Posts Tagged ‘ Cologne ’

 
Sunday, May 31st, 2009

Germany has experienced a tumultuous history: starting a World War, being split into 2 nations and much more. If you are organizing a trip, here is some background information you must know.

An Overview of Germany for Travelers

The official name of the country is the Fed. Republic of Germany. Germany covers a landmass of over 135,000 square miles and is about the size of the state of Montana. The capital is Berlin with over 3.5 million residents living within the town borders. Other towns of note include, but aren’t restricted to, Hamburg with 1.7 million residents, Munich with over 1.2 million people, Cologne with slightly under 1,000,000 residents, Frankfurt with 640,000 residents, Dortmund with 592,000 folk, Stuttgart with 580,000 residents, Dusseldorf with about the same number, Bremen with 540,000 people and Hanover with a population just exceeding 500,000 residents. Put an alternate way, Germany crams a lot of people into a comparatively little area.

From a terrain point of view, Germany has a bit of everything. The north consists mostly of fields and coast, whilst the middle of the country is a fertile basin. The south of the country is basically mountainous, sharing formations with Switzerland. With this divergent terrain, the climate varies from area to area, but is generally cool with heavy times of rain.

Citizens of the Fed. Republic of Germany are known as Germans. The latest population study found the total population exceeded 82 million. The ethnic break down is essentially German, but Danish minorities exist in the north while Slavic minorities can be found in the south. Regardless of the policies publicized by Hitler, the country has a strong influx of immigrants with over 7.3 million folks qualifying as such.

From a religious viewpoint, Germans are split in 2 major camps. There are approximately twenty-six million Protestants and twenty-six million Roman Catholics. Roughly 3.3 million folks consider themselves to be Muslim.

The official language of the country is German, although English is spoken in numerous areas as is Russian and French. Education is compulsory for 10 years and the literacy rate is more than ninety nine %. Live expectancy for a German man is 74 years whilst girls live an extra six years typically.

As this overview reveals, Germany is the home to a lot of good and bad history. As a travel destination, it is extraordinary if you’re going to see history or visiting for the World Cup.

For more information about travel and useful tips for tourists, visit famouswonders.com and check out German places.