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Air transport Frankfurt Airport Terminal 1 Frankfurt International Airport is a major international airport and European transportation hub. Frankfurt Airport ranks among the world's top ten airports and serves 304 flight destinations in 110 countries. It is the airport with the largest number of international destinations served worldwide. Depending on whether total passengers, flights or cargo traffic are used as a measure, it ranks first, second or third in Europe alongside London Heathrow Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport . Germany's second most important international airport is Munich . Other major airports are Berlin Tegel , Berlin Schönefeld , Düsseldorf , Hamburg , Cologne-Bonn , Leipzig/Halle and in the future Berlin Brandenburg International Airport . Short distances and the extensive network of motorways and railways make airplanes uncompetitive for travel within Germany. Only about 1% of all distance travelled was by plane in 2002. But due to a declini
Water transport Hamburg Harbour Waterways: 7,500 km (1999); major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe ; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea , the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal links Rotterdam on the North Sea with the Black Sea. Pipelines: crude oil 2,500 km (1998) Ports and harbours: Berlin , Bonn , Brake , Bremen , Bremerhaven , Cologne , Dortmund , Dresden , Duisburg , Emden , Hamburg , Karlsruhe , Kiel , Lübeck , Magdeburg , Mannheim , Oldenburg , Rostock , Stuttgart The port of Hamburg is the largest sea-harbour in Germany and ranks #2 in Europe, #7 worldwide (2004), in total container traffic. Merchant marine:total: 475 ships (with a volume of 1,000 gross register tons (GRT) or over) totaling 6,395,990 GRT/8,014,132 metric tons deadweight (DWT)ships by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo ship 181, chemical tanker 12, container ship 239, Liquified Gas Carrier 2, multi-functional large load carrier 5, passenger ship 2, petroleum tanker 8, rail c
Rail transport InterCityExpress train, Stuttgart Railways: total: 40,826 km, including at least 14,253 km electrified and 14,768 km double- or multiple-tracked (1998) Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) is the major German railway infrastructure and service operator. Though Deutsche Bahn is a private company, the government still holds all shares and therefore Deutsche Bahn can still be called a state-owned company. Since its privatisation in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG) no longer publishes details of the tracks it owns; in addition to the DB AG system there are about 280 privately or locally owned railway companies which own an approximate 3,000 km to 4,000 km of the total tracks and use DB tracks in open access. There are significant differences between the financing of long-distance and short-distance (or local) trains in Germany. While long-distance trains can be run by any railway company, the companies also receive no subsidies from the government; instead, the long-distance trains r

Transport in Germany

Road and automotive transport Map of the German autobahn network The volume of traffic in Germany, especially goods transportation, is at a very high level due to its central location in Europe. In the past few decades, much of the freight traffic shifted from rail to road, which led the Federal Government to introduce a motor toll for trucks in 2005. Individual road usage increased resulting in a relatively high traffic density to other nations. A further increase of traffic is expected in the future. High-speed vehicular traffic has a long tradition in Germany given that the first freeway ( Autobahn ) in the world, the AVUS , and the world's first automobile were developed and built in Germany. Germany possesses one of the most dense road systems of the world. German motorways have no blanket speed limit . However, posted limits are in place on many dangerous or congested stretches as well as where traffic noise or pollution poses a problem. The German government has had issue
Newspapers in Germany The complexion of the print media in eastern Germany changed markedly with unification. By mid-1991 only 100,000 copies of East Germany's most widely circulated newspaper, Neues Deutschland , the newspaper of the communist party, were being printed daily, down from roughly 1 million in the recent past. Western consortia bought many of the other established urban newspapers and brought in new management. According to a public opinion survey during the 1990 national election, 68 percent of western Germans and 88 percent of eastern Germans read a newspaper on a regular basis. Not surprisingly, Germany boasts among the highest per capita newspaper circulations within Europe. The press is privately owned, and most Germans rely on local or regional newspapers for their information. Five daily newspapers enjoy good reputations nationally because of their sophisti
Prussia's Emergence as a Military Power The German military heritage was epitomized by a succession of Prussian rulers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The first of these was the Great Elector, Frederick William (r. 1640-88), who recognized that a standing army with an elite officer corps was the key to the development of a powerful state in his remote part of the empire. His grandson, Frederick William I (r. 1713-40), more than doubled the size of his professional army to 90,000 and added a trained reserve of conscripted peasants, forming one of the most modern and efficient fighting units in eighteenth-century Europe. Heavy taxes supported the army, which consumed 80 percent of state revenues even in peacetime. The next Prussian king, Frederick II (r. 1740-86), known to posterity as Frederick the Great, raised the strength of the army to 150,000 and launched a series of
The German Military in Two World Wars Prussian-German excellence in military matters was an accepted fact of life, but in the twentieth century the excessive accent on militarism led to two disastrous world wars. Germany's insistence on building a fleet that could challenge Britain's naval domination underscored German bellicosity and pushed Britain toward alignment with France and Russia. When World War I broke out in 1914, Germany attempted to conquer France quickly with a sudden thrust through Belgium. The Germans nearly reached Paris, but the desperate French managed to stiffen their defenses along the Marne River. The front was stabilized in northern France and shifted little during the course of the war in spite of the sacrifice of whole armies in the effort to break through opposing defenses. Although Germany was able to force Russia out of the war in March
Federal Police Agencies in Germany Established in 1951, the Federal Border Force (Bundesgrenzschutz--BGS) was the first federal police organization permitted by the Allied occupation authorities. During the early 1950s, there were frequent incidents on the borders with East Germany and Czechoslovakia, and the occupation authorities became convinced of the need for a competent border police. Even though the BGS is organized along paramilitary lines, that is, in battalions, companies, and platoons, and is armed as light infantry, it remains a police force controlled by the Ministry of Interior rather than by the Ministry of Defense. The strength of the BGS was 24,000 in early 1995. The BGS is equipped with armored cars, machine guns, automatic rifles, tear gas, hand grenades, rifle grenades, and antitank weapons. All personnel on border duty wear sidearms. Some units have ligh
Physical Map of Germany Germany has, in addition to coastline and mountains, forests, hills, plains, and river valleys. Several navigable rivers flow along the uplands. Canals connect the rivers of the Elbe, Rhine and Danube and link the North Sea with the Baltic.
Flora And Fauna of Germany About one-third of the country is covered with woodlands and consists of trees like oak, ash, elm, beech, birch, pine, fir, and larch. The animals include deer, red foxes, hares, and weasels. Migratory birds include various species of songbirds, storks, geese, and other larger fowl that fly into Germany from Africa. Herring, flounder, cod, and ocean perch are also found near the coastal waters.
Climate of Germany Germany has mainly moderate climate, characterized by cool winters and warm summers. River valleys like Rhine tend to be humid and somewhat warmer in both winter and summer, whereas mountain areas can be much colder. Rainfall on an average is much heavier towards the south, especially along the Alpine slopes, which force incoming weather fronts to rise and shed their moisture in the form of rain and snow.
Facts and Figures Official Name (Federal Republic of Germany) Bundersrepublik Deutschland Capital Berlin Population 82 million Area 357,020 sq km Currency Euro ($1=1.08) Religion Christianity Literacy 100% Languages German Major Cities Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Colonge, Frankfurt, Leipzig Climate Mainly moderate climate

Germany Profile

About Germany Germany has emerged as a strong nation and has contributed generously to the economic, political and cultural growth of the European continent. The country has seen much tumult including the brunts of two World Wars, the effects of the Cold War and at the same time has experienced the unification of the western Federal Republic of Germany and the eastern German Democratic Republic. The country is strategically located in Central Europe and is guarded in all the sides by the Baltic Sea, North Sea, Netherlands Poland and south of Denmark. It experiences natural diversity and is covered by lowlands in the north, uplands in the central part and is surrounded by Bavarian Alps in the south. The country boasts of a multi-ethnic culture and the terrain is inhabited by 91.5% Germans, 2.4% Turks and the rest is a mixed group comprising of Greeks, Italians, Polish, Russians, Serbo-Croatians and Spanish. The religious practices vary according to the different groups of people and t

Berlin Wall

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Brief historical overview: Until August 1961 The border between East and West Berlin is opened and daily half a million people cross the border from one part of the city into the other. Many East Berliners go into the cinema or discos in the West, they even work in the West or they go shopping in the West. Women get the first seamless panty hoses in the West, tropical fruits are only available there. At the same time the leaders of the Communist parties of the Commecon meet in Moscow from August 3 until August 5, 1961 and they decide to close the open border between East and West Berlin. August 12/13, 1961 In the afternoon of August 12 at 4 p.m. Walter Ulbricht, the East German leader, signed the commands to close the border. Next Sunday at midnight the army, police and the "Kampfgruppen" began to bolt the city. The wall is built and separates the city into two parts for more than 28 years. Streets, the railway and the S-Bahn (city railway) are broken, stations of the U-B

Germany people

People of Germany Germany consists of people hailing from mixed ethnic backgrounds. The Turkish forms the largest group, while foreign residents make up for nine percent of the population. Besides this, there are also large numbers of refugees from East European Union as well as immigrants from countries like Italy, Spain and Greece. German is the language that is commonly spoken. Arts, Culture and Music of Germany Germany has contributed immensely towards art and culture. However, today German culture remains so merged with that of Europe that it becomes slightly difficult to draw the boundaries. German culture reflects various traces of medieval art and architecture in the form of cathedrals, monasteries, and castles that dot the country. Germany is also known for its love for music and literature. Flag of Germany The flag of Germany consists of three equal horizontal.bands - black at the top, red in the middle and gold at the bottom. Economy of Germany Germany had a
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INDONESIA THE SECOND MOST-FAVORED TOURIST DESTINATION IN ASIA Indonesia is the second-most popular destination in Asia for tourists. Go Asia, a German market research initiative for Asia, established this following a survey and awarded Indonesia with the Go Asia Award in Berlin on 11 March 2009. This brings Indonesia to the top of the most valued tourist destinations in Asia after Thailand and before Malaysia. Go Asia almost awards prizes in the categories The Best Hotel in Asia , The Most Innovative Package tour to Asia , The Best Asian Airlines , The Best Tourist Office of Asia and The Best German Tour Operator for Asia . The Director General for Marketing at the Ministry of Cul

Indonesian – German Bilateral Relations

The most important pillar of Indonesian-German relations is not abstract, but it is the people who stimulate and bring to life a partnership – or even better – a friendship between Indonesia and Germany. As early as in the 16th century, Germans lived in Indonesia, explored the country and its people did a lot of trade with them. Today , there are Germans who take pleasure in living in Indonesia, working for more than 150 large and small scale companies, or as development experts, scientists and teachers. On the other side, there are all those Indonesians who in several ways feel close to Germany, particularly more than 2000 young Indonesians who are currently studying in Germany. The relations between Ind
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Are these typical Germans? Typically German More than Beer and Bratwurst Germans drink beer at the Oktoberfest, in lederhosen and a silly hat. Proper Germans are blond and have blue eyes. They live on sausages with sauerkraut. And their music does not go beyond Beethoven and Bach. Clichees abound. Always good for a laugh when you try to find an answer for what is typically German. But what is typical, when you are talking about a country with a population of more than 80 million? Is it typical, that Germans have a hard time being positive about themselves? You can’t think of anything either? How about hospitality, generosity and a readiness to help. Punctuality perhaps and zeal. Whatever, in the past ten years, German society has changed. Influenced by many people of different nationalities who have come and now call Germany home. And as a result, many of the old clichees just don’t work anymore. Yet the tale of the "nasty German", who has such a problem with his image in the
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What is the Bundesliga? Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: German fans love to get there early, be it professional or amateur level The Bundesliga is the name most people associate with the top league in German soccer but it is in fact the title given to a far-reaching net of organizations which support and promote the game all over Germany. The German Federal Soccer League or Bundesliga is the generic term for an intricate framework of associations, clubs and members which is spread all over the country and which incorporates many levels of the game, both playing and organizational. The top professional league is the 1. Bundesliga. It is made up of 18 teams which compete season by season for the title of German champion. Each team plays each other twice in the league, home and away. Since the 1995/96 season, the three-point rule has replaced the previous two-point reward for a victory. The winner of each match now gets three points, the loser of the matc
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Philharmonic Hall Set to Become Hamburg's Newest Landmark Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Planners hope the hall will be completed by 2011 Hamburg's new concert hall will be more than a location for fantastic musical moments. The imposing structure that includes a grand hall and a hotel is set to become the newest landmark on the port city's skyline. At the western tip of Hamburg's harbor, the dramatic design of the new Elbe Philharmonic Hall emerges slowly from the mists. Expected to be completed in two years, it will bring to the northern German port not only a new concert hall, but also an 110-meter landmark visible to approaching ships from way down river. The designers are Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, whose portfolio includes the Tate Modern in London, the Allianz Arena in Munich and the de Young Museum in San Francisco. A ship-friendly landmark Located at the tip of the Sandtorhafen, the first industrial harbor basin in Ha