' 9" W | 673 | Middle Ages | cent. IX |
| Minsk | Belarus | 2 005 000 | 53° 54' 0" N | 27° 34' 0" E | 222 | middle ages | year 1067 |
| Munich | Monaco | 39 000 | 43° 44' 0" N | 7° 25' 0" E | 24 | Middle Ages | Under the rule of the House of Grimaldi from 1297 |
| Moscow | Russian Federation | 12 410 000 | 55° 45' 18" N | 37° 37' 18" E | 155 | Middle Ages | year 1147 |
| Nicosia | Cyprus | 269 000 | 35° 9' 34" N | 33° 22' 1" E | 169 | antiquity | 672 BC |
| Oslo | Norway | 1 012 000 | 59° 54' 46" N | 10° 44' 46" E | 29 | Middle Ages | year 1048 |
| Paris | France | 10 901 000 | 48° 51' 12" N | 2° 20' 56" E | 44 | antiquity | 3rd century BC |
| Podgorica | Montenegro | 177 000 | 42° 26' 28" N | 19° 15' 49" E | 47 | Middle Ages | year 1326 |
| Prague | Czech Republic | 1 292 000 | 50° 5' 17" N | 14° 25' 15" E | 204 | Middle Ages | century IX |
| Reykjavík | Iceland | 216 000 | 64° 8' 8" N | 21° 53' 43" W | 21 | modern | year 1786 |
| Riga | Latvia | 637 000 | 56° 56' 46" N | 24° 6' 21" E | 7 | Middle Ages | year 1201 |
| Rome | Italy | 4 210 000 | 41° 53' 41" N | 12° 28' 52" E | 29 | antiquity | founded 753 BC |
| San Marino | San Marino | 4 000 | 43° 56' 0" N | 12° 27' 0" E | 701 | antiquity | 301 BC a monarchical community was formed here |
| Sarajevo | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 343 000 | 43° 50' 55" N | 18° 21' 23" E | 510 | Middle Ages | year 1462 |
| Skopje | Macedonia, North | 584 000 | 42° 0' 0" N | 21° 26' 0" E | 275 | Middle Ages | capital of the Serbian Empire from 1346-1371 |
| Sofia | Bulgaria | 1 272 000 | 42° 41' 51" N | 23° 19' 27" E | 564 | antiquity | 1st century BC |
| Stockholm | Sweden | 1 583 000 | 59° 19' 57" N | 18° 3' 54" E | 33 | middle ages | year 1252 |
| Tallinn | Estonia | 437 000 | 59° 26' 13" N | 24° 45' 13" E | 10 | Middle Ages | year 1219 |
| Tirana | Albania | 476 000 | 41° 19' 39" N | 19° 49' 8" E | 108 | modern period | year 1614 |
| Vaduz | Liechtenstein | 5 000 | 47° 8' 29" N | 9° 31' 17" E | 457 | Middle Ages | year 1322 |
| Warsaw | Poland | 1 768 000 | 52° 13' 47" N | 21° 0' 42" E | 119 | Middle Ages | 13th century |
| Vatican | Vatican | 1 000 | 41° 54' 9" N | 12° 27' 12" E | 61 | antiquity | 4th century |
| Vienna | Austria | 1 901 000 | 48° 12' 23" N | 16° 22' 15" E | 196 | antiquity | 1st century BC |
| Vilnius | Lithuania | 536 000 | 54° 41' 21" N | 25° 16' 47" E | 103 | Middle Ages | 13th century |
| Zagreb | Croatia | 686000 | 45° 48' 52" N | 15° 58' 41" E | 141 | Middle Ages | year 1094 |
States with more than one capital
The Netherlands is the European state with two cities with special status in the country's administration. Amsterdam is the country's official capital while The Hague is the seat of the country's two-chamber parliament and is also the location of all foreign embassies.
Share with your friends!