Every European country’s Wikipedia page begins by naming someone — sometimes legendary figures, sometimes emperors from antiquity, and sometimes contemporary leaders. The map below, created by Reddit user Fummy, shows the first person named on each country’s article.
It should be noted that the post was created in 2017. Despite this, the national founders have certainly remained, but much has changed. National politicians have certainly changed, such as Karlis Ulmanis in Latvia and Victor Yanukovych in Ukraine. Only Alexander Lukashenko remained the ruler of Belarus (as of 2025).
Albania – Lord Progon Andorra – Polybius Austria – Napoleon Bonaparte Belarus – Alexander Lukashenko Belgium – Julius Caesar Bosnia and Herzegovina – Constantine VII Bulgaria – King Teres I Croatia – King Petar Kresimir IV Cyprus – Alexander the Great Czech Republic – Duke Wenceslaus I Denmark – Dan (Dan being the mythological founder of the Danes. Gorm the Old is the next person named.) Estonia – Ingvar of Sweden Finland – King John III of Sweden France – King Louis XIV Germany – Julius Caesar Greece – Alexander the Great Hungary – Prince Arpad Iceland – Ingolfr Arnarson Ireland – Charles Stewart Parnell Italy – Leonardo da Vinci Kosovo – Stefan Nemanja (Former President Ibrahim Rugova mentioned.) Latvia – Karlis Ulmanis Liechtenstein – Julius Caesar Lithuania – King Mindaugas Luxembourg – Siegfried I Macedonia – Darius the Great (Dutch linguist Robert S P Beekes mentioned) Malta – King George VI Moldova – Prince Dragos (Scholar Dimitrie Cantemir mentioned.) Montenegro – Stefan Vojislav Netherlands – Julius Caesar Norway – King Harald V Poland – Duke Mieszko I Portugal – King Alfonso I Romania – Herodotus (evolutionary Tudor Vladimirescu mentioned.) Russia – Pytheas San Marino – Saint Marinus Serbia – Constantine the Great (Polish linguist Stanislaw Rospond mentioned. Also, Constantine was born in Serbia, but was Roman) Slovakia – King Samo Slovenia – Augustus Caesar (Archaeologist Srecko Brodar mentioned.) Spain – King Felipe VI Sweden – Tacitus (Beowulf is mentioned earlier. But refers to a poem.) Switzerland – Julius Caesar Turkey – Alexander the Great Ukraine – Viktor Yanukovych United Kingdom – Queen Elizabeth II (Scotland – King James VI, England – Venerable Bede, Wales – Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Northern Ireland – David Trimble) Vatican City – Agrippina the Elder
I found the idea behind this map very interesting. It tells a lot about a country, for example, whether it is focused on its glorious past or lives in the present. But it would be nice to update this map, as it takes a lot of time to read the Wikipedia page for each country. Who can help me with this?
