Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

European History

Presenting Smithsonian magazine's top ten stories of 2019

Our Top Ten Stories of 2019

From a 16-million-year-old tree to Confederate soldiers’ diaries, voracious snakes and England’s warrior king, these were the most-read stories of 2019

Archaeologists Daniel Matsenius and Philip Tonemar recovering the probable remnants of Samson, a ship build in the 16th century

16th-Century Shipwreck Discovered Beneath Stockholm City Center

Just a few centuries ago, much of the Swedish capital was under water, clearing the way for magnificent ships to dock on the shore

One of the wrecks discovered off the coast of Vaxholm

Cool Finds

This Wreck May Be the Sister Ship of Sweden’s Ill-Fated ‘Vasa’ Warship

Divers discovered the wreckage of two 17th-century warships off the coast of an island near Stockholm

Henry V's nine-year reign saw a flourishing of royal authority and military action but ended abruptly with his untimely death in 1422

Based on a True Story

The True Story of Henry V, England’s Warrior King

The new biopic “The King” finds Timothée Chalamet tracing Henry’s evolution from wayward prince to heroic warrior

The Bayeux Tapestry tells the story of William the Conqueror's invasion of England.

New Research

Architecture and Math Show the Bayeux Tapestry Was Designed to Decorate a Cathedral

A new study proposes a convincing explanation for the 11th-century tapestry’s creation

The Battle Over the Memory of the Spanish Civil War

How Spain chooses to memorialize Francisco Franco and the victims of his authoritarian regime is tearing the nation apart

A sculpture depicting Irish author James Joyce is seen behind his grave in Fluntern cemetery in Zurich

Trending Today

Dublin Wants to Reclaim James Joyce’s Body Before the Centenary of ‘Ulysses’

Critics question whether the author, who died in Zurich after a 30-year exile, ever wanted to return home, even in death

The tools and objects carried by an ancient warrior from a major battle in Europe more than 3,000 years ago.

What a Warrior’s Lost Toolkit Says About the Oldest Known Battle in Europe

More than 3,000 years ago, soldiers appear to have traveled hundreds of miles from southern Europe to fight in what is now northern Germany

Scientific illustrations, Humboldt once wrote, should “speak to the senses without fatiguing the mind.” His famous illustration of Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador shows plant species living at different elevations.

Alexander von Humboldt

The Pioneering Maps of Alexander von Humboldt

Beautiful and insightful, the illustrations of the German naturalist helped shape a new understanding of the world

Renia Spiegel in Przemyśl circa 1930

The Poignant Wartime Diary of a Jewish Teenager Living in Poland Has Been Published in English

Renia Spiegel was killed by the Nazis when she was 18 years old

Trending Today

The “Versailles of Dresden” Has Been Rebuilt, 74 Years After World War II

The opulent royal apartments at the Residential Palace were Augustus the Strong’s attempt to project and prolong his power

Cool Finds

An 8,000-Year-Old Platform in Britain Could Be the Oldest Boat-Building Site Ever Discovered

The Stone Age platform, where log boats may have been constructed, reveals early knowledge of advanced wood working techniques

At the height of the book scare, news outlets reported that dust from library books could spread infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, smallpox and scarlet fever.

When the Public Feared That Library Books Could Spread Deadly Diseases

“The great book scare” created a panic that you could catch an infection just by lending from the library

The 1876 Glaciarium included murals of the Alps on its walls and a raised seating section for curious onlookers, as shown in a May 1876 edition of Illustrated London News.

The 19th-Century Mania for Ice Skating in the Summer

Europeans sought to recreate the luxury of wintering in the Alps with an indoor rink attraction

Moving forward, individuals will only be able to spray paint the wall on specified days

Future Graffiti Additions to Prague’s John Lennon Wall Will Be Strictly Regulated

Local authorities are introducing security measures in response to vandalism, obscene graffiti

Artist's reconstruction of the Langeland grave.

Cool Finds

Viking Woman Warrior May Have Been Slavic

A new analysis of female Viking warriors suggests one found in Denmark was actually from the area of present-day Poland

Cool Finds

The First Investigation Into the Allied Waterloo Field Hospital Is Unearthing Cannonballs—and Limbs

The dig, conducted by military veterans and service members, suggests just how close Napoleon’s forces might have come to victory in the epic battle

Cool Finds

Fear of Foreign Food May Have Led to the Death of This Crusader King

A new analysis shows France’s Louis IX and much of his army suffered from advanced scurvy during the Eighth Crusade in Tunisia

Archaeologists unearthed the cannonballs while excavating the ruins of Zishtova Fortress in Bulgaria

Cool Finds

Trove of Cannonballs Likely Used by Vlad the Impaler Found in Bulgaria

The primitive projectiles probably date to the Romanian ruler’s 1461 through 1462 siege of Zishtova Fortress

Some of the charred Cheerios.

Cool Finds

Ancient, Inedible ‘Cheerios’ Found in Austrian Archaeological Site

Made from wheat and barley, researchers believe the dough rings were likely ritual objects, not breakfast cereal

Page 54 of 78