Germany / Deutschland / Deutſchland/ Alemanha

Sources:

Wikipedia

Geonames.de

Crw. Flags

 

 

Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The territory of Germany covers 357,021 square kilometers (137,847 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants in January 2010, it has the largest population among member states of the European Union, and it is also home to the third-largest number of international migrants worldwide.

A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state, the country was first unified amidst the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. In 1949, after World War II, Germany was divided into two separate states—East Germany and West Germany—along the lines of Allied occupation. Germany was reunified in 1990. West Germany was a founding member of the European Community (EC) in 1957, which became the European Union in 1993. It is part of the Schengen zone and adopted the European currency, the euro, in 1999.

 

Germany is a federal parliamentary republic of sixteen states (Länder). The capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, G8, G20, OECD, and the WTO. It is a major power with the world's fourth largest economy by nominal GDP and the fifth largest in purchasing power parity. It is the second largest exporter and second largest importer of goods. In absolute terms, Germany allocates the second biggest annual budget of development aid in the world, while its military expenditure ranked sixth. The country has developed a high standard of living and established a comprehensive system of social security. It holds a key position in European affairs and maintains a multitude of close partnerships on a global level. Germany is recognised as a scientific and technological leader in several fields.

 

History

The English word "Germany" derives from the Latin word Germania. The name "Germania" came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it from a Gallic term for the peoples east of the Rhine that probably meant "neighbour"

The ethnogenesis of the Germanic tribes is assumed to have occurred during the Nordic Bronze Age, or at the latest, during the Pre-Roman Iron Age. From southern Scandinavia and northern Germany, the tribes began expanding south, east and west in the 1st century BC, coming into contact with the Celtic tribes of Gaul as well as Iranian, Baltic, and Slavic tribes in Eastern Europe. Little is known about early Germanic history, except through their recorded interactions with the Roman Empire, etymological research and archaeological finds.

Under Augustus, the Roman General Publius Quinctilius Varus began to invade Germania (a term used by the Romans to define a territory running roughly from the Rhine to the Ural Mountains), and it was in this period that the Germanic tribes became familiar with Roman tactics of warfare while maintaining their tribal identity. In AD 9, three Roman legions led by Varus were defeated by the Cheruscan leader Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Modern Germany, as far as the Rhine and the Danube, thus remained outside the Roman Empire. By AD 100, the time of Tacitus' Germania, Germanic tribes settled along the Rhine and the Danube (the Limes Germanicus) , occupying most of the area of modern Germany; Austria, southern Bavaria and the western Rhineland, however, were Roman provinces. The 3rd century saw the emergence of a number of large West Germanic tribes: Alamanni, Franks, Chatti, Saxons, Frisians, Sicambri, and Thuringii. Around 260, the Germanic peoples broke through the Limes and the Danube frontier into Roman-controlled lands.

 

Holy Roman Empire (962–1806)

On 25 December 800, Charlemagne founded the Carolingian Empire, which was divided in 843. The medieval empire resulted from the eastern portion of this division and existed in varying forms from 962 until 1806. Its territory stretched from the Eider River in the north to the Mediterranean coast in the south. Often referred to as the Holy Roman Empire (or the Old Empire), it was officially called the Sacrum Romanum Imperium Nationis Germanicæ (Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation) starting in 1448, to adjust the title to its then reduced territory.

Under the reign of the Ottonian emperors (919–1024), the duchies of Lorraine, Saxony, Franconia, Swabia, Thuringia, and Bavaria were consolidated, and the German king was crowned Holy Roman Emperor of these regions in 962. Under the reign of the Salian emperors (1024–1125), the Holy Roman Empire absorbed northern Italy and Burgundy, although the emperors lost power through the Investiture Controversy. Under the Hohenstaufen emperors (1138–1254), the German princes increased their influence further south and east into territories inhabited by Slavs, preceding German settlement in these areas and further east (Ostsiedlung). Northern German towns grew prosperous as members of the Hanseatic League. Starting with the Great Famine in 1315, then the Black Death of 1348–50, the population of Germany plummeted.

The edict of the Golden Bull in 1356 provided the basic constitution of the empire that lasted until its dissolution. It codified the election of the emperor by seven prince-electors who ruled some of the most powerful principalities and archbishoprics. Beginning in the 15th century, the emperors were elected nearly exclusively from the Habsburg dynasty of Austria.

The monk Martin Luther publicised his 95 Theses in 1517, challenging practices of the Roman Catholic Church, initiating the Protestant Reformation. A separate Lutheran church became the official religion in many German states after 1530. Religious conflict led to the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), which devastated German lands. The population of the German states was reduced by about 30%. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) ended religious warfare among the German states, but the empire was de facto divided into numerous independent principalities. From 1740 onwards, the dualism between the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy and the Kingdom of Prussia dominated German history. In 1806, the Imperium was overrun and dissolved as a result of the Napoleonic Wars.

 

Restoration and revolution (1814–1871)

 

Following the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Congress of Vienna convened in 1814 and founded the German Confederation (Deutscher Bund), a loose league of 39 sovereign states. Disagreement with restoration politics partly led to the rise of liberal movements, demanding unity and freedom. These, however, were followed by new measures of repression on the part of the Austrian statesman Metternich. The Zollverein, a tariff union, profoundly furthered economic unity in the German states. During this era many Germans had been stirred by the ideals of the French Revolution, and nationalism became a more significant force, especially among young intellectuals. For the first time, the colours of black, red and gold were chosen to represent the movement, which later became the national colours.

In light of a series of revolutionary movements in Europe, which successfully established a republic in France, intellectuals and commoners started the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states. The monarchs initially yielded to the revolutionaries' liberal demands. King Frederick William IV of Prussia was offered the title of Emperor, but with a loss of power; he rejected the crown and the proposed constitution, leading to a temporary setback for the movement. Conflict between King William I of Prussia and the increasingly liberal parliament erupted over military reforms in 1862, and the king appointed Otto von Bismarck the new Prime Minister of Prussia. Bismarck successfully waged war on Denmark in 1864. Prussian victory in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 enabled him to create the North German Federation (Norddeutscher Bund) and to exclude Austria, formerly the leading German state, from the affairs of the remaining German states.

 

German Empire (1871–1918)

The state known as Germany was unified as a modern nation-state in 1871, when the German Empire was forged, with the Kingdom of Prussia as its largest constituent. After the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, the German Empire was proclaimed in Versailles on 18 January 1871. The Hohenzollern dynasty of Prussia ruled the new empire, whose capital was Berlin. The empire was a unification of all the scattered parts of Germany except Austria (Kleindeutschland, or "Lesser Germany"). But internally the official political unification came rather sequentially: Germany had no national flag until 1892 and no national hymn until after WW I. Beginning in 1884, Germany began establishing several colonies outside of Europe.

 

In the Gründerzeit period following the unification of Germany, Emperor William I's foreign policy secured Germany's position as a great nation by forging alliances, isolating France by diplomatic means, and avoiding war. Under William II, however, Germany, like other European powers, took an imperialistic course leading to friction with neighbouring countries. Most alliances in which Germany had been previously involved were not renewed, and new alliances excluded the country. Specifically, France established new relationships by signing the Entente Cordiale with the United Kingdom and securing ties with the Russian Empire. Aside from its contacts with Austria-Hungary, Germany became increasingly isolated.

Germany's imperialism reached outside of its own country and joined many other powers in Europe in claiming their share of Africa. The Berlin Conference divided Africa between the European powers. Germany owned several pieces of land in Africa including German East Africa, South-West Africa, Togo, and Cameroon. The Scramble for Africa caused tension between the great powers that may have contributed to the conditions that led to World War I.

The assassination of Austria's crown prince on 28 June 1914 triggered World War I. Germany, as part of the unsuccessful Central Powers, suffered defeat against the Allied Powers in one of the bloodiest conflicts of all time. An estimated two million German soldiers died in World War I. The German Revolution broke out in November 1918, and Emperor William II and all German ruling princes abdicated. An armistice putting an end to the war was signed on 11 November and Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919. Its negotiation, contrary to traditional post-war diplomacy, excluded the defeated Central Powers. The treaty was perceived in Germany as a humiliating continuation of the war by other means and its harshness is often cited as having facilitated the later rise of Nazism in the country.

 

Weimar Republic (1919–1933)

 

At the beginning of the German Revolution, Germany was declared a republic and the monarchy collapsed. However, the struggle for power continued, with radical-left communists seizing power in Bavaria, but failing to take control of all of Germany. The revolution came to an end in August 1919, when the Weimar Republic was formally established. The Weimar Constitution came into effect with its signing by President Friedrich Ebert on 11 August 1919.

 

Suffering from the Great Depression, the harsh peace conditions dictated by the Treaty of Versailles, and a long succession of more or less unstable governments, the people of Germany increasingly lacked identification with their political system and the "Establishment Parties" in their parliamentary democracy. This was exacerbated by a widespread right-wing (monarchist, völkisch, and Nazi) Dolchstoßlegende, which promoted the view that Germany had lost World War I because of the efforts and influence of those who wanted to overthrow the government. The top brass of the Weimar government was accused of betraying the German Nation by signing the Versailles Treaty, while the radical left-wing communists, such as the Spartacist League, had wanted a revolution to abolish "capitalist rule" in favour of a Räterepublik, and were also targeted.

 

Nevertheless, discontentment with the new Weimar government helped fuel the growth of the German Communist Party. Many conservatives were drawn towards the reactionary/revolutionary right, particularly the National Socialist German Workers Party—the Nazi Party. By 1932, these two parties controlled the majority of parliament (296 total parliamentary seats by July 1932). After a series of unsuccessful cabinets, President Paul von Hindenburg made a crucial decision: on 30 January 1933, seeing little alternative and pushed by right-wing advisors, von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany, honoring Hitler's request.

 

Third Reich (1933–1945)

On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building went up in flames, and a consequent emergency decree abrogated basic citizen rights. An Enabling Act passed in parliament gave Hitler unrestricted legislative power. Only the Social Democratic Party voted against it, while Communist MPs had already been imprisoned. Using his powers to crush any actual or potential resistance, Hitler established a centralised totalitarian state within months. Industry was revitalised with a focus on military rearmament.[24] In 1935, Germany reacquired control of the Saar and in 1936 military control of the Rhineland, both of which had been lost by the Treaty of Versailles.

Leading to World War II and roughly in parallel with military rearmament, German foreign policy became more aggressive and expansionistic. In 1938 and 1939, Austria and Czechoslovakia were brought under control and the invasion of Poland prepared (Hitler-Stalin pact, Operation Himmler). On 1 September 1939, the German Wehrmacht launched a blitzkrieg on Poland, which was swiftly occupied by Germany and by the Soviet Red Army. The UK and France declared war on Germany marking the beginning of World War II in Europe. As the war progressed, Germany and its allies quickly gained control of much of continental Europe.

On 22 June 1941, Germany broke the Hitler-Stalin pact and invaded the Soviet Union. The same year, Japan attacked the American base at Pearl Harbor, and Germany declared war on the United States as a consequence of its alliance with Japan. Although the German army advanced into the Soviet Union quite rapidly, the Battle of Stalingrad marked a major turning point in the war. Subsequently, the German army started to retreat on the Eastern front. In September 1943, Germany's ally Italy surrendered, and German forces were forced to defend an additional front in Italy. D-Day marked another major turning point in the war, opening up a Western front; the Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy and made advances towards German territory. Germany's defeat soon followed. On 8 May 1945, the German armed forces surrendered after the Red Army occupied Berlin. Approximately seven million German soldiers and civilians—including ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe—died during World War II.

In what later became known as The Holocaust, the Third Reich regime enacted governmental policies directly subjugating many dissidents and minorities. About seventeen million people were murdered during the Holocaust, including six million Jews and sizable number of Gypsies, Poles and other Slavs, including Soviet POWs, the mentally ill, homosexuals, and members of the political opposition. World War II and the Nazi genocide were responsible for more than 40 million dead in Europe. The Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals were held after World War II.

Division and reunification (1945–1990)

The remaining national territory and Berlin were partitioned by the Allies into four military occupation zones.

The western sectors, controlled by France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, were merged on 23 May 1949, to form the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland); on 7 October 1949, the Soviet Zone became the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik, or DDR). They were, mainly outside Germany, informally known as "West Germany" and "East Germany" (in West Germany, East Germany referred to the areas east of the GDR, while the GDR was often referred to as Middle Germany), and the two parts of Berlin as "West Berlin" and "East Berlin". East Germany selected East Berlin as its capital, while West Germany chose Bonn. However, West Germany declared the status of its capital Bonn as provisional, in order to emphasise its stance that the two-state solution was an artificial status quo that was to be overcome one day.

West Germany, established as a federal parliamentary republic with a "social market economy", was allied with the United States, the UK and France. The country came to enjoy prolonged economic growth beginning in the early 1950s (Wirtschaftswunder). West Germany joined NATO in 1955 and was a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957. On 1 January 1957, Saarland gave in its adhesion to West Germany by virtue of article 23 Grundgesetz.

East Germany was an Eastern bloc state under political and military control by the USSR via the latter's occupation forces and the Warsaw Treaty. While claiming to be a democracy, political power was solely executed by leading members (Politburo) of the communist-controlled SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany). Their power was ensured by the Stasi, a secret service of immense size, and a variety of SED suborganizations controlling every aspect of society. In return, the basic needs of the population were satisfied at low cost by the state. A Soviet-style command economy was set up; later, the GDR became a Comecon state. While East German propaganda was based on the benefits of the GDR's social programs and the alleged constant threat of a West German invasion, many of her citizens looked to the West for political freedoms and economic prosperity.[30] The Berlin Wall, built in 1961 to stop East Germans from escaping to West Germany, became a symbol of the Cold War.

 

Tensions between East and West Germany were somewhat reduced in the early 1970s by Chancellor Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik, which included the de facto acceptance of Germany's territorial losses in World War II.

 

In the summer of 1989, Hungary decided (May 2) to dismantle the Iron Curtain and open the borders (August 23), causing an exodus of thousands of East Germans (September 11) going to West Germany via Hungary. The effects of the Hungarian events had devastating effects on the GDR, with mass demonstrations. The East German authorities unexpectedly eased the border restrictions in November, allowing East German citizens to travel to the West. Originally intended as a pressure valve to retain East Germany as a state, the opening of the border actually led to an acceleration of the Wende reform process in East Germany, which finally concluded with the Two Plus Four Treaty a year later on 12 September 1990, under which the four occupying powers renounced their rights under the Instrument of Surrender, and Germany regained full sovereignty. This permitted German reunification on 3 October 1990, with the accession of the five re-established states in the former GDR (New states or "neue Länder").

 

Geography

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. It is the seventh largest country by area in Europe and the 63rd largest in the world. Elevation ranges from the mountains of the Alps (highest point: the Zugspitze at 2,962 metres / 9,718 feet) 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: Wilstermarsch at 3.54 metres / 11.6 feet below sea level), traversed by some of Europe's major rivers such as the Rhine, Danube and Elbe.

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 and Luxembourg in the south-west and Belgium and the Netherlands in the north-west.

 

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Oficial name:

Bundesrepublik Deutschland

 

Formation: 843

- Eastern Francia 843

- Holy Roman Empire 962

- German Confederation 8 June 1815

- German Empire 18 January 1871

- Federal Republic 23 May 1949

- Reunification 3 October 1990

 

Area:

357.021 km2

 

Inhabitants:

84.000.000

 

Language:

Alemannisch [gsw] Southwestern, southern Baden-Wuerttemberg. Alternate names: Alemannic. Dialects: Low Alemannisch, High Alemannisch. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Upper German, Alemannic

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Bavarian [bar] 246,050 in Germany (2000 WCD). North Bavarian is north of Regensburg, to Nuremburg and Western Bohemia, Czech Republic; Central Bavarian is in the Alps and Lower Austria and Salzburg; South Bavarian is in the Bavarian Alps, Tyrol, Styria, including the Heanzian dialect of Burgenland, Carinthia, northern Italy, and part of Gottschee in Slovenia. Alternate names: Bairisch, Bayerisch, Bavarian Austrian. Dialects: Central Bavarian, North Bavarian, South Bavarian. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Upper German, Bavarian-Austrian

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Danish [dan] 20,963 in Germany (2000). South Schleswig. Alternate names: Dänisch, Dansk. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, North, East Scandinavian, Danish-Swedish, Danish-Riksmal, Danish

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Frisian, Eastern [frs] 11,000 in Germany (1976 Stephens). Schleswig-Holstein, Ostfriesland, the area around the towns of Emden and Oldenburg in Lower Saxony, and Saterland, Jeverland, and Butjadingen in 1976. Reported to be used only in Saterland, Eastern Frisia in 1998. Also spoken in USA. Alternate names: Ostfriesisch, Saterlandic Frisian, Seeltersk Frisian. Dialects: Not intelligible with Western Frisian of the Netherlands or Northern Frisian (E. Matteson SIL 1978) or Saterfriesisch (Wolbert Smidt 2001). Lexical similarity 77% with Standard German, 74% with Western Frisian. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, Low Saxon-Low Franconian

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Frisian, Northern [frr] 10,000 (1976 Stephens). Ethnic population: 60,000 (1976 Stephens). Schleswig-Holstein, on the coastal strip between the rivers Eider in the south and Wiedau in the north, and adjacent islands of Föhr, Amrum, Sylt, Norstrand, Pellworm, the ten islands of the Halligen group, and Helgoland. Alternate names: Nordfriesisch. Dialects: Mooringer (Mooringa, Mainland Frisian), Ferring (Fohr-Amrum), Sölreng (Sylt), Helgoland. The first 3 dialects listed are different enough that more than one set of literature would be needed. Ferring dialect is actively used. Not intelligible to Eastern Frisian of Germany or Western Frisian of the Netherlands except to a few educated bilingual speakers of West Frisian. Mooringer has 70% lexical similarity with Standard German, 55% with English, 66% with Eastern Frisian; Föhr has 69% with Standard German, 62% with English, 68% with Western Frisian, 73% with Eastern Frisian, 86% with Mooringer, 91% with Amrum; Sylt has 64% with Standard German, 61% with English, 79% with Mooringer, 85% with Föhr. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, Frisian

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German Sign Language [gsg] 50,000 (1986 Gallaudet Univ.). Population includes 22,000 members of German Deaf Association. Western Germany. Alternate names: Deutsche Gebärdensprache, Dgs. Dialects: Many regional lexical variations. Some similarity to French and other European sign languages. Relation to sign languages of eastern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland is not known. More than one sign language used in eastern Germany. Classification: Deaf sign language

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German, Standard [deu] 75,300,000 in Germany (1990). Population total all countries: 95,392,978. Also spoken in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Moldova, Namibia, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia (Europe), Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan. Alternate names: Deutsch, Tedesco. Dialects: Major related language areas are Bavarian, Schwäbisch, Allemannisch, Mainfränkisch, Hessisch, Palatinian, Rheinfränkisch, Westfälisch, Saxonian, Thuringian, Brandenburgisch, and Low Saxon. Many varieties are not inherently intelligible with each other. Our present treatment in this edition is incomplete. Standard German is one High German variety, which developed from the chancery of Saxony, gaining acceptance as the written standard in the 16th and 17th centuries. High German refers to dialects and languages in the upper Rhine region. Lexical similarity 60% with English, 29% with French. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Middle German, East Middle German

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Kölsch [ksh] 250,000 (1997 Holger Jakobs). Cologne (Köln) and surrounding areas. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Middle German, West Middle German, Ripuarian Franconian

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Limburgisch [lim] Depending on the city in Germany, 50% to 90% of the population speak it (2001 A. Schunck). German-administered Limburg: Cleves, Aachen, Viersen, Heinsberg. Alternate names: Limburgs Plat. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Middle German, West Middle German, Rhenisch Franconian

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Luxembourgeois [ltz] Few speakers in Germany. Bitburg area in western Germany. Alternate names: Luxemburgian, Letzburgisch, Lëtzebuergesch, Moselle Franconian. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Middle German, West Middle German, Moselle Franconian

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Mainfränkisch [vmf] Spoken mostly along the River Main, including the city of Mainz, thus not far west of Frankfurt. Alternate names: Franconian. Dialects: Approximately 40% inherently intelligible with Standard German. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Middle German, West Middle German, Moselle Franconian

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Pfaelzisch [pfl] Southwest Palatinate, Rheinpfalz. Alternate names: Pfälzische, Pfälzisch. Dialects: Various dialects. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Middle German, West Middle German, Rhenisch Fraconian

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Plautdietsch [pdt] 90,000 in Germany (1996 Reuben Epp). Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, Low Saxon-Low Franconian, Low Saxon

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Polish [pol] 241,000 in Germany. Alternate names: Polski, Polnisch. Classification: Indo-European, Slavic, West, Lechitic

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Romani, Balkan [rmn] 3,500 in Germany. Population includes 2,000 Arlija and 1,500 Dzambazi. Dialects: Arlija (Erli), Dzambazi. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central zone, Romani, Balkan

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Romani, Sinte [rmo] 80,000 in Germany (2000). Ethnic population: 200,000. Hamburg and colonies in the south. Alternate names: Rommanes, Ziguener, Sintí, Sinte. Dialects: Gadschkene, Estracharia, Krantiki, Kranaria, Eftawagaria, Praistiki. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central zone, Romani, Northern

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Romani, Vlax [rmy] 1,699 in Germany (2000 WCD). Population includes 2,500 Lovari, 2,500 to 4,000 Kalderash. Dialects: Lovari, Kalderash. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central zone, Romani, Vlax

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Saterfriesisch [stq] 5,000 (2001 Wolbert Smidt). Saterland, East Frisia. Alternate names: Saterfriesiesch, Saterländisch, Saterlandic Frisian. Dialects: Not intelligible with Eastern Frisian. Related to Western Frisian and Northern Frisian. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, Frisian

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Saxon, Low [nds] 1,000. 10,000,000 understand it in Germany, but few are native speakers (1996 Reinhard F. Hahn). Northern Germany. Lower Rhine Region below a line from Aachen to Witenberg. Alternate names: Neddersassisch, Niedersaechsisch, Nedersaksisch, Low German, Plattdütsch, Nedderdütsch. Dialects: Northern Low Saxon, Eastphalian (Ostfaelisch, Ostfälisch), Mecklenburg-Anterior Pomerania (Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch), Mark-Brandenburg (Maerkisch-Brandenburgisch, Märkisch-Brandenburgisch, East Prussian). The dialects listed are in Germany. The first three dialects listed are Western Low Saxon, the other two are Eastern Low Saxon. Not intelligible to speakers of Standard German. A direct descendant of Old Saxon, related to English. 20 to 30 dialects with differing inherent intelligibility, depending on geographic distance. They did not experience the second consonantal shift of the 8th and 9th centuries (J. Thiessen, U. of Winnipeg 1976). Its modern forms have been largely suppressed until recently and have received much German, Dutch, or Frisian influence, depending on the area. Low Saxon varieties listed as separate entries in the Netherlands, where they have official status. Pomerano is used in Latin America. Westphaelian and Plautdietsch also have separate entries. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, Low Saxon-Low Franconian, Low Saxon

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Saxon, Upper [sxu] 2,000,000 (1998 Andreas Thomsen). Eastern Germany, southeast, Sachsen with Dresden, Leipzig, Chemnitz, Halle in Sachsen-Anhalt. Dialects: Erzgebirgisch. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Middle German, East Middle German

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Silesian, Lower [sli] Gorlitz, eastern Germany. Alternate names: Lower Schlesisch. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Middle German, East Middle German Nearly extinct.

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Sorbian, Lower [dsb] 14,000 (1991 Elle). Ethnic population: 60,000. Niederlausitz (Dolna Luzica) in eastern Germany, Cottbus (Chósebuz) the main town. The ethnic group has over 60 towns and villages. Alternate names: Niedersorbisch, Bas Sorabe, Wendish, Lusatian, Lower Lusatian, Dolnoserbski, Delnoserbski. Classification: Indo-European, Slavic, West, Sorbian

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Sorbian, Upper [hsb] 15,000 (1996). Ethnic population: 70,000 to 110,000 with Lower Sorbian (1999 Ken Sasahara). Upper Saxony, eastern Germany, principal towns Bautzen (Budysin, Catholic) and Kamenz (Protestant). Perhaps a few in Texas, USA. Alternate names: Obersorbisch, Haut Sorabe, Upper Lusatian, Wendish, Hornjoserbski, Hornoserbski. Dialects: Bautzen, Kamenz. Classification: Indo-European, Slavic, West, Sorbian

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Swabian [swg] Ethnic population: 820,168 (2000 WCD). Southwest, Wuerttemberg, the eastern part of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Schwaben, western Bavaria. Alternate names: Schwäbisch, Suabian, Schwaebisch. Dialects: A variety of Highest Alemannisch. More distinct than Bavarian from Standard German. 40% inherently intelligible with Standard German (estimate). Swabian of the Black Forest is different from Swabian in the Alb (H. Kloss 1978). Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Upper German, Alemannic

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Westphalien [wep] Northwestern, Westphalia. Alternate names: Westfaelisch, Westfälisch. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, Low Saxon-Low Franconian, Low Saxon

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Yeniche [yec] Also spoken in Austria, France, Netherlands, Switzerland. Alternate names: Jenisch, Yenishe, German Travellers. Dialects: German with a heavy cryptolectal lexical influsion from Rotwelsch, Yiddish, Romani, and Hebrew. Classification: Mixed Language, German-Yiddish-Romani-Rotwelsch

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Yiddish, Western [yih] Ethnic population: 49,210 in Germany (2000 WCD). Southwestern dialect in southern Germany, Switzerland, and Alsace (France), Midwestern dialect in central Germany and parts of the former Czechoslovakia, Northwestern dialect is northern Germany and the Netherlands. Also spoken in Belgium, France, Hungary, Israel, Netherlands, Switzerland. Alternate names: Yiddish, Yidish, Judeo-German. Dialects: Southwestern Yiddish, Midwestern Yiddish, Northwestern Yiddish. Western Yiddish originated in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Alsace (France), Czechoslovakia, western Hungary. "The variety of Western Yiddish in Hungary is probably the most readily intelligible to Yiddish speakers in Romania, the Baltic, and the Slavic countries in the East. The Western Yiddish variety in Holland less so; the Western Yiddish in Alsace (France) and Switzerland, least so" (M. Herzog 1997). Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, Yiddish

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Extinct languages

Frankish [frk] Extinct. Alternate names: Fränkisch, Old Frankish. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German

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Polabian [pox] Extinct. North of the Wend language area. Classification: Indo-European, Slavic, West, Lechitic

 

Capital city:

Berlin

 

Meaning country name:

From Latin "Germania", of the 3rd century BC, of unknown origin. The Oxford English Dictionary records theories about the Celtic roots gair ("neighbour") (from Zeuß), and gairm ("battle-cry") (from Wachter and from Grimm). Partridge suggested *gar ("to shout"), and describes the gar ("spear") theory as "obsolete". Italian, Romanian, and other languages use the latinate Germania as the name for Germany.

Allemagne (French), Alemania (Spanish), Alemanha (Portuguese), Almân (Persian), Almanya (Turkish): either "land of all the men" i.e. "our many tribes" or from the Alamanni, a southern Germanic tribe (whose name may have the same sort of etymology) (Modern German -- Alle Männer).

Deutschland (German), Duitsland (Dutch): from the Old High German word "diutisc", meaning 'of the people' (itself from ancient Germanic "thiuda" or "theoda" 'people') and "land" 'land': "land of the people".

Niemcy (Polish), Německo (Czech), Nemecko (Slovak), Nemčija (Slovene), (немецкий (nemetski) - but Германия (Germania) for the country) (Russian), Németország (Hungarian): from a Slavic root meaning "mute", "dumb", i.e., metaphorically, "those who do not speak our language".

Purutia (Tahitian): Prussia.

Saksa (Estonian, Finnish): from the name of the Germanic tribe of Saxons (in turn, possibly from Old High German sahs, 'knife').

Tyskland (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish), Þýskaland (Icelandic), tedesco (Italian adjective form): also ancient Germanic "thiuda" or "theoda" 'people' (see above under "Deutschland"). In the Latin the Germans were also known as Teutones.

Vācija (Latvian), Vokietija (Lithuanian):

 

Description Flag:

The colours of black, red and gold have played an important role in the history of Germany and have had various meanings over time (see History section below). Today the colours are associated with the republican-democracy formed after World War II and represent German unity and freedom: not only the freedom of Germany, but also the personal freedom of the German people.

 

Coat of arms:

The coat of arms of Germany is a symbol of Germany; the coat of arms feature an eagle. The colors of the coat of arms are similar to those of the flag of Germany (black, red and gold). It is the one of the oldest extant state symbols of Europe and is one of the oldest insignia in the world. Moreover, its history as an emblem began even earlier. To the Germanic tribes, the eagle was the bird of the god Odin[citation needed]. The Romans reserved aquiline imagery for only the most revered beings; namely, the supreme god and the emperor; and it served as a metaphor of invincibility. Later, through its rei rock eagle (adler), referred to in German as the Reichsadler, on German soil probably date back to the time of Charlemagne (742-814). Around the year 1200 the black eagle icon on a gold field was generally recognised as the imperial coat of arms. In 1433 the double-headed eagle was adopted for the first time by the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund. Since then the double-headed eagle came to be used as the symbol of the Roman-German emperor, and hence as the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. From the middle of the 15th century onwards, the respective emperors put the emblem of their dynasty on the eagle's chest. After the end of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in 1806, a German state and a unified state emblem ceased to exist. In 1815, a German Confederation (Bund) of 39 loosely-united German states was founded on the territory of the former German empire. Until 1848, the confederation did not have a coat of arms of its own. The Federal Diet (Bundestag) meeting at Frankfurt am Main used a seal which carried the emblem of the Austrian Empire, since Austria had taken over the union's leadership. It showed a black, double-headed eagle, which Austria had adopted just before the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.

During the 1848 revolution, a new Reich coat of arms was adopted by the German National Assembly that convened in St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt. The black double-headed eagle was retained, but without the four symbols of the emperor: the sword, the imperial orb, the sceptre and the crown. The eagle rested on a golden shield; above was a five-pointed golden star. On both sides the shield was flanked by two flags with the colours black-red-gold. The emblem, however, never gained general acceptance.

In 1867, the North German Confederation was established without Austria and the southern German states, and under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia (see coat of arms of Prussia). A new coat of arms was adopted, which consisted of a shield with the colours black-white-red, flanked by two wild men holding cudgels and standing on a pedestal.

The eagle was retained during the German Empire (1871-1918) and the Weimar Republic (1918-1933), albeit with variations in symbolic meaning and design.

When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, the Weimar eagle was retained until 1935, when it was replaced by the emblem of the Nazi Party. It showed a black eagle above a highly stylised oak wreath, with a swastika at its centre.

After the defeat of Germany in World War II, the German Reich continued to exist under Allied occupation until the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in 1949. In 1950, the Federal Republic incorporated the Weimar eagle, which thenceforward was called the "federal eagle", into its coat of arms. The design by Tobias Schwab dates from 1926. Since the accession of the German Democratic Republic in 1990, the Federal Eagle has been the state symbol of the reunified Germany.

 

Motto:

"Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit"

"Unity and justice and freedom"

 

National Anthem: Das Deutschlandlied

 

1

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit,

Über alles in der Welt,

wenn es stets zu Schutz und Trutze

brüderlich zusammenhält.

von der Maas bis an die Memel,

von der Etsch bis an den Belt,

|: Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit,

Über alles in der Welt! :|

 

2

Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue,

deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang

sollen in der Welt behalten

ihren alten schönen Klang,

uns zu edler Tat begeistern

unser ganzes Leben lang.

|: Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue,

Deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang! :|

 

3

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit

für das deutsche Vaterland!

Danach laßt uns alle streben

brüderlich mit Herz und Hand!

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit

sind des Glückes Unterpfand;

|: Blüh im Glanze dieses Glückes,

blühe, deutsches Vaterland. :|

 

English

 

1

Germany, Germany above all,

above all in the world,

When it always, for protection and defence,

Brotherly stands together.

From the Meuse to the Neman,

From the Adige to the Belt,

|: Germany, Germany above all,

Above anything in the world. :|

 

2

German women, German loyalty,

German wine and German song

Shall retain in the world

Their old beautiful ring

And inspire us to noble deeds

During all of our life.

|: German women, German loyalty,

German wine and German song! :|

 

3

 

The National anthem Song

 

Unity and justice and freedom

For the German fatherland;

For these let us all strive,

Brotherly with heart and hand.

Unity and justice and freedom

Are the pledge of happiness.

|: flourish in this fortune's blessing,

flourish, German fatherland. :|

 

Internet Page: www.deutschland.de

www.germany-tourism.de

www.germany.info

www.germanplaces.com

www.cometogermany.com

 

Germany in diferent languages

 

eng: Germany

ina | ita | lat | lld | roh-enb | roh-eno | roh-gri | ron: Germania

ast | glg | grn | tet: Alemaña

dan | nor | swe: Tyskland

eus | pap | spa: Alemania

nso | sot | tsn: Jeremane

afr | nld: Duitsland

fij | ibo: Jamani

gag | kaa: Germaniya / Германия

ind | msa: Jerman / جرمن

kin | run: Ubudagi

nbl | tso: Jarimani

oci | por: Alemanha

smo | tvl: Siamani

tur | zza: Almanya

arg: Alemaña; Alemania

aze: Almaniya / Алманија

bam: Alimanyi

bis: Jemeni

bos: Njemačka / Њемачка

bre: Alamagn

cat: Alemanya

ces: Německo

cor: Almayn

cos: Alemagna

crh: Almaniya / Алмания

crs: Lalmanny

csb: Miemieckô; Miemcë

cym: Yr Almaen

deu: Deutschland / Deutſchland

dsb: Nimska

epo: Germanujo; Germanio

est: Saksamaa

fao: Týskland

fin: Saksa

fra: Allemagne

frp: Alemagne

frr: Tjüschlönj

fry: Dútslân

fur: Gjermanie

gil: Tiaman

gla: A’ Ghearmailt

gle: An Ghearmáin / An Ġearmáin; An Almáin / An Almáin

glv: Yn Ghermaan

hat: Almay

hau: Jamus; Germany

haw: Kelemānia

hrv: Njemačka

hsb: Němska

hun: Németország

isl: Þýskaland

jav: Jerman; Ḍitslan

jnf: Allémangne

kal: Tyskit Nunaat; Tysklandi

kmr: Lemsistan / Ләмсьстан / لەمسستان; Almanistan / Алманьстан / ئالمانستان; Almanîstan / Алманистан / ئالماینستان; Almanî / Алмани / ئالمانی; Eleman / Әләман / ئەلەمان; Elman / Әлман / ئەلمان; Germanîstan / Гәрманистан / گەرمانیستان

kur: Elmanya / ئەلمانیا; Almanya / ئالمانیا

lav: Vācija

lim: Duutsjlandj

lin: Alémani

lit: Vokietija

liv: Saksāmō

ltz: Däitschland / Däitſchland

lug: Budaaki; Girimane

mlg: Alemaina; Alemana

mlt: Ġermanja

mol: Germania / Ӂермания

mri: Tiamani

nah: Alemantlan; Teutōtitlan

nds: Düütschland / Düütſchland

nrm: Allemangne

pau: Dois

pol: Niemcy

que: Alimanya

rmo: Gáčkano

rmy: Jermaniya / जेर्मानिया

roh-srs: Tiaratudestga; Germania

rup: Ghermãnia

sag: Zalamäa; Zamâni

scn: Girmania

slk: Nemecko

slo: Germania / Германиа; Germanzem / Германзем; Nemcia / Немциа; Nemczem / Немцзем

slv: Nemčija

sme: Duiska; Sáksi

smg: Vuokītėjė

som: Jarmal

sqi: Gjermania

srd: Germània

ssw: Jalimani

stq: Düütsklound

swa: Udachi; Ujerumani

szl: Ńymcy

tah: Purutia; Heremani

tgl: Alemanya; Germanya

ton: Siamane

tpi: Siaman; Jeman; Jerman; Siamani

tuk: Germaniýa / Германия

uzb: Olmoniya / Олмония; Germaniya / Германия

ven: Dzheremane

vie: Đức

vol: Deutän

vor: Śaksamaa

wln: Almagne

wol: Almaañ

xho: iJamani

yor: Jámánì

zul: iJalimani; iJalimane

chu: Нѣмьци (Němĭci); Германія (Germanīja)

abq | alt | bul | kjh | kom | krc | kum | rus | tyv | udm: Германия (Germanija)

che | chv: Германи (Germani)

mon | oss: Герман (German)

bak: Германия / Germaniya

bel: Германія / Hiermanija; Нямеччына / Niamieččyna

chm: Германий (Germanij)

kaz: Алмания / Almanïya / المانيا; Германия / Germanïya / گەرمانيا

kbd: Германие (Germanie)

kir: Алмания (Almanija); Германия (Germanija)

mkd: Германија (Germanija)

srp: Немачка / Nemačka

tat: Алмания / Almaniä; Алманстан / Almanstan; Германия / Germaniä

tgk: Олмон / آلمان / Olmon; Олмониё / آلمانیا / Olmonijo; Германия / گرمنیه / Germanija

ukr: Німеччина (Nimeččyna)

xal: Германь (German')

ara: ألمانيا (Almāniyā)

ckb: ئەڵەمانیا / Eḻemanya; ئەڵمانیا / Eḻmanya; ئەلمانیا / Elmanya

fas: آلمان (Ālmān)

prs: جرمنی (Jarmanī); آلمان (Ālmān)

pus: جرمني (Jarmənī); آلمان (Ālmān)

snd: جرمني (Jarmanī)

uig: گېرمانىيە / Gérmaniye / Германия

urd: جرمنی (Jarmanī)

div: ޖޭރްމަނީ (Jērmanī); ޖަރުމަނުވިލާތް (Jarumanuvilāt)

syr: ܓܪܡܢ (Garman)

heb: גרמניה (Germanyah); גרמאניה (Germânyah)

lad: אלימאניה / Alemania

yid: דײַטשלאַנד (Daytšland)

amh | tir: ጀርመን (Järmän)

ell: Γερμανία (Germanía)

hye: Գերմանիա (Germania)

kat: გერმანია (Germania)

mar | nep: जर्मनी (Dzarmanī)

hin: जर्मनी (Jarmanī)

ben: জার্মানি (Jārmāni); জার্মানী (Jārmānī)

guj: જમિની (Jaminī)

pan: ਜਰਮਨੀ (Jarmanī)

kan: ಜರ್ಮನಿ (Jarmani)

mal: ജര്മ്മനി (Jarmmani); ജര്മനി (Jarmani)

tam: ஜெர்மனி (Jermaṉi); ஜர்மனி (Jarmaṉi)

tel: జర్మనీ (Jarmanī)

zho: 德國/德国 (Déguó); 德意志 (Déyìzhì)

yue: 德國/德国 (Dākgwok)

jpn: ドイツ (Doitsu)

kor: 독일 (Dogil)

bod: འཇར་མན་ ('Jar.man.); དེ་གོ་ (De.go.)

dzo: ཇཱར་མ་ནི་ (Jār.ma.ni.)

mya: ဂ္ယာမနီ (Jamáni)

tha: เยอรมัน (Yə̄nmân); เยอรมนี (Yə̄nmanī)

lao: ເຢັຽລະມັນ (Yiẏalamân)

khm: អាល្លឺម៉ង់ (Āllʉ̄măṅ); អាឡីម៉ង់ (Āḷīmăṅ)

 

Done