…some facts about Germany

Germany is the fifth largest country in Europe, covering an area of 357,022 square kilometers; only Ukraine, France, Spain and Sweden are larger. Germany shares borders with nine other countries: Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Since reunification, there are now 16 länder or federal states Since reunification, there are now 16 länder or federal states. There are three city states – Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen – and 13 regions: Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia. The most populous Bundesland is Bavaria with a population of about 12,542,000 inhabitants and the least populous is Bremen with a population of 661,000 inhabitants. However, in terms of population density, Berlin is on top with about 3,890 people per km2.

...to give you an idea Germany was once a cluster of small kingdoms, duchies and principalities – which were unified as the German Reich (Deutsches Reich) in 1871. Later it became the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich (National Socialism), and in 1949 the nation divided into the Soviet-supported East Germany (German Democratic Republic) and the democratic West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany). On October 3rd 1990, East and West were reunited. Germany's capital city has shifted seven times – these cities have all at one time or another been capitals of modern-day German territory: Aachen (during the Carolingian Empire), Regensburg, Frankfurt-am-Main, Nuremberg, Berlin, Weimar (unofficially, during unrest in Berlin), Bonn (and East Berlin in the GDR), and, since 1990, Berlin again.

…and now some facts about myself

Insert funny photo of yourself

This is where I grew up (insert picture of your hometown)

…and this is where I live now (insert picture of the city you currently live in)

…here‘s just one thing Germany is famous for

Germany is sometimes known as ‘the land of poets and thinkers' – or das Land der Dichter und Denker; Bach, Beethoven and Goethe were all German, alongside composers Händel, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Wagner and R. Strauss. Some of the world's greatest German philosophers include Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Heidegger. Do you know other famous Germans?

…do you know what day today is?

Reunification At the end of the Second World War (1945) and during to Cold War, Germany was divided between West and East. The Federal Republic of Germany (West) and the German Democratic Republic (East) were officially reunited on October 3rd, 1990.

…let‘s talk about…

Political System Germany is a federal republic in which legislative power is held by the Bundestag (the federal parliament) and the Bundesrat (the representative body of the 16 Bundesländer). Parties Currently in the Bundestag Government Christian Democratic Union of Germany / Christian Social Union in Bavaria (246 seats) Social Democratic Party of Germany (153 seats) Opposition Parties Alternative for Germany (92 seats) Free Democratic Party (80 seats) The Left (69 seats) Alliance 90/The Greens (67 seats)

Political System Along with its federal representation (the Bundestag and the Bundesrat) each of the German federal states has their own regional parliament called a Landtag. Some of the regional parliaments have smaller parties which are not seen on the federal level, such as the South Schleswig Voters' Association (Danish/Frisian minority party) in Schleswig-Holstein. However, most of the representatives come from the same political parties one can see on the federal level.

…have you met a German before?