germany

Directory, Guide, City, NEWS, Map

Capital
(and largest city) Berlin
52°31′N, 13°24′E
Official languages German
Demonym German
Government Parliamentary Federal Republic
– President Horst Köhler
– Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU)
Formation 843
– Eastern Francia 843
– Holy Roman Empire 962
– German Confederation 8 June 1815
– German Empire 18 January 1871
– Federal Republic 23 May 1949
– Reunification 3 October 1990
Accession to
the European Union 25 March 1957
Area
– Total 357,021 km² (63rd)
137,858 sq mi
– Water (%) 2.416
Population
– Dec. 2006 estimate 82,314,900[1] (14th)
– 2000 census 82,797,408 (July 2000 est.)
– Density 230.9 /km² (50th)
598.5 /sq mi

Currency Euro (€) (EUR)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
– Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Internet TLD .de
Calling code +49

Danish, Low German, Sorbian, Romany and Frisian are officially recognized and protected by the ECRML.
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland (help·info), IPA: ['bund?s?epu?bli?k 'd?jt?lant]), is a country in West-central Europe. It is bordered on the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; on the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; on the south by Austria and Switzerland; and on the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Germany is a parliamentary federal republic of sixteen states (Bundesländer). The capital city and seat of government is Berlin. As a nation-state, the country was unified amidst the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. After its defeat in World War II Germany was divided, and it became reunified in 1990. It is a founding member of the European Union, and with over 82 million people it has the largest population among the EU member states.[2]

The Federal Republic of Germany is a modern great power, a member state of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G4 nations and ranks fourth worldwide in defence spending.[3][4] Germany is the world’s third largest economy by nominal GDP, the world’s largest exporter of goods, and the world’s second largest importer of goods.[5] In 2007 it holds the rotating presidencies of both the European Council and the G8 summits.

favorite links

Das Lied der Deutschen – A brief history of the German national anthem.
Deutsches Historisches Museum – German Historical Museum, Berlin. With information on exhibitions and databases of objects and images(English/German, in partly only German).
Eastern German Studies Association – An association of scholars interested in the former German Democratic Republic.
Eurodocs: History of Germany – A list of links to primary documents (partly English translations) on German history.
Fashion Worlds: Fashion in Weimar Germany – An essay discussing images of the ‘New Woman’ with short bobbed hair and masculine clothes in relation to their roots in the sociological background of Germany in the 1920s.
Frederick II the Great – A biography of the King of Prussia.
German Historical Institute London – (GHIL) – A centre for research, focusing on German, English, British and Empire/Commonwealth history, and Anglo-German relations. Information on the institute, its staff, activities and publications.
German Historical Institute, Washington, DC – A research institute specialising in German and American history and international relations. Information on the institute’s work, online reference guides and conference papers.
German History – A series of overview articles on periods of German history from antiquity to unification.
German History – From the German Language site of About.com. A link list of resources on German culture and society, in part specifically on history.
German History Bibliography – a bibliographic list from the Yale University Library.
German History mailing list – Archives – online archive of a medium-volume mailing list for German History scholars.
German History Society – A society of historians working in the field of German history. Site contains information on society committee and business.
German History Sources – A collection of links to English translations of original texts and to images, mostly on German history but also on arts and culture.
German Propaganda Archive – A collection of translations of Nazi and of East German propaganda material.
German Reigning Houses – A list of the rulers of the German states from 1815 to 1918.
Germany: 1900-45 – A collection of articles on topics of German history and biographies, covering the 1900-1945 period.
Germany – Cunnan – Information on German history from an encyclopedia of the middle ages.
Hanseatic League – An encyclopedia article on the late-medieval mercantile league.
The Hanseatic League – Provides full-text primary and secondary sources, chronology, and bibliographic resources on the Hanseatic League, a confederation of mostly German merchant cities c.1250-1650.
H-German – A moderated mailing list on scholarly topics in German history. Information, associated links and an archive of postings available on the web site.
H-HRE – An online community dedicated to research and teaching on the history of the Holy Roman Empire. An archive of moderated discussions and reviews are available on the website, along with links to research and teaching resources.
A History O’ Germany – A personal site with by-period summaries of German history from 1790 to 1999.
A History of Germany – A brief overview of German history from antiquity to reunification. Article by John Holwell in Journal of Online Genealogy.
History of Germany – a directory of resources on German history, by the Bobst Library at New York University.
History of Germany – From the origin of the Germanic tribes to 1990. Taken from the Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress.
History of Germany – Provides a history of Germany from the 19th Century to the present.
History of the SPD – A timeline of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) since 1863.
The Imperial German Navy in East Asia – An essay on the German East Asian Cruiser Squadron in Asia and the Pacific before 1914 in the context of German political and strategic planning.
Institute for German History – at Tel Aviv University. Information on study programmes and seminars, on grant and scholarhip programmes, conferences and events, publications and ongoing research projects.
Kaisers Military Reference Books – Lists reference books on German military history.
Orden Pour le Mérite – On the history of the Prussian/later German order, with partial lists of members of the military version, and full list of members of the peace/civilian class.
Pommern/Pomerania – A Province of Prussia – A brief history of Pomerania and Prussia, their absorption by Germany, and eventual demise.
Richard Koebner Center for German History – at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. With research and teaching topics, bibliography of staff members’ publications and a German history link list.
Tacitus: Germania – A 1st century Roman writer’s account of the Germanic tribes.
The Versailles Treaty, June 28,1919 – Text of the treaty, with a bibliography, maps and cartoons.
Virtual Library – German History – a link list to web resources.
Virtual library Geschichte – English-language main page of the German-language link directory on German history by epoch, geography and topic.

Allexperts Germany Travel – Veteran travelers answer your questions about tourism and travel in Germany.
Foundation for Prussian Palaces and Gardens in Berlin & Brandenburg – Information about historical places in Berlin, Potsdam and Brandenburg. Pictures and History of Palaces and Parks.
Germany Info Site – Visitor’s guide to learning German, transportation, currency, maps, weather, travel, restaurants, passport, and sight-seeing.
Germany Information – A personal site with hints for US military families newly arriving in Germany.
The Magic of the Harz. – The landscape and attractions of the Harz Mountains region of North Central Germany as they appeal to two Britons. This includes the remarkable narrow gauge steam railways.
Neuschwanstein Castles Net – Castles in southern Germany are covered in this site, with pictures of castles that you can visit or stay at.
Picturesque Town and Villages in Germany – A listing of picturesque towns and villages in Germany which you may enjoy visiting. Photography by Vic Freund, Centralia College.
Roads to Ruins, the Castles of Germany – Photographs, history and maps to hundreds of castles and castle ruins in Germany.
A Tour of Former East Germany: Ten Years after the Wall – A virtual tour through East Germany, including the Inner-German Border Museum, the Soviet War Memorial in Berlin and Eisenhüttenstadt, East Germany’s model city.
A virtual tour of Germany – Portraits the federal states and shows pictures of touristic attractions.
Wunderbar Germany – Explore the history and culture of the country of Germany with this official site from the German Tourist Board. Site includes event information, virtual tours and local news.