The Estonian island of Saaremaa plans to unveil a monument to mark the “geographic centre of Europe”, joining at least five other countries including Lithuania claiming the title.
"People end up in Mõnnuste Village in the summer, who come and ask for directions to the midpoint of Europe,” Tiina Saare, head of the village, told the Estonian public broadcaster ERR.
Tourism development agencies of Saaremaa have already promoted the Estonia island as the geographical centre of Europe.
"We have put it on sweatshirts, we have marked the coordinates. [...] When everything was closed and you could not travel to Europe, we promoted Saaremaa as a destination in the middle of Europe," Kristina Mägi from the Saare municipality told ERR.
At least five countries in Central and Eastern Europe – Lithuania, Ukraine, Slovakia, Belarus, and Poland – claim to have the geographic midpoint of Europe. According to the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the title carries symbolic value for countries emerging from beyond the Iron Curtain, seeking to be seen as being firmly part of Europe.
In Lithuania, a monument – unveiled in 2004 to coincide with the country's accession into the European Union – marks the alleged mid-point of Europe at Girijos Village, some 26 kilometres from Vilnius.
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