Portal:Germany

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Welcome to the Germany Portal!
Willkommen im Deutschland-Portal!

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Germany is one of the world's most industrialised countries, located in the center of Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea, to the south by Austria and Switzerland, to the west by France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic.

Germany is a democratic federal parliamentary republic, containing 16 federal states (Bundesländer), which in certain spheres act independently of the Federation or "Bund".

Germany is a developed country with a very high standard of living, and it maintains a comprehensive social security, a universal health care system and diverse environmental protection laws. It is a global leader in several industrial and technological sectors.

The Federal Republic of Germany is a member state of the United Nations, NATO, the G8 nations, and a founding member of the European Union. More...

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The High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift was a phonological development (sound change) which took place in the southern parts of the West Germanic dialect continuum in several phases, probably beginning between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD, and was almost complete before the earliest written records in the High German language were made in the 9th century. The resulting language, Old High German, can be neatly contrasted with the other continental West Germanic languages, which mostly did not experience the shift, and with Old English, which was completely unaffected. The High German consonant shift altered a number of consonants in the Southern German dialects, and thus also in modern Standard German, Yiddish and Luxemburgish, and so explains why many German words have different consonants from the obviously related words in English and Dutch. More...

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Speicherstadt in Hamburg, June 2016

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Elbphilharmonie, June 2016

11 January 2017: The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg will be officially opened
10 January 2017: Roman Herzog, president of Germany, dies at the age of 82
19 December 2016: 2016 Berlin attack
23 October 2016: Carolin Emcke receives the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.

More Germany-related news in English can be found at Deutsche Welle, Tagesschau, and Der Spiegel.

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Europe	EU	NATO

*Länder*
Baden- Württemberg	Bavaria	Berlin	Brandenburg	Bremen

Hamburg	Hesse	Lower Saxony	Mecklenburg- Vorpommern	North Rhine- Westphalia

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East Frisia	East Germany	Eifel	Elbe Sandstone Mountains	Elbe-Weser Triangle	Franconia

German Empire	German football	Harz Mountains	Holy Roman Empire	Lüneburg Heath	Military of Germany

Nazi Germany	Ore Mountains	Palatine Forest	Rhön	Silesia

Neighbouring countries

A	B	CZ	DK	FR

LUX	NL	PL	CH

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Anniversaries for January 13

1635 – Birth of theologian Philipp Jakob Spener, known as the "Father of Pietism"
1775 – Death of theologian Johann Georg Walch
1782 – Friedrich Schiller's drama Die Räuber premieres in Mannheim
1935 – A plebiscite in the Saar area approves accession to Nazi Germany

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Did you know...

Did you know ...

... that the European Hansemuseum (pictured) is the largest museum in the world dedicated to the history of the Hanseatic League?
... that 71 years after the Lyngiades massacre in Greece, President Joachim Gauck was Germany's first official representative to visit the site and express his apologies for the Wehrmacht's atrocities?
... that Paul von Groth edited Zeitschrift für Krystallographie und Mineralogie for 44 years and used it to catalog the properties of more than 9,000 crystalline substances?
... that Oskar Gottlieb Blarr, "the composer with the hat", traveled to Israel to experience where Jesus lived as a Jew?
... that in order to disguise the V-2 missile launch site in Blizna, the Nazis created an artificial village with plywood cottages and barns, and plaster people and animals?
... that Mirjam Wiesemann made award-winning audiobooks for Cybele Records, introducing in music and conversation the composers Hartmann, Apostel, Henze, Boulez, Jacqueline Fontyn and Juan Allende-Blin?
... that in the carol "Vom Himmel hoch, o Engel, kommt", printed in 1622, the angels are requested to come from Heaven with musical instruments, to sing of Jesus and Mary, and for peace?
... that the Taschenphilharmonie, called the world's smallest orchestra, earned prizes for classical music embedded in narration for young children?