Countries

Austria was initially a border area (March) of the tribal duchy of Bavaria.

The colonial authorities caused the extermination of the local population by introducing the encomienda system (slavery and control over the Indian population).

8 Poles received the Nobel Prize.

Škoda Transportation (a Czech engineering company) is the fourth largest tram manufacturer in the world - almost 1/3 of all trams in the world come from Czech factories.

Kazakhs only adopted Islam in the 16th century.

The island has an area of 110,860 km2 (68,885 sq mi) and a population of over 11 million people.

St. Nicolas, commonly known as Santa Claus, was born in Patara, Turkey.

The first mention of the dodo came from Dutch sailors in 1598.

The basis of Peru's economy is the extraction and export of metal ores, crude oil and natural gas, and guano.

It used to be believed that cigars were rolled on the thighs of beautiful Cuban women - this may once have been so, but today they are made in factories by trocedores, skilled cigar factory workers.