One of Europe’s most powerful nation’s Germany!

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One of Europe’s most powerful nation’s Germany!

By Mark on August 22, 2008

Germany is a large country in central Europe, it is neighboured by Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands to the west, you have the Czech Republic and Poland to the east and to the south Austria and Switzerland and to the north Denmark. Standing tall and strong it is a large country it is 357,022 square kilometers or 137,847 miles in length. As of Dec. 31, 2007, it has a population of 82,217,800 estimated and Germany has the largest population within the European Union. I have been to Germany once in my life time and that was in Munich, many years ago.

This is a picture taken from Google Earth of Germany in central Europe.

This is a satellite picture of the capital city of Germany, Berlin, taken from Google Earth.

This is a satellite picture taken from Google Earth of the former capital city of the federal republic of Germany, Bonn.

It all started in 58 B.C. when Julius Caesar, pushed back across the Rhine, the then original occupier’s the Teutonic tribes. And when the Roman Empire finally collapsed, the country was then broken up into eight Germanic kingdoms. But by the 8th century, the Charlemagne consolidated the kingdoms under the Franks. Then in 962 the region became the Holy Roman Empire and lasted for almost 200 years when the country was invaded by the Mongols.

This is a picture taken from wikipedia of the Holy Roman Empire.

A long period of unrest lasted up until 1438, when the region fell under Habsburg’s rule. And during the thirty year war the kingdom was torn. a part. When peace finally came in 1648 under the act of the Peace of Westphalia, the elector of Brandenburg-Prussia emerged as a force ready to take on the Austrian supremacy. And by the end of the Napoleonic wars, the then alliance of 400 different states was to be reduced down to just 38 states. These states had existed during the Holy Roman Empire. At the congress of Vienna, a loose grouping of states was formed, under Austrian leadership. The German confederation was dissolved during the Austro-Prussian war of 1866, and in 1867 all northern German confederation under the Prussian leadership, but by 1871 this in turn had dissolved, and the new German Second Empire was proclaimed.

This is a picture taken from wikipedia of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, Prussia is in the blue.

This is a picture taken from wikipedia of the Weimar Republic.

After the first World War, the Weimar Republic was to be instituted and by 1933 it had become the Third Reich, under the then leader of Adolf Hitler. After World War Two the country was then to be divided into two sections the Federal Republic of Germany to the west and the German Democratic Republic to the east and that is when the Berlin wall was put up in 1961, when in 1958 the Soviet Union demanded the withdrawal of western troops as the then German Chancellor refused to accept Germany has being divided and wanted the country reunified, but it wasn’t to be, it took just under thirty years to rejoin the country back together again. But in 3rd October 1990 the two nations joined together to become one known as Germany. But the western side of Germany faced problems with the economy of the eastern side of Germany. Parliament moved from the former capital city Bonn in the west to the Reichstag building in the original capital city of Berlin. Germany is a member of the EU, OCED, NATO and the UN. In 2003, Germany declined the invasion of Iraq, causing criticism from the United states of America. Germany today is a major player in many world affairs and is a country with alot to offer, so whatever you think of Germany just remember that the British have alot of connections with the country over our past history.

This is a panoramio picture of the Spree river in Berlin, Germany.

This is an Ariel view of the former capital city of Bonn, in Germany.

Germany may not really be well known for her beaches, but the country is a well known holiday place to visit, for skiing and mountain walks and climbs, as well as traditional festivals and concerts. There are plenty of hotels and other places to stay and you must try the German ale it is really nice, When I visited Munich with my mother many years ago on a coach trip, I was so surprised how friendly and helpful they were to us. But Unfortunately I did not enjoy it as much there as in some of the other countries, but that is not knocking Germany down it is a cracking place to visit. Also there are many sporting events and places to visit as well as your usual cinema’s, museums, heritage places, pubs, clubs, wine bars, restaurants, theatre’s, shops and parks, river’s and streams, forests and picnic places. And many more enjoyable things to do. With all the bad past history that Germany has and the English do not forget, This has been an absolute pleasure doing this blog and I have fallen for this country, it is an amazing country with an amazing past. To all the German citizens where ever you are you should be proud that you are German as I am proud to be English. Thanks for letting me write this blog.

Posted in Europe | 2 Comments

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2 Responses to “One of Europe’s most powerful nation’s Germany!”

Mum
10:09 am on August 24th, 2008
I really liked this post Mark because I have visited Germany and really enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the culture there.
Mark
1:22 pm on August 25th, 2008
Thanks mum I liked it to this blog it really does appear to have alot going for it and I would love to go back one day and visit Berlin and Munich.

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