Countries that no longer exist
Today's borders are recent. In the last century and a half whole empires disappeared and dozens of countries were born. Here are some of the ones no longer on the map, and what they became. All of them appear on Cartógrafo's historical maps.
The empires that fell with the First World War
Austria-Hungary broke up in 1918, at the end of the war. Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia came out of its territory, and other parts went to Poland, Romania, Italy and the kingdom that would later be called Yugoslavia.
The Russian Empire fell with the revolution of 1917, and the Ottoman Empire came to an end in 1922; the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed the following year. All three are on the map of Europe in 1914.
The ones that split at the end of the Cold War
The Soviet Union dissolved in December 1991 into 15 countries, from Russia and Ukraine to Estonia and Kazakhstan. Yugoslavia began to break up the same year; Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo came out of it.
Czechoslovakia split peacefully on 1 January 1993 into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. East Germany ceased to exist on 3 October 1990, with German reunification. All of them appear on the map of Europe in 1989.
Cities and kingdoms that were states
The Free City of Danzig, today Gdańsk, was a state of its own from 1920 to 1939, under the protection of the League of Nations. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ruled southern Italy until Italian unification in 1861.
In Arabia, the Kingdom of Hejaz, with Mecca and Medina, was conquered by the Sultanate of Nejd in 1925; the two later formed Saudi Arabia, proclaimed in 1932.
The Americas after independence
Gran Colombia united today's Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama until it split in 1830 and 1831. The Federal Republic of Central America brought together Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica from 1823 to 1841. Both are on the map of Latin America in 1825.
Test yourself
On Cartógrafo's historical maps you play with each era's countries over today's coastline, and a button draws today's borders on top to show what each one became.
Games to start with
Frequently asked questions
Which countries came out of the Soviet Union?
Fifteen: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
When did Czechoslovakia split?
On 1 January 1993, peacefully, into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
What was Austria-Hungary?
A dual monarchy ruled by the Habsburgs from 1867 to 1918, with capitals in Vienna and Budapest. It broke up at the end of the First World War.
What was Gran Colombia?
The republic that united today's Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama after independence from Spain. It split in 1830 and 1831.