Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [0]
Destination Germany
Getting Started
Events Calendar
Itineraries
History
The Culture
Food & Drink
Environment
Berlin
Brandenburg
Saxony
Saxony-Anhalt
Harz Mountains
Thuringia
Bavaria
Baden-Württemberg
Rhineland-Palatinate & Saarland
Hesse
North Rhine–Westphalia
Lower Saxony
Bremen
Hamburg
Schleswig-Holstein
Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania
Directory
Transport
Health
Language
Glossary
The Authors
Behind the Scenes
Map Legend
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Destination Germany
With nine European borders and a location smack dab in the heart of the continent, Germany could stake a convincing claim to being the most ‘European’ of all countries. Packing over 80 million people into a pretty tight frame, it’s an economic and political powerhouse with bewitching scenery, pulsating cities, progressive culture and an awareness of a historic legacy teetering between horror and greatness.
Few countries have had as much impact on the world as Germany, a land of innovation that has given us the printing press, the automobile, aspirin and MP3 technology. It’s the birth place of Martin Luther, Albert Einstein, Karl Marx, Goethe, Beethoven, the Grimm brothers and other players on the world stage. As you travel around, you’ll have plenty of brushes with such genius but, perhaps, Germany’s scenery lifts the spirit even more. The jagged peaks of the big-shouldered Bavarian Alps unfold above flowering mountain pastures where cows graze lazily. Mighty rivers flow through romantic valleys, past steep vineyards and fairy-tale forests. You’ll encounter history in towns where streets were laid out before Columbus set sail and in mighty castles looming above prim, half-timbered villages. Vibrant cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne are cultural cauldrons offering a kaleidoscope of experiences, from high-brow opera to underground dance parties.
Solidly democratic, Germany has long been a driving force behind European integration and, for much of its recent history, has fashioned itself as a model of national integration into the European Union (EU). Since reunification in 1990, however, it has also been focusing more attention upon itself as a nation, especially by questioning whether or not it should have a stronger voice in Europe and the world. The German National Army (Bundeswehr), for instance, has been involved in military conflicts since 2001, most notably in Afghanistan. With more than 3000 soldiers in charge of operations in the northern region, the German contingent is the third largest within the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Images of flag-draped coffins have launched an increasingly spirited debate about whether Germany should be part of armed conflict at all. The soul-searching reached a new peak in late 2009, when an air strike ordered by a German officer resulted in Afghan civilian casualties.
Looking inward, there’s considerable discontent among Germans when it comes to assessing the economic and societal progress made since reunification. A major study by the Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW; German Institute for Economic Research) revealed that less than half of the population considers themselves better off now than in 1990. One in four ex-GDR citizens felt that they had a better life in East Germany. The perception is not helped by the fact that there’s still a considerable income gap between the two former Germanys (€1444 monthly household net income in the former West versus €1149 in the former East).
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FAST FACTS
Area: 357,045 sq km
Population: 82.7 million
GDP: €2.49 trillion (2008)
Inflation: 0% (April 2009)
Unemployment: 8.35% (August 2009)
Life expectancy: women 82.42 years, men 76.26 years
Most famous civil criminal: Fritz Haarmann (1879–1925), who killed at least 24 people and supposedly drank their blood
Percentage of children born outside marriage: 30%
Number of bicycles: 68 million (2008)
Most popular children’s names: Marie and Leon (2008)
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For the past two decades, Germany