Portal:Germany

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

Germany (German: Deutschland), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland), is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Sea 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 357,596 square kilometres (138,069 sq mi) and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With nearly 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 most populous city 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.

Germany is a federal parliamentary republic led by a chancellor. It is a great power with a strong economy. As a global leader in several industrial, scientific and technological sectors, it is a major trading nation. The Federal Republic of Germany was a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957 and the European Union in 1993. Read more...

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

edit

Selected article

SMS Lothringen was the last of five pre-dreadnought battleships of the Braunschweig class, built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). She was laid down in December 1902, was launched in May 1904, and was commissioned in May 1906. She was named for Lothringen (now Lorraine), a province of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The ship was armed with a battery of four 28 cm (11 in) guns and had a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). Like all other pre-dreadnoughts built around the turn of the century, Lothringen was quickly made obsolete by the launching of the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought in December 1906; as a result, her career as a front-line battleship was cut short.

Lothringen's peacetime career centered on squadron and fleet exercises and training cruises with II Battle Squadron. Scheduled to be withdrawn from service in July 1914 and replaced by newer dreadnought battleships, the outbreak of World War I that month prevented her retirement. She spent the first two years of the war primarily serving as a guard ship in the German Bight. She and the rest of II Squadron joined the dreadnoughts of the High Seas Fleet to support the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby in December 1914. In poor condition by 1916, she was withdrawn from fleet service in February. She thereafter patrolled the Danish straits until she was replaced by the battleship Hannover in September 1917. She spent the rest of the war as a disarmed training ship.

After the war, Lothringen was retained by the re-formed Reichsmarine and converted into a depot ship for F-type minesweepers from 1919 to 1920. After the task of clearing the wartime minefields in the North Sea was completed, she was placed in reserve in March 1920. The ship remained inactive for the next decade and was stricken from the naval register in March 1931 and sold to ship breakers later that year. (Full article...)

All selected articles

edit

Selected picture

Image 1
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 2
Charlottenburg Palace
Photograph: Thomas Wolf
Charlottenburg Palace is a large palace in Charlottenburg, a part of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough of Berlin, Germany. The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and expanded during the 18th century. It includes much exotic internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles. It was badly damaged during the Second World War, but has since been reconstructed, becoming a major tourist attraction.
Image 3
The Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin
Alte Nationalgalerie
Credit: Manfred Brückels
The Alte Nationalgalerie, a gallery on Museum Island, Berlin
Image 4
Hoher Göll
Photograph credit: Jörg Braukmamm
The Hoher Göll is a mountain in the Berchtesgaden Alps. At 2,522 metres (8,274 feet), it is the highest peak of the Göll massif, which straddles the border between the German state of Bavaria and the Austrian state of Salzburg. This photograph shows the Hoher Göll (left) and the Hohes Brett (right) from the west.
Image 5
Reichstag
Photo: Matthew Field
The Reichstag building is a historical edifice in Berlin, Germany, constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire. After German reunification it underwent a reconstruction, completed in 1999, and now houses the modern Bundestag.
Image 6
The Johannisbad bath in Zwickau
The Johannisbad bath in Zwickau
Credit: André Karwath
Image 7
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Credit: Metoc
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a Holocaust memorial in Berlin
Image 8
Neue Wache
Photo credit: Daniel Schwen
The interior of the Neue Wache, the central memorial of Germany for victims of war and tyranny. Located in Berlin, the building was originally built as a guardhouse, and has been used as a war memorial since 1931. The statue, Mother with her Dead Son is directly under the oculus, and so is exposed to the rain, snow and cold, symbolising the suffering of civilians during World War II.
Image 9
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 10
Göttingen
Photo credit: Daniel Schwen/Antilived
The marketplace of Göttingen, a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, with the old city hall, Gänseliesel fountain and pedestrian zone. Founded before 1200, the city is famous for Georg-August University, which was founded in 1737 and became the most visited university of Europe.
Image 11
Snowed trees on the Brocken
Brocken
Credit: Andreas Tille
Snowed trees on the Brocken
Image 12
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Painting credit: Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841) was a Prussian architect and city planner. He was one of the most prominent architects in Germany and designed both Neoclassical and Neo-Gothic buildings, the most famous of which are found in and around Berlin. He was also a painter and a designer of furniture and stage sets.

This oil-on-canvas painting, entitled Castle by the River, was created by Schinkel in 1820. As an artist, his architectural talent shone through, and his buildings and landscapes are carefully drafted and meticulously executed. The painting is in the collection of the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.
Image 13
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 14
The Einstein Tower in Potsdam
Einstein Tower
Credit: Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam
The Einstein Tower, a solar observatory in Potsdam
Image 15
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 16
Dresden
Photochrom: Detroit Publishing Co.
Restoration: Lise Broer
An 1890s photochrom print of Dresden, the capital city of Saxony in Germany, with Dresden Frauenkirche (left), Augustus Bridge (centre), and Katholische Hofkirche (right) visible. Dresden in the early 20th century was a leading European centre of culture and science, but suffered heavy damage due to an Allied bombing on February 13, 1945.
Image 17
A pavillon at Sanssouci, Potsdam
A pavillon at Sanssouci, Potsdam
Credit: AngMoKio
Image 18
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 19
Thomas Müller
Photograph: Michael Kranewitter
Thomas Müller (b. 1989) is a German professional footballer who has played for Bayern Munich since 2009; he is also the team's vice-captain. A versatile player, Müller plays as a midfielder or forward but has also been deployed in attacking roles such as attacking midfielder, second striker, centre forward and on either wing. He has represented Germany on its national team since 2010.
Image 20
Königsallee in Düsseldorf
Königsallee
Credit: Mikhail Shcherbakov
The Königsallee (literally "King's Avenue") is an urban boulevard in Düsseldorf, state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The Königsallee is noted for both the landscaped canal that runs along its center, as well as for the fashion showrooms and luxury retail stores located along its sides.
Image 21
Regensburg, Germany
Photo credit: Karsten Dörre
A twilight panorama of Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany with the 12th century bridge Steinerne Brücke and Regensburg Cathedral on the left and the river Danube in the foreground. Located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, the first settlements in the area date to the Stone Age. A Roman fort was constructed in 179. In contrast to almost all other major German cities, Regensburg had little damage from Allied air raids in World War II and thus has an almost intact medieval city center, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Image 22
Bode Museum
Photograph: Thomas Wolf
The Bode Museum on Museum Island in Berlin, Germany, named after its founding director, is a museum of antiquities including sculpture, Byzantine art and numismatics. Designed by Ernst von Ihne and completed in 1904, the building was restored extensively from 1997 to 2006.

All selected pictures

edit

Related portals

Parent portals

Europe
European Union

Regional

History

Holy Roman Empire (900–1806)
East Germany (1949–1990)

Neighbouring countries

Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Denmark
France
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Poland
Switzerland
Sweden

edit

Anniversaries for October 31

1517 – Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses at the Castle Church in Wittenberg
1815 – Birth of mathematician Karl Weierstraß
1835 – Birth of chemist Adolf von Baeyer, winner of the 1905 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his synthesis of indigo dye
1920 – Birth of football player Fritz Walter, captain of the Germany national football team winnning the 1954 FIFA World Cup

More October anniversaries

edit

Did you know...

... that the 2022 German presidential election was held at Paul Löbe House instead of the Reichstag due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
... that four US Army soldiers stole $36 million in valuables from a German castle in late 1945?
... that the Ferber House was rumoured to be haunted after the family who owned it went extinct?
sabotage in World War II involved delaying the Nazi nuclear program, derailing trains, freeing Jews – and explosive rats?
... that when Marianne Angermann earned her university entrance, the pronouns on her printed diploma were altered manually?
... that the Ostjuden anti-Semitic stereotype was used to describe Jews from Eastern Europe by both non-Jewish Germans and assimilated German Jews?
... that Felix Mendelssohn revised his Rondo capriccioso after a 17-year-old pianist "commanded" him to do so "under pain of one disgrace or another"?
... that the hospital ship Tübingen was sunk as a result of "a curious mixture of bad luck and stupidity"?
Did you know archive · More new articles