This European spider site contains more than 1300 pictures of over 260 spiders commonly found in NW-Europe, especially in the area between the Netherlands, Germany and the south of France. There is a thumbnail page and a Spider location chart for a quick overview of all the spiders posted on these pages. Many people think spiders are dangerous creatures that should be wiped away with a cloth, sucked up in the vacuum cleaner or smashed with a newspaper. That is not wise because spiders play a very important role in our Eco-system. They catch many annoying and harmful insects and are therefore very useful creatures. As you will see on these pages, many of the spiders are beautifully colored, and therefore very pleasant and wonderful to look at. Since most spiders are very small, you need a magnifying glass or a camera to study them or to reveal their beauty.