Germany

• 1. Six Hundred Thousand Years Of Stone

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  Ancient humans were present in the territory of modern Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The first non-modern human fossil known as the Neanderthal was discovered in the Neander Valley. Similarly dated evidence of modern humans has been found in the Swabian Jura region. Archaeologists uncovered 42,000-year-old flutes which are the oldest musical instruments ever found there. They also found a 40,000-year-old Lion Man sculpture and a 41,000-year-old Venus of Hohle Fels figurine. These artifacts prove that early people created complex art and music long before recorded history began. Southern Germany was inhabited by Celtic-speaking peoples who belonged to the wider La Tène culture. Germanic tribes emerged from the Jastorf culture during the Nordic Bronze Age or early Iron Age. They expanded south east and west coming into contact with Celtic Iranian Baltic and Slavic tribes.

• 2. Empires Wars And Totalitarianism

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  In 9 AD three Roman legions were defeated by Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. This outcome dissuaded the Romans from their ambition of conquering Germania and is considered one of the most important events in European history. By 100 AD when Tacitus wrote Germania Germanic tribes had settled along the Rhine and the Danube. The Holy Roman Empire emerged from East Francia after Charlemagne founded the Carolingian Empire in 800. In 1517 Martin Luther incited the Protestant Reformation and his translation of the Bible began the standardisation of the language. The Thirty Years' Wars lasted from 1618 to 1648 and religious conflict devastated German lands significantly reducing the population. On the 30th of January 1933 President Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor marking the beginning of Nazi Germany. His government established a centralised totalitarian state that withdrew from the League of Nations and dramatically increased rearmament. In August 1939 Hitler's government negotiated the Molotov, Ribbentrop Pact that divided Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. On the 1st of September 1939 Germany invaded Poland beginning World War II in Europe.

• 3. The Wall And The Reunion

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  On the 23rd of May 1949 the western sectors controlled by France the United Kingdom and the United States were merged to form the Federal Republic of Germany. On the 7th of October 1949 the Soviet Zone became the German Democratic Republic. They were informally known as West Germany and East Germany. East Germany selected East Berlin as its capital while West Germany chose Bonn as a provisional capital. The Berlin Wall built in 1961 prevented East German citizens from escaping to West Germany becoming a symbol of the Cold War. In 1989 Hungary decided to dismantle the Iron Curtain and open its border with Austria causing the emigration of thousands of East Germans. This had devastating effects on the GDR where regular mass demonstrations received increasing support. German reunification saw the former East German states join the FRG on the 3rd of October 1990. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 became a symbol of the fall of Communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

• 4. Alpine Peaks And Coastal Tides

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  Elevation ranges from the mountains of the Alps with the highest point being the Zugspitze at 2,962 meters in the south to the shores of the North Sea at minus 3.54 meters in the northwest. The forested uplands of central Germany and the lowlands of northern Germany are traversed by such major rivers as the Rhine Danube and Elbe. Significant natural resources include iron ore coal potash timber lignite uranium copper natural gas salt and nickel. Most of Germany has a temperate climate ranging from oceanic in the north and west to continental in the east and southeast. Winters range from cold in the Southern Alps to cool and generally overcast with limited precipitation while summers can vary from hot and dry to cool and rainy. From February 2019 to February 2020 average monthly temperatures ranged from a low of -7 degrees Celsius in January 2020 to a high of 25 degrees Celsius in June 2019. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 30 litres per square metre in February and April 2019 to 125 litres per square metre in February 2020.

• 5. The Basic Law And The Bundestag

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  Germany is a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. Federal legislative power is vested in the parliament consisting of the Bundestag and Bundesrat which together form the legislative body. The German political system operates under a framework laid out in the 1949 constitution known as the Basic Law. Amendments generally require a two-thirds majority of both houses. The fundamental principles of the constitution guarantee human dignity separation of powers the federal structure and the rule of law are valid in perpetuity. The president who has been Frank-Walter Steinmeier since 2017 is the head of state invested primarily with representative responsibilities. The chancellor who has been Friedrich Merz since 2025 is the head of government and exercises executive power through his Cabinet. Since 1949 the party system has been dominated by the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party of Germany. So far every chancellor has been a member of one of these parties.

• 6. Factories Exports And Innovation

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  Germany has a social market economy with a highly skilled labour force and a low level of corruption. It is the largest economy in Europe by nominal GDP as well as the world's third-largest by nominal GDP. Its PPP-adjusted GDP per capita amounted to 115% of the EU average in 2024. The country's service sector contributes approximately 72% of the total GDP while the industrial sector contributes 27%. Germany introduced the common EU currency the euro in 2002. Its monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank which is based in Frankfurt the country's largest financial centre. Germany is the world's third-largest exporter and third-largest importer having the second-largest trade surplus after China. In 2018 Germany ranked fourth globally in terms of number of science and engineering research papers published. Well-known research institutions include the Max Planck Society the Helmholtz Association the Fraunhofer Society and the Leibniz Association.

• 7. Bach Beethoven And The Brothers Grimm

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  German classical music includes works by some of the world's most well-known composers. Dieterich Buxtehude Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Händel were influential composers of the Baroque period. Ludwig van Beethoven was a crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras. Richard Wagner was known for his operas while Karlheinz Stockhausen and Wolfgang Rihm are important composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. German literature can be traced back to the Middle Ages with writers such as Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach. The collections of folk tales published by the Brothers Grimm popularised German folklore on an international level. Their dictionary or German Dictionary was begun in 1838 and the first volumes published in 1854. The Frankfurt Book Fair is the most important in the world for international deals and trading having a tradition spanning over 500 years. The annual Gamescom held in Cologne is the world's largest gaming convention.