Germany Facts and Information

Germany is located in Central Europe. The official name of the country is Federal Republic of Germany or Bundesrepublik Deutschland in German. To the north of Germany is located the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, while to the south is Austria and Switzerland. To the east of Germany lie Poland and the Czech Republic, and on the west lie France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium. It is the second largest economy in Europe and also the second most populated nation of Europe, with a population density of 230 per sq km. The capital of Germany is Berlin, but there are many administrative functions, which are still carried out from Bonn, that was the capital of former West Germany. These are the basic Germany facts and information, we will now read in detail about the history of Germany and facts and figures as well.
Germany Facts and History
The historical facts about Germany are rather interesting. The ancient German history can be traced back to Julius Caesar. He called the area on the other side of the Rhine as Germania. The country has undergone a number of wars and disintegration with different dynasties taking over the country. In the modern times, the history of Germany starts with first unification of Germany 1871, under the leadership of Prussia, but Austria was excluded from this federation, which also bought an end to the hegemony of Austria over Germany, that had started in the 15th century. Different alliances were formed and many were broken, due to expansion policies of the different rulers like Otto von Bismarck, Wilhelm II, and not to forget Adolf Hitler. The world wars were also a result of the same policies. After the World War II, the country was divided into two main parts, namely East Germany and West Germany. While East Germany was a communist country, called Demokratische Deutsche Republik (DDR), West Germany called Bundesrepublik Deutschland (BRD) was a capitalist country. After the collapse of the Berlin wall, the country was reunified and the communist economy was done away with.
Germany Facts and Figures
After reading a little about the history, we will turn towards the Germany facts and information.

• Germany is divided into 16 states, known as Bundesländer. They are Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia.
• The area of Germany is 137,847 sq miles. The population according to the 2008 census is 82.1 million.
• It has been a member of the European Union since 1958.
• The official language of the country is German, but the regional dialects are different than the standard German language. Languages like Danish and Sorbic are also spoken. Along the France border, French is also a common language.
• Germany is located in the Central European time zone, which is one hour in advance of GMT, during the daylight savings time in the summer.
• The currency currently used in the country is Euro. Before the introduction of the Euro, it was Deutsche Mark (DM), where 1 DM equals 100 Pfenning.
• The government is divided into three arms, namely the Executive branch, legislative branch and judicial branch.
• The head of the state is the President, while the head of the government is the Chancellor.
• The President is elected for a period of five years, but he is eligible for re-election.
• The cabinet is appointed by the President on the recommendations of the Chancellor.
• Germany has approximately equal number of Protestants and Roman Catholics at 34%, while 4% of the population are Muslims. The remaining of the population are Jewish and other minorities.
• The 3rd of October is a national holiday known as Unity Day or Tag der deutschen Einheit, since 1990.
• The famous places in Germany include cities like, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt am Main, Essen, Dortmund, Hanover, Duisburg, etc. and not to forget black forest in Germany.
• Germany has people from a number of other ethnicity. There are 91.5% Germans, 2.4% Turkish, 0.7% Italian, 0.4% Greek, 0.4% Polish and other 4.6%.
• Germany is the only country, where Holocaust Denial is considered as a crime.
• Germany enjoys a temperate climate. The winters are cloudy and wet, whereas the summers are mild and there can be occasional heat waves.
• Football is the most popular sport in Germany. It is not a wonder, that the German Football Association is the largest association of its kind in the world.

I hope this article on Germany facts and information proves to be useful to you. If you plan to visit Germany, do not forget to savor famous German food. There are a number of dishes, which have been given to the world by Germany, like the blackforest cake. The summers are the best time to visit Germany, with numerous tourist attractions in Germany. Are you planning on a German vacation next summer?

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