Portal:Germany
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Willkommen im Deutschland-Portal!
Germany (German: Deutschland), officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north and the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.
Germany includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,578 square kilometres (138,062 sq mi) and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 83 million inhabitants, it is the second most populous state of Europe after Russia, the most populous state lying entirely in Europe, as well as the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is a very decentralized country. Its capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while Frankfurt serves as its financial capital and has the country's busiest airport.
In 1871, Germany became a nation-state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the Revolution of 1918–19, the empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic. The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to World War II, and the Holocaust. After the end of World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation, two new German states were founded: West Germany, formed from the American, British, and French occupation zones, and East Germany, formed from the western part of the Soviet occupation zone, reduced by the newly established Oder-Neisse line. Following the Revolutions of 1989 that ended communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe, the country was reunified on 3 October 1990.
Today, Germany is a federal parliamentary republic led by a chancellor. It is a great power with a strong economy. The Federal Republic of Germany was a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957 and the European Union in 1993. Read more...
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The Battle of Schellenberg, also known as the Battle of Donauwörth, was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession on 2 July 1704. The assault on the Schellenberg heights on the River Danube was part of the Duke of Marlborough’s campaign to rescue Vienna, the capital of Habsburg Austria, from King Louis XIV's forces ranged in southern Germany. Marlborough had commenced his march from Bedburg, near Cologne, on 19 May; within five weeks the Duke had reached the Danube where he sought to bring the Elector of Bavaria's forces to open battle. However, the Allied army’s lines of supply were established in Franconia and central Germany, too far north to be convenient once the line of the Danube had been crossed. It was therefore necessary not only to secure a bridge across the river, but also to obtain a new supply base. To achieve these objectives, the Allied commanders chose the walled town of Donauwörth, overlooked by the fortress on the Schellenberg Heights. Once the Franco-Bavarian commanders knew of the Allies’ objective, they dispatched Count d’Arco with 12,000 men to strengthen and hold the position. Marlborough’s co-commander, Louis of Baden, preferred a protracted siege; however, with news arriving that Marshal Tallard was approaching with French reinforcements, the Duke insisted on an immediate assault. Within two hours the Allies had secured their objective, but at considerable cost; the coup de main had cost the Allies some 5,000 casualties, and the defenders, 8,000. Nevertheless, with a supply base and river crossing firmly secured, the Duke of Marlborough – soon to be reinforced by Prince Eugene of Savoy – could now fight the battle he had desired. More...
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Anniversaries for May 29
- 1794 – Birth of astronomer Johann Heinrich von Mädler
- 1880 – Birth of historian Oswald Spengler, best known for The Decline of the West
- 1933 – Birth of conductor Helmuth Rilling
- 1934 – Synod of the Confessing Church in Barmen starts, leading to the Barmen declaration
- 1994 – Death of East German leader Erich Honecker
Did you know...
- ... that the Lutheran St. Trinitatis in Wolfenbüttel, consecrated in 1719, is a Baroque church with a facade recalling that of a palace?
- ... that Romani Holocaust survivor Philomena Franz wrote about her deportation to Auschwitz, internment in Ravensbrück, escape from a camp near Wittenberge, and concealment by a farmer?
- ... that baritone Liviu Holender chose lieder by five composers whose music was banned by the Nazis—Schreker, Zemlinsky, Mahler, Korngold and Schönberg—for a recital at the Oper Frankfurt?
- ... that ancient humans cared for a 14,000-year-old puppy?
- ... that a reviewer described the approach of soprano Magdalena Hinterdobler to her role as Grete in Zemlinsky's Der Traumgörge as "bold" and "sassy"?
- ... that Thomas Mann insisted on omitting a passage on homoeroticism in the English translation of his work "On the German Republic"?
- ... that Heike Heubach became the first deaf member of the German Bundestag?
- ... that Oksana Lyniv founded the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine in 2016 and conducted them in thirty concerts across ten music festivals in 2022?
Selected cuisines, dishes and foods
Due to its centuries-old history as a major port town the cuisine of Hamburg is very diversified and sapid as ingredients' supply was safe. Until the 20th century, the cuisine of Hamburg was predominantly characterized by the extensive choice of different kinds of fish from the river Elbe and the nearby Baltic Sea. The region of Vierlande supplied Hamburg with fresh vegetables. Fruit came from the area Altes Land and until industrialization the neighbourhood of Wilhelmsburg was considered the ‘milk isle’ of Hamburg. International trade in the Port of Hamburg made spices and exotic nutrition items from India and South America available since the 16th century, which were soon incorporated into civic kitchens.
On this basis, the cuisine of Hamburg developed which regrettably lost some of its characteristics nowadays due to the supraregional harmonization of the North German cuisine. But due to its high economic importance, Hamburg does feature many internationally recognized gourmet restaurants from which 11 were repeatedly awarded with a Michelin star in 2010. (Full article...)Topics
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