GERMANY

By
Ansh Jindal
IX - A
CONTENT
1. Introduction
2. History
3. Culture
4. Language
5. Administration
6. Geography
7. Music
8. Sports
9. Cuisine
10. Resources
11. Social Life
12. Politics
13. Tourists Attraction
14. Bibliography
INTRODUCTION

Germany is a federal parliamentary republic in western-

central Europe. The country consists of 16 states, and its
capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of
357,021 square kilometers (137,847 sq mi) and has a
largely temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million
inhabitants, it is the most populous member state in
the European Union. Germany is one of the major political
and economic powers of the European continent and a
historic leader in many theoretical and technical fields.
HISTORY
The concept of Germany as a distinct
region in central Europe can be traced to
Roman commander Julius Caesar, who
referred to the unconquered area east of
the Rhine as Germania, thus distinguishing
it from Gaul (France), which he had
conquered. The victory of the Germanic
tribes in the Battle of the Teutoburg
Forest (AD 9) prevented annexation by
the Roman Empire. Following the fall of the Basic view of second- to fifth-century
migrations
Roman Empire, the Franks conquered the
other West Germanic tribes. When
the Frankish Empire was divided
among Charlemagne's heirs in 843, the
eastern part became East Francia. In
962, Otto I became the first emperor of
the Holy Roman Empire, the medieval
German state.
CULTURE
From its roots, culture in German states has been shaped by major
intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secular.
Historically Germany has been called Das Land der Dichter und
Denker ("the land of poets and thinkers"), because of the major role its
famous writers and philosophers have played in the development of
Western thought and culture.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827),

composer
LANGUAGE
German is the official and predominant spoken language in Germany. It
is one of 23 official languages in the European Union, and one of the
three working languages of the European Commission. Recognised
native minority languages in Germany are Danish, Low
German, Sorbian, Romany, and Frisian; they are officially protected by
the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The most
used immigrant languages are Turkish, Kurdish, Polish, the Balkan
languages, and Russian; 67% of German citizens claim to be able to
communicate in at least one foreign language and 27% in at least two
languages other than their own.

City limits sign; this city is called Emlichheim

in High German and Emmelkamp in Low German
ADMINISTRATION

Many of the fundamental matters of administrative law remain in the

jurisdiction of the states, though most states base their own laws in that
area on the 1976 Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz (Administrative
Proceedings Act) covering important points of administrative law.
The Oberverwaltungsgerichte are the highest level of administrative
jurisdiction concerning the state administrations, unless the question of
law concerns federal law or state law identical to federal law. In such
cases, final appeal to the Federal Administrative Court is possible.

German State Police,

typical officer uniforms
and car colors
GEOGRAPHY
Germany is in Western and Central
Europe, with Denmark bordering to the
north, Poland and the Czech Republic to
the east, Austria and Switzerland to the
south, France and Luxembourg to the
southwest, and Belgium and
the Netherlands to the northwest. It lies
mostly between latitude 47° and 55°
N , and longitudes 5° and 16° E. The
territory covers 357,021
km2 (137,847 sq mi), consisting of
349,223 km2 (134,836 sq mi) of land and
7,798 km2 (3,011 sq mi) of water. It is
the seventh largest country by area in
Europe and the 62nd largest in the
world.
MUSIC
German classical music comprises works by some of the world's most
well-known composers, including Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann
Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johannes
Brahms, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss.

German Singer Heino

SPORTS
Twenty-seven million Germans are members of a sports club and an
additional twelve million pursue sports individually. Association football is
the most popular sport. With more than 6.3 million official members,
the German Football Association is the largest sports organisation of its
kind worldwide. The Bundesliga, the top league of German football, is
the most popular sports league in Germany and attracts the second
highest average attendance of any professional sports league in the
world.

Signal Iduna Park, the stadium of

Bundesliga club Borussia
Dortmund,
is the biggest stadium in Germany
CUISINE
German cuisine varies from region to region. The southern regions
of Bavaria and Swabia, for instance, share a culinary culture with
Switzerland and Austria. In all regions, meat is often eaten in sausage
form. Organic food has gained a market share of ca. 2%, and is
expected to increase further. Although wine is becoming more popular in
many parts of Germany, the national alcoholic drink is beer. German
beer consumption per person is declining, but at 121.4 litres in 2009 it is
still among the highest in the world.

A Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte
(literally, "Black Forest cherry
torte")
RESOURCES
The forested uplands of central Germany and the
lowlands of northern Germany (lowest
point: Wilstermarsch at 3.54 metres or 11.6 feet
below sea level) are traversed by such major rivers
as the Rhine, Danube and Elbe. Glaciers are found
in the Alpine region, but are experiencing
deglaciation. Significant natural resources are iron
ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper,
natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land and water.
SOCIAL LIFE
 Germany has variety of social and cultural life. They have their own theatre,
orchestra and museum. You can find rich and diverse cultural events
everywhere in Germany. Germany is such a developed country that even its
small towns have their own theatre, orchestra and museum.
 Large and small towns have interesting artists, theatre performances,
exhibitions and film shows. There are so many options available that it
becomes difficult for people to make a choice. You can get to know about
every cultural event in your area through local daily newspaper or from
municipal tourist offices. You can also go through town or city’s web pages.
 Around the city there is enough wealth of possible destination which is
worth discovering. You can explore the places on bicycles or inline skates.
Many students and Germans spend their free time in pubs and clubs.
Germany has 600 000 registered clubs.
 In summer you can visit beer gardens and wine bars where you can sit until
late in the evening. You should go and enjoy public festivals such as
Fasching or Karneval in the winter, street festivals in summer and beer and
wine festivals in autumn.
POLITICS
Germany is a federal, parliamentary, representative
democratic republic. The German political system operates under a
framework laid out in the 1949 constitutional document known as
the Grundgesetz (Basic Law). Amendments generally require a two-
thirds majority of both chambers of parliament; the fundamental
principles of the constitution, as expressed in the articles guaranteeing
human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and the
rule of law are valid in perpetuity.

The Reichstag building in Berlin is the site of the

German parliament (Bundestag)
POLITICAL SYSTEM OF GERMANY
TOURISTS ATTRACTION

According to Travel and Tourism

Competitiveness
Reports, Germany is rated as
one of the safest travel
destinations worldwide. Germany
is also the fifth most visited
country in Europe, with a total of
369.6 million overnights during
2010. This number includes 56.5
million nights by foreign visitors,
the majority of foreign tourists in
2009 coming from the
Netherlands, the United States
and Switzerland.
Tourists at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Reference form

Wikipedia.com