Europe has thirteen islands of more than seven thousand square kilometers. Among the largest islands in Europe are Iceland, Sardinia, and Corsica. More in figures and pictures.

1. Great Britain, the largest island in Europe

At 209,331 square kilometers, Great Britain is the largest island in Europe. The most exciting and spectacular part of it is to the north. Scotland and the highlands are among the most beautiful places in Europe, so you will understand that when we use the term Great Britain is for the island, the term United Kingdom is for the whole country. The state of Northern Ireland is located across the Strait of Moyle on another large island in Europe. A country made up of four federated states, which are Scotland, Wales, and England (all located on the island of Great Britain).

2. Iceland, one of the largest islands in Europe.

This country in north-western Europe covers 102,775 square kilometers. It is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe but also one of the wildest. As you will have understood, Iceland is a raw country, a land of ice and volcanoes.

3. Ireland

Two countries share this large European island, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Ireland is a large island of 84,412 square kilometers. It lies in the north-western part of the continent about 1,300 kilometers as the crow flies from its neighbor Iceland.70,273 square kilometers are occupied by the Republic of Ireland and the remaining 14,120 square kilometers (approximately) are occupied by Northern Ireland (United Kingdom).

4. Severny

In fourth place among the largest islands in Europe is the island of Severny, “the island of the north” if translated from Russian. This island is located in the archipelago of New Zealand. This archipelago is composed of two main islands, Severny and Yuzhny, and covers an area of 48,904 square kilometers.

5. Spitsbergen, the island at the gateway to the North Pole

It is undoubtedly one of the most mythical islands of the entire European continent. With its 37,673 square kilometers, Spitsbergen, the Norwegian island, is the last stop before the North Pole.

6. Ioujny island

In sixth place is Yuzhny, a Russian island of 33,275 square kilometers. Yuzhny in Russian means south, so you have to understand that it is the southern island of the New Zealand archipelago. An island that is located between the Kara Sea and the Barents Sea.

The nuclear past of the island of Yuzhny

This island has a bad reputation. And for a good reason from 1955, this Russian island is used to carry out nuclear atomic tests. There are even three sites on the island. Some hosted atmospheric tests, and others are underground. Note that it was in the isle of Yuzhny that the most massive nuclear bomb explosion ever carried out was carried out. An impressive explosion of fifty megatons took place on October 30, 1961, on the island. The Tsar Bomba, the tsarina of bombs, was a hydrogen bomb developed by the USSR’s arms industry. It is said that this bomb was three thousand times more potent than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945.

7. Sicily, one of the largest islands in Europe

This sulfurous island, both politically and volcanically, is the seventh most significant island in Europe. Situated in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily, the largest of the Italian islands, covers 25,711 square kilometers.

8. Sardinia

Unquestionably one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean, Sardinia is also one of the largest islands in Europe. The beautiful Italian island covers an area of 24,090 square kilometers.

9. Nordaustlandet

This Norwegian island is, in fact, the second largest island in the Svalbard archipelago. Note that this island is located in the Nordaust-Svalbard nature reserve. Another critical point is that a considerable part of the island is covered with glaciers. One of them is called the Austfonna, and it is one of the most massive glaciers in Europe in the area (more than 8,400 km2) but not in volume. The total area of the island of Nordaustlandet is 14,443 square kilometers.

10. Cyprus, an island divided into three parts

With the tenth largest island in Europe, it is less than 10,000 square kilometers in area. This island, with a somewhat troubled geopolitical past, covers 9,251 square kilometers. Three states occupy this Mediterranean island. Turkey militarily occupies 3,355 square kilometers of the northern part. In the south are the Republic of Cyprus and the tiny British autonomous territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

11. Corsica, the most beautiful French island

The surface area of Corsica is 8,722 square kilometers. The length of Corsica is 183 kilometers for a maximum width of 85 kilometers.

12. Crete

With its 8,261 square kilometers, this island in the very south of Greece is the twelfth largest island in Europe.

13. Seeland

Located in the east of the country, Seeland is the island where the Danish capital is located. It is the link between Western and Northern Europe. Denmark is the gateway to Scandinavia and incidentally the southernmost Scandinavian country. Seeland is an island with an area of 7,031 square kilometers. It is also on this island that you can find the largest Danish cities.

14. Edgeoya

This island is the third-largest Norwegian island and is also located in the Svalbard archipelago. Edgeoya covers an area of 5,030 square kilometers.

15. Kolguiev

This island is still an island dependent on the Russian Federation and is located in the Barents Sea. The island is more or less circular and has a diameter of about eighty kilometers. It covers an area of approximately 5,000 square kilometers (or more precisely 4,968 square kilometers).

16. Vendsyssel-Thy

The Danish island of Vendsyssel-Thy is located in the far north of Denmark. It is 194 kilometers long and has a maximum width of over two hundred kilometers. The surface area of this Danish island is 4,685 square kilometers.

17. Eubé

This Greek island in the Aegean Sea covers an area of 3,685 square kilometers. The island of Evia, which lies north of Athens, the Greek capital, is probably one of the wildest and most unknown islands in all of Greece.

18. Mallorca, an island with Spanish accents

Mallorca is, first and foremost, the largest island in the Balearic archipelago. With its 3,640 square kilometers, the island of Mallorca is one of the largest islands in Europe.

19. Vaïgatch

With an area of 3,383 square kilometers, the island of Vaïgatch is located in northern Russia in the Kara Sea. It is about 100 km long, and 45 km wide and is situated between the mainland and the archipelago of New Zemble. It is located between the region and the New Zemble archipelago. It should be noted that a joint effort to conserve marine fauna was undertaken between WWF and the Russian authorities in 2007. Indeed, many marine mammals, such as whales, walruses, and seals can be found there.

20. Fionie

Finally, Fionie is a Danish island with one of the most beautiful cities in the country, Odense. This city is world-famous because it was the home of Peter Andersen, the children’s story writer. With an area of 3,100 square kilometers, the island is nicknamed the Garden of Denmark.

photo credits: Yann Vernerie