Northern Europe

"Northern Europe is a place where blonde-haired people, be it either a man, a woman, and a child, were originated, even for the Scandinavian peninsula. Plus, since there's the Russians were invading this place, can you believe that this country is weakening?"

--Su Ji-Hoon, The Ragnarok

Northern Europe is the general term for the geographical region in Europe that is approximately north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. Nations usually included within this region are Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and occasionally Ireland, Britain, northern Germany, northern Belarus and northwest Russia.

Narrower definitions may also be used based on other geographical factors such as climate and ecology. A broader definition would include the area north of the Alps. Countries which are central-western (such as Belgium), central (such as Austria) or central-eastern (such as Poland) are not usually considered part of either Northern or Southern Europe.

Historically, when Europe was dominated by the Roman Empire, everything not near the Mediterranean region was termed Northern Europe, including southern Germany, all of the Low Countries, and Austria. This meaning is still used today in some contexts, for example, discussions of the Northern Renaissance.