Germany

Germany: population and cities

Population

Population

According to Countryaah website, Germany has around 82 million residents. 19.3% of the residents have a migration background.

These include 2.8 million with a Turkish, 2.1 with a Polish, 1.4 million with a Russian, 1.2 million with a Kazakh and 0.9 million with a Romanian background.

People with a migration background include everyone if they or one of their parents was born with a non-German nationality.

Religious affiliation

In Germany the following religious communities are represented with the number of members:

• Evangelical approx. 21.5 million
• Catholic approx. 23.3 million
• Muslim approx. 3.5 million (of which Sunnis 2.2 million and Alevis 340,000)
• New Apostolic approx. 385,000
• Buddhists approx. 250,000 (mainly from Vietnam, Thailand)
• autocephalous or autonomous churches of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople approx. 450,000
• Romanian Orthodox Church approx. 300,000
• Serbian Orthodox Church approx. 250,000
• Russian Orthodox Church approx. 1,500,000
• Syrian Orthodox Church approx. 55,000
• Jews with community membership approx. 110,000
• Jews without community membership approx. 90,000
• Hindus approx. 95,000 (Tamil Hindus 45,000, Indian Hindus 35,000 to 40,000, Afghan Hindus 5,000 and German Hindus 7,500)
• Free Religious 45,000

The rest of the population is either not religiously bound or belongs to other religious communities.

National language

The official national language is standard German. Numerous dialects are also spoken, such as Low German in the north or Bavarian in the south. In the north of Schleswig Holstein Danish is spoken by some of the local population, in parts of Saxony and Brandenburg also Sorbian.

In addition, the foreigners living in Germany speak a number of other languages, e.g. B. Turkish, Arabic, Russian, etc.

Federal states, provincial capitals, other cities

The Federal Republic comprises a total of 16 federal states, of which Hamburg, Berlin and Bremen are city-states.

The capital and seat of government of Germany is Berlin with a population of around 3.7 million. The indicated population figures have been rounded up or down.

There are 90 large cities in Germany, i.e. cities which, according to the international statistics conference of 1887, have more than 100,000 residents. The population of the following cities, sorted by population, is from 2020 and is either rounded up or down, a selection:

Bautzen (Saxony) with around 40,000 residents

Gotha (Thuringia) with around 46,000 residents

Baden Baden (Baden-Württemberg) with around 55,000 residents

Frankfurt/Oder (Brandenburg) with around 58,000 residents

Stralsund (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) with around 59,500 residents

Bayreuth (Bavaria) with around 74,500 residents

Lüneburg (Lower Saxony) with around 76,000 residents

Bamberg (Bavaria) with around 77,500 residents

Worms (Rhineland-Palatinate) with around 83,000 residents

Konstanz (Baden-Württemberg) with around 85,000 residents

Flensburg (Schleswig-Holstein) with around 89,500 residents

Tübingen (Baden-Württemberg) with around 90,500 residents

Kaiserslautern (Rhineland-Palatinate) with a little less than 100,000 residents

Jena (Thuringia) with around 111,500 residents

Koblenz (Rhineland-Palatinate) with around 114,000 residents

Göttingen (Lower Saxony) with around 119,000 residents

Heilbronn (Baden-Württemberg) with around 126,000 residents

Ulm(Baden-Württemberg) with around 126,500 residents

Regensburg (Bavaria) with around 152,500 residents

Heidelberg (Baden-Württemberg) with around 160,000 residents

Oldenburg (Lower Saxony) with around 170,000 residents

Kassel (Hesse) with around 201,500 residents

Rostock (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) with around 209,000 residents

Lübeck (Schleswig-Holstein) with around 217,000 residents

Freiburg im Breisgau (Baden-Württemberg) with around 230,000 residents

Halle an der Saale (Saxony-Anhalt) with around 239,000 residents

Chemnitz (Saxony) with around 247,000 residents

Braunschweig (Lower Saxony) with around 249,500 residents

Augsburg (Bavaria) with around 295,000 residents

Mannheim (Baden-Württemberg) with around 309,500 residents

Karlsruhe (Baden -Württemberg) with around 313,000 residents

Münster (NRW) with around 314,000 residents

Bonn (NRW) with around 327,500 residents

Bielefeld (NRW) with around 334,000 residents

Duisburg (NRW) with around 500,000 residents

Nuremberg (Bavaria) with around 518,500 residents

Essen (NRW) with around 583,000 residents

Leipzig (Saxony) with around 588,000 residents

Dortmund (NRW) with around 591,000 residents,

Frankfurt/Main (Hesse) with around 753,000 Residents,

Cologne (North Rhine-Westphalia) with around 1.09 million residents,

Sorbs and Wends

General overview

The Sorbs are a West Slav population who are recognized by the state as a national minority in Germany. They are in the Upper and Lower Lusatia - in the federal states of Saxony and Brandenburg. In addition to their language and culture, the Serbs have an officially recognized flag and even their own anthem. They are also financially supported by the federal states of Saxony and Brandenburg and the federal government.

The Sorbs in the southern parts of the country - that is, in Lower Lusatia - describe themselves as Wends and differ in their language, which is more similar to Polish (Lower Sorbian), from the Sorbs in Upper Lusatia, whose language is more similar to Czech (Upper Sorbian). But they still understand each other.

In the regions where they are recognized as a minority, for example, all official signs have bilingual inscription. The centers of the Sorbs are particularly Bautzen and Cottbus - Budyšin and Chośebuz. In addition to kindergartens and schools, there are also two Sorbian grammar schools, one in Cottbus in Lower Lusatia and another in Bautzen in Upper Lusatia. Around 50,000 Sorbs live in Upper Lusatia and around 30,000 in Lower Lusatia.

The Sorbs came from Silesia, Bohemia, during the migration of peoples in the 8th century and settled mainly in the areas between the Neisse and Saale, which had been almost deserted since the Germanic tribes had emigrated a little earlier.

Domowina

The Domowina was founded on October 13, 1912 in Hoyerswerda in the form of an umbrella organization of Sorbian clubs and associations. Even then it set itself the goal of standing up for democratic national interests and also cultivating the Sorbian language and culture. From 1933 it was then also possible for individuals - that is, natural persons - to become members. The board of directors fought against the national socialists to be brought into line and Germanized, so it was banned in 1937, partly because it rejected the designation "Sorbian-speaking Germans". The Sorbian intelligentsia - including teachers and clergy - were subsequently expelled from Lusatia.

After the end of the Second World War, shortly after the end of the war - on May 10, 1945 in Crostwitz in the Kamenz district - the Domowina was re-established. In the following years it was possible to win part of the Sorbian people for the revival of the Sorbian cultural work and thereby to contribute to the preservation and awareness of the national identity. During the GDR era, the Domowina - like all parties and mass organizations - was declared a "socialist national organization".

After reunification, the Domowina was restructured to form the "Association of Lusatian Sorbs" - a political, independent, national organization. Nowadays it represents the interests of the Sorbs who live in Saxony, Brandenburg and outside of Lusatia.

The Domowina currently has 17 regional and national associations from Lausitz as well as six associated associations from abroad, such as the Czech Republic, Poland and even Texas and Australia.

Domowina

Public Relations

Department Póstowe naměsto 2 - Posplatz 2

02625 Budyšin - Bautzen

Tel: 0049 - (0) 3591 - 550 102

Email: [email protected]

Maćica Serbska

Maćica Serbska is a member of Domowina and, as an eV, promotes scientific research into the history, language and culture of the Sorbs inside and outside of Lusatia. It is the sponsor of the Upper and Lower Sorbian Language Commission. In addition, it maintains existing and initiates new Sorbian cultural monuments. Maćica Serbska was founded in 1847.

Maćica Serbska

Póstowe naměsto 2 - Postplatz 2

02625 Budyšin - Bautzen

Lower Sorbian grammar school in Cottbus

The Lower Sorbian grammar school in Cottbus is attended by around 700 pupils who are taught by around 50 teachers. It is located in the north of Cottbus. The high school was established in the year. Most of the lessons take place in Lower Sorbian, which is similar to Polish. The school building consists of an older main part and several new buildings, including an architecturally strikingly beautiful gym at the rear of the main building

Lower Sorbian Gymnasium

Sielower Straße 37

03044 Cottbus

Sielower Straße 37

03044 Cottbus

Tel.: 0049 - (0) 355 - 38114-0

Sorbian high school in Bautzen

The Sorbian Gymnasium in Bautzen is attended by around some schoolchildren who are taught by around some teachers. Most of the lessons are in Sorbian, which is similar to Czech. The Sorbian Gymnasium Bautzen is located in the Nordostring district.

Sorbian High School

Franz-List-Str. 8

02625 Bautzen

Tel.: 0049 - (0) 3591 - 52730

Fax: 0049 - (0) 3591 - 527328

Christian high school Johanneum in Hoyerswerda

The Christian Gymnasium Johanneum in Hoyerswerda offers courses in Sorbian as part of working groups, in which around 20 pupils take part. bilingual lessons in geography, for example, were discontinued in the 2010 school year. This private school is attended by a total of around 500 students.

Christian high school Johanneum

Fischerstr. 5

02977 Hoyerswerda (in Saxony)

Tel.: 0049 - (035 71) - 42 44 - 0

Institute for Sorabistics in Leipzig

The Institute for Sorabic Studies at the University of Leipzig is the only institute in Germany where Sorbian teachers and Sorabists are trained in Upper and Lower Sorbian. The origin of the institute goes back to the year 1716 when six Sorbian theology students at the University of Leipzig founded the “Wendische Predigercollegium” (later: “Lausitzer Predigergesellschaft” and “Landsmannschaft Sorabia”). Her Latin greeting was: “Soraborum saluti!”. In 2010 the institute had a little less than 50 students.

Institute for Sorabic

Studies Faculty of Philology

Beethovenstr. 15

04107 Leipzig

Tel: 0049 - (0) 341 - 9737650

[email protected]

Sorbian Museum in Bautzen

The Sorbian Museum in Bautzen - located on the grounds of the Ortenburg Castle in Bautzen - has been providing information in four sections since April 2003 about the history of the Sorbs from their beginnings to the present, their culture and way of life, the development of language and literature, and Sorbian visual arts.

The Wendish (Sorbian) Museum is located in the Wendish (Sorbian) House on Lauengraben in Bautzen, which was inaugurated in 1904. In August 1937, the Sorbs were banned from public appearances by the Nazis. In the course of this ban, the Wendish House as well as the archive and library of the Maćica Serbska and the Wendish Museum were closed. The museum's collection was taken over by the city museum in 1942. In April 1945 the main building of the Wendish House was completely destroyed.

In 1957 the "Museum for Sorbian History and Folklore" was re-established in Hoyerswerda and museum work was resumed. From 1961 onwards, work began on moving the exhibits from the former Wendish Museum here.

In 1971 the company moved from Hoyerswerda to Bautzen, where the museum belonged to the "Museums of the City of Bautzen" from 1977 to 1988. It found its current domicile in 1976 in the salt house on the Ortenburg in Bautzen.

In January 1988 the Sorbian Museum was separated from the "Museums of the City of Bautzen" and, after a redesign, opened in June 1989 as an independent institution under its historical name "Serbski muzej - Sorbian Museum". The salt house was reopened in April 2003 after extensive renovation work.

Sorbian Museum

Ortenburg 3-5

02625 Bautzen

Tel.: 0049 - (0) 3591 - 2708700

Opening times

April-October

Monday to Friday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, Sunday, public holidays 1:00 p.m.

- 6:00 p.m. November - March

Monday to Friday 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The museum is closed on December 24th and 31st.

www.museum.sorben.com

German-Sorbian People's Theater in Bautzen

The German-Sorbian People's Theater in Bautzen is the only professional bicultural theater in Germany and is an important institution for Sorbian, German and German-Sorbian culture. During one season, the audience can expect around 25 premieres, 1,000 events as well as a large drama and puppet theater repertoire.

The history of the theater begins in 1796, when the Bautzen theater was inaugurated in the rifle bastion on Lauengraben, which was formerly part of the city fortifications. However, performances had already taken place in the old Gewandhaus before that. In the course of the Battle of Bautzen in 1813, the theater was set up as a hospital. In the years 1868 to 1871 the theater was heavily rebuilt. Under the GDR regime in 1963, it was then merged with the Sorbian People's Theater, which had existed since 1948. In 1968 the theater was demolished and in 1975 a new theater was built.

The first performance took place on February 17th, 2006.

German-Sorbian People's Theater Bautzen

Seminarstrasse 12

02625 Bautzen

Ticket Tel.: 0049 - (0) 3591 - 584-225

Sorbian National Ensemble

The Sorbian National Ensemble in Bautzen was founded in 1952 on the initiative of Domowina. The ensemble cultivates, preserves and develops the cultural tradition of the Sorbs through ballet, choir and orchestra. The members of the ensemble also see themselves as a link between East and West and as ambassadors of culture in a united Europe. Dance theater and musical fairy tales are also offered for children. The members of the ensemble give around 200 national and international guest performances each year.

The theater has a little over 100 permanent employees. Since it is not a spoken theater, it can easily be attended by people who do not understand Sorbian.

Sorbian National Ensemble Bautzen

Äußere Lauenstrasse 2 (directly at the Friedensbrücke)

02625 Bautzen

Tel.: 0049 - (0) 3591 - 35 80

Ralbitz near Bautzen

Ralbitz - in Upper Sorbian Ralbicy - should be mentioned here because the village is located in the Sorbian core settlement area and the majority of the residents speak Sorbian as their mother tongue. The village has been part of the Ralbitz-Rosenthal community since 1994.

Ralbitz is located a little more than 20 km northwest of Bautzen.

In 1541 the traditional Sorbian Easter riding was mentioned here for the first time, which led from Wittichenau to Ralbitz and still takes place on Easter Sunday. Most of the local population is Catholic. Here visitors can visit the Church of Saint Catherine, which dates back to 1752 and was restored after the Second World War. A special feature is the listed cemetery with more than 300 wooden crosses, all of which are kept in a uniform white. There is also a Holy Trinity column from the 18th century on the village square. It is also worth mentioning that there is a Sorbian elementary and middle school here, which is one of the 190 UNESCO project schools in Germany.

Lower and Upper Sorbian culture

Easter riding Easter

riding is a custom that is cultivated in Catholic Upper Lusatia in the region of Hoyerswerda, Kamenz and Bautzen. At the end of the 1990s, the custom revived at Lübbenau in the evangelical Lower Lusatia near Lübbenau.

The custom is that on Easter Sunday the Catholic men dressed in tails or frock coats and with a top hat as headgear ride on decorated horses to the neighboring community to proclaim that Jesus Christ has risen. The community visited in this way pays a return visit. Such a procession consists of up to 200 riders. The route of the processions is chosen so that the Christian message can be preached in as many places as possible. At the head of a procession are the standard bearers and the bearers of a statue of Christ and a cross.

Bird wedding

At the bird wedding the children put a plate on the windowsill or in front of the door on the evening before January 25th. The next morning the children will find sweets on the plates - in the form of birds or nests. The custom is somewhat reminiscent of the St. Nicholas custom on December 6th. According to the custom, the treats were brought by birds to show thanks for the winter feeding by the children.

At school or in kindergarten, the children - disguised as birds - celebrate the actual bird wedding with music, games or parades.

Sorbian anthem

The origin of the Sorbian hymn goes back to August 24, 1827, when the Sorbian theology student Handrij Zejler (1804-1872) in Leipzig wrote a poem in the local handwritten newspaper “Serbska Nowina” with the title “Na sersku Łužicu” - An The former poem consisted of six stanzas. The composer and conductor Korla Awgust Kocor (1822-1904), who was friends with Zejler, composed a new melody for the poem - the first setting was Korla Benjamin Hatas (1806–1839) in The year 1827. This song was sung in public in 1845 - at the "First Sorbian Singing Festival" initiated by Kocor on October 17th in Bautzen in Upper Lusatia. Nowadays only the first and last verse are officially sung.

The translation of the text into Lower Sorbian was done by the Sorbian teacher and folklorist Hendrich Jordan (1841-1910).

The hymn in Upper Sorbian

1st stanza

Rjana Łužica,

sprawna, přećelna,

mojich serbskich wótcow kraj,

mojich zbóžnych sonow raj,

swjate su mi twoje hona!

6th stanza

Časo přichodny,

zakćěj radostny!

Ow, zo bychu z twojeho

klina wušli mužojo,

hódni wěčnoh wopomnjeća!

The hymn in Lower Sorbian

1st stanza

Rědna Łužyca,

spšawna, pśijazna,

mójich serbskich wóścow kraj,

mójich glucnych myslow raj,

swěte su mě twóje strony.

6th stanza

Cas ty pśichodny,

zakwiś radosny!

Oh, gave muže stanuli,

za swój narod źěłali,

gódne nimjer wobspomnjeśa!

In the literal translation

1st verse

Beautiful Lausitz,

honest, friendly,

land of my Sorbian fathers,

paradise of my happy dreams,

holy are your corridors to me!

6. Verse

Future, flourish gladly,

oh, may men emerge from your lap who

are worthy of eternal remembrance!

Germany: geography, map

National borders

Defined by DigoPaul, Germany borders the following nine countries:

• Denmark with a length of around 70 km,
• Poland with a length of around 460 km,
• Czech Republic with a length of around 650 km,
• Austria with a length of around 785 km,
• Switzerland with a length of around 335 km,
• France with a length of around 450 km,
• Netherlands with a length of around 580 km,
• Belgium with a length of around 170 km,
• Luxembourg with a length of around 135 km.

Germany has a coastline of around 1,100 km to the Baltic Sea and North Sea.

Area, land use and landscapes

Germany covers a total area of 357,027 km², which is broken down as follows, whereby the areas not listed include cities or streets:

Forest

In Germany around 114,000 km² (32%) of the country is covered by forest, of which 48% are privately owned, 29% are owned by the federal states, 19% are municipal or church owned and 4% are owned by the federal government.

In botany, forest is understood to be a vegetation characterized by trees. or according to Section 2 of the Federal Forest Act, any area covered with forest plants, ""

The four most common tree species that characterize the forest in Germany are:

- Spruces, which comprise around 25% of the forest

- Pines, which comprise around 22% of the forest

- Beeches that make up around 15% of the forest

- oaks that make up around 10% of the forest

- Introduced tree species comprise around 5% of the forest, including Douglas fir with 2%, Japanese larch with 0.8% and red oak with 0.5%.

Forests in the federal states

The percentages in brackets indicate the proportion of forest area in the total area of the state.

- Baden-Württemberg comprises a forest area of 1,371,847 ha (38%)

- Bavaria comprises a forest area of 2,605,563 ha (37%)

- Berlin and Brandenburg together comprise a forest area of 1,130,847 ha (37%)

- Hamburg and Bremen together comprises a forest area of 13,846 ha (12%)

- Hesse comprises a forest area of 894,180 ha (42%)

- Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania comprises a forest area of 538,847 ha (24%)

- Lower Saxony comprises a forest area of 1,204,591 ha (25 %)

- North Rhine-Westphalia comprises a forest area of 909,511 ha (27%)

- Rhineland-Palatinate comprises a forest area of 839,796 ha (42%)

- Saarland comprises a forest area of 102,634 ha (40%)

- Saxony comprises a forest area of 533,206 ha (29%)

- Saxony-Anhalt comprises a forest area of 532,481 ha (26 %)

- Schleswig-Holstein comprises a forest area of 173,412 ha (11%)

- Thrüngen comprises a forest area of 549,088 ha (34%)

Agricultural area

Around 53.5% of the country is used for agriculture, especially for growing:

Grain, rapeseed, potatoes and beets. It should be mentioned that around 50 million tons of grain are generally harvested in Germany. In 2011, however, there were only around 39 million tons due to the weather

. B. apples, pears, plums, strawberries, cherries, cucumbers and tomatoes.

Landscapes:

• Alps
• Alpine foothills
• Altmark
• Bavarian forest
• Emsland
• Flaming
• Franconian Alp
• Franconian Switzerland
• Holstein Switzerland
• Lueneburg Heath
• Mecklenburg Lake District
• Lower Lusatia
• North Friesland
• Oderbruch
• Upper Lusatia
• Ostfriesland
• Prignitz
• Rheingraben
• Saxon Switzerland (Elbe Sandstone Mountains)
• Sauerland
• Swabian Alb
• Eifel
• Black Forest
• Steigerwald
• Stormann
• Teutoburg Forest
• Uckermark
• Weserbergland

Mountains

With the exception of the Alps, all mountain ranges in Germany are low mountain ranges.

• German Alps (highest mountain: Zugspitze with a height of 2,964 m)
• Bavarian Forest (highest mountain: great Arber with a height of 1,456 m)
• Eifel (highest mountain: Hohe Acht with a height of 747 m)
• Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also known as Saxon Switzerland

  (largest elevation: Great Zschirnstein with a height of 560 m)

• Erzgebirge (highest mountain: Fichtelberg with a height of 1,214 m)
• Fichtelgebirge (highest mountain: Schneeberg with a height of 1,054 m)
• Harz (highest mountain: Brocken with a height of 1,142 m)
• Hunsrück (highest mountain: Erbeskopf with a height of 816 m)
• Kyffhäuser (highest mountain: Kulpenberg with a height of 477 m)
• Upper Palatinate Forest (highest mountain: Gibacht with a height of 938 m)
• Odenwald (highest mountain: Katzenbuckel with a height of 626 m)
• Rhön (highest mountain: Wasserkuppe with a height of 950 m)
• Rothaargebirge (highest mountain: Langenberg with a height of 843 m)

  and the Kahle Asten with a height of 841 m)

• Swabian Alb (highest mountain: Lemberg with a height of 1,015 m)
• Black Forest (highest mountain: Feldberg with a height of 1,493 m)
• Spessart (highest mountain: Geiersberg with a height of 586 m)
• Taunus (highest mountain: Große Feldberg with a height of 880 m)
• Thuringian Forest (highest mountain: Große Beerberg with a height of 982 m)
• Westerwald (highest mountain: Fuchskaute with a height of 657 m)

• Zittau Mountains (highest mountain: Lausche with a height of 793 m; the German-Czech border runs on their summit)

Tidal range in Hamburg and Rostock

Hamburg

In Hamburg, which is around 100 km from where the Elbe flows into the North Sea, the mean tidal range is around 3 m. For this reason, most of the port of Hamburg is provided with locks. (For a detailed explanation of ebb and flow, see Tides, Ebb and Flow).

Large parts of the North German Wadden Sea fall dry during low tide and can be hiked. However, hikers should exercise great caution so that they are not surprised by the incoming tide.

Rostock-Warnemünde

other hand, in Rostock-Warnemünde on the Baltic Sea, the average tidal range just walking decimeter

comparisons

the world's highest tides are found incidentally in the Bay of Fundy in Canada, he is there up to 16 m, even m at spring tide 20s. The Bay of Fundy is located on the Atlantic between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which is called Nova Scotia in German and whose capital is Halifax. On the German North Sea coast it varies between 1 m and 3 m. In the western Baltic Sea, on the other hand, the tidal range is only 0.3 m, while it is barely noticeable in the eastern Baltic Sea.

Longitude and latitude

Germany extends over the following geographical latitude (abbreviation Δφ) and geographical longitude (abbreviation Δλ):

You can find detailed information on this subject under Longitude and Latitude.

Legal time

Central European Time (CET) or Central European Summer Time (CEST) apply in Germany:

Further and detailed explanations of the time can be found under Time zones, time.

The highest point of the sun in Berlin

Berlin lies at a northern latitude of around φ = 52 ° 30 '= 52.5 °.

When the sun is at the tropic, i.e. at δ = 23.5 °, summer starts in Berlin, June 21st. Then, for the highest position of the sun at noon, according to Eq. 1 (see position of the sun):

52.5 ° = (90 ° - h) + 23.5 °

so:

61 ° is the highest level above the horizon or the horizon that the sun can have in Berlin during the year.

mountains

Zugspitze

The highest mountain in the country is the Zugspitze in the Alps with a height of 2,964 m. On April 2, 2017, the old cable car from 1963 was shut down.

But very close by, a new cable car with a length of 3,213 m was built in December 2017.

It is only supported by a 127 m high support pillar and can now transport 600 people per hour instead of the previous 240.

There is also a cog railway (Zugspitzbahn) and another cable car from Austria.

There are nine ski lifts for skiers on the summit plateau. Hikers in good physical condition can reach the summit in three ways.

On the summit there is a restaurant and the famous meteorological station and the research station "Schneefernerhaus", which has existed since 1900

Watzmann

The Watzmann in the Alps in Berchtesgadener Land is the second highest mountain in Germany with a height of 2,713 m.

There is no mountain railway or cable car leading to Watznann, you have to climb the mountain yourself.

A little legend about the Watzmann is reported here: Once upon a time, the cruel King Watzmann came with his sons to a farm, where he murdered the men and the women, and then also killed them.

Shortly before her death, the farmer's wife raised her hand to heaven and cursed the royal family. Thereupon the king and his sons turned to stone, which one believes to be recognizable in the mountain chassis and its peaks today.

Fellhorn

The Fellhorn has a height of 2038 m and is located above Oberstdorf in the Alps. The Fellhorn pigs living there at an altitude of 1,760 m are famous. Because of its extensive fields with alpine roses, the mountain is considered the flower mountain of the Allgäu Alps

Wendelstein

The Wendelstein is the highest mountain in the Wendelstein massif. It is located in the eastern part of the Bavarian Prealps. A well-known town at the foot of the mountain is Bayrischzell. The mountain peak has a height of 1,838 m. It can be visited with the Wendelstein cable car or the Wendelstein cog railway, which have their valley stations in Osterhofen (cable car) and Brannenburg (cog railway).

Feldberg

The Feldberg is located in the southern Black Forest at an altitude of 1,493 m. A chairlift leads to the summit

Großer Arber

The Große Arber is located in the Bavarian Forest and has a height of 1,456 m

Fichtelberg

With a height of 1,215 m, the Fichtelberg is the highest mountain in the German Ore Mountains and Saxony. The mountain has a cable car to the summit, which was installed in 1924. But you can even go "up" by car. The mountain is known for its 50 km long cross-country trails. The famous winter sports resort Oberwiesenthal is nearby.

Brocken

With a height of 1,142 m, the Brocken is the highest mountain in the Harz Mountains. You can hike to the top of the Brocken or take the steam-powered Brocken train.

Auersberg

The Auersberg with a height of 1,019 m is located in the Ore Mountains in Saxony - not far from the border with the Czech Republic. There is a parking lot below the summit. On the driveway to Auersberg you cross the Johanngeorgenstadt district of Sauschwemme. On the summit there is an 18 m high lookout tower, the beginnings of which go back to 1860. Originally it was used for fire monitoring and as a geodetic measuring point. It reached its current height in 1901. And in 1940 the viewing platform was given a wooden hood.

Rivers

Danube.

The longest river in Germany, but only a small part of it flows through the country, is the Danube. At Donaueschingen, the Brigach and the Breg flow together and form the Danube from there on.

At 48 km, the Breg is the longer of the two source rivers and rises at an altitude of 1,078 m near the Martinskapelle near Furtwangen in the southern Black Forest. From here to the mouth of the Danube in the Black Sea, its length is 2,888 km. The second source river, the Brigach, has its source in the Brigach Valley near St. Gallen, also in the southern Black Forest. It is 42.7 km long to the confluence.

Rhine

The Rhine, which has its source in Switzerland and flows into the North Sea in the Netherlands, has a total length of around 1,230 km; Until recently, the length was mistakenly given as 1,320 km. You can find a detailed description of the Rhine at Goruma here >>>

Elbe

The Elbe rises at the Schneekoppe in the Giant Mountains (Czech Republic) and flows into the North Sea at Cuxhaven. It has a length of around 1,144 km.

Main

The Main with a length of around 524 km flows into the Rhine near Mainz

Weser

The Weser with a length of around 433 km - together with the Werra 725 km - flows into the North Sea at Bremerhaven.

the Spree with a length of 382 km, it flows into the Havel in Berlin-Spandau;

the Havel with a length of 325, which flows into the Elbe at Havelberg;

the Ruhr with a length of 217 km, it flows into the Rhine in Duisburg-Ruhrort;

the Moselle with a length of 544 km, it flows into the Rhine at the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz;

the Saale with a length of 413 km; the victory with a length of 153 km, it flows north of Bonn into the Rhine; the Ems with a length of 371 km, it flows into the North Sea at Emden;

the Neckar with a length of 367 km, it flows into the Rhine near Mannheim;

the Lech with a length of 264 km, it flows into the Danube at Donauwörth;

the Inn with a length of 510 km and the Isar with a length of around 295 km, it flows into the Danube at Deggendorf.

Lakes

Lake Constance

The largest lake is Lake Constance with an area of around 571 km². However, large parts of Lake Constance belong to Germany, Switzerland and Austria together.

Other larger lakes are:

the Müritz with an area of around 109 km²

the Chiemsee with an area of around 80 km²

the Ammersee with an area of around 47 km²

the Starnberger See with an area of around 56 km²

the Steinhuder Sea with an area of around 29 km²

the Schweriner See with an area of around 62 km²,

the Plauer See with an area of around 38 km²

and the Plöner See with an area of around 30 km²

Islands

The following islands in the North and Baltic Seas belong to Germany:

Baltic islands

• Rügen, the largest German Baltic Sea island, with an area of 930 km², is connected to the mainland by a bridge near Saßnitz.
• Fehmarn with an area of 185 km², connected to the mainland via the Fehmarn Sound Bridge since 1963.
• Hiddensee, an island off Rügen, on which there is no traffic, with an area of 18.97 km².
• Poel with an area of 36 km²
• Greifswalder Oie, 10 km east of Rügen, with an area of 0.54 km²; the island is a nature reserve where wild ponies live.
• Usedom with an area of 445 km², of which 373 km² belong to Germany and 72 km² to Poland.
• Ruden, a small island in the mouth of the Peene River, with an area of around 0.7 km².
• Koos, this uninhabited and protected island is the largest in the Greifswalder Bodden with an area of around 1.49 km².
• Riems, a small island in the Greifswalder Bodden with an area of around 0.3 km². The Federal Research Institute for Animal Health - the Friedrich Löffler Institute - is located on the island.
• Vilm, in the Greifswalder Bodden south of Rügen, with an area of 1 km².

North Sea Islands

• Helgoland, about 70 km from the mainland in the North Sea, with an area of 1.7 km². The symbol of Heligoland is the "Lange Anne". In 1841 the poet Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798-1874) wrote the "Song of the Germans" here. The island belongs to the district of Pinneberg.

North Frisian Islands

• Sylt, the northernmost of the German islands, with an area of 99 km²
• Amrum with an area of 20 km²
• Föhr with an area of 83 km²
• Pellworm with an area of 27 km²
• North beach with an area of 50 km²
• Halligen: Group of smaller islands in the North Frisian Wadden Sea with a total area of 2.28 km²: Gröde-Appelland, Habel, Hamburger Hallig, Hooge, Norderoog, Nordmarsch-Langeneß, Nord-Strandischmoor, Oland, Süderoog and Südfall

East Frisian Islands

• Borkum with an area of 36 km²
• Norderney with an area of 26 km²
• Memmert with an area of 5.17 km²
• Juist with an area of 16.3 km²
• Baltrum with an area of 6.5 km 2
• Langeoog with an area of 19.7 km²
• Wangerooge, the easternmost of the East Frisian Islands with an area of 5 km²
• Spiekeroog with an area of 18.3 km²

The Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea was only formed a little more than 10,000 years ago when, at the end of the Ice Age, the ice, which was sometimes kilometers thick, began to melt and could not flow away quickly enough. In addition, the land freed from the ice masses rose.

The Baltic Sea is considered to be a shallow tributary of the Atlantic Ocean, scientifically it is an epicontinental sea. It covers an area of 415,000 km², including the Kattegat. The deepest point at 459 m is at Landsorttief between the Swedish peninsula Södertörn and the island of Gotland, at 58 ° 25 'north latitude and 18 ° 19' east longitude. The northwestern part of the Baltic Sea, the Kattegat, merges with Skagen in the Skagerrak, which is counted as part of the North Sea. This strait in northern Jutland represents the only natural connection to the North Sea and thus to the Atlantic via the Great Belt (between Funen and Zealand) and the Little Belt (between Jutland and Funen) and the Öresund (between Zealand/Denmark and Sweden).

The Limfjord, which runs across Jutland and connects the North Sea in the west of Jutland at Thy and Thyborøn with the Kattegat in the east at Hals, is particularly popular with sport boaters. The northernmost border of the Baltic Sea is in the Gulf of Bothnia on the border between Sweden and Finland, its southernmost border is at the southern end of the Szczecin Lagoon, its eastern border is at St. Petersburg/Russia and the western border is at Flensburg in the Flensburg Fjord.

The shallow Bodden waters "behind" Rügen, Hiddensee, Darß, Zingst and Fischland form special landscapes. In Poland and on the Curonian Spit there are huge shifting dunes. And in front of Sweden and Finland there is a huge number of islands, islets or rocks. The waters around the Danish islands are a true paradise for water sports enthusiasts.

The salinity of the East Sea is up to 3.2% in the Skagerrak area and only 0.2% in the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia. The Baltic Sea has a water volume of around 22,000 km³, with around 500 km³ of fresh water annually supplied by around 250 rivers. It is limited by the following countries: Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden.

Islands

There are a number of well-known islands in the Baltic Sea, many of which also play a major role in tourism. The larger ones in alphabetical order:

A detailed description of the German islands in the Baltic Sea can be found here >>>

Rivers

The following larger or known rivers flow into the Baltic Sea. In alphabetic order:

The North Sea

The west of Schleswig-Holstein and parts of Lower Saxony lie on the North Sea, which covers an area of approx. 575,000 km² - with a water volume of around 54,000 km³.

The North Sea stretches from Great Britain in the west to Norway in the northeast, where it merges into the European Arctic Ocean at about 61 degrees latitude. In the south-west, the North Sea borders the Dover Strait, where it merges into the English Channel. In the north it opens up to the European Arctic Ocean, which lies in the east of the North Atlantic. It is connected to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat in northern Denmark. Via the Elbe and the approx. 100 km long Northeast Sea Canal which ends at Kiel-Holtenau in the Kiel Bay, there is an approx. 900 km shorter connection for ships from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea than via the Skagerrak. In addition to Denmark, the North Sea also has the following countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Norway.

The most important tributaries of the North Sea are the Elbe (Germany), the Ems (Germany), the Forth (Scotland), the Glomma (Norway), the Humber = mouth of the Ouse and Trent (England), the Maas (Netherlands), the Rhine (Netherlands), the Scheldt (Belgium/Netherlands), the Skjern Au (West Jutland/Denmark), the Tay (Scotland), the Thames (England), the Tweed (Northern England) and the Weser (Germany).