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An Overview of Germany
for Travelers by Richard Monk
Germany has experienced a
tumultuous history: starting a World War, being divided into two countries
and much more. If you are planning a trip, here is some background information
you should know.
An Overview of Germany
for Travelers
The official name of the
country is the Federal Republic of Germany. Germany covers a landmass of
over 135,000 square miles and is about the size of the State of Montana.
The capital is Berlin with over 3.5 million residents living within the
city borders. Other cities of note include, but are not limited to, Hamburg
with 1.7 million residents, Munich with over 1.2 million people, Cologne
with just under one million residents, Frankfurt with 640,000 residents,
Dortmund with 592,000 people, Stuttgart with 580,000 residents, Dusseldorf
with about the same number, Bremen with 540,000 people and Hanover with
a population just exceeding 500,000 residents. Put another way, Germany
crams a lot of people into a relatively small area.
From a terrain perspective,
Germany has a bit of everything. The north consists mostly of plains and
shoreline, while the center of the country is a fertile basin. The south
of the country is primarily mountainous, sharing formations with Switzerland.
With this divergent terrain, the climate varies from area to area, but
is generally cool with significant periods of rain.
Citizens of the Federal Republic
of Germany are known as Germans. The most recent population study found
the total population exceeded 82 million. The ethnic break down is primarily
German, but Danish minorities exist in the north while Slavic minorities
can be found in the south. Despite the policies promulgated by Hitler,
the country has a strong influx of immigrants with over 7.3 million people
qualifying as such.
From a religious perspective,
Germans are split in two major camps. There are approximately 26 million
Protestants and 26 million Roman Catholics. Approximately 3.3 million people
consider themselves to be Muslim.
The official language of
the country is German, although English is spoken in many areas as is Russian
and French. Education is compulsory for 10 years and the literacy rate
is more than 99 percent. Live expectancy for a German man is 74 years while
women live an additional 6 years on average.
As this overview reveals,
Germany is the home to a lot of good and bad history. As a travel destination,
it is remarkable whether you are going to see history or visiting for the
World Cup.
About the Author
Richard Monk is with FactsMonk.com
- a site with facts about everything. Visit us to read more about Europe.
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