Portal:Germany

Welcome to the Germany Portal!
Willkommen im Deutschland-Portal!

Germany (German: Deutschland), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland), is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north with the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.

Germany includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,596 square kilometres (138,069 sq mi) and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With over 83 million inhabitants, it is the second most populous state of Europe after Russia, the most populous state lying entirely in Europe, as well as the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is a very decentralized country. Its capital and most populous city is Berlin, while Frankfurt serves as its financial capital and has the country's busiest airport.

In 1871, Germany became a nation-state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the Revolution of 1918–19, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic. The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After the end of World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation, two new German states were founded: West Germany, formed from the American, British, and French occupation zones, and East Germany, formed from the western part of the Soviet occupation zone, reduced by the newly established Oder-Neisse line. Following the Revolutions of 1989 that ended communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe, the country was reunified on 3 October 1990.

Germany is a federal parliamentary republic led by a chancellor. It is a great power with the largest economy in Europe. As a global leader in several industrial, scientific and technological sectors, it is a major trading nation. The Federal Republic of Germany was a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957 and the European Union in 1993. Read more...

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The Göttingen Seven (German: Göttinger Sieben) were a group of seven liberal professors at University of Göttingen. In 1837, they protested against the annulment of the constitution of the Kingdom of Hanover by its new king, Ernest Augustus, and refused to swear an oath to the king. The company of seven was led by historian Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann, who himself was one of the key advocates of the previous constitution. The other six were the Germanist brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, famed collectors and publishers of folklore, known collectively as the Brothers Grimm; jurist Wilhelm Eduard Albrecht; historian Georg Gottfried Gervinus; physicist Wilhelm Eduard Weber; and theologian and orientalist Heinrich Georg August Ewald. (Full article...)

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Image 1
East Frisia
Photo credit: Matthias Süßen
Morning fog on the plains of East Frisia, a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony. It connects Western Frisia (in the Netherlands) with the district of Nordfriesland ("Northern Frisia") in Schleswig-Holstein, all of which belong to the historic and geographic Frisia.
Image 2
Regensburg, Germany
Photo credit: Karsten Dörre
A twilight panorama of Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany with the 12th century bridge Steinerne Brücke and Regensburg Cathedral on the left and the river Danube in the foreground. Located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, the first settlements in the area date to the Stone Age. A Roman fort was constructed in 179. In contrast to almost all other major German cities, Regensburg had little damage from Allied air raids in World War II and thus has an almost intact medieval city center, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Image 3
Women in the wearing Bollenhut
Bollenhut
Credit: Michel Lefranc aka Tournachon
Women wearing tracht and Bollenhut at Black Forest Open Air Museum in Gutach
Image 4
German New Guinea
Design credit: German New Guinea Company; photographed by the National Numismatic Collection
German New Guinea was a German colonial protectorate established in 1884 in the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups. The German New Guinea Company was founded in Berlin by Adolph von Hansemann and a syndicate of German bankers for the purpose of colonizing and exploiting the protectorate's resources. This gold coin, worth 20 New Guinean marks, was issued by the German New Guinea Company in 1895, and is now part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.
Image 5
Albert Bierstadt
Painting credit: Albert Bierstadt
Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902) was a German-American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West, such as this oil-on-canvas painting, entitled Among the Sierra Nevada, California, created in 1868. He painted the landscape in his Rome studio, and exhibited it in Berlin and London before shipping it to the United States. His choice of grandiose subjects was matched by his entrepreneurial flair; his exhibitions of individual works were accompanied by promotion, ticket sales, and, in the words of one critic, a "vast machinery of advertisement and puffery". This work is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Image 6
The city hall of Werdau, Saxony
The city hall of Werdau, Saxony
Credit: André Karwath aka Aka
Image 7
Frankfurt
Image credit: Nicolas17
The night skyline of Frankfurt, showing the Commerzbank Tower (centre) and the Maintower (right of centre). Frankfurt is the fifth-largest city in Germany, and the surrounding Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region is Germany's second-largest metropolitan area.
Image 8
City hall of Zwickau
City hall of Zwickau
Credit: André Karwath
This image shows the townhall (Rathaus) of Zwickau located on the main market which has been built after a big town blaze in 1403. Above the main entrance you can see the city arms of Zwickau.
Image 9
Paul von Hindenburg
Photograph credit: Nicola Perscheid; restored by Adam Cuerden
Paul von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934), was a German general and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I. In 1925, he returned to public life to become the second elected president of the Weimar Republic. While he was personally opposed to Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party, he nonetheless played a major role in the political instability that resulted in their rise to power, ultimately agreeing to appoint Hitler as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933 after the Nazis had become the largest party in the Reichstag. This 1914 photograph of Hindenburg in military uniform was taken by the German photographer Nicola Perscheid.
Image 10
Sparrenburg Castle
Photo credit: Daniel Schwen
Sparrenburg Castle, located in Bielefeld, Germany, as seen from the western lawn. The castle was constructed between 1240 and 1250 by the Counts of Ravensberg. The castle has been rebuilt many times. Although often under siege, it was never stormed. After extensive restoration work, the castle now presents itself as an imposing historic site.
Image 11
Town hall of Hildesheim
Town hall of Hildesheim
Credit: old postcard, public domain
Image 12
Bellevue Palace
Photograph: Taxiarchos228
Bellevue Palace is a palace (schloss) in Berlin's Tiergarten district, along the northern edge of the Großer Tiergarten park. Designed by architect Michael Philipp Boumann, Schloss Bellevue was erected in 1786 as a summer residence for Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia. Variously used as a residence, museum, and guest house in subsequent decades, Bellevue was damaged heavily in World War II. Following substantial refurbishments, it has served as the secondary residence of the President of West Germany and official residence of the President of Germany.
Image 13
The Deutsche Bank Twin Towers in Frankfurt
Deutsche Bank Twin Towers
Credit: Raimond Spekking
The Deutsche Bank Twin Towers, headquarters of the Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt
Image 14
SMS Fürst Bismarck (1897)
Illustration: Hugo Graf; restoration: Adam Cuerden
SMS Fürst Bismarck was Germany's first armored cruiser, built for the Kaiserliche Marine before the turn of the 20th century and launched in 1900. Named for the German statesman Otto von Bismarck, the ship was primarily intended for colonial duties. She served in this capacity as part of the East Asia Squadron until she was relieved in 1909, at which point she returned to Germany. The ship was rebuilt between 1910 and 1914, and after the start of World War I, she was briefly used as a coastal defense ship. She proved inadequate to this task, and so she was withdrawn from active duty and served as a training ship for engineers until the end of the war. Fürst Bismarck was decommissioned in 1919 and sold for scrap.
Image 15
Cathedral of Magdeburg
Photo credit: Chris 73
The Cathedral of Magdeburg (known as Magdeburger Dom in German) is the first gothic cathedral in Germany and with a height of 104 m the highest cathedral in Eastern Germany. The current cathedral was constructed over the period of 300 years starting from 1209, and the completion of the steeples took place only in 1520. In 2004 a funding drive for a new organ that was started in 1997 was completed, collecting 2 Million Euro. The new organ has been ordered from a company near Potsdam, constructing a 36 ton instrument with 93 registers and approximately 5000 pipes. The construction is planned to be completed in 2007, and the new organ will hopefully be used for the first time in 2008.
Image 16
Speicherstadt in Hamburg
Speicherstadt
Credit: Dietmar Rabich
Speicherstadt in Hamburg, June 2016
Image 17
Charlottenburg Palace
Photograph: Thomas Wolf
Charlottenburg Palace is a large palace in Charlottenburg, a part of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough of Berlin, Germany. The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and expanded during the 18th century. It includes much exotic internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles. It was badly damaged during the Second World War, but has since been reconstructed, becoming a major tourist attraction.
Image 18
German Rentenmark
Banknote: Weimar Republic, National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History
The Rentenmark was a currency introduced on 15 November 1923 in Weimar Germany after the value of the previous currency had been destroyed by hyperinflation.

The banknote shown at left was printed in 1937 or later. It bears an adhesive coupon attached by the East German government in 1948, extending its validity while new East German mark banknotes were being printed.
Image 19
Chinese House in Potsdam
Chinese House
Credit: Andreas Tille
The Chinese House in Sanssouci Park, Potsdam
Image 20
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Painting credit: Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841) was a Prussian architect and city planner. He was one of the most prominent architects in Germany and designed both Neoclassical and Neo-Gothic buildings, the most famous of which are found in and around Berlin. He was also a painter and a designer of furniture and stage sets.

This oil-on-canvas painting, entitled Castle by the River, was created by Schinkel in 1820. As an artist, his architectural talent shone through, and his buildings and landscapes are carefully drafted and meticulously executed. The painting is in the collection of the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.
Image 21
Law enforcement in Germany
Photo credit: Daniel Schwen
A portrait of a senior police officer in Hamburg, wearing the new blue uniform in accordance with the policy of using the same colour for police uniforms and vehicles throughout the European Union. Law enforcement in Germany is divided into two groups: the federal police and the state police.
Image 22
Kadavar
Photograph: Henry W. Laurisch
Kadavar are a rock band from Berlin, Germany, founded in 2010. Their retro sound, incorporating psychedelic rock and stoner rock, has been compared to bands of the 1970s hard rock/heavy metal era. Kadavar currently consists of three members: guitarist and lead vocalist Christoph "Lupus" Lindemann, drummer Christoph "Tiger" Bartelt, and bassist Simon "Dragon" Bouteloup.

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History

Holy Roman Empire (900–1806)
East Germany (1949–1990)

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Anniversaries for October 3

1722 – Birth of painter Johann Heinrich Tischbein
1889 – Birth of pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, recipient of the 1935 Nobel Peace Prize
1929 – Death of politician Gustav Stresemann, recipient of the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize
1990 – Reunification of Germany

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Did you know...

... that Carola von Braun (pictured) was appointed in 1984 as the first women's representative of the Senate of West Berlin?
... that Angela Merkel was present when Günter Bannas retired as head of the national parliamentary office of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung?
... that Joseph von Utzschneider, a former member of the Illuminati, later contributed to a government-supported publication intended to demonstrate the order's dangers?
... that part of the travelling exhibition Verstummte Stimmen, which commemorated Jewish figures in opera who faced Nazi persecution, remained permanently in a park in Bayreuth?
... that German-born Katrin Bennhold has been a senior writer for The New York Times in three European capitals?
... that Johann Sigismund Weiss played the lute before the Holy Roman emperor and the assembled German princes at the 1711 imperial election?
... that Beethoven's "Tremate, empi, tremate" was not performed for ten years after it was written?
... that the 1935 Free City of Danzig parliamentary election was seen as a setback for the Nazi Party, even though it won an absolute majority of seats?
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Selected cuisines, dishes and foods

Knödel (German: [ˈknøːdl̩] ; sing. and ) or Klöße (German: [ˈkløːsə] ; sing.: Kloß) are boiled dumplings commonly found in Central European and Eastern European cuisine. Countries in which their variant of Knödel is popular include Austria, Bosnia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. Similar dishes can be found in most other European cuisines, such as Scandinavian, Romanian, Italian, Jewish, Ukrainian and Belarusian cuisines. Usually made from flour, bread or potatoes, they are often served as a side dish, but can also be a dessert such as plum dumplings, or even meat balls in soup. Many varieties and variations exist. (Full article...)

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