35 facts about Germany

2. There are as many as 35 dialects in German. Because of this, Germans have problems understanding their fellow citizens from other regions - so much so that even some local films are shown with subtitles!

3. More than 800 million currywurst sausages are eaten in Germany every year. This snack is so popular that there is even a museum in Berlin completely dedicated to it.

4. Germany had many capitals: Aachen, Regensburg, Frankfurt am Main, Nuremberg, Weimar and Bonn ... The current capital Berlin is 9 times the size of Paris, and this city has more bridges than Venice.

5. German has a unique letter that is not used in any other language - ß, called "Eszett", which is pronounced like a double S.

6. German is the official language in Austria and Liechtenstein and one of the official languages in Switzerland and Luxembourg.

7. 65% of motorways in Germany have no speed limits and are called autobahns.

 

8. Germany has more football fan clubs than anywhere else in the world.

9. Germany has the largest train station in Europe - this is the main station in Leipzig.

10. Germans love to travel and spend more on vacations than any other nation in the world.

11. The tradition of decorating a Christmas tree for the New Year appeared in Germany. It is no coincidence that in German it is called - Weihnachtsbaum, which translates as: "Christmas tree". The first mention of decorated Christmas trees appeared in 1605 in the annals describing the holiday of Christmas in German-speaking Alsace.

12. Germany sells about 6 million vehicles a year, making it one of the largest car manufacturers in the world.

13. Fanta was created in Germany during World War II after Coca-Cola was banned from entering the country.

14. The narrowest street in the world is located in the German city of Reutlingen. Its width at its narrowest point is only 31 cm.

15. Many famous world inventions were invented in Germany - light bulbs, automatic calculators, cars, insulin, gasoline and jet engines (and this is just a few!).

16. Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft is the longest German word with 79 letters! It translates as "Society of Junior Employees of the Construction Supervision Authority at the Main Directorate of Electrical Services of the Danube Shipping Company".

17. Berlin Zoological Garden - the largest zoo in the world. It opened in 1844 and today is home to over 1,300 animal species - more than any other zoo in the world.

18. Jailbreak in Germany is not punishable by law, because the desire to be free is a basic human instinct.

19. In Germany, there are laws that determine how a child can be named: names that do not indicate gender are prohibited, and the surname cannot be used as a first name.

20. Germany has more cultural sites than any other country - 6,200 museums, 820 theaters, 130 professional orchestras and 8,800 libraries (in 2013), and they are located not only in big cities.

21. Studying at German universities is free for everyone, even for foreigners.

22. The first book was published in Germany. This happened in 1445 thanks to the fact that Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. And in 1663 the first magazine in the world was published in the country.

23. Ulm Cathedral in the German city of the same name is the tallest church in the world. Its height is 161.5 meters. People wishing to exercise their legs can climb the 768 steps of the church to a height of 141 meters above the ground. The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona (Spain) is expected to reach the height of Ulm Cathedral in 2026, when they will finally be there. -then repair work is completed.

 

24. Germany was the first country in the world to switch to Daylight Saving Time (DST) in 1916, at the height of the First World War.

25. In Bavaria, beer is officially considered food.

26. Despite its name, the famous Oktoberfest beer festival starts in Munich in September and ends by the first days of October. Interestingly, the very first Oktoberfest was organized as a celebration in connection with the wedding of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria.

 

27. Both the legendary Easter bunny and the gummy bear first appeared in Germany. The pagan egg-laying rabbit became a symbol of Christian Easter around the 17th century, and jelly-like gummies were introduced in the 1920s.

28. About a third of Germany's territory is covered with forests.

29. On New Year's Eve, Germans gather in front of televisions to watch "Dinner for One" - a little-known British comedy rarely seen in their homeland, but in Germany it is a cult film.

30. Germany is a country of castles. There are over 20,000 of them, and these are very picturesque buildings! Many of them are over 100 years old.

31. Müller is the most popular surname in Germany. More than 900,000 people in the country wear it! The next most popular surnames are Schmidt, Schneider, Fischer, Weber, Meyer, Wagner, Becker.

32. If you look at a satellite image of Germany at night, you can clearly see where East and West Germany used to be. This is because most of the street lights were installed before the fall of the Berlin Wall and are of different colors due to the different chemistry of the bulbs.

33. In German, the word “danke” (“thank you”), spoken in response to a question, means “no”. If someone asks you if you would like to eat a sausage, make sure you say "bitte" ("please") - that means "yes."

34. Germans consider it a bad idea to celebrate birthdays in advance. Their philosophy is contained in the famous phrase: “Chickens are counted in autumn.” There is a sign that if you congratulate a person on his birthday ahead of time, he may suddenly die.

35. Everything is closed in Germany on Sunday. If you want to shop on this weekend, you are unlikely to succeed, because apart from restaurants and some convenience stores and gas stations, nothing works - not even grocery stores.

36. Hamburgers are from Germany, not an American invention. It is logical, because in the country there is a city of the same name - Hamburg, and it was there that this dish was first prepared.

37. The black eagle is the national symbol of Germany.

38. The famous tricolor German flag has a special meaning: black is a symbol of determination, red is a symbol of courage and strength, and yellow is generosity.

39. Instead of waving to your German friends, greet them by knocking on the table. In Germany, it is believed that knocking on a wooden surface is a good luck, because the devil cannot touch the “sacred” tree.

40. The cuckoo clock was invented in Germany in the 17th century.