Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country located in Western Europe and is one of the greatest powers in the world.
It borders nine countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic and Switzerland.
General data
- Capital: Berlin
- Territorial extension: 357,120 km²
- Population: 80,688,545 inhabitants (2015 data)
- Climate: mostly seasoned
- Language: German
- Religion: Christianity, mostly followers of Lutheranism
- Coin: Euro
- Government system: parliamentary democratic republic
- Chancellor: Angela Merkel (since 2005)
Flag
Germany's flag
It consists of three horizontal stripes of the same size.
Each stripe has a color that, in ascending direction, is yellow, red and black. They have become the official colors of Germany and together they signify democracy and freedom.
Map
Map of Germany with its borders
Germany is made up of sixteen states:
- Baden-Wurttemberg
- Lower Saxony
- Bavaria
- Berlin
- Brandenburg
- Bremen
- Slésvico-Holsace
- Hamburg
- hesse
- Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
- North Rhine-Westphalia
- Rhineland-Palatinate
- Saar
- Saxony
- Saxony-Anhalt
- Thuringia
The main cities are considered: Berlin, Dresden, Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart.
Anthem
The German anthem is taken from the third stanza of Das Lied der Deutschen (The Song of the Germans, in Portuguese).
The song was written in 1841 by the German poet August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben and only became the country's anthem in 1922 with the melody of Joseph Haydn:
"Union and justice and freedom
To the German homeland.
We will all ensure that
Fraternally with heart and hand.
union and justice and freedom
They are foundations of happiness.
Bloom in the glow of this happiness
It blooms, German homeland!"
Economy
Germany has one of the world's largest economies. Therefore, it is part of the main economic forums: G7 - Group of Seven, G8 - Group of Eight, G20 - Group of Twenty.
It is one of the most industrialized countries in Europe. Frankfurt is its main economic center and industry is the country's main activity.
In it, the automobile sector stands out, in which the Germans occupy the second place among the largest car producers. There is also a place for the manufacture of electronic equipment and chemical products.
Culture
Germany has a wide variety of cultural activities. There are thousands of libraries and museums, and hundreds of theaters.
There are 41 monuments and buildings that have been declared World Heritage by Unesco. Some of them are:
- Die Wies Sanctuary
- Historic Center of Bamberg
- Museum Island in Berlin
- Cologne Cathedral
- Lutro Memorials at Eisleben and Wittenberg
- Le Corbusier's work in Stuttgart
- Classical Weimar
- Bauhaus and his works in Weimar and Dessau
The country is also known for inventions. Computer, telephone, gramophone, book printing, aspirin, airbag are just some of them.
Germany is the country of Oktoberfest, the world-renowned beer festival. The country is one of the world's biggest consumers of the drink.
Millions of tourists visit the country annually. Its main sights are the Berlin Cathedral, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Berlin Wall and the Brandenburg Gate.
History
Germany was the starting stage for the Protestant Reformation from the 95 theses of Martin Luther. The German monk posted the criticism of the Catholic Church on the Church Door of Wittemberg in 1517.
O Nazism developed in Germany between the years 1939 and 1945. It was led by Adolf Hitler and was a nationalist ideological movement.
In 1949 the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) is decreed. Only in 1990 both were unified.
Learn more at:
- Holocaust
- Nazi Concentration Camps
- German Unification
- Berlin Wall
