Portal:Germany

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

Germany (German: Deutschland), officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north and 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 357,578 square kilometres (138,062 sq mi) and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 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 largest metropolis 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.

Today, Germany is a federal parliamentary republic led by a chancellor. It is a great power with a strong economy. 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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Dorothee Pesch (born 3 June 1964), known professionally as Doro Pesch or simply Doro, is a German heavy metal singer and the former frontwoman of heavy metal band Warlock. Dubbed the "Metal Queen", Doro's contributions to music and culture made her a global figure in metal culture for over three decades. The name Doro has also been associated with the touring band accompanying the singer, whose members have continuously changed in more than 20 years of uninterrupted activity, the most stable presences being those of bassist Nick Douglas and drummer Johnny Dee.

Doro started her career in garage bands in native Düsseldorf underground scene and achieved media visibility and some commercial success with Warlock in the 1980s. Warlock were starting to have an opening in the US market, when they went through many line-up changes and Pesch was left the only original member of the band. She started a solo career under the name Doro, in order to avoid legal battles between her record label PolyGram and her former manager. She released two albums in the US with producers Joey Balin and Gene Simmons, but they were not the breakthrough that she hoped. (Full article...)

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Image 1
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 2
German Papiermark
Banknote design credit: Danzig Central Finance Department; photographed by Andrew Shiva
The Papiermark is the name given to the German currency from 4 August 1914, when the link between the Goldmark and gold was abandoned. In particular, the name is used for the banknotes issued during the period of hyperinflation in Germany in 1922 and especially 1923. During this period, the Papiermark was also issued by the Free City of Danzig. The last of five series of the Danzig mark was the 1923 inflation issue, which consisted of denominations of 1 million to 10 billion issued from August to October 1923. The Danzig mark was replaced on 22 October 1923 by the Danzig gulden.

This ten-billion-mark banknote, issued on 11 October 1923, is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

Other denominations:
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000011-QINU`"'

* 1 million
* 10 million
* 100 million
* 500 million
* 5 billion
Image 3
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.
Image 4
Helmut Jahn
Photo credit: Andreas Tille
The Chicago based, German architect Helmut Jahn is best known for his efficiently designed modernist office blocks. Whilst many of these glass and steel buildings don't stand out from the crowd, some of his most eye-catching projects, such as the Sony Center in Berlin, with its tent-like roof covering the central Forum, border on post-modernism.
Image 5
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 6
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 7
Town hall of Hildesheim
Town hall of Hildesheim
Credit: old postcard, public domain
Image 8
Quadriga
Photo credit: א (Aleph)
Close-up of the quadriga (four-horse chariot) on top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin (Germany) at night. The sculpture was produced by Johann Gottfried Schadow in 1793. The word quadriga may refer to the chariot alone, the four horses without it, or the combination. All modern quadrigas are based on the Horses of Saint Mark, a Roman or Greek sculpture which is the only surviving ancient quadriga.
Image 9
Wernigerode Castle in winter
Wernigerode Castle
Credit: Andreas Tille
Wernigerode Castle in winter
Image 10
Cologne Stadtbahn
Photograph credit: Martin Falbisoner
The underground station Rochusplatz on the Cologne Stadtbahn, a light rail system in the German city of Cologne. The station entrance is at the junction of Venloer Straße with Äußere Kanalstraße in the district of Ehrenfeld. It was opened in 1992 and consists of a mezzanine and one island platform with two rail tracks. The station was previously known as Äußere Kanalstraße, but was renamed to its present title on 15 December 2019. The system uses pairs of K5000/K5200 units built by Bombardier Transportation, which are almost identical to the M5000 trams used by Metrolink in Manchester, England.
Image 11
German Instrument of Surrender
Photograph credit: Lt. Moore; restored by Adam Cuerden
The German Instrument of Surrender was the legal document that effected the termination of the Nazi regime and ended World War II in Europe. A July 1944 draft version had also included the surrender of the German government, but this was changed due to concern that there might be no functional German government that could surrender; instead, the document stated that it could be "superseded by any general instrument of surrender imposed by, or on behalf of the United Nations", which was done the next month.

This photograph shows Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signing the German Instrument of Surrender in Berlin. The first surrender document was signed on 7 May 1945 in Reims by General Alfred Jodl, but this version was not recognized by the Soviet High Command and a revised version was required. Prepared in three languages on 8 May, it was not ready for signing in Berlin until after midnight; consequently, the physical signing was delayed until nearly 1:00 a.m. on 9 May, and backdated to 8 May to be consistent with the Reims agreement and public announcements of the surrender already made by Western leaders.
Image 12
Adolf Mosengel
Painting credit: Adolf Mosengel
Adolf Mosengel (1837–1885) was a landscape painter from Hamburg, Germany, who built a reputation painting Alpine scenes, later turning to scenes from Westphalia. From 1854 to 1857, he studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under Hans Gude, and from 1858 to 1859 in Paris, after which he moved to Geneva to study under Alexandre Calame. He spent most of his life working in Hamburg, but travelled in 1879 to the lakes of Northern Italy, where he painted en plein air. This oil-on-canvas painting by Mosengel shows a village in the Bernese Alps.
Image 13
Saar river at Mettlach
Saarschleife
Credit: Wolfgang Staudt]
The Saar loop (Saarschleife) at Mettlach
Image 14
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 15
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 16
The city hall of Werdau, Saxony
The city hall of Werdau, Saxony
Credit: André Karwath aka Aka
Image 17
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 18
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 19
Stefan Heym
Photograph: Marcel Antonisse / Anefo
Helmut Flieg (1913–2001) was a German writer best-known by the pseudonym Stefan Heym. He lived in the United States (or served in its army abroad) between 1935 and 1952, before moving back to his native Germany. He published works in English and German at home and abroad, including Nazis in the U.S.A. (1938), Goldsborough (1953), and Five Days in June (1977).
Image 20
A pavillon at Sanssouci, Potsdam
A pavillon at Sanssouci, Potsdam
Credit: AngMoKio
Image 21
Reichstag
Reichstag
Credit: Ansgar Koreng
Reichstag in Berlin, December 2015
'"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000018-QINU`"'
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Image 22
Walchensee Hydroelectric Power Station
Photograph credit: Diego Delso
The Walchensee Hydroelectric Power Station is a storage power station in Bavaria, Germany. The turbines, seen here, are fed by water from the Walchensee which is then released into the Kochelsee. The power station uses the hydraulic head of about 200 metres (660 ft) between the two natural lakes, and water from the Rißbach river is also used to augment the supply. The installed capacity is 124 MW with an annual production of 300 GWh; this is one of the largest of such power plants in Germany.

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Anniversaries for June 17

1810 – Birth of writer Ferdinand Freiligrath
1898 – Birth of crystallographer Carl Hermann
1953 – The Uprising in East Germany is crushed by Soviet military
2002 – Death of football player Fritz Walter, captain of the German team in the 1954 FIFA World Cup

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Did you know...

... that Samuel Kummer chose for his first recital as the organist of the restored Frauenkirche in Dresden music by Bach, Brahms, Max Reger, Louis Vierne, and himself?
... that over the course of several decades, the missionaries of New Zealand's German Mission House failed to convert a single person?
... that German factory worker Julius Welschof now plays in the National Football League?
... that Peter Demetz, who taught German literature at Yale University from 1956 to 1991, was born in Prague where he was persecuted under the Nazis and escaped the Communist regime in 1949?
... that the Lutheran St. Trinitatis in Wolfenbüttel, consecrated in 1719, is a Baroque church with a facade recalling that of a palace?
... that Romani Holocaust survivor Philomena Franz wrote about her deportation to Auschwitz, internment in Ravensbrück, escape from a camp near Wittenberge, and concealment by a farmer?
... that baritone Liviu Holender chose lieder by five composers whose music was banned by the Nazis—Schreker, Zemlinsky, Mahler, Korngold and Schönberg—for a recital at the Oper Frankfurt?
... that ancient humans cared for a 14,000-year-old puppy?
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Selected cuisines, dishes and foods

Mett (German: [mɛt] ), also known as Hackepeter (Northern Germany, Eastern Germany, Bavaria and Berlin), is a preparation of minced raw pork seasoned with salt and black pepper that is popular in Germany. It is frequently spread on halves of a bread roll, with raw onion optionally on top. Since the 1950s mett has also been offered as a buffet dish decoratively formed into the shape of a hedgehog, with raw onion "spines". German law forbids mett being sold with a fat content exceeding 35%. (Full article...)

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