General Info |
Although located mostly at latitudes north of the United States-Canadian border and thus closer to the Arctic Circle than to the equator, Germany's climate is moderate and is generally without sustained periods of cold or heat. Northwestern and coastal Germany have a maritime climate caused by warm westerly winds from the North Sea; the climate is characterized by warm summers and mild cloudy winters. Farther inland, the climate is continental, marked by greater diurnal and seasonal variations in temperature, with warmer summers and colder winters.
The euro (currency sign: €; currency code: EUR) is the official currency of the European Union (EU). Fifteen member states have adopted it, known collectively as the Eurozone (Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain).
Germany is a large country in Central Europe, stretching from the Alps, across the North European Plain to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Germany has the second largest population in Europe (after the European part of Russia) and is seventh largest in area. The territory of Germany 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. Elevation ranges from the mountains of the Alps (highest point: the Zugspitze at 2,962 metres (9,718 ft)) in the south to the shores of the North Sea (Nordsee) in the north-west and the Baltic Sea (Ostsee) in the north-east. Between lie the forested uplands of central Germany and the low-lying lands of northern Germany (lowest point: Neuendorf-Sachsenbande at 3.54 metres (11.6 ft) below sea level), traversed by some of Europe's major rivers such as the Rhine, Danube and Elbe.[1] Because of its central location, Germany shares borders with more European countries than any other country on the continent. Its neighbours are Denmark in the north, Poland and the Czech Republic in the east, Austria and Switzerland in the south, France in the south-west and Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands in the west.
The country we know as Germany today was throughout history mostly an association of states.
Following the French revolution, the German states fought against Napoleon’s army.
After the revolutions of 1848, the first German Parliament was created.
After a victory in the French-Prussian war in 1871, a unification of the German states was attained, which initiated a period of great advances in various areas, the economy, the political area and the military. This is the time when Germany becomes one of the great world powers alongside the United Kingdom.
During the next two decades, the Bismarckian systems, which dominate the European politics, were established.
William II was crowned as Kaiser, which caused a confrontation with Bismarck. This was the source of the fall of the Chancellor.
In 1914, when World War broke out, the fall of the Hohenzollern dynasty started as Germany was defeated. The winning nations impose the Versailles Treaty and the German territory splits in two once more.
After the defeat, the Weimar Republic was initiated. There was an economic crisis and the German National Socialist Workers’ Party (Nazi) obtains the power doing away with democracy.
Nazi Germany lasted 12 years (1933-1945). Hitler got the full control succeeding also the head of state.
At first Germany had great military successes gaining control over countries in Europe Belgium, France, Denmark, The Netherlands, Luxemburg, Greece, The Balkans and Norway, Tunes and Libya in North Africa. But its attack on Russia in 1941 failed.
In spite of being one of the defeated countries, its economic recovery was quick after 1950 and it becomes the third economic world power.
In 1990 the four allied powers and the 2 federal states signed an agreement in Moscow to end the rights of the allied powers in Germany.
As a founding country, Germany had a main role in the constructions of the European Union.
1 Jan New Year's Day.
6 Jan* Epiphany.
10 Apr Good Friday.
13 Apr Easter Monday.
1 May Labour Day.
21 May Ascension.
1 Jun Whit Monday.
11 Jun* Corpus Christi.
15 Aug* Assumption.
3 Oct Day of German Unity.
31 Oct* Day of Reformation.
1 Nov* All Saints' Day.
18 Nov* Repentance Day.
25-26 Dec Christmas.
At the end of 2004, Germany's population was 82.5 million, essentially unchanged from the prior year. However, the World Bank projects that Germany's population will decline to about 80.3 million by 2015.
Average population density is about 230 people per square kilometer, but population distribution is very uneven. In the former West Germany, population density is 267 people per square kilometer, compared with 140 people per square kilometer in the former East Germany. Berlin and the industrialized Ruhr Valley are densely populated, while much of the Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania regions in the East are thinly populated. These disparities have been exacerbated by migration from East to West, as former Easterners have sought better employment opportunities.