About Germany

Germany is known as Europe’s economy engine as well as for many tuition-free universities, high quality education and cultural diversity.  However, there are many more interesting things to learn about Germany, such as:

1. One-third of Germany is still covered in forests and woodlands.
2. Most public German universities offer high-quality education with low tuition or no cost, apart from administrative fees.
3. Germany is the seventh-largest country in Europe. It covers an area of 137,847 square miles (357,022 km²), of which 34,836 square miles (90,224 km²) are covered by land, and 7,798 square miles contains water.
4. Berlin is 9 times bigger than Paris and has more bridges than Venice, with 1,700 bridges in Berlin and 409 bridges in Venice. 
5. Germany is composed of sixteen federal states. Each state has its constitution divided into 403 administrative districts (Kreis or Landkreis), of which 294 are rural and 102 are urban districts. Bavaria is the largest state, with 27,240 square miles or 70,550.19 km².
6. Germany is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with 77% of the population living in populated areas.
7. Germany shares borders with nine other countries. Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
8. According to the latest statistics, Germany has the largest economy in the EU, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 4.2 trillion USD, and lies in fourth place in the world behind the US, China, and Japan.
9. Germany is one of the world’s largest car producers. Selling 3.4 million cars in 2011. VW’s Golf has been one of the best-selling cars since 1981, and in 2012, it sold more than 240,702 Golfs around Europe. In 2013, the top-selling car brands in Germany were Volkswagen, Mercedes, Audi, and BMW.
10. The first printed book was printed in Germany, a Latin language Bible by Johann Gutenberg.
11. Germany is one of the world’s leading book nations. Publishing around 94,000 titles every year.
12. The first magazine ever seen was launched in 1663 in Germany, called “Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen” started by a poet and theologian named Johann Rist.
13. Germany was the first country in the world to adopt Daylight Saving Time – DST, also known as summertime. This occurred on April 30, 1916, in the midst of WWI.
14. Germany has over 300 different kinds of bread and over 1,200 types of cake.
15. There are over 1,000 kinds of sausages in Germany.
16. Smoking is banned in public places, with some exceptions in a few states.
17. Germany has more football (soccer for the North Americans) fan clubs than anywhere else.
18. The Christmas tree (Tannenbaum) tradition came from Germany, and it is believed that Martin Luther, a 16th-century German protestant, started this tradition.
19. Germany has over 400 zoos, the most in the world.
20. Most taxis in Germany are Mercedes because they give great deals to the taxi companies.
21. In Germany, there’s no punishment for a prisoner who tries to escape jail because it is a basic human instinct to be free, as long as no crime is committed while escaping.