



G erm any

Germany 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, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west. Germany includes 16 constituent states, officially the Federal Republic ofis a country in Central and Western, 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,andto the south, andand theto the west.includes 16 constituent states,

Europe after covers an area of 357,386 square kilometres (137,988 sq mi) and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With nearly 83 million inhabitants, it is the second most populous state ofafter 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. Germany's largest urban area is the Ruhr, with its main centres of Dortmund and Essen. The country's other major cities are Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Dresden, Bremen, Hannover, and Nuremberg.



German History

Germany is used in three senses: first, it refers to the region in Central The nameis used in three senses: first, it refers to the region in Central Europe

commonly regarded as constituting Germany, even when there was no central German state, as was the case for most of Germany’s history; second, it refers to the unified German state established in 1871 and existing until 1945; and third, since October 3, 1990, it refers to the united Germany, formed by the accession on this date of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany). The name Federal Republic of Germany refers to West Germany from its founding on May 23, 1949, until German unification on October 3, 1990. After this date, it refers to united Germany. For the sake of brevity and variety, the Federal Republic of Germany is often called simply the Federal Republic. The Federal Republic of Germany consists of sixteen states (Laender; sing., Land ). Five of these Laender date from July 1990, when the territory of the German Democratic Republic was once again divided into Laender. For this reason, when discussing events since unification, Germans frequently

refer to the territory of the former East Germany as the new or eastern Laender and call that of the former West Germany the old or western Laender. For the sake of convenience and variety, the text often follows this convention to distinguish eastern from western Germany. Spellings of place-names used here are in most cases those approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names. Exceptions are the use of the conventional English names for a few important cities, rivers, and geographic regions.



Top 5 Tourist Attractions in Germany



1. Berlin Wall

The East Side Gallery is the longest surviving section of the Berlin Wall . In 1990, more than 100 artists from over 20 countries decorated this stretch of the hinterland wall with their art works. The most famous is undoubtedly the work known as the “Fraternal Kiss”, depicting a

kiss between Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev and East Germany’s SED Party Chairman

Erich Honecker. But Potsdamer Platz, Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate are also key sites in the history of the Berlin Wall. 2019: Berlin celebrates 30 years since the fall

of the Berlin Wall: The Wall fell on 9 November 1989. And that marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall - if that is no reason to celebrate, but also to commemorate. Numerous events and exhibitions are taking place in Berlin around the anniversary, for which it is definitely worth coming to Berlin. As early as 2014, the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall was duly celebrated with a light border on the former Wall strip. Let us surprise you with what Berlin has planned for this time. Berlin was a divided city for nearly thirty years – a city with a wall running through its very heart. From 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall divided the city into East and West Berlin. Today, all across the city you can find traces of the Wall, its remains and memorial sites – the East Side Gallery, the Berlin Wall Memorial in Bernauer Strasse, the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, a former Stasi remand prison, and the green Mauerpark. The route of the Berlin Wall is even marked along some of Berlin’s streets by a double row of cobblestones. The Berlin Wall Cycle Route also offers a great way to trace the route of the Wall by bike. The route crosses the city following the path of the Berlin Wall. The entire cycle route covers over 160 kilometres along the former GDR border encircling West Berlin.

The Berlin Wall: Museums, sites and memorials

In the night from 12 to 13 August 1961, the East German army began sealing off the streets

and railway lines providing access to West Berlin. Then the East German regime erected a

wall along the sector border. The border encircling West Berlin was 167.8 kilometres long. In

the years of the Berlin Wall, present research shows that between 136 and 206 people died

trying to cross from East to West. The Berlin Wall finally fell on 9 November 1989. The city

recalls the victims of the division of Germany at many Berlin Wall sites, museums and memorial sites, such as the Tränenpalast (Palace of Tears), the Berlin Wall Memorial in Bernauer Strasse, and the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, a former Stasi remand prison.



2. Kolner Dom

Cologne’s geographical and spiritual heart – and its single-biggest tourist draw – is the magnificent Kolner Dom. With its soaring twin spires, this is the Mt Everest of cathedrals, jam-packed with art and treasures. For an exercise fix, climb the 533 steps up the Dom’s south tower to the base of the steeple that dwarfed all buildings in Europe until Gustave Eiffel built a certain tower in Paris. The Domforum visitor centre is a good source of info and tickets. The Dom is Germany’s largest cathedral and must be circled from the outside to truly appreciate its dimensions. Note how its lacy spires and flying buttresses create a sensation of lightness and fragility despite its mass and height. This feeling of airiness continues inside, where a phalanx of pillars and arches supports the lofty nave. Soft light Cologne’s geographical and spiritual heart – and its single-biggest tourist draw – is the magnificent. With its soaring twin spires, this is the Mt Everest of cathedrals, jam-packed with art and treasures. For an exercise fix, climb the 533 steps up thesouth tower to the base of the steeple that dwarfed all buildings in Europe until Gustavebuilt a certain tower in. The Domforum visitor centre is a good source of info and tickets. Theislargest cathedral and must be circled from the outside to truly appreciate its dimensions. Note how its lacy spires and flying buttresses create a sensation of lightness and fragility despite its mass and height. This feeling of airiness continues inside, where a phalanx of pillars and arches supports the lofty nave. Soft light

filters through the medieval stained-glass windows, as well as a much-lauded recent window by contemporary artist Gerhard Richter in the right transept. A kaleidoscope of 11,500 squares in 72 colours, Richter’s abstract design has been called a ‘symphony of light’; in the afternoon especially, when the sun hits it just so, it’s easy to understand why. The pièce de résistance among the cathedral’s bevy of treasures is the Shrine of the Three Kings behind the main altar, a richly bejewelled and gilded sarcophagus said to hold the remains of the kings who followed the star to the stable in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. The bones were spirited out of Milan in 1164 as spoils of war by Emperor Barbarossa’s chancellor and instantly turned Cologne into a major pilgrimage site. Other highlights include the Gero Crucifix (970), notable for its monumental size and an emotional intensity rarely achieved in those early medieval days; the choir stalls from 1310, richly carved from oak; and the altar painting (c 1450) by Cologne artist Stephan Lochner. During your climb up to the 95m-high viewing platform on the south tower, take a breather and admire the 24-tonne Peter Bell (1923), the largest free-swinging working bell in the world. To get more out of your visit, invest €1 in the information pamphlet or join a guided tour.



3. Schloss Sanssouci

Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci was the summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among therivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is notable for the numerous temples and follies in the park. The palace was designed/built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to fulfill King Frederick's

need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court. The palace's name emphasises this; it is a French phrase, which translates as "without concerns", meaning "without worries" or "carefree", symbolising that the palace was a place for relaxation rather than a seat of power. The name in past times reflected a play on words, with the insertion of a comma visible between the words Sans and Souci, viz. Sans, Souci. Kittsteiner theorizes that this could be a philosophical play on words, meaning "without a worry/concern" or it could be some secret personal message which nobody has interpreted, left to posterity by Frederick II. Sanssouci is little more than a large, single-story villa-more like the Château de Marly than Versailles. Containing just ten principal rooms, it was built on the brow of a terraced hill at the centre of the park. The influence of King Frederick's personal taste in the design and decoration of the palace was so great that its style is characterised as "Frederician Rococo", and his feelings for the palace were so strong that he conceived it as "a place that would die with him". Because of a disagreement about the site of the palace in



the park, Knobelsdorff was fired in 1746. Jan Bouman, a Dutch architect, finished the project. During the 19th century, the palace became a residence of Frederick William IV. He employed the architect Ludwig Persius to restore and enlarge the palace, while Ferdinand von Arnim was charged with improving the grounds and thus the view from the palace. The town of Potsdam, with its palaces, was a favourite place of residence for the German imperial family until the fall of the Hohenzollern dynasty in 1918. After World War II, the palace became a tourist attraction in East Germany. Following German reunification in 1990, Frederick's body was returned to the palace and buried in a new tomb overlooking the gardens he had created. Sanssouci and its extensive gardens became a World Heritage Site in 1990 under the protection of UNESCO . in 1995, the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg was established to care for Sanssouci and the other former imperial palaces in and around Berlin. These palaces are now visited by more than two million people a year from all over the world.

4. Brandenburger Tor

The Berlin. More than just Berlin’s only surviving historical city gate, this site came to symbolise Berlin’s Cold War division into East and West – and, since the fall of the Wall, a reunified Germany. The Brandenburg Gate is one of the most iconic sights in today’s vibrant. More than just Berlin’s only surviving historical city gate, this site came to symbolise Berlin’s Cold War division into East and West – and, since the fall of the Wall, a reunified

Architecturally, the sandstone Brandenburg Gate also represents one of the earliest and most attractive examples of a neo-classical building in Germany. Constructed between 1788 and 1791, the Brandenburg Gate was Berlin’s first Greek revival building. Designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans, architect to the Prussian court, it was inspired by the monumental gateway at the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens. The Brandenburg Gate is 26 metres high, 65.5 metres long and 11 metres deep, and supported by two rows of six Doric columns. In 1793, the gate was crowned by the Quadriga statue, designed by Johann

Gottfried Schadow. This statue also has its own story to tell. In 1806, when Napoleon’s army took Berlin, the French Emperor had the Quadriga transported to Paris as war booty and a sign of his victory. In 1814, after Napoleon’s forced abdication, the Quadriga was returned to Berlin where it once again adorned the Brandenburg Gate, facing towards the east and the city centre. In 1946, with the post-war division of Germany and Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate was in the Soviet sector. When the Berlin Wall went up in 1961, the Gate stood in an exclusion zone in an arc of the Wall, inaccessible for locals and visitors alike. When the Wall fell, 100,000 people gathered here for the Brandenburg Gate’s official opening on 22 December 1989 – and soon afterwards, crowds thronged the area to celebrate their first joint New Year’s Eve in this once-divided city. Today, more than almost any other of the city’s landmark sights, the Brandenburg Gate symbolises a reunited Berlin. The Brandenburg Gate faces Pariser Platz, regarded as one of the city’s most attractive squares. By the end of the Second World War, the buildings around this historical square were in ruins. Reconstruction at this prime

German reunification, and the buildings now include elegant town houses, embassies and the impressive five-star Hotel Adlon. The Max Liebermann Haus and the Haus Sommer, set to the left and right of the Brandenburg Gate, were designed as a matching pair in a style inspired by the architecture of the Prussian master builder and court architect Friedrich August Stüler. This historic location is also home to two other prominent buildings housing the embassies of France and the United States.

location only started in the 1990s afterreunification, and the buildings now include elegant town houses, embassies and the impressive five-star Hotel Adlon. The Max Liebermann Haus and the Haus Sommer, set to the left and right of the Brandenburg Gate, were designed as a matching pair in a style inspired by the architecture of the Prussian master builder and court architect Friedrich August Stüler. This historic location is also home to two other prominent buildings housing the embassies of France and the

5. Zugspitze – Garmisch Partenkirchen

Germany at your feet: At precisely 2,962 metres above sea level, the So that is what it feels like to haveat your feet: At precisely 2,962 metres above sea level, the Zugspitze is the highest mountain in the country and home to three glaciers and Germany’s highest ski resort. The 20 kilometres of pistes enjoy a deep covering of

natural snow for skiing and boarding for six months of the year. The Zugspitze is also an

attractive destination for non-skiers: Right at the top, an impressive 360° panorama opens

up to reveal extensive views over 400 mountain peaks in four countries. The Zugspitze-

Exhibition enhances visitors’ awareness of the historical developments of Germany’s most

famous mountain. Two toboggan runs, Germany’s highest church, an igloo village and excellent mountain restaurants are reason enough for smiling faces. Only while sunbathing on the inviting deckchairs may you find that your eyelids droop for a well-earned snooze. Whether winter sports enthusiasts, nature lovers, romantics or sun worshippers: The mountain railways of Bayerische Zugspitzbahn make it possible for everyone to discover the snow covered Zugspitze from their own personal perspective.



Zugspitze Round Trip

Enjoy the complete mountain experience in comfort: Take the cog wheel train from

Zugspitze station Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the idyllic Lake Eibsee. The ascent with the

Cable car Zugspitze offers spectacular views down to the lake, before new horizons open

up with a powerful panorama at the Zugspitze Peak. The Zugspitze Glacier at 2,600 metres is then accessed using the glacier lifts, before the rack and pinion railway comfortably transports you through the Zugspitze Tunnel and back to your original starting point. A well rounded trip!



Germany national football team

The Germany national football team is the men's football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association founded in 1900. Ever since the DFB was reinaugurated in 1949 the team has represented the Federal Republic of Germany. Under Allied occupation and division, two other separate national teams were also recognised by FIFA: the Saarland team representing the Saarland (1950–1956) and the East German team representing the German Democratic Republic (1952–1990). Both have been absorbed along with their records by the current national team. The official name and code "Germany FR (FRG)" was shortened to "Germany (GER)" following the reunification in 1990. Germany is one of the