The subjective term "region" and its theoretical implications are considered in the opening chapters of this text. The empirical section ranges in time from the appearance of the German "stern" duchies in the Middle Ages to cross-border co-operation in the Oder are today, and geographically from Baden-Wurttemberg in the west to Transylvania, Carpatho-Ruthenia and the Kalingrad enclave in the east. The contributors to the text highlight the complex problems of local identity and the centrality of culture in shaping notions of the region.