Facts About Germany PDF

For you
FACTS
ABOUT GERMANY
The book for

young people
10 x Germany
Culture, history, sports,
tourism: there is a lot
todiscover inGermany.
Hip capital city

History, culture, parties:
a weekend in Berlin is not enough.
Cultural treasures
Hot music scene The German museum world
DJs such as Felix Jaehn and is quite unique: there are
Robin Schulz are shaking up more than 630 art museums.
the international music scene.
Beaming World Champions

In July 2014 a dream came true:
the German football team won the
World Cup for the fourth time.
International stars
Actors such as Diane Kruger
and Daniel Brhl are stars of
the screen all over the world.
Clean energy
Germany leads the way
internationally in the field of
renewable energies.
Green mobility
By 2020 the plan is to have no
less than one million electric
vehicles on the road in Germany.
Protected nature
Germany is a green country
forests account for a third
of its territory.
Popular holiday destinations

Windsurfing in the Baltic Sea, Delicious discoveries
climbing in the mountains, skiing German cuisine is inter-
in the Alps: Germany has a lot national and innovative. It even
tooffer as a holiday destination. includes vegan sausages.
CONTENTS
1 Welcome2
Democracy, political system, language
2 Open society 12
Commitment, integration, history
3 Endless opportunities 28
Education, study, professional life
4 New ideas 42
Innovation, research, green technologies
5 Creative minds 52
Culture, media, creative industries
6 Global living 64
Digitalisation, urban life, sports
Imprint 72
2|3 WELCOME
1 Flag
WELCOME Black, red, and gold are the

colours of the federal flag.
Fans like to show off these
colours at national sports
teams games.
There is much to discover and
experience in Germany
find out more about the country Federal eagle
The symbol of the German

state is the federal eagle.
Youll encounter it often
National holiday on coins and sports shirts.
3
October
3 October 1990 is a very important date

in German history. It was on this day that
Eastand West were reunited after four
decades of being divided. This is some Capital city
thing Germans celebrate every year.
With 3.4 million inhabitants,

Berlin is Germanys biggest
city and has been the capital
since 1990.
Rhine
Mainland coast
865 km 1,200 km
The Rhine is Germanys longest river.

Its source is in Switzerland, and it
flows all the way to Rotterdam in the
Netherlands on the North Sea coast.
Many people like to holiday on the
North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts.
Zugspitze Germanys biggest island goes by the
2,962 m name of Rgen and is located in
theBaltic Sea.
Theres nowhere higher in Germany

the Zugspitze is the countrys highest
mountain peak. The mountain lies in
the eastern Alps.
Domain
+49 .de
Currency
The .de domain is the most wide

spread in Germany and the most popu
lar countryspecific domain worldwide.
Since 1 January 2002 the euro
The international dialling code for
has been the sole currency in
Germany is +49.
Germany. You can also use it in
18 other EU member states.
4|5 WELCOME
COUNTRY & PEOPLE
A modern country at the

heartof Europe
G
ermany is a liberal, stable
democracy, but the country
81.2
has a tumultuous history.
In 2015 the country celebrated an im
portant anniversary: 25 years of Ger
man unity. Between 1949 and 1990 the More immigration
country was divided into the Federal At the end of 2014, 81.2 million people
Republic of Germany and the German lived in Germany. That was 430,000 more
Democratic Republic (GDR). This div than in 2013. This growth is primarily the
ision was a consequence of the Second result of immigration.
World War (1939-1945), which was
started by the Nazis during the Third
Reich (1933-1945). The later peaceful
revolution, which is the name given
20%
to the peoples movement in the GDR, Great diversity
and the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 20.3 percent of people (16.4 million) in Ger
made reunification possible. many have a migrant background. Of them,
9.2 million hold German passports.
Germany lies at the heart of Europe and
has nine adjoining states, more than
anyother country in Europe. A total of
81.2 million people live in Germany,
making it the most populous country in
82/77
the European Union. Germany is a feder High life expectancy
Never before have people in Germany lived
ation and consists of 16 federal states.
as long as they do today. The average life
Berlin is its capital.
expectancy for women is 82 and for men 77.
Committed Europeans
In Germany, one of the found Kiel
ing members of European SCHLESWIG-
HOLSTEIN MECKLENBURG-
integration, the EU is often
WEST POMERANIA
rated more positively than HAMBURG
Schwerin
negatively. As a glance at the BREMEN
Eurobarometer shows. LOWER SAXONY

BRANDENBURG
ec.europa.eu/COMMFront BERLIN
Hanover Magdeburg Potsdam
Office/PublicOpinion
S A X O N Y-
NORTH RHINE- A N H A LT
WESTPHALIA
Dsseldorf Erfurt Dresden
THURINGIA SAXONY
HESSEN
Wiesbaden
Federal Republic RHINELAND-
PA L AT I N AT E Mainz
The Federal Republic of
Germany is a federation and SAARLAND
consists of 16 federal states. Saarbrcken
Stuttgart B AVA R I A
Federation means that the
individual states have united BADEN-
WRTTEMBERG Munich
to form one big federal state.
This federal principle has deep
roots in the nations history
and is anchored in the German State capital
Constitution.
A popular tourist destination: the capital city Berlin attracts many young visitors
6|7 WELCOME
PARLIAMENT & POLITICAL PARTIES
Liberal democracy with

equal rights for all
E
very four years the political parties
stand in the general elections to the
German Bundestag. All citizens over
18 are eligible to vote. They choose their
delegates in general, direct, free, and
equal elections by secret ballot. In the
Bundestag elections all voters can cast
two votes. The first vote is to select can
didates in one of the 299 constituencies,
and the second vote is cast for a party list.
This decides how strongly a party is rep
The Constitution
resented in parliament. The Bundestag
The written Constitution comprises
elects the German Chancellor. One of
146 articles, including the fundamental
rights of citizens. Article 1 guarantees
the most important tasks of the mem
the inviolability of human dignity and bers of parliament is legislation. The
emphasises the legally binding nature Bundesrat, which represents the federal
of basic rights. states, is involved in legislation. Its
69 members are representatives of the
16state governments. The Federal Presi
18 dent is the Head of State. This role is pri

marily a representative one and is filled
The Electorate in an election every five years by the Fed
Men and women aged 18 and over may eral Assembly (combining the Bundestag
vote in general elections. For elections and other outstanding members of civil
to the city parliaments, for example,
society appointed by the state parlia
some federal states allow those aged
ments).
16 and over to vote.
The Reichstag building in Berlin: it is here that the members of the Bundestag, the German parliament, meet
630 seats
CSU The Left Party
56 seats 64 seats
CDU SPD
254 seats 193 seats
The Greens
63 seats
The Parliament
The Bundestag is the parliament of (20132017) are from the Christian
the Federal Republic of Germany. Democratic Union (CDU), together
Itcurrently has 630 members from with its sister party the CSU, which
fi ve parties. Only parties that get only exists in Bavaria, and the Social
morethan fi ve percent of the vote or Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
win three direct seats in an election Together they form the socalled
may send delegates to the parlia Grand Coalition. The oppositon is
ment. The Bundestag has its seat made up of The Left Party and Al
in the historic Reichstag building liance 90/The Greens. All parties in
in Berlin. The majority of members the Bundestag engage in debate with
of the 18th German Bundestag andrespect one another.
8|9 WELCOME
P L AY E R S & C H A L L E N G E S
Who governs Germany and

what is important in politics
S
ince the Bundestag elections
of 2013 Germany has been
ruled by a Grand Coalition
of the major parties, the CDU/CSU and the
SPD. Coalition governments are a feature
of the German political system. Up to now
it has only once been possible for just one
party to form a government alone, and Joachim Gauck has been Germanys Federal President
that was back in the early 1960s. Since 2005 since 2012; his role is primarily a representative one
Dr. Angela Merkel, leader of the CDU

party, has headed the German govern-
ment as Federal Chancellor; she is now in
her third term. Her role is to shape the
principles of German politics. Angela Mer
kel is the first woman in the history of the
Federal Republic of Germany to hold this
office. She grew up in East Germany and
Dr. Angela Merkel has been German Chancellor
holds a PhD in Physics. since 2005 and is the head of government
The cabinet consists of 14 ministers as

well as the Head of the Federal Chancel
lery. The SPD provides certain key indi
viduals, including the Deputy Chancellor
in the person of Sigmar Gabriel, who is al
so the Minister for Economic Affairs and
Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been Federal

Foreign Minister since 2013. He previously held the
role between 2005 and 2009
One of the tasks of the Bundestag is to pass laws
Key political issues
Energy reform Digital agenda

Germany wants to leave the age of fossil Digital networking is changing the world.
fuels and nuclear energy behind. It is The German government wants to play
committed to fostering renewable ener an active role in this transformation.
gies through the energy reform, as it is Thisnot only revolves around technol
known. The last nuclear power station ogy, but also issues such as freedom, dig
isdue to be decommissioned in 2022. ital selfdetermination, and democracy.
Family Foreign policy

Helping families with children is an Germany enjoys close international
important concern for the German relations with a broad network of
government. This means, for example, countries. Together with its partners,
enabling men and women to balance Germany endeavours worldwide to
work and family life. achieve peace, democracy, human
rights, and security.
10 | 11 WELCOME
Energy, and the Foreign Minister in the

person of Dr. FrankWalter Steinmeier.
Steinmeier is one of Germanys most ex
perienced politicians and served a previ
ous term as Foreign Minister between
2005 and 2009. The Coalition Agreement
titled Shaping Germanys Future forms
the basis for the tasks the Grand Coali
tion seeks to tackle up to 2017. Coalition
227
International representation across the globe
governments use such agreements to Germany maintains relations with 195 states
reach an understanding on the political and is represented worldwide by 227 diplo
objectives of the legislative period before matic missions, of which 153 are embassies.
they enter into government together.
German politicians face huge challenges.

Alongside social and environmental policy,
one of the most important tasks is to man
age the huge influx of refugees. In 2015
159
well over 800,000 people came to Germany Goethe Institutes
seeking asylum. They came mainly from The 159 Goethe Institutes in 98 countries
crisis and conflict regions, primarily from promote the German language abroad and
Syria. Germany recognises its humanitar seek to improve international cultural
ian responsibilities towards people who are cooperation.
forced to flee their homelands. The Ger

man Federal Government is working at
many levels to achieve an international
and specifically a panEuropean solution
as part of its immigration and refugee Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle (DW) is Germanys inter
policies. At the same time, German polit
national broadcaster. It provides news and
icians are working to rectify the situations
background reports on the television, radio,
that cause such flows of migrants.
and Internet in 30 languages.
LANGUAGE
Learning German in the

network of partner schools
O
ne of the tasks of the Federal For
eign Office, alongside diplomacy, is
to drive Germanys international
cultural and education policy. A large
part of this involves promoting the Ger
man language all over the world. Cur
rently 15.4 million people study German
as a foreign language. German is the
most widely spoken mother tongue in
the European Union. The task of lan
guage education is carried out, for ex
ample, by the Goethe Institutes, but also
by 140 German schools abroad and al Schools: Partners for the Future
most 2,000 other schools that offer in The PASCH network links up
tensive German tuition. These are linked students of German around
by the Schools: Partners for the Future theworld.
initiative, or PASCH for short. pasch-net.de
Studying German is very worthwhile it is the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union
12 | 13 OPEN SOCIETY
2
OPEN SOCIETY
INTRO
Cosmopolitan Germany
young people have numerous
o pportunities to apply themselves
Rights, duties, and volunteer- to live and work. Those who are well-
ing: anyone living in Germany educated have many opportunities to
is free to decide how he or she move here. One in five people in Ger-
many has an immigrant background.
wishes to live. People have many
For political refugees, the right to asy-
freedoms that enable them to lum is anchored in the constitution.
help shape the country. Particularly high numbers of refugees
arrived in 2015. In many towns and cit-
ies volunteers helped those arriving
G
ermany is a peaceful, democratic from war zones and crisis regions.
country. Men and women have the However, hostile tendencies were vis
same rights, and all inhabitants ible in the debate on refugees and im-
and the state must comply with the migration.
law in this state under the rule of law.
You are free to choose your opinion and
your religion: the constitution guaran-
tees these rights and they are valued
particularly highly. Civil society also
defines modern Germany. Millions of
young people are active in their free
time in clubs, church or political asso-
ciations, and non-governmental organ VIDEO & AR APP
isations.
Open society
Follow the link for the video on the topic
Germany is a country of immigration.
tued.net/en/vid52
Since the 1960s people have come here
DID YOU KNOW . . .
1 5
. . . that 16.4 million of 81.2 mil- . . . that the history of the Third
lion inhabitants in Germany have Reich (19331945) is taught in
a migrant background? schools?
2 6
. . . that more than a million . . . that there are many memori-
people are active in the volun- als to the victims of Nazism?
tary fire fighting services and
are everyday heroes? 7
. . . that many friendships come
3 about through the Franco-
. . . that every year between German Youth Office and the
90,000 and 100,000 people do German-Polish Youth Office?
voluntary work?
8
4 . . . that young people with a mi-
. . . that government does not in- grant background are eligible for
terfere in such things as whether dual citizenship?
you arereligious or what religion
you have? 9
. . . that half of all students are
female?
10
. . . that a good family life is im-
portant for 90 percent of young
people in Germany?
W H AT M O V E S M E
The best way

to prevent
prejudices
Vincent Falasca, 20,
voluntary service worker
I
did my Abitur at a bi-lingual sixth-form col-
lege in Freiburg. The dual qualification was
really hard work. Many students took a gap
year afterwards. I didnt want to go straight to
uni, but didnt want to just have the time for my-
self either. While looking for voluntary work
with a political and historical focus, I came
across the Action Reconciliation Service for
Peace. A perfect choice. For a period of 12 months
I worked in the Illinois Holocaust Museum and
Education Center in Chicago, one of the most
important Holocaust memorial and education
centres in the United States.
I had already had some exposure to Jewish his-

tory and culture in the form of books by Franz
Kafka, music by Asaf Avidan or travels with my
family. I wanted to deepen my knowledge while
in the USA. I would definitely recommend a vol-
untary year abroad. It is the best way to prevent
racism and prejudices.
ENGAGEMENT & VOLUNTEERING
Active leisure time helping

others as a volunteer
M
any young people in Ger- are active in new social movements
many are choosing to do fighting to give globalisation a just side
something for the good of soci- and warning against the negative social,
ety in their free time. There are count- economic, and environmental conse-
less opportunities and lots of people quences of global capitalism. Overall,
taking part. In 2014 half of all 12-to-19- many are committed to issues that take
year-olds said that they do something an international perspective and aim to
for others on an unpaid and charitable create a better world. They find direction
basis. This also fits with the values that in non-governmental organisations like
are important to young people and are Amnesty International, Greenpeace,
part of their personal lifestyles. For ex- foodwatch, or Friends of the Earth Ger-
ample, 60 percent comment: It is im- many (BUND). Incidentally, 66 percent
portant to me to help those who are so- of young people also believe itis impor-
cially disadvantaged. For 32 percent, tant to be environmentally aware. The
political involvement is a high priority, youth wings of political parties, trade
as the Shell Youth Study 2015 shows. unions, and the churches offer no end of
The figure is almost a tenth more than
in the year 2010 and shows that interest GLOBAL
in politics is on the rise again.
Peaceful understanding
Sports, the church, culture, and the res- Theatre workshops, sports competitions, en-
cue services are among the most com- vironmental projects: the Franco-German
and the German-Polish Youth Offices bring
mon fields chosen by those who want to
young people together and promote
make a difference. Environment, animal
exchange.
protection, and conservation are like-
wise very popular. Many young people
Helping other people getting involved in social projects is very important for many young people
possibilities for getting involved. It ap-

pears, however, that young people often DIAGRAM
find traditional organisations not spon-
taneous enough or too rigid.
Ever since military service was abolished

in Germany, volunteer assignments with
a posting abroad are becoming increas-
ingly attractive. Examples include the
state-financed programme kulturweit
60
80
Digital natives
run by the German UNESCO Commis- 80 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds and 60 per-
sion or the weltwrts developmental cent of 14-to-17-year-olds believe that they are
volunteer service. better at using the Internet than their parents.
M I G R AT I O N & I N T E G R AT I O N
Open for new citizens

l anguage, the key to success
G
ermany has around 81.2 million country of origin of their parents
inhabitants. Some 16.4 million of but are also German citizens if their par-
these are migrants or have parents ents have legally lived in Germany for at
who come from abroad: in other words least eight years. Since the end of 2014
more than one in five. Over half of all they no longer have to choose between
people with a migrant background hold the two citizenships on reaching the age
a German passport. Since 2000, children of majority if they have grown up in
who have foreign parents and were born Germany. Facilitating dual citizenship is
in Germany are citizens not only of the just one example of how Germany en-
deavours to integrate people from other
LIST nations and to recognise cultural diver-
sity. The government promotes equal
People with a migrant background in
opportunities, and the General Anti-
Germany today
Discrimination Act aims to prevent
Turkey: 2,859,000
discrimination. More acceptance for

migration is important; 15 percent of
Poland: 1,617,000 participants in the Shell Youth Study
2015 agree with this statement, com-
Russian Federation: 1,188,000 pared to only five percent in 2006.
Kazakhstan: 921,000 While considerable progress has been

made in integration, there is still room
Italy: 764,000 for improvement, for example as re-
gards education and training for young
Romania: 593,000
people. Those with a migrant back-
ground often have fewer opportunities
than their fellow students. Those with tests and additional coaching begin in kin-
poor German reading and writing skills dergartens. Over two thirds of migrants
are at a disadvantage when embarking are happy living in Germany. According to
ona career. Specifically, over 30 percent of the opinion pollsters such as the Allens-
the 20-to-29-year-old foreigners have no bach Institute most (58 percent) see
vocational qualifications. And only 13per- themselves as part of German society. On-
cent gain a high school certificate com- ly 5 percent do not feel they belong. Over
pared with 34 percent of German youth. half of migrants would like their children
Language is the key to integration and to grow up in Germany. They see their fu-
success. Which is why language evaluation ture here.
Often young people with a migrant background do not enjoy such good opportunities as those without
a situation politicians seek to change
F A M I LY & F R I E N D S H I P
Diverse ways of living

living at home with your parents
T
here are many different lifestyles The relationship between parents
and ways of life in Germany. You and children is largely very good. Nat-
can either remain within the main- urally, there are conflicts, but often par-
stream or be outside of it. Alternative ents are like older friends or pals for
concepts for life are accepted as are dif- their children. 40 percent of the young-
ferent sexual orientations. The govern- sters polled in the Shell Youth Study
ment does not interfere in such things as 2015 say: My relationship with my
whether you are married to your part- parents is really good. Having a good
ner or not, whether you live together, or family life is one of the most import
if you want to have children. In all other ant values for young people. Indeed,
areas of life people are likewise given the one in three even say the way their par-
space for self-development. ents raised them is a model for how
What is a family? The classic family model

still involves a father, a mother, and chil- DIAGRAM
dren. But many other forms of family have 57
developed, too, such as same-sex parent
families, patchwork families, bi-national
70
families or single-parent families. Moreo-
ver, it is often the case that the f ather and
mother are not married. Every tenth cou-
ple with children in Germany has no mar- The value of family
riage certificate. And in an increasing 70 percent of young women believe that you
number of families, children live alone need your own family for personal happiness.
with a mother or father. Only 57 percent of young men believe this, or
so the Shell Youth Study shows.
These days families take many forms apart from the classic mother, father child(ren). German society reflects this
they will educate their own children. 2014 while 36 percent of the sons had
For their part many parents understand yet to leave the nest.
that encouragement, motivation, and
teaching someone to be independent
are more effective than being overly
authoritarian and imposing bans. GLOBAL
International generation
At some point the time comes for kids Since 2013, 37 percent of students from
to leave home. Young women usually Germany have gone abroad for a semester,
manage this earlier than their male an internship or a language course. And the
counterparts. At age 25 only one in five trend is increasing!
women still lived with their parents in
WORK & EQUALITY
Opportunities for all

prospects in the world of work
I
n Germany, men and women are 85percent. To give another example:
equal before the law. However, it at the Lufthansa Group, of 5,500 pilots,
has taken a long time for this to be- 300are women.
come a reality in everyday life. Since the
1960s, several generations of women have Although more and more women work
fought for equality and emancipation, in professions that require academic quali
leading to many barriers being torn down fications, in the job market men still have
that previously made it hard for girls and better chances of climbing the career lad-
young women to determine their own fu- der. The higher you go in management,
tures. By way of example: in Germany to- the fewer women there are. Only 21.4 per-
day just as many young women complete cent of the members of the supervisory
high school as do young men. The picture boards of publicly-listed companies
is similar in higher education, where half which monitor the actions of the execu-
of all students in Germany are women. tives were women in June 2015. This is
set to change: from 2016 there is to be a
Things are not quite so balanced between minimum quota of 30 percent women on
the sexes when it comes to the choice of
subject. Most significantly, young men are INFO
traditionally more interested in the so-
called STEM subjects, which are defined as Shell Youth Study
science, technology, engineering, and What makes young people in Germany tick?
maths. However, these days around What values are important to them? How do
they spend their leisure time? The 17th Shell
29percent of students in STEM subjects
Youth Study, published in 2015, tells you.
are female, whilst in medicine 65 percent
shell.de/aboutshell/our-commitment/
of all students are now women. In the vet-
shell-youth-study-2015.html
erinary sciences, the figure is as high as
the supervisory boards of 108 publicly DIAGRAM
listed corporations. If the company can-
not find a woman to fill the role, then the
71
position remains vacant.
Alongside this womens quota, there are

further regulations aimed at promoting
48
equal opportunities in the job market.
One example is a quota for the integra- Expectations of the world of work
71 percent of young people in Germany
tion of disabled people: employers who
seejob security as their top priority.
have over 20 employees must allocate
48 percent want to have ample leisure
five percent of their jobs to severely
timealongside work.
disabled people.
Although 50 percent of students today are women, when it comes to executive positions they still have some catching up to do
HISTORY & REMEMBRANCE
Learning from the past

living history
T
he Third Reich from 1933 to 1945, the ing the accounts of contempo-
Second World War, the Holocaust, rary witnesses in the form of videos or
and also Communist rule in the for- transcripts is particularly important.
mer East Germany all play a very impor- This way, an awareness of the crimes of
tant role in the collective memory of the the Second World War can be kept
German people. The primary focus here awake in future generations. Even those
is remembering the victims of Nazism. born 50 years after the end of the Sec-
And the brave people who were members ond World War must be able to learn
of the resistance to Adolf Hitler. Preserv- about peoples experiences of the period
between 1939 and 1945. There are many
LIST sites and monuments commemorating
the different groups of victims in Ger-
Museums in Berlin addressing
many. In the heart of Berlin, the Memo-
German history
rial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Jewish Museum
commemorates the six million Jewish
victims of the Holocaust.
Topography of Terror Documentation Center
Many people of your age are committed
Checkpoint Charlie Museum to keeping these memories alive and to
shaping a peaceful world. The Action
Berlin Wall Memorial Reconciliation Service for Peace works
to ensure critical and sensitive engage-
The DDR Museum (The GDR Museum) ment with the consequences of Nazi
crimes. Every year several hundred
The Berlin-Hohenschnhausen Memorial
young people complete voluntary assign-
ments in Europe, the USA, and Israel.
German Historical Museum
They work at memorial sites, support Remembrance of the Communist dicta-
Holocaust survivors, and work towards torship in East Germany from 1949 to
a more tolerant society. Peace work is 1990 is also kept alive. In the former East
an important basic focus of youth German Security Service HQ in Berlins
work. The Franco-German Youth Office Hohenschnhausen district visitors can
and the German-Polish Youth Office learn about the work of the Stasi (the
promote exchange between young former Ministry of State Security),
people, for example, through interesting which spied on, monitored, intimidated,
programmes and projects. and incarcerated citizens.
Keeping memories alive: the Holocaust Memorial in the heart of Germanys capital, Berlin
RELIGION & BELIEF
Open to other religions

in schools, too
P
eople in Germany enjoy free- this means nobody may be discriminat-
dom of speech and freedom of ed against on account of their religious
religion. These are among the key beliefs; there is no state church, politics
human rights. Article 4 of the German and religion are kept separate; religion is
Basic Law protects freedom of religion. a private matter. People of different reli-
It reads: Freedom of faith and of con- gious beliefs live in Germany peacefully
science, and freedom to profess a reli- alongside one another. Migration has
gious or philosophical creed, shall be created a more diverse religious world.
inviolable. The undisturbed practice of Some 47 million people belong to one of
religion shall be guaranteed. In practice the Christian denominations. Of them,
around 24 million are Catholics, and
some 23 million are Protestants. An
other third do not belong to any religion.
Many have also left the Church. This op-
tion is open to anyone in Germany over
the age of 18. The majority of people in
east Germany are atheists. The largest
religious communities include four to
INFO five million Muslims, 200,000 Jews, and
members of the Orthodox Christian
Religious instruction for all
The city state of Hamburg is blazing its faith and of Free Churches. In everyday
own trail in terms of religious instruction: life a persons religion does not play
here pupils of different faiths are taught much of a role. Government schools are
altogether in Religious instruction for all. obliged to offer religious instruction;
some states also offer instruction in the
Islamic religion.
COMPACT
Do you wish to know more about society

and engagement? Then youve come to
the right place.
Volunteer organisations that English-language website on

deploy young people abroad living, working, and studying in
and information on a year Germany.
spent in social volunteering. young-germany.de
weltwaerts.de,
kulturweit.de, bafza.de, The association DeutschPlus
bundesfreiwilligendienst.de Initiative for a Plural Republic
is designed to be a network
Fluter, the youth magazine centred on the theme of mi-
from the Federal Agency for gration.
Civic Education, addresses nu- bpb.de
merous current social themes.
fluter.de Both the Protestant and
Catholic Churches are
Youth Offices promote ex- committed to youth work.
change between young people bdkj.de,
in Germany and other evangelische-jugend.de
countries.
dfjw.org, dpjw.org, dtjw.de The Young Islam Conference
offers religious and non-reli-
gious young people a platform
for exchange.
junge-islamkonferenz.de
28 | 29 ENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES
3
ENDLESS
OPPORTUNITIES
INTRO
Entering training and the

world of work many roads
lead to Rome
School, degree course, profes- levels, which is one reason why Germany
is the third most popular country among
sion: in our globalised world, a
international students after the USA and
good education is the spring- the UK. However, anyone who doesnt
board to the future. The education complete the Abi or does not wish to study
system in Germany represents a at university still has a good chance of en-
good launch pad in this regard. tering a skilled profession. The dual educa-
tion model combines work and training
F
or young people in Germany, educa- and has been so successful for so long that
tion and training is very important. other countries are now adopting it as a
The education system offers them model. The fact that so many young people
numerous opportunities. Generally there in Germany have jobs is also down to the
is not just one route by which they can fact that they are educated so well and to
progress, but rather interesting alterna- the very latest standards.
tives and side routes. Firstly, as every-
where, there are different types of school
qualification. In formal terms the highest
qualification from a school is the Abitur,
or Abi for short, equivalent to a high
school certificate. Anyone who has this
under their belt can study at a university
and an increasing number of young
people are doing just that. In Germany VIDEO & AR APP
there are no fewer than 415 higher educa-
Endless opportunities
tion institutions! They guarantee academic
education at the highest inter national
tued.net/en/vid53
DID YOU KNOW . . .
1 5
. . . that there are around 415 . . . that the universities offer
higher education institutions 1,381 international courses and
inGermany? courses in foreign languages?
2 6
. . . that for international stu- . . . that there are over 301,000 for-
dents Germany is the most popu- eign students in Germany today?
lar host country after the United
States and Great Britain? 7
. . . that you can study for an in-
3 ternationally recognised Bachelor
. . . that you can train for some or Masters degree in Germany?
330 vocational programmes in
Germany? 8
. . . that there is compulsory
4 schooling for all children in Ger-
. . . that there are 140 German for- many?
eign schools and another 870
schools offering the Deutsches 9
Sprachdiplom (DSD) / German . . . that no fees are charged for
Language Diploma? attending state schools or most
of the universities in Germany?
10
. . . that Germany ranks amongst
the countries with the highest
employment rates in the EU?
Everything is
superbly
o rganised
Anastasiia Petrova, 21, student at
TH Mittelhessen, Campus Giessen
B
iology is my great passion. I was born in the
Ukraine and attended school there. After
graduating from high school I knew for sure
Iwanted to work in biology later on. When I found
out you could study bioinformatics in Germany I
knew straight away: thats what I want to do.
I wrote to several German universities and got a

reply from each with a lot of useful tips. That was
a wonderful experience. I decided on Technische
Hochschule Mittelhessen (THM). Everything is
superbly organised. The curriculum is well-struc-
tured, and the content is exciting. There is a bud-
dy programme under which students who have
studied longer help the newcomers both with
their studies but also outside university. Next se-
mester I would also like to help someone who is
new to the THM. I share accommodation with six
other girls, and we get on really well. Iam happy
I have found a new home here.
SCHOOL & TRAINING
Open school system

first-class education
S
ome 11 million children and single roof. Children wishing to go on
young people attend school in to study at a university typically attend
Germany. Whether you enjoy go- a Gymnasium. It is the most popular
ing to school or not: all children must type of high school. Pupils can get a
attend a school for at least nine years. high school certificate, the Abitur, af-
Compulsory education starts at the age ter 12 years of schooling (G8) or after
of six. Incidentally, no fees are charged 13(G9). Incidentally, the last two years
for attending government schools. And at a Gymnasium differ from the years
in contrast to several other countries before. Students now have options and
only around 10 percent of students in many choose to spend a year at a school
Germany attend a private school. abroad. The Abi qualifies you to study
at university.
What you need to know: in Germany
each federal state is responsible for its The dual education system offers an
schools each federal state enjoys inde- alternative to studying. As an intern
pendence in educational matters. In (Azubi) you are both a student and
practice this means school systems may
differ from one state to the next; and to GLOBAL
some extent where you live determines
the kind of school you attend. However, German international schools
all pupils begin by attending primary The 140 German international schools in
school, usually for four years. There are 72different countries provide a first-rate
education. These are attended by 20,800
four types of secondary school known
German and 61,000 non-German pupils.
as Hauptschule, Realschule, Gym-
The initiative Schools: Partners for the Fu-
nasium, and Gesamtschule. The lat-
ture (PASCH) links a further 2,000 schools
ter integrates the other three under a
that teach German.
auslandsschulwesen.de
Successful German model: the dual training scheme combines college and work, theory and practice
employed by a firm. You receive a DIAGRAM

monthly salary and pay into the social
security system. Depending on your
chosen career, training lasts between
two and three and a half years. There are 60,738
330 vocational programmes to choose
from in this regard. You attend vocation-
37,116
al school or college on one to two days
a week and spend the rest of the week Popular careers
in a firm learning what is importa nt In 2014 a total of 37,116 women trained as
inpractice. medical assistants, whilst 60,738 men chose
vocational programmes as automotive
mechatronics engineers.
STUDYING & UNIVERSITIES
Excellent research and

t eaching top unis
C
olourful, international, diverse: stronger practical skills find a
Germanys student landscape truly suitable course at one of the 207 uni-
has a lot to offer. If you want to versities of applied sciences. And for
studyin Germany you can choose from students with creative talents there are
among 415 universities. Basically, there 51 universities specializing in film, art
are three kinds: applicants who con- or music. Moreover, there are six teach-
sider themselves scientific and ana er-training colleges, 16 theological
lytical normally choose one of the colleges and 29 public administration
106 universities, while those with colleges. Together they offer some
18,000 courses, of which about 1,400
LIST have an international focus and are
held in a foreign language.
Oldest university: Heidelberg University
(founded 1386)
Word has spread among the world stu-
Newest university: Medizinische
dent community that Germany is a
Hochschule Brandenburg (founded 2014) great place to study. After the United
States and Great Britain, Germany is
Largest mainline university: Ludwig- the most popular choice. In a global
Maximilians-Universitt Mnchen comparison of universities four Ger-
(50,327 students) man universities ranked in the top 100
in 2015, and seven made it to the top
University that appeals most to leading 200. The universities of the excellence
international scientist and new talents: initiative are the lighthouses of the
Freie Universitt Berlin
university scene. Graduates of German
(Humboldt Ranking 2014)
universities are very sought after by
employers, especially the scientists, en- many students from abroad first take a
gineers, and doctors among them. preparatory or intensive language course
at a university. Good German courses
Those that do not speak much German abroad are also offered by the 159 Goethe
generally manage well with English in Institutes in 98 countries.
everyday life as many people speak the
language. However, apart from the Provided you pass the relevant exams
international courses, German is often you will be entitled to use the title
used in lectures and seminars. This Bachelor or Master at the end of your
means you need to prove you have a studies. A Bachelors course generally
good knowledge of German to be admit- lasts three years and is modular in
ted to certain subjects. Which is why structure. For a Masters degree you
Centre of exchange and knowledge: German universities stand for a first-class education
have to study an additional two to four the 2.7 million students in 2014 around
semesters. Incidentally, in Germany an 301,300 were foreign students. Today,
academic year consists of two semes- every German university has an Inter-
ters. The degrees are recognised international Office. The latter provides stu-
nationally. The European Credit Trans- dents from abroad with tips and
fer System (ECTS) means qualifications information on such important topics
within the European Union education as residence requirements, accommo-
system are readily comparable. This dation, and life in Germany. Moreover,
makes things easier should you move German students are cosmopolitan
to another university. And for those and keen to spend time abroad. Since
with greater academic ambitions there 2013 the number of students going
are attractive options for doing a PhD. abroad to study for a semester or do
aninternship has risen from 32 to 37per-
There is a clear emphasis on inter- cent. In particular the EUs Erasmus+
nationality at German universities as programme helps many students gain
increasing numbers of young people an international perspective. If you are
are flocking to Germany to study. Of interested in studying in Germany you
can contact DAAD, the German Aca-
demic Exchange Service. It coordinates
exchanges between students and aca-
demics, is committed to the inter-
nationalisation of universities, and
awards many interesting scholarships.
Germany has an excellent education

INFO system in which it invests heavily. The
amount rose to a good 120 billion Eu-
Exciting metropolises, idyllic towns ros in 2014. By contrast, studying in
You can study practically everywhere in Ger- Germany is not too expensive. And
many. There is always a lot going on in the typically students attending state uni-
big cites, while smaller towns often score for
versities must not pay fees.
their special student atmosphere.
MAP
Huge selection, many offers

every university is different
Lively: There is an enormous

choice for students in German cities.
In Berlin alone there are four
Charming: Few inhabitants,
universities from which to choose.
many students: Mnster,
Freiburg, or Gttingen are
real student towns with a
special campus flair.
Hamburg
Berlin
Innovative: It need not always

Mnster be the really big universities.
Often smaller unis offer interest-
Technical: They enjoy world ing and innovative combinations
Aachen
renown for their excellent of subjects.

research and teaching; Ger-
Kassel Dresden
manys technical universities
attract students from all over
the world.
Frankfurt
Nuremberg
Heidelberg Inventive: Research is also

conducted outside universities.
Highly traditional: Many uni-
InGermany there are four large
versities can look back on
research organisations who
long traditions, but are all the
workon theoretical and practical
more innovative in the range
solutions for the future.
of subjects they offer and the
research they do.
Munich
INFO GRAPHIC
Signpost to success the

German education system
School After primary school, children move on to a secondary

school. There are various types of schools to choose from
these lead to various different qualifications.
*Duration of education including primary school
9 years 10 years 11/12 years 12/13 years*

Hauptschule second- Realschule secondary Vocational diploma Abitur high school
ary school qualification school qualification certificate and university
entrance qualification
Training When it comes to vocational training

there are two alternatives: a vocational
approx.
330
training course or training at a vocational
college.
vocational programmes
2,455 in Germany
vocational colleges
duration
23.5
years
12 days
(per week)
attending a
vocational college
34 days
(per week) working in a company
Degree course Research, practical emphasis, or a focus
on the arts: in Germany there are three
106
types of university.
universities
415
higher education
institutions
207
universities of applied sciences
51
film, art or
music colleges
Also: 6 teacher-training colleges,
16 theological colleges, 29 pub-
lic administration colleges
17,731 At the start of the millennium the old

study courses Diploma and Magister qualifications
were abolished in favour of degree 7,833
Masters degree
qualifications that are now recognised
internationally. courses
7,817
Sources: German Federal Ministry of Labour, destatis, German Rectors Conference
Bachelors degree
courses
Most popular subject groups (winter semester 2014/15, number of students)

Law, economics, and social sciences 822,745
Engineering 545,408
Languages and cultural studies 499,561
Mathematics, natural sciences 490,433
Life sciences / health sciences 157,166
W O R K & Q U A L I F I C AT I O N S
Prime career prospects

a ttractive employment
o pportunities
T
he prospects for young people among EU member states. Skilled
in the job market are good. young workers from non-EU coun-
Qualified skilled workers are most tries can also seek work in Germany.
in demand in medical and technical/ Of course many of them wish to work
scientific professions. For engineers for one of Germanys global players,
and technicians, the opportunities are but medium-sized firms in the auto-
similarly plentiful: Germany is one of motive, energy, and mechanical engin
the countries with the highest rates of eering industries are also looking for
employment in the EU and has the new employees. Many of these com
lowest percentage of youth jobless panies are innovative world market
leaders with successful products. Promis-
ing start-ups are also being set up all
over Germany, most significantly in the
capital Berlin.
Most companies score points for their

good work environments, and more
and more young workers place great
INFO emphasis on a good work-life balance.
Young mothers and fathers too can
Career Compass Germany
The free Career Compass Germany app gives now shape their careers differently
information in German and English on edu- than earlier generations. Migrants rep-
cation/training, studying, and working in resent an important economic factor:
Germany. more than 700,000 people with a mi-
deutschland.de grant background own a business.
COMPACT
Be it school, university, or the job market:

there are plenty of experts to help you.
The 140 German international The DAAD is the largest or-

schools in 72 countries provide ganisation for the promotion
an excellent education. of exchange among students
bva.bund.de and academics.
daad.de, studieren-in.de
The PASCH Initiative links up
2,000 schools worldwide for The 159 Goethe Institutes
which German is an important worldwide promote German
subject. asa language and cultivate
pasch-net.de cultural cooperation.
goethe.de
The Higher Education Com-
pass provides information on The multilingual portal of the
German universities and inter- Make it in Germany campaign
national collaborations. offers numerous tips.
hochschulkompass.de make-it-in-germany.com
Tips on studying and living in The German Federal Employ-

Germany are available from ment Agency provides
the Deutsches Studentenwerk information on the topic of
(the German National Associ employment.
ation for Student Affairs). arbeitsagentur.de
internationale-
studierende.de
42 | 43 NEW IDEAS
4
NEW IDEAS
INTRO
Future issues and

innovations good ideas
made in Germany
Technology that benefits the en- Nowadays developments that are good
vironment, top-level research: for the environment are particularly
ideas for tomorrow are generated popular. Germany is among the leading
countries in terms of green technolo-
day in, day out at corporations,
gies, which promote environmental pro-
higher education institutions, and tection or the use of renewable energies.
research facilities in Germany. Two million people in Germany work in
the field of environmental technology to-
G
ermany is a land of ideas. This day. Germany is among the pioneers in
is demonstrated by the fact that international climate policy. With a raft of
more than 80 Nobel Prizes have initiatives, it aims to prevent the advance
gone to Germans to date. In Chemistry, of global warming and the associated de-
for example, Stefan W. Hell was award- struction of livelihoods.
ed the coveted prize in 2014 for develop-
ing super-resolution microscopy. The
many participants in the German youth
science competition Jugend forscht also
have a head for good ideas. School pu-
pils can submit their science inventions
for this competition, for instance, gen-
erating electricity from yog hurt or
transforming straw into paper in an en- VIDEO & AR APP
vironmentally friendly way. More than
New ideas
235,000 aspiring scientists have taken
part over the last 50 years.
tued.net/en/vid54
44 | 45 NEW IDEAS
DID YOU KNOW . . .
1 6
. . . that more than 80 Nobel Prizes . . . that the German electricity
have gone to Germans? grid is 1.79 million kilometres
long? That is enough to circle the
2 Equator 45 times.
. . . that Germany is considered the
European champion in inventions? 7
. . . that in 2014, 26 percent of
3 electricity in Germany was al-
. . . that there are 360,900 research- ready generated by renewable
ers working in Germany? energy sources?
4 8
. . . that Germany is among the . . . that the plan is for around
worlds three largest exporting 80percent of electricity in Ger-
nations? many to come from renewable
energy sources by 2050?
5
. . . that Germany is the fourth 9
largest economic power in the . . . that Germany is one of the
world? most sustainable industrialised
nations?
10
. . . that each year 18,000 new
jobs are created by the energy
reform alone?
You can sense the

creative atmosphere
everywhere
Alexander Meiritz, 27,
co-founder of eMio-Sharing
M
y friends Hauke and Valerian and I registered
with a car-sharing service in Berlin some time
ago. It didnt take long for us to get annoyed
with the idea: there are simply not enough parking
spaces. Which is why we founded eMio, a sharing
service for scooters. The three of us developed a pro-
totype and purchased a small test fleet of four
scooters. We opted for e-scooters, because they are
fun to drive and environmentally friendly. At night
our student assistants replace the empty batteries
on the scooters with fully charged ones. Our app
shows where there is a scooter that is not in use and
unlocks it for the new users. A total of 150 of our
scooters have been flitting about Berlin since June
2015. Seeing people using them is a fantastic feeling.
We were able to realise our idea because we won an

EU competition and received scholarships. Lots of
start-ups get help from their professors. You can feel
this vibrant atmosphere of creativity in the air all
over Berlin. A great many start-ups make their
dreams reality here.
46 | 47 NEW IDEAS
BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
Strong brands and

s uccessful products
J
eans, phone, car, computer, cent of firms are small and medium-
MP3 format, beer: everyone sized companies. Most people also work
knows these inventions. They all in the SME sector, and it is also where
come from Germany or Germans most young people learn a profession.
helped develop them. There is a long list Given that the economy is so successful,
of innovative ideas and inventions from unemployment is low in Germany. The
Germany and the products they have automobile industry is one of the trend-
resulted in. The quality seal Made in setters in the economy. Audi, BMW,
Germany stands for originality and Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Opel are
quality. Another reason that German major employers: 775,000 people work
firms are so innovative is that around for the German automobile industry. The
80 billion euros are invested in research latest trend is self-driving cars, where
and development annually. Many com- you dont need to steer or change gear.
panies are already on their way to German manufacturers aspire to lead
Industry 4.0, also known as the fourth the field in automated vehicle functions
industrial revolution, because the ma-
chines of the future will be able to make
decisions on their own and will be GLOBAL
closely networked.
Wellspring of ideas
Germany is the single largest economy Source of new ideas Germany is considered
in the European Union and after the the European champion in inventions: in
2014, German companies submitted around
USA, China, and Japan number four in
32,000 patent a pplications to the European
the world. Naturally there are numer-
Patent Office. Innovations are a key basis for
ous major corporations and global play-
the economys competitiveness.
ers in Germany. But more than 99 per-
Plenty of good ideas: in Jugend forscht school pupils show, for instance, how gas is made from green electricity
and are investing a great deal in their

development. German companies are DIAGRAM
also sector leaders in mechanical en
gineering, not to mention in the chem
17.9
icals and optical industries.
Innovations are the engine driving the

economy. Without them there would be
no progress. There are 605,000 people
14.5
working in research and development Fully networked
in Germany. In total, in 2014 exactly Germany exports a great deal and is the most
116,702 German patents were in force. strongly networked country in the world. The
top articles exported are motor vehicles
(17.9%) and machines (14.5%).
48 | 49 NEW IDEAS
EXCELLENCE & RESEARCH
Famous institutes,
international teams
T
heir passion is new ideas, unknown vides the lions share of research
territory: scientists in Germany spending. However, the Federal Govern-
research the body, plants, animals, ment also funds education and research
virtual space, the oceans depths, and to the tune of no less than 15.3 billion
outer space. They advance knowledge in euros in 2015. With a high-tech strategy,
every aspect of life. Research has a long it supports researchers in finding an-
tradition in Germany and offers excel- swers to important questions and in
lent opportunities including for young quickly implementing their ideas, in
scientists from abroad. Industry pro- fields such as digitalisation, sustainabil
ity, the working world, healthcare, mo-
LIST bility, and civil security.
The very first Nobel Prize in 1901 went to

Universities play a key role in the Ger-
Wilhelm Conrad Rntgen for his discovery
man research world. Alongside teach-
of X-rays.
ing, basic research is the second pillar
The only woman among German scientists of the universities. There are numerous
who have won a Nobel Prize is biologist familiar names: 15 large and research-
Christiane Nsslein-Volhard (1995). focussed universities are affiliated in the
German U15 initiative. They include
One of the best-known German Nobel Prize Heidelberg University and Ludwig-Maxi
laureates is Albert Einstein (1921). He emi- milians-Universitt in Mnchen. These
grated to the USA in 1933. universities and Technische Universitt
Munich are often among the frontrun-
The most recent Nobel Prize winners are
ners in international rankings. Numer-
neuroscientist Thomas C. Sdhof (2013) and
ous top researchers work at one of the
Stefan W. Hell (2014).
very many internationally-renowned
research institutes run by the Max Planck It goes without saying that German
Society, Helmholtz Association, Fraun- research is highly international. The best
hofer Gesellschaft, and Leibniz Associ results are often the result of teamwork
ation. There are also many interesting with fellow researchers in other disciplines
opportunities here for up-and-coming
and from all over the world. Today, ten
researchers from abroad, for instance, percent of employees at German higher
doctoral studies. The DFG, the German education institutions come from abroad.
Research Foundation, is responsible for And almost half of scientific publications
promoting science. It is the largest organ- are written by researchers in Germany
isation of its kind in Europe. working in international teams.
Diversity is the best basis for research: international teams, composed of both men and women, are standard
50 | 51 NEW IDEAS
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Green technologies,
new mobility concepts
I
f you travel around Germany you electric cars not powered by petrol or
will no doubt notice the countless diesel on the roads by 2020. This is also
wind farms. In fact, today more than a intended to further reduce emissions of
quarter of Germanys electricity is gener- environmentally harmful carbon dioxide.
ated using renewable energy. And in the
cities the number of charging stations for Wind power and electro-mobility are
electric cars is increasing fast. Electric ve- both core elements of the energy reform,
hicles are destined to become ever more as Germany has a major objective: it is the
widespread. The Federal Government has first industrialised nation to resolve to
set a target of getting around one million phase out atomic power. Gradually all the
nuclear power stations in Germany will
be decommissioned by 2022. The slack
will be taken up by expanding generation
using renewable energy and further en-
hancing energy efficiency. Germany is
making good progress in generating an
ever greater proportion of electricity using
wind power, biomass, solar energy, hydro-
INFO electric power, and household waste. By
2025, 40 to 45 percent of electricity is in-
Out and about by bus, train or bicycle
In 2014, a good 81 percent of households tended to come from renewables. With
owned at least one bicycle. An alternative this sustainable concept, Germany is also
means of environmentally friendly mobility: making an important contribution to
buses and trains. In the first half of 2015, achieving the United Nations climate
5.6billion passengers used scheduled public protection goals.
transport services.
COMPACT
Do you find the work done by German

companies exciting? Does research fascinate
you? More information is available here:
The Jugend forscht competi- Top-level research is conduct-

tion selects talented up-and- ed at the institutes run by the
coming researchers every year. Max Planck Society, Fraun-
jugend-forscht.de hofer Gesellschaft, Helmholtz
Association, and Leibniz Asso-
The German Research Founda- ciation.
tion (DFG) promotes research mpg.de, fraunhofer.de,
at higher education institutions helmholtz.de,
and research centres. leibniz-gemeinschaft.de
dfg.de
Key industry associations are the
The Research in Germany Association of German Cham-
website provides an overview of bers of Commerce and Industry
the German research world (DIHK) and the Federation of
and funding options for aspir- German Industries (BDI).
ing researchers. dihk.de, bdi.eu
research-in-germany.org
52 | 53 CREATIVE MINDS
5
CREATIVE MINDS
INTRO
A booming creative scene

a lab for budding talents from
the world over
Cinema, art, games, music, deed, today even computer games and
design: Germanys cultural scene fi lm animations are quite often made in
is rich, diverse, vibrant, full of Germany, making its cultural and cre-
ative scene pretty cool and exciting. Ber-
surprises and international
lin is one of the worlds trendsetting
perspectives. hubs for hip ideas. Mind you, creative
projects are also masterminded in Ham-
burg, Munich, and Frankfurt am Main.
M
ost likely you have heard of the fam- In fact, Frankfurt-based companies ani-
ous composers Bach, Beethoven, mated the dragons in Game of Thrones
and Brahms, or of great writers and created the special effects for Martin
such as Goethe (Faust), Schiller (The Scorseses award-winning movie Hugo
Robbers) and Thomas Mann (Budden- Cabret.
brooks). Germany is proud of its clas-
sics. A typical feature of Germanys
cultural world has always been its rich
diversity. Today, completely different
currents keep evolving and exist along-
side one another. Classical music and
Rock music, Indie and Mainstream. Per-
haps you too like listening to the tunes
of German music producers and DJ Felix VIDEO & AR APP
Jaehn? Or you have witnessed live per-
Creative minds
formances by DJs Sven Vth, the God-
father of Techno, or Paul van Dyk? In-
tued.net/en/vid55
DID YOU KNOW . . .
1 5
. . . that a Frankfurt-based com . . . that 14 million people in
pany did the animation for the Germany play music or sing in
dragons in the US fantasy series a choir in their spare time?
Game of Thrones?
6
2 . . . that young musicians all over
. . . that there are more than the world think very highly of
500music festivals in Germany? Germanys music academies?
3 7
. . . that 1.5 million people work . . . that the German book market
in Germanys creative industry? brings out some 80,000 new
publications each year?
4
. . . that many stars of youth 8
culture come from immigrant . . . that there are 630 art museums
families? with fantastic collections?
9
. . . that Deutsche Welle radio
and TV station broadcasts its
programmes in 30 different
languages?
10
. . . that German cultural insti-
tutes, i.e., the Goethe Institutes,
are represented in 98 countries?
We would found
abusiness again
anytime
Mengting Gao, 26, co-founder
of the App Kitchen Stories
A
s a student I already knew that I wanted to
launch my own company straight after col-
lege. Then I met Verena at university near
Koblenz. We had plenty of ideas for a start-up. But
it was only business models to do with food that
really grabbed us.
I used to watch a lot of cooking shows. Quite often

the dishes presented on TV are difficult to repli-
cate at home. People cannot remember some basic
steps, like how to blanch vegetables. This prompt-
ed us to develop the App Kitchen Stories. To real-
ise our idea we moved to Berlin, borrowed money
from our parents, I sold my car then we got
going. Berlin is very open to new ideas. People in
the start-up scene know and support one another.
With our app anyone can cook even the most bril-
liant of international meals. We make sure our
recipes are high quality and get top chefs on board
to test them. So far our App has been downloaded
by more than 7 million people worldwide. We
would found a business again anytime.
PROJECTS & STORIES
Creative companies
new perspectives
C
omputer games, animation, Mind you, the old-established art forms
the Internet, and apps: the cre- have advanced further too. Today they
ative industry is one of the most are more open to experimenting and
exciting commercial sectors in Ger keen to bring together lots of different
many. Living in a digitalised world, we facets. People with migrant backgrounds
use the Internet and smartphones in are injecting new perspectives and stor
almost all areas of life. This kick-start- ies into the scene, drawing inspiration
ed and accelerated the creative indus- from the fact that they have feet in both
trys rapid growth. Today there are worlds. In Berlin Shermin Langhoffs
around 250,000 creative companies in Maxim Gorki Theater is regularly setting
Germany, including agencies, design new benchmarks: many of the actors are
firms, and galleries. Plus music busi- from families with migrant roots and the
nesses, film, and post-production com- plays are often told from their perspec-
panies. 1.5 million people work for a tive. renk. online magazine, the first
creative company always on the look- German-Turkish medium for art and
out for new talents. The creative scene culture, is also made in Berlin. Other
is not as rigidly structured as some other
sectors. Many creative minds do not GLOBAL
have fixed employment contracts but
tend to be freelancers or self-employed. First-year art students
And they are always embarking on new Cosmopolitan and international: in 2013, the
projects. 97 percent of companies in the number of foreign students who enrolled as

freshmen at German art academies was
creative sector are small and micro-
greater than that for German new entrants
enterprises. And because the sector is still
for the first time.
very young and receives funding, there
are creative clusters in many regions.
How to animate a doll? Nowadays you can find out exactly how at many German universities
creative minds with a migrant back-

ground work in the film industry and DIAGRAM
are highly successful, as German-Turkish
director Bora Dagtekin has demonstrat-
ed. Millions of people flocked to the cin
emas to see his comedy Fack ju Ghte. 145
While Tschick, a novel by Wolfgang
Herrndorf about the friendship between
31
two Berlin boys from different milieus,
enjoys cult status. The book has been Successful creative industry
translated into 24 languages. The film, In 2013, the creative industry booked total
directed by German-Turkish star direc- sales of some 145 billion euros. The most im-
tor Fatih Akin, is set to be released in Ger- portant sector is Software and Games, which
man cinemas in 2016. alone accounts for sales of 31 billion euros.
STREET ART & RAP
Flashy faades and

critical overtones
N
o matter what German city you visit: you, many municipalities to-
you will come across graffiti art on the day commission street artists
walls of buildings and underground with pieces destined to embellish the city-
stations, lampposts adorned with pieces of scapes. And whether their output is legal or
guerrilla knitting, rubbish bins with cookie illegal, one thing is for sure: street artists
monster eyes, and noise protection barriers ideas are highly unusual and off the cuff.
sprayed with messages. Street artists trans- And quite often they are critical in their
form the public realm into exhibition works or say what bothers them.
spaces. Of course you cannot simply spray
any wall you like as thats prohibited. Mind Social criticism also looms large on the
music scene. Most Hip Hop and Rap art-
LIST ists have little in common with their
counterparts in the United States. Be it
The Rap song that sold the most in Germany
Cro, Die Fantastischen Vier, Fettes Brot,
is: Au Revoir by Mark Forster in cooperat
or the legendary Shne Mannheims with
ion with Sido
frontman Xavier Naidoo: Rap made in
Germanys best-selling Rap album ever: Germany is decidedly witty, has a fine
Stadtaffe by Peter Fox feel for the language and puts people in
a good mood. Many Rappers including
The most-streamed song in Germany: those with migrant backgrounds tend
Cheerleader by OMI, in the Felix Jaehn to write their lyrics in German. And Ger-
remix version man-language music is clearly gaining
sway amongst young people: in June 2015
German-language artists with the most three German-speaking stars made it
no. 1 singles in the German charts:
into the Top Ten album charts a first in
Nena and Xavier Naidoo
Germanys music chart history.
MAP
Many talents, cool ideas, and

exciting projects
Creative north: Hamburg is a cen-

tre of media and music production.
Major publishing houses and news-
Beacon: Berlin is the heart of the
paper publishers are based here, Hamburg creative industry. It is here that
asare some leading ad agencies.
Artistic Director Shermin Langhoff
turned her vision of the post-
migrant theatre into reality.
Berlin
No. 1 TV hotspot: The most

World Heritage Site:
minutes on air are produced in
The Bauhaus was one of the
Cologne as many as in Ham-
key creative movements
burg, Berlin, and all of Bavaria
in the 20th century. The
taken together. Leipzig
Bauhaus University con-
Cologne tinues this tradition today.
Upcoming location: IT, broad-
Weimar casting services, film, trade fairs,
and marketing in Leipzig the
cluster of creative industries
Frankfurt boasts an impressive seven sub-
sectors.
Centre of ad and creative agencies:

The financial capital of Frankfurt is
home to many international ad-
vertising agencies and successful
creative enterprises. Munich Successful south: In Munich, as
many as 117,000 people work for
29,000 companies in the creative
industry. Thats 10 percent of all
companies in the region!
MEDIA & OPINION
Facts and exciting stories

onall channels
I
n Germany, everybody is free schau, one of the major evening bulle
to write and say what they want tins on TV. This is followed by the
provided they do not violate other website spiegelonline.de and the search
peoples basic rights. This is known as free- engine Google. In addition, there are chil-
dom of the press and freedom of expres- drens TV news channels such as Kika, and
sion. In Germany all citizens enjoy these news broadcasts catering especially to a
freedoms, which are guaranteed by the young audience. And at the end of 2016
constitution. Newspapers, radio, and tele- Germanys two main broadcasting sta-
vision broadcasters are not owned by the tions, ARD and ZDF, will be launching a
government or by individual parties, but special TV channel for young people on
are regulated by private or public law. And the Internet.
of course there is no censorship that tells
people what they ought to say and think! Girls and boys do not watch the same pro-
grammes: girls aged between 13 and 16
Young people regard the media as part love soaps, while boys prefer to watch sit-
and parcel of everyday life. Their no. 1 coms. Model Heidi Klum presents the
source of information is the Internet, fol-
lowed by radio and TV. And even though GLOBAL
90 percent of Germanys young popula-
tion uses social media such as Facebook, Deutsche Welle
WhatsApp, and the like, they still read Deutsche Welle (DW) is Germanys inter
books, newspapers, and magazines, al- national broadcasting service. It broadcasts

viaTV, radio, and the Internet in a total
though they spend less time with these
of 30 languages. In 2015 Deutsche Welle
media. When it comes to political topics,
started its 24/7 English language programme.
young people use different sources of in-
dw.com
formation: most of them watch Tages
Young people in Germany use the Internet 24/7
show Germanys next Top Model, making

her the most important media idol for DIAGRAM
girls. Boys like the presenter and comedian
Stefan Raab.
Perhaps you know the feeling that you

cannot believe everything you read on the
90.2
Internet? When 12 to 19-year-olds have to 72.6
decide on the reliability of one media
source over another, the majority of them Facts from the Internet
tend to opt for a traditional analogue me- The Internet is the single most important infor-
dium: the newspaper (40 percent). mation resource for young people. 90.2 percent
go online to obtain information, 72.6 percent
watch TV, 57.2 percent read the paper.
GAMES & ADVENTURES
Fun and games successful

games developers
M
agic worlds, twisting laby- revolutionised gaming designs and bagged
rinths, strategic and tactical a whole host of awards for their superb
moves: you have probably en- graphic art. Today gaming is one of the
joyed the one or other afternoon playing a most important branches in the creative
computer game developed and designed industry, combining film, video, music,
in Berlin, Frankfurt, or Hamburg. Video text, and animation.
gamers around the world are very familiar
with the Made in Germany seal. Since If you are interested in qualifying as a
the 1990s the country has been a games games developer, then Berlin is the place to
industry hub, employing internationally go. It offers an excellent infrastructure, but
acclaimed games developers who have also universities and places of training. The
most important is the Games Academy,
a special school for games development.
Cologne, on the other hand, is the host city
of Gamescom the worlds biggest event
for computer and video games. In 2015,
the fair attracted 345,000 visitors from
96countries. For some years now, the Fed-
eral Ministry of Transport and Digital In-
INFO frastructure (BMVI) has selected the best
German computer game, together with
IT trade fair CeBIT
What can the latest smartphone do? the professional associations and the Stif-
How does a popular tablet PC lie in the hand? tung Digitale Spielekultur, the foundation
The specialist trade fair CeBIT attracts more for digital gaming culture.
than 200,000 interested visitors to Hanover
every year. There you can try out the latest in-
novations, hands-on. cebit.de
COMPACT
Would you like to find out more about

culture and the creative industry? Then
simply visit one of the following links.
Courageous, migrant, refresh- The Games Academy is a school

ingly different: the Maxim for budding computer and
Gorki Theater in Berlin. video games designers and de-
gorki.de velopers with offices in Berlin
and Frankfurt am Main.
Berlins Haus der Kulturen games-academy.de
derWelt is a centre for inter-
national cultural exchange. Ever since 2003 the Popakade-
hkw.de mie Baden-Wrttemberg in
Mannheim has trained students
The Karlsruhe Center for Art in Pop music and the music
and Media (ZKM) provides in- industry.
sights into art in the digital age. popakademie.de
zkm.de
With its Cultural and Creative
Gamescom in Cologne is the Industry initiative the Federal
worlds biggest trade-fair for Government encourages the
interactive games and enter- sectors competitiveness.
tainment. kultur-kreativ-wirtschaft.de
gamescom.de
64 | 65 GLOBAL LIVING
6
GLOBAL LIVING
INTRO
The digital self and urban

lifestyle inquisitive citizens
of the world
Mobile generation: young Germany is a country in which people

people in Germany like to go from all over the world live together
places. Both in the wide expanses peacefully. Immigrants and their chil-
dren bring fresh ideas and perspectives
of the social networks and in
with them. In popular youth culture
reality. What is important is the big names are often young people
open-mindedness. with a migrant background. And in
the German national football squad a
cosmopolitan approach is the recipe for
J
ust like you, young people in Germa- success. Sami Khedira, Jrme Boateng,
ny are inquisitive and modern citi- Mesut zil oder lkay Gndoan are
zens of the world. They are networked role models for an entire generation, in-
with friends via social media and want to cluding outside Germany.
find out what others are doing and plan-
ning. They naturally also have friends in
many countries in real life. Most young
people in Germany consider globalisation
to be an opportunity. Around one in four
young adults has lived abroad at some
point. A school year abroad or study resi-
dence in another country is particularly
important for many people. Some also VIDEO & AR APP
gain their first insights into the world and
Global living
work by taking part in the Working Holi-
day Programme.
tued.net/en/vid56
DID YOU KNOW . . .
1 5
. . . that on average 10 to 17-year- . . . that young people spend
olds in Germany do 37 minutes of 1.5hours a day using a computer
exercise a day? or smartphone?
2 6
. . . that there are 72 million bi . . . that 94 percent of young
cycles in Germany? For 30 percent people in Germany own an Inter-
of households in large cities, the net-enabled smartphone?
bicycle is the only means of trans-
portation they own. 7
. . . that on average 16-year-olds
3 get 36 euros pocket money a
. . . that there are 91,000 sports month and 18-year-olds 63 euros?
clubs in Germany?
8
4 . . . that the most famous club is
. . . that Frankfurt am Main is the the Berghain in Berlin?
most international city in Ger
many? There, one in every three 9
inhabitants is of foreign origin. . . . that in Germany the sun
shines for no less than 1,670
hours each year?
10
. . . that there are more than
260long-distance coach routes
in Germany?
I have a big goal:

the Olympics
Michelle Timm, 18, gymnast in
the national squad
I
ve been doing gymnastics since I was three. I
tried out ballet and high diving, but I liked
gymnastics best. Ive been going to a sports
school in Berlin for ten years. All my schoolmates
also do competitive sports. In my class every-
thing is geared to us athletes, so the teachers
know how much work we can manage. I train for
five or six hours a day. Tough going? Yes. But I
have a goal.
My dream is to take part in the 2016 Olympic

Games in Rio de Janeiro. Im doing my A-Levels
at the same time. After that Id like to go to uni-
versity. It is important to Germany that athletes
are also well educated. Sports funding provides
us with financial support. At the moment it pays
for the straps that protect my hands on the bars
and that need to be replaced every few weeks,
and the expensive competition leotards. We ath-
letes are used to taking a disciplined approach.
In a way we are also educated by sport.
T R AV E L & D I G I TA L L I F E
Living in a networked world

sharing with friends
T
rendy cities, snowy mountains often open 24 hours a day; shops are in
for skiing, waves for surfing, and any case open for longer in the evenings
a well-functioning transportation than elsewhere. The best way to get around
network: there is a great deal to discover a city is by bike, with only short distances
in Germany. And plenty of fun recre to cover. Leave the car in the garage and
ational things to do there as well. The big hop on your bike! In many cities, young
cities are particularly attractive for young people are really driving the bicycle
adults. Big, however, is relative. In ac- boom. University towns like Mnster and
tual fact there are only four cities in Heidelberg already have designated bike
Germany with more than one million parks. And for those who take a trip with a
inhabitants, namely Berlin, Hamburg, car now and again there are multiple car-
Munich, and Cologne. Berlin is recognised sharing options available.
as the global hotspot for young creative
professionals, yet even smaller centres The sharing economy is the label of Gen-
such as Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig, and eration Z, for whom ownership is not
Dsseldorf are cosmopolitan. everything and sharing is good. As such,
Here it is completely normal for friends, GLOBAL

neighbours or colleagues to have a Turk-
ish, Polish, or Italian name. The nightlife Cheap travel in Germany
and entertainment scene offers endless Travelling in Germany is easy and there are
options for chilling and partying; there many different means of transport available.
are insider tips in every town and city. Long-distance coaches are becoming ever
Vegetarians and vegans can find every- more popular. They are low cost and comfort-
thing they need. Fitness clubs where able, but sometimes take longer. Car sharing
is another favoured option.
members can really up the tempo are
Always online: tweeting, online chatting and surfing are part of everyday life for most people
digital technologies play an important

role in arranging everyday life. Whats DIAGRAM
App, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter most
young people are perfectly networked
and devote a lot of time to staying so:
around 80 percent use social networks
35
every day or several times a week. That
28
said, roughly one in three young people
Facebook or online chat?
also sees dangers in this trend: 76 percent
28 million people in Germany have a Facebook
fear an increasing stress level owing to account. The frontrunner in digital commu
digitalisation. And 74 percent are afraid nications is WhatsApp with a good 35 million
that their privacy could be violated, ac- users.
cording to a YouGov study from 2014.
S P O R T S & I N I T I AT I V E S
Club life celebrating

success as a team
S
ports are among the top inter- and play competitive matches at week-
ests of young people in Germany. ends. Girls also love to play, with 330,000
For many of them, their sports club aged 16 and under playing in clubs, ac-
is a second family. Altogether there are cording to the German Football Asso-
91,000 sports clubs in Germany with ciation (DFB). Club membership often
27million members. And football is the costs less than ten euros a month. This
absolute number one among the many is because many people devote their
popular sports in the country. Almost time and energy to club life on a volun-
two million boys aged between five and tary basis in their spare time, i.e., with-
19 are active members of football clubs out being paid.
Sports always present an opportunity

to fi nd new friends. Together you can
learn team skills, fair play, and toler-
ance. The key rule is that on the pitch
everyone is equal, wherever you come
from, whatever language you speak at
home. This is echoed by national team
INFO players Jrme Boateng, Lukas Podolski,
and Mesut zil, who were among those
Germanys best
Big names: be it Manuel Neuer or Toni Kroos, whose childhood dream became reality
footballers are the nations idols. Star skier Fe- on 13 July 2014 in Rio de Janeiro: to be
lix Neureuther, basketball player Dirk Nowitzki, World Champions!
and Grand Prix Racing World Champion
Sebastian Vettel are also extremely popular.
COMPACT
Travelling in Germany, involved in sports

plenty of information is available.
Travel information from A to Z: Long-distance coach, train or

The German National Tourist aeroplane? You can find the
Board (DZT) website provides cheapest means of transport
comprehensive information on here.
Germany as a travel destination. goeuro.de
germany.travel
The German Olympic Sports
Civil dialogue reveals why there Confederation provides infor-
are good prospects for young mation on sports funding,
people in rural areas too, and volunteering, and event dates.
much more relating to what dosb.de
moves people in Germany.
gut-leben-in-deutschland.de All key info on football and
clubs is available from the
Cheap overnight accommoda- German Football Association.
tion where you can meet nice dfb.de
people from all over the world.
jugendherberge.de The Federal Foreign Office
supports popular sporting
Always worth a visit: Berlin. projects across the globe.
berlin.de sport.diplo.de
72 FACTS ABOUT GERMANY
IMPRINT PICTURE CREDITS

Publisher Outside cover: dpa/Frank Rumpenhorst, dpa/Ingo Wagner, dpa/Jan
Frankfurter Societts-Medien GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, Woitas, dpa/Malte Christians, dpa/Ole Spata, picture alliance/
in cooperation with the German Federal Foreign Office, Berlin Zentralbild, picture alliance/Geisler-Fotopress, Ronny Hartmann/AFP/
Getty Images, Arcaid/UIG via Getty Images, Mischa Keijser/Cultura RF/
Getty Images, Thomas Koehler/Photothek via Getty Images, Jrg
Concept and Chief Editors
Greuel/The Image Bank/Getty Images, Thomas Grass/Getty Images,
Peter Hintereder, Janet Schayan
Daniel Schoenen/LOOK/Getty Images, Getty Images/F1online RM, Lise
Project coordination
Gagne/E+/Getty Images, PeopleImages.com/Getty Images (2), Andreas
Andreas Fiebiger Rentz/Getty Images, Siegfried Layda/Photographers Choice/Getty
Editors Images, Thomas Barwick/Getty Images (2), Justin Case/Getty Images,
Sarah Kanning, Clara Krug, Dr. Helen Sibum Evgeny Drokov/Moment Open/Getty Images, Westend61/Florian
Art direction Kttler/Getty Images, Martin Osiadly/Moment RF/Getty Images,
Martin Gorka Werner Bchel/Moment RM/Getty Images, Andreas Pein/laif, Malte
Production Jaeger/laif (2), Heiko Specht/laif, Gunnar Knechtel/laif, Thomas Linkel/
Andr Herzog, Stefan Reichart laif, Dagmar Schwelle/laif (2), Tim Wegner/laif, Anita Back/laif, Andreas
Translations Chudowski/laif
Dr. Jeremy Gaines Inside cover: dpa/Matthias Balk, dpa/Frank Rumpenhorst, Getty
Images/Flickr RF, Sabine Lubenow/LOOK/Getty Images, Lauri
Frankfurter Societts-Medien GmbH Patterson/E+/Getty Images, Sergey Panteleev/E+/Getty Images, Lars
Baron/FIFA via Getty Images, John Freeman/Lonely Planet Images/
Frankenallee 7181
Getty Images, Todd Williamson/Getty Images for InStyle, Dagmar
60327 Frankfurtam Main, Germany
Schwelle/laif
Internet: www.fs-medien.de
p. 5: Getty Images/Westend61
Email: tatsachen@fs-medien.de p. 7: TommL/Getty Images
p. 8: dpa/Wolfgang Kumm, dpa/Boris Roessler, dpa/Maurizio Gambarini
Federal Foreign Office p. 9: AFP/Getty Images
Directorate-General for Culture and Communication p. 11: Digital Vision/Getty Images
Werderscher Markt 1 p. 12: Tara Moore/Getty Images/The Image Bank
10117 Berlin, Germany p. 13: dpa/Florian Gaertner
Internet: www.auswaertiges-amt.de p. 15: Stephan Pramme
Email: 608-R@auswaertiges-amt.de p. 17: Malte Jaeger/laif
p. 19: Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images
Printing p. 21: Thomas Linkel/laif
Werbedruck GmbH Horst Schreckhase p. 23: Thomas Koehler/Photothek via Getty Images
p. 25: Andreas Pein/laif
34286 Spangenberg, Germany
p. 26: dpa/Frank Rumpenhorst
Printed in Germany 2015
p. 28: gratisography.com
p. 29: dpa/Franziska Gabbert
Deadline for copy p. 31: Jonas Ratermann
November 2015 p. 33: Thomas Barwick/Getty Images
ISBN p. 35: dpa/Maximilian Mhlens
978-3-95542-200-4 p. 36: dpa/Christoph Schmidt
p. 40: picture alliance/blickwinkel
Frankfurter Societts-Medien GmbH p. 42: MercA Bellera/Getty Images
All rights to text and images reserved. p. 43: Getty Images/Jens Schlueter
Reprinting only with permission and if the source is stated. p. 45: Stephan Pramme
p. 47: Stiftung Jugend forscht e. V.
The Young Peoples edition of Facts About Germany is published p. 49: picture alliance/ZB/Waltraud Grubitzsch
in the following languages: p. 50: picture alliance/dpa/Ingo Wagner
p. 52: Dave and Les Jacobs/Getty Images/Blend Images
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian,
p. 53: Heiko Specht/laif
Spanish and Turkish
p. 55: Stephan Pramme
p. 57: Heiko Specht/laif
Facts about Germany online p. 61: dpa/Christians
www.facts-about-germany.de p. 62: dpa/Peter Steffen
p. 64: Betsie Van Der Meer/Getty Images
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p. 69: Timothy Fadek/NYT/Redux/laif
p. 70: dpa/Jan Woitas
Useful tips
By rail: Travelling by train is also
e xtremely convenient: the German
railway network features some
33,000 kilometres of track. Inter-city
and local services are well coordin
By plane: More than 100 inter
ated and provide superb connec
Identity documents and visas: As a national airlines fly into Germany.
tions. From Germany there are more
foreigner you need a valid passport The global network of routes links
than 250 direct links to around
ora replacement passport document 22 international airports in Germany
120European cities every day.
inorder to be able to enter Germany. with destinations all over the world.
The Deutsche Bahn AG hotline:
For nationals of most west European The biggest airports are in Frankfurt
Tel.: +49 18 06 99 66 33
countries, a valid identity card suf am Main, Munich, and Dsseldorf.
bahn.com
fices. In most cases children require a All the airports have excellent
travel document of their own. Nation o nward transportation links.
als of certain countries must be in frankfurt-airport.de
possession of a visa to enter the coun munich-airport.de
try. Information is available from dus.com Accommodation: Accommodation is
German missions abroad (embassies available in all categories: from private
and consulates). rooms and holiday flats to luxury
auswaertiges-amt.de hotels. Even if you do not spend a for
tune you can expect to enjoy high
standards. Tourism boards and tourist
information offices have special ac
By car: The German road network is commodation directories.
By coach: Scheduled coach services state of the art. The motorway germany.travel
are also an easy way of getting etwork is 13,000 kilometres long.
n
around Germany: there are now Over 700 service stations, petrol
more than 250 long-distance coach s tations, motels, and kiosks are open
routes. The number of services day and night. You can fill up with the Youth hostels: Are you in a youth hos
running between the big cities is following types of unleaded fuel: tel association that is affiliated to the
particularly high and will get you to Super (95 octane), Super E10 (95 oc International Youth Hostel Federa-
any major destination. tane), Super Plus (98 octane), as well tion? If so there is no problem staying
Many a town with less than 10,000 as with diesel. Other than on stretches in one of over 500 youth hostels in
inhabitants even has its own long- where there are restrictions in place Germany. You can even buy an inter
distance coach stop. There are there is no speed limit on German mo national pass in them.
eight large operators competing torways, though a speed of 130km/h Tel.: +49 52 31 74 01-0
for coach passengers in Germany. is recommended. djh.de
Information about connections: ADAC rescue service
busliniensuche.de Tel.: +49 18 02 22 22 22, adac.de
fernbusse.de AvD emergency number
Tel.: +49 80 09 90 99 09, avd.de
Money and currency: In Germany, Emergency numbers:

thecurrency used for paying for Tel.: 110 for the police Time zone: Germany is on Central
things is called the euro (1 euro = Tel.: 1 12 for the fire brigade European Time (CET). Between
100cents). You can withdraw cash andambulance service theend of March and the end
from ATMs using a debit card or an ofOctober the clocks are put for
international credit card; all the ward an hour (summertime).
customary credit cards are accepted.
Electricity:
The voltage is 230V.
0 50 100 km
Distances (in kilometres)

In Germany, longer distances are measured in kilometres.
One kilometre is equal to 0.62137 miles one mile is 1.60934 kilometres.
Frankfurt/M.
Saarbrcken
Magdeburg
Dsseldorf
Dortmund
Wrzburg
Hannover
Karlsruhe
Nrnberg
Mnchen
Hamburg
Stuttgart
Dresden
Rostock
Aachen
Leipzig
Berlin
Kln
Aachen 638 154 651 80 256 482 354 346 73 569 494 631 475 663 263 518 370
Berlin 638 492 193 556 545 286 285 673 575 184 153 585 438 223 723 632 495
Dortmund 154 492 507 68 224 349 210 358 95 428 350 617 428 520 321 420 338
Dresden 651 193 507 581 492 495 382 581 591 140 225 491 325 444 671 525 382
Dsseldorf 80 556 68 581 220 392 278 341 42 500 417 611 438 562 277 401 338
Frankfurt/M. 256 545 224 492 220 512 361 132 191 405 444 412 228 680 190 201 128
Hamburg 482 286 349 495 392 512 152 631 370 391 270 781 612 133 688 658 507
Hannover 354 285 210 382 278 361 152 489 294 247 136 661 488 320 551 534 377
Karlsruhe 346 673 358 581 341 132 631 489 303 521 558 271 261 809 188 80 199
Kln 73 575 95 591 42 191 370 294 303 481 422 577 422 567 282 373 289
Leipzig 569 184 428 140 500 405 391 247 521 481 88 418 260 371 588 466 408
Magdeburg 494 153 350 225 417 444 270 136 558 422 88 511 349 321 606 559 449
Mnchen 631 585 617 491 611 412 781 661 271 577 418 511 159 781 421 212 291
Nrnberg 475 438 428 325 438 228 612 488 261 422 260 349 159 601 362 218 109
Rostock 663 223 520 444 562 680 133 320 809 567 371 321 781 601 851 812 694
Saarbrcken 263 723 321 671 277 190 688 551 188 282 588 606 421 362 851 213 314
Stuttgart 518 632 420 525 401 201 658 534 80 373 466 559 212 218 812 213 149
Wrzburg 370 495 338 382 338 128 507 377 199 289 408 449 291 109 694 314 149
Information subject to change
How do young people in Germany
spend their free time? What topics
are important in German politics?
How does the education and univer-
sity system work? The Facts about
Germany book for young people
haseverything you could possibly
want to know about Germany today.
It presents up-to-date, reliable in-
formation in a compact format.
www.facts-about-germany.de
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For you

The book for

Hip capital city

Beaming World Champions

Popular holiday destinations

WELCOME Black, red, and gold are the

The symbol of the German

3 October 1990 is a very important date

With 3.4 million inhabitants,

The Rhine is Germanys longest river.

Theres nowhere higher in Germany

The .de domain is the most wide

COUNTRY & PEOPLE

A modern country at the

Eurobarometer shows. LOWER SAXONY

Dsseldorf Erfurt Dresden

PARLIAMENT & POLITICAL PARTIES

Liberal democracy with

18 dent is the Head of State. This role is pri

CSU The Left Party

Who governs Germany and

Dr. Angela Merkel, leader of the CDU

The cabinet consists of 14 ministers as

Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been Federal

Key political issues

Energy reform Digital agenda

Family Foreign policy

Energy, and the Foreign Minister in the

German politicians face huge challenges.

ian responsibilities towards people who are cooperation.

forced to flee their homelands. The Ger

Learning German in the

DID YOU KNOW . . .

The best way

I had already had some exposure to Jewish his-

ENGAGEMENT & VOLUNTEERING

Active leisure time helping

possibilities for getting involved. It ap-

Ever since military service was abolished

Open for new citizens

Kazakhstan: 921,000 While considerable progress has been

Diverse ways of living

What is a family? The classic family model

WORK & EQUALITY

Opportunities for all

Alongside this womens quota, there are

HISTORY & REMEMBRANCE

Learning from the past

RELIGION & BELIEF

Open to other religions

Do you wish to know more about society

Volunteer organisations that English-language website on

Entering training and the

DID YOU KNOW . . .

I wrote to several German universities and got a

SCHOOL & TRAINING

Open school system

employed by a firm. You receive a DIAGRAM

STUDYING & UNIVERSITIES