Online European History Courses
Discover the people, ideas and events that have shaped Europe through the centuries with City Lit’s online European history courses. From the rise and fall of empires to revolutions, wars and social change, our expert-led courses explore the complexity and richness of Europe’s past — all from the comfort of your own home.
Study a wide range of topics including ancient Greece and Rome, the medieval period, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, revolutions, nationalism, and the impact of the World Wars. With flexible online learning, live interactive sessions and supportive tutor guidance, you’ll engage critically with European history and deepen your understanding of its lasting influence on the world today.
Our courses are open to adults of all ages, whether you're new to the subject or looking to expand your historical knowledge. Learn in a friendly, collaborative environment where discussion and curiosity are encouraged.
Explore our online European history courses today and connect with the events and ideas that continue to shape Europe and beyond.
16 courses available
- European history: from Pen to Print 600-1650
From medieval manuscripts to explosive print culture, this course uncovers censorship, book markets, pamphlets, and changing readerships between 600 and 1650-revealing how texts shaped belief, authority, and society.
Online
Fri 18 Sep 2026Vanessa KingFull fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 
Europe in the Age of Discovery 1400-1500Explore the growth and expansion of post-plague Europe thatwitnessednot onlythe splendour of Burgundy,the rise of printing,unification of Spainandthe Renaissance,butalsothe Age of Explorationthat led tocolonialism and slavery
Online
Fri 18 Sep 2026Vanessa KingFull fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00- Myths and realities of the First World War
The First World War is a contested topic within British popular memory and has led to the emergence of many myths that cloud the reality of Britain during this conflict.
Online
Tue 22 Sep 2026Matthew PowellFull fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £123.00 - German History from Charlemagne to Napoleon (c.800 to 1815)The course offers a broad survey of the history of the German lands under the Holy Roman Empire
(800 to c. 1800).Online
Wed 30 Sep 2026Rudolf MuhsFull fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £142.00 - The Western Front: 1914-1918
This Western Front still has a powerful hold over British popular memory, but the fighting and development of new technologies and tactics between 1914 and 1918 is widely misunderstood.
Online
Tue 12 Jan 2027Matthew PowellFull fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £142.00 - Germany in the long nineteenth century (1815-1918)This course offers a broad survey of German history from the end of the Napoleonic era to the end of the First World War in 1918.
Online
Wed 13 Jan 2027Rudolf MuhsFull fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £142.00 - Remodelling Europe after the Great War: the creation of new countriesWith the disintegration of empires at the end of the First World War, new states emerged. Some survived, others disappeared but the conditions of their creation had long-lasting consequences on Europe and the Middle East.
Online
Thu 14 Jan 2027Sebastien ArdouinFull fee £299.00 Senior fee £299.00 Concession £194.00 - European history: visual arts and the birth of the nation 1500-1850
Explore how the visual arts have been used to create national identities and an (imagined?) shared history. Monuments commemorate heroes believed to embody civic virtues and a willingness to die for one’s country.
Online
Fri 15 Jan 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - The European Reformation
The rise of Protestantism in sixteenth century Europe led to fundamental changes in world history which continue to reverberate today. How did Martin Luther, a monk of Wittenberg, ignite what we now call the Reformation?
Online
Fri 15 Jan 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - Clothed in Light: The Symbolism of Colour in the Middle Ages
Explore the world of medieval colour, from radiant gold and heavenly blue to passionate red and verdant green. Learn how pigments shaped art, faith, power, and literature across the Middle Ages.
Online
Tue 13 Apr 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £189.00 Senior fee £151.00 Concession £123.00 - Europe in the 17th CenturyPost-Reformation Europe saw endemic warfare and plague. It was also an age of absolutism where royal courts reached their apogee as centres of patronage and splendour.
.Online
Fri 16 Apr 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Sleepwalking to Catastrophe? The origins of the First World WarExplore the long- and short-term factors that preceded and led to the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914.
Online
Tue 20 Apr 2027Matthew PowellFull fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - Modern France: from the Paris Commune to the Vichy Regime
After uncertain beginnings, the Third republic managed to survive numerous crises until the defeat of 1940 sealed its fate. Re(discover) this exciting period, its actors and how their policies shaped modern France
Online
Wed 5 May 2027Sebastien ArdouinFull fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £123.00 - Politics, society and culture in Weimar Germany (1918-1933)This course looks at the Weimar republic established in Germany in 1918, its achievements, the problems it faced and why these led to the rise of the Nazis and end of democracy in inter-war Germany.
Online
Wed 5 May 2027Rudolf MuhsFull fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £142.00 - Modern France: from de Gaulle and the Resistance to Macron
Re)discover France's complex politics during the Fourth and Fifth Republics, and the social challenges and tensions the country faced both at times of growth and modernisation and of crisis and doubts.
Online
Wed 23 Jun 2027Sebastien ArdouinFull fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £123.00
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