Region

The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of south-eastern Europe situated at a major crossroads between mainland Europe and the Near East. The distinct identity and fragmentation of the Balkans owes much to its common and often violent history and to its very mountainous geography. It is surrounded by water on three sides: the Adriatic Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea (including the Ionian and Aegean seas) and the Marmara Sea to the south and the Black Sea to the east.

This part of Europe is strongly subdivided culturally and linguistically. Many linguistic families meet in the region, including the Slavic, Romance, Hellenic, Albanian and Turkic language families. The main religions are Catholic and Orthodox Christianity as well as Islam.

The time zones are situated as follows:

Territories in the time zone of UTC+01:00: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia
Territories in the time zone of UTC+02:00: Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey