The septentrionale region

The septentriones
Dominating the northern sky is the constellation Ursa Major.
The asterism Big Dipper or Plough is formed by seven of the stars in Ursa Major or the Great Bear. The Romans called the neighbouring constellation Bootes the Herdsman of the Septentriones, that is, of the seven oxen represented by the seven stars of the Big Dipper, which was seen as the plow.

Ill. from Franz Niklaus König: Celestial atlas (1826). The image is protected by copyright law, and is the property of the Municipal and University Library of Berne (StUB), Switzerland.

   © University Library of Tromsø - 1999.
The Northern Lights Route is part of The Council of Europe Cultural Routes. The Cultural Routes are an invitation to Europeans to wander the paths and explore the places where the unity and diversity of our European identity were forged.
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