TFE wagon description

AT - Austria

Austria is a medium-sized country in central Europe and home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a musician that is known in the entire world. Mozart lived in the capital of Austria, Vienna. There you can not only follow Mozart’s footsteps, you can also see the most popular attraction of the city, Castle Schönbrunn. Castle Schönbrunn was the summer residence for Kaiser Joseph I. in the 18th century. If you don't like any historical sights, you can go to one of the many Ski Resorts, or hike to one of the amazing waterfalls you can find up the mountains of Austria.

The Austrian wagon represents the history of trains in Austria. Austria had already used railways to transport wood and other materials with wagons in the 1820’s. Instead of the not yet invented steam engine, they used horses. In the following 100 years, Austria started to expand its railway system every year with new tracks. They also switched from horsepower to steam engines and finally in the years between 1923 and 1935 from steam to electric.

Be - Belgium

Belgium is a beautiful tiny country, known as the capital of the European Union, because the headquarters of the European Union is in the capital of Belgium, Brüssel. One of the most well known places in Brüssel is the Atomium, it is an impressive Building depicting a crystallized iron atom. At the height of 102 meters, you can get an amazing dinner with the most spectacular view as the restaurant is the sphere at the highest point of the Atomium. Also, Belgium is popular for their belgium waffles and their chocolate.

Belgians wagon represents their awesome beer culture. The Belgian beer culture is one of the biggest in the whole world with over 1000 different types of beer in hundreds of different flavors. Since 2016 the belgian beer culture has been an official “unesco world heritage site”.

CH - Croatia

Croatian people stood head high after ages under a bigger empire, from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, followed by Yugoslavia until Croatia gained their independence in 1991. Croatia is located in the baltic peninsula and borders Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Montenegro. The Croatian capital is Zagreb and their flag is a combination with the colors of the medieval Kingdom of Croatia and Kingdom of Slavonia, with the national coat of arms on top.

Croatia has been home of one of the greatest engineers, inventors and physicists: Nikola Tesla. Testa also shares the name with the Tesla Coil, one of his most revolutionary inventions, representing Croatia. The Tesla coil is a high voltage transformer able to ionize the atmosphere creating a bridge of electricity between two cables. It was researched by Tesla in the attempt to create cableless electricity. This special device has brought to the inventions of the today used antennas and radio transmissions

DK - Denmark

Denmark is a peninsula country located in the northern center of Europe. It also contains a multitude of islands, one of which, Zealand, hosts the capital city of Copenhagen which is also where the Royal family has their residence. Denmark is known for being a highly developed country which has consistently been ranked highly in fields such as education, health care, civil liberties, democratic governance, LGBT equality and many more. They are also the leading nation in renewable energies through wind power.

The Danish Wagon represents the country’s production of the first moving-coil loudspeaker in 1915 by the inventor Peter Laurits Jensen with the help of Edwin Pridham. The wagon was designed to mimic modern looking dynamic loudspeakers.

FR - France

France is a high cultured country featuring a long variety of important and incredible contributions to world culture as a whole. France shares continental European borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain. They marked history also with the Hundred Years' War, the Reign of Terror and Napoleon’s efforts to conquer Europe and many others. The french capital is Paris and the french flag has various interpretations with the most popular one being the separation of the bourgeoisie and the monarchy, with the white often symbolizing the historical symbol of the fleur-de-lis.

The French school involved in this project decided to represent themself with a satellite, symbolizing the long legacy of aerospace companies in their area. Beside that, the invention of satellites let people connect all over the world, thanks to the further development of radio, television. They are also used to analyze data, progressing the international progress in science. Without satellites, the world wouldn’t be as it is today.

DE -Germany

Germany is a central european, industrial country, which is famous for its cars, beer and food all around the world. Also Germany has a nice nature with some beautiful lakes where you can cool down after hiking up one of the many high mountains. Berlin, the capital of Germany, is in the north-east near the border to Poland. Some famous places in Berlin are the “Brandenburger Tor”, the “Reichstag” and the “Berlin TV-tower”.

The German Wagon is a little bookpress, inspired by Johannes Gutenberg, who invented the first bookpress with individually moveable letters in 1450. The bookpress made it simple and cheap to produce high numbers of replicas to send all around the world and be affordable to everyone.

IS - Iceland

Located in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, Iceland was born as an ancient Norwegian colony, and the major city grew around the Ingólfr Arnarson’s homestead. Later it became part of the Denmark–Norway union and regained independence after the Napoleonic wars and the German occupation. Their capital is Reykjavík, and since it’s located on an island, it does not border with anyone. It is not still a member of the European Union but it is part of the European Economic Area

Representing Iceland itself is the Icelandic flag, the national symbol. Despite not having an official meaning, many think that its symbols represent the three elements that created the island: fire, ice and water. This elements remind us of the vast natural beauty of Iceland, filled with the surrounding ocean, the cold region, with the volcanic area heating up the whole island

IE - Ireland

Ireland is a country in north-western Europe, home of the firsts Catholic Monasteries and ex-British colony, since now it’s an independent state. The only land border is Northern Ireland, part of Great Britain, and it’s surrounded by the Adriatic Ocean. The capital is Dublin and the national flag symbolizes the union (white) between catholics (green) and protestants (orange).

Ireland chose to represent them with the briquette. It warmed homes and fired stoves across the country for decades. It was Ireland's answer to fuel shortages in the wake of World War 2 and in time, it became available to homes nationwide. Bord na Móne produced up to 200 million briquettes annually-if they were laid end-to-end. Back in the day the briquette was hailed as the cleanest and most convenient fuel available, but times have changed and now the briquettes are being phased out as Bord na Móna focusses on renewable energy generation, moving from a brown to green strategy. December 2020 saw the end of peat milling by Bord na Móna and once existing stocks are used up, the pest briquette will be no more.

IT - Italy

Home of the Roman Empire, Italy is born after the union of a lot of smaller city-states, growing with many different cultures inside, unique for each region. Italy is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea and has land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia as well the microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. Their capital is Rome. Each color in their flag has a specific meaning: green to remember our varied nature, the white is to remember the perennial snows and the red symbolizes the blood shed in the war.

The Italian Wagon represents some mechanical and artistic work of the famous Leonardo da Vinci. His work, represented, of “The Vitruvian Man” became the symbol of the Renaissance, an artistic period born in Italian culture such as Firenze. During this period, the greatest mind, of all Europe, developed the greatest innovation in all fields of science

LT - Lithuania

Once one of the most extended countries in all Europe, Lithuanian maintained its uniqueness despite numerous invasions. After the unification with Poland, Lituania fell under the Russian Empire, but it then stood up, declaring its last independence in 1990 from the URSS, the first in the Baltic republics. Lithuania is located in the European Baltic region and borders with Latvia, Belarus, Poland and Russia. The capital is Vilnius and its flag symbolizes yellow for sun, green for the grass and red for the blood spilled for its independence.

The Lithuanian wagon depicts the famous Gediminas' Tower located in Vilnius. This tower has been built on the previous wooden structures made under the rule of Gemidinas, the grand duke of Lithuania who extended the territory up to the Black Sea and later built in traditional red bricks. The other chosen Lithuanian symbol is the Vytis. It features a knight riding a horse, which was the symbol used under the rule of the Gemidinas, and quickly remained a Lithuanian symbol.

LU - Luxemburg

Luxembourg, despite being one of the smallest European countries, located in Western Europe , proved itself to be today one of the four EU international government seats, notably the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Auditors. The Luxemburg capital is Luxembourg City and their flag, very similar to the Dutch except for the luxembourger longer stripes and different blue, inherits the colors of the national coat of arms

The Luxemburger people are represented by the Astra Satellite. Astra is the name of a series of four satellites operated by SES SA, a global satellite operator based in Luxembourg. Astra satellites transmit more than 2,000 digital television and radio channels via satellite to all around Europe and North Africa.

NL - Nehterlands

The Netherlands are a country of people who grew up in difficult conditions, creating a strong culture and thanks to their persistence, even in smaller spaces, since Netherlands literally means lower countries and describes how most of the area is below sea level. The Netherlands borders Belgium and Germany. Their capital is Amsterdam (despite the government being in The Hague). Their flag represents, from top to bottom, red for bravery and valor, white for peace and blue for vigilance and honesty

The Dutch people are represented by a model representing a stereo. This represents the will of Dutch people to share their love with music. Music itself is something connecting not countries, nations and even continents. The history of music is vast and each country has traditionals piece of music that inspires them. Speaking of music the European anthem is “Ode to Joy” composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and expresses the ideals of freedom, peace and solidarity pursued by Europe

NO - Norway

Norway, in the Scandinavian Peninsula, earned the title of the northernmost country in the world thanks to Svalbard. Norway is filled with natural beauty ranging from the Aurora, to the natural wildlife hidden within their forests, driving deep in their seas and up to the breathtaking weather throughout our winter months. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia. Norway Capital is Oslo and its flag symbolizes Christianity thanks to its cross with its blue, red and white representing the past and unification with Sweden and Denmark.

Norwegian people decided to represent themself with their country’s long history with energy by building a train car which shows off a model oil rig, paying homage to Norway’s start in the energy business, and a model water turbine, complimenting Norway’s modern usage of clean energy.

PL - Poland

Poland is a country who fought a lot in history for its independence. Its brightest moments were under the rule of the Jagiellonian dynasty. They later got split between Russia, Prussia and Germany, regaining its independence in 1795, still celebrated today. From north to west Poland shares borders with Lithuania, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany. The Polish capital is Warsaw and its flag represents the long used government’s colors also present in their coat of arms with the white crowned eagle.

Representing the Polish wagon is Maurzyce Bridge or in polish “Most w Pyrzycach”. This bridge was designed in 1927 by Stefan Bryła, a great polish engineer and professor of Lwów University of Technology. Its difficult and troubled construction ended in December 1928, it was revolutionary at the time, since the Maurzyce Bridge is the first welded bridge ever existed on Earth. Every engineering magazine talked about its construction and Poland became the first country being able to regulate the construction of similar welded bridges.

PT - Portugal

One of the oldest countries in Europe, Portugal once was one of the most powerful maritime forces in the world, with colonies ranging in all of Asia, South America and Africa coasts. Despite the now reduced lands in the Iberian Peninsula, the Portuguese remained a passionate and welcoming nation. The only land border is with Spain. The Portuguese capital is Lisbon and its bicolor flag is red and green with the Portuguese' coat of arms with red symbolizing the blood loss of those fighting for their country to become a republic and green symbolizing hope for the future

Representing the Portuguese is the caravel, a special exploration ship used during the Portuguese golden age. Invented in 145 it is a lightweight ship, used by the Portuguese to sail around Africa and get to the farthest areas of Asia. This type of ship is famous for being the one used by Christophorus Columbus when trying to reach India, discovering the Americas instead

RO - Romania

Romania is located pretty centally in the former Yugoslavian region and borders Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, Moldova and the Black Sea. Roughly 19 million people inhabit Romania, almost 10 percent of which live in its capital Bucharest. Romania is almost equally divided into mountainous regions, hills and plains, all of which are covered in 27 percent of forests. Still, you can find six distinct ecological regions in the entirety of the country. One of the most impressive sights is the Danube Delta, the second biggest River delta in all of Europe and a hub of ecological wealth for not just the country but the world. The most popular sights would have to be Bran Castle, better known as Dracula’s Castle from the 1897 novel.

The Romanian wagon has three distinct elements, a silhouette of the country, a lokomotive symbolic for the Train for Europe-project and a pen holder in which stands a fountain pen. Fountain pens were first invented by the Romanian inventor Pertache Poenaru. That however is not the only reason the pen was put on the Wagon, it also represents the neverending means of connecting to people, just like this project is meant to connect all the different nations of the European Union.

SK - Slovakia

Following the disintegration of the Great Moravian Empire and later the splitting of the later conquistador Austrian-Hungarian Empire, Slovakia was united with Czech Republic into Czechoslovakia until 1993 with their pacific separation called the Velvet Divorce. Slovakia borders Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic. The Slovakian capital is Bratislava and their flag shows their coat of arms consisting in a silver double cross rising behind three blue-colored mountains, which are the three major peaks of the Carpathians: the Tatra, Fatra and Mátra.

The Slovakians decided to represent the introduction of their country to the united european scenery. The wagon shows the customs at the borders with the stop on the ground crossed out. Slovakia joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, adopting the Euro as their currency in 2009.

SL - Slovenia

Slovenia is a country rich in history and love for folk music. Located in the central part of Europe, Slovenia shares the border with Italy, Austria Hungary and Croatia, and recently emerged victorious and independent after the Ten-Day War, not being part of Yugoslavia anymore. The capital is Ljubljana and the slovenes’ national flag represents the Slovene Coat of Arms while the stripes represent the union of slavic people in Europe

Representing Slovenia is an instrument called Steirische Harmonika. It’s a different type of diatonic button accordion, mostly used by local alpine folk musicians. Different from the traditional one for having richer bass notes and the presence of one key per scale row. Slovenia has also a traditional song festival called the Slovenska Popevka celebrating the traditional Slovene songs which are called in Slovene: “popevka”.

SE - Sweden

Sweden is one of three big northern kingdoms and governs through a parliamentary monarchy. The capital is Stockholm and the country borders only two other countries directly, Norway and Finland, though in 1999 a bridge was built between Sweden and Denmark. The country is a mix between flatlands mild for its geographical location. Historically, the country has always had a big part in fishing. Sweden is rich in natural resources and trees for wood, most commonly pine.

The Swedish wagon depicts a bear family standing in the wild. The landscape looks very mountainous and snowy, which is the state of most of the more northern or high places in Sweden. Once there were Bears all over the county but in the 1920’s the bear became a protected species. Now, after much effort, the population of Bears are back up to around 3300 animals.

TR - Turkey

One of the first settled areas in Europe, Turkey has a rich history of different settled nations and cultures, with the most remembered being the Byzantines and the later Ottoman Empire until it became a republic after the independence in 1923. Turkey covers the region of the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, facing the Black sea, it borders Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Greece and Bulgaria. Their capital is Ankara (despite the largest city being Istanbul) . Their flag is heavily inspired from the previous Ottoman Flag, with the crescent moon with the star next to it.

The Turkish people represented themself and their welcoming spirit with the Bosphorus Bridge: the oldest of the three suspension bridges spanning the Bosphorus strait and connecting the two continents of Europe and Asia. It's a symbol of the union of not only the European region but the rest of the world.