Instrumental station pressure, temperature and precipitation measurements and proxy data were used to statistically reconstruct monthly time series of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Eurasian (EU) circulation indices back to 1675. Systematic testing of the reconstruction procedure indicated generally reliable reconstructions throughout the entire period, except for summertime before about 1750. Predictive skill varied for different sub-periods depending on data availability. It was highest for autumn and winter and was generally better for the EU than for the NAO index. Wavelet analysis suggested significant low-frequency variability, especially for the spring, summer and annual averaged indices. The co-variability between the NAO and EU indices was found to exhibit large decadal to century timescale variations, indicating that climate variability over the continent is temporarily decoupled from the NAO. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union