Talk:Balkans

I would like to raise a concern regarding the current map of the Balkans in the article, which shows a red hand-drawn line delineating the peninsula.

Issues with the map:

1. Hand-drawn boundaries: The red line appears to have been drawn manually by an editor and does not follow natural geographic features such as the Danube, Sava, and Kupa, which are the northern boundaries of the Balkan Peninsula according to Wikipedia.

2. Inconsistent country inclusion/exclusion: The map includes regions of Slovenia that are geographically, culturally, and historically not part of the Balkans, while excluding large parts of southern Romania, which are often considered part of the Balkans.

3.Lack of authoritative sourcing: No reliable geographic, historical, or scholarly source is cited for the delineation, making the map unreliable for an encyclopedic article.

The map is misleading and not in accordance with the description on Wikipedia. GerardSpel (talk) 11:01, 20 October 2025 (UTC)

Following up on my October post regarding the map of the Balkans, I would like to provide more details and sources to clarify the northern boundary.

The current map appears to be hand-drawn and does not follow natural geographic features. In particular:

Northern boundary: The map does not follow the Danube, Sava, and Kupa rivers, which are the northern boundaries of the Balkan Peninsula according to multiple reliable sources.

Country inclusion/exclusion: The map includes parts of Slovenia that are south of the Kupa River but also incorrectly shows areas north of it, while it excludes parts of southern Romania that are commonly considered part of the Balkans.

Lack of sources: No reliable geographic, historical, or scholarly sources are cited for the delineation.

Reliable sources for the northern boundary include:

Joseph, Brian D.; Friedman, Victor A. (eds.). The Balkan Peninsula and Its Languages. Cambridge University Press (2004), citing Newbigin (1915) for the northern boundary along the Lower Danube, Sava, and Kupa/Kulpa toward Rijeka.

Luca, Denisa-Ștefania (2024). “The Balkans is the easternmost of Europe’s peninsulas… follows the geographical delimitations indicated by the Danube–Sava–Kupa line.” Central European Journal of Geography and Sustainable Development 6(2): 50–75.

Jelavich, Barbara (1983). History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521274586.

Proceedings of the scientific conference FRESKA (NUBL, 2022), noting that the northern border is often described along the Kupa, Sava, and Danube.

Could someone with access to map editing update it to reflect the northern boundary according to these sources? For Slovenia, the Kupa River should be considered the northern limit of the Balkan Peninsula. GerardSpel (talk) 18:07, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

In the Statistics Table, Klaus Ionahhnis is still mentioned as Romania's head of state. Nicușor Dan is the current HoS of Romania since 2025. Same goes for Romania's Prime Minister. Since 2025, this is Ilie Bolojan LFCTVV (talk) 09:46, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

The current paragraph on the countries included in the Balkans is unclear, especially regarding Slovenia.

At present, it says that Croatia is included “up to the Sava and Kupa rivers,” Romania is included “only Northern Dobruja,” and Serbia “up to the Danube.” This suggests that only parts of these countries fall within the Balkans. Meanwhile, Slovenia is described as the “lower southern portion,” which is vague and not linked to any clear boundary. This creates inconsistency: if rivers are being used to define the northern border, this should be applied consistently across all countries.

A commonly cited northern boundary of the Balkan Peninsula follows the Danube–Sava–Kupa (Kulpa) river system. Under this definition:

Croatia is included only south of the Sava and Kupa rivers, Slovenia only south of the Kupa River, Serbia only south of the Danube, and Romania typically only in Northern Dobruja.

Reliable sources for this include:

Joseph, Brian D.; Friedman, Victor A. (eds.). The Balkan Peninsula and Its Languages. Cambridge University Press (2004), citing Newbigin (1915) on the northern boundary along the Lower Danube, Sava, and Kupa/Kulpa toward Rijeka.

Luca, Denisa-Ștefania (2024). “The Balkans is the easternmost of Europe’s peninsulas… follows the geographical delimitations indicated by the Danube–Sava–Kupa line.” Central European Journal of Geography and Sustainable Development 6(2): 50–75.

Jelavich, Barbara (1983). History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521274586.

Proceedings of the scientific conference FRESKA (NUBL, 2022), noting that the northern border is often described along the Kupa, Sava, and Danube.

I suggest revising the sentence so that each country is described consistently according to the river-boundary definition. For example:

“Croatia (only the area south of the Sava and Kupa rivers), Slovenia (only south of the Kupa River), Serbia (up to the Danube river) and Romania (only areas south of the Danube).”

This would make the paragraph accurate and internally consistent. GerardSpel (talk) 17:57, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

Correction regarding Slovenia:

I realized that my earlier comment about Slovenia being “only south of the Kupa River” is not correct geographically. In fact the Kupa River is north of Bela Krajina so technically no part of Slovenia falls south of it. This means that the river-based northern boundary of the Balkans (Danube–Sava–Kupa) doesn’t really work for Slovenia.

A more neutral and precise approach is to describe Slovenia using the specific region of Bela Krajina in the southeast which is sometimes included in the Balkan Peninsula for cultural and historical reasons. This avoids vague phrasing like “lower southern portion” and keeps the description consistent with Croatia which is defined by rivers. GerardSpel (talk) 17:28, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

Update on my previous comment:

After looking further I realized that I could not find any reliable sources explicitly stating that Bela Krajina is part of the Balkan Peninsula. While one might argue culturally or historically that the region has connections with Croatia, this would be considered original research on Wikipedia.

For this reason I have edited the article to a more neutral/source-based phrasing:

Some broader definitions also include Slovenia (in a limited or partial sense, though sources do not specify regions).

This wording avoids unsourced regional claims while keeping the paragraph consistent with how other countries are described using river-based boundaries.

I’m happy to hear any thoughts or suggestions, and anyone is welcome to help improve this section or point me toward additional reliable sources if they exist. GerardSpel (talk) 18:37, 20 February 2026 (UTC)