Gott Mit Uns (German) ("God Is With Us") | |||||
| Anthem | "Heil Dir Im Siegerkranz" | ||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Berlin | ||||
| Other cities | Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg | ||||
| Language official |
German | ||||
| others | Bavarian (in Bavaria), Low Saxon (in Lower Saxony, Schleswig, and Mecklemburg), Frisian (in North Friesland and West Friesland) | ||||
| Religion | Protestantism, Catholicism | ||||
| Demonym | German | ||||
| Government | Federal Constitutional Monarchy | ||||
| Kaiser | HIM Wilhelm III von Hohenzollern | ||||
| Chancellor | Franz von Papen | ||||
| Established | 18 January 1871 | ||||
| Currency | German mark | ||||
Germany (German: Deutschland), officially the German Empire (German: Deutsches Reich or Deutsches Kaiserreich), is a sovereign nation of Central Europe which shares land borders with Poland-Lithuania, the Czech Kingdom and Slovakia to the east, the Baltic Sea, Scandinavia and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the Netherlands, Belgium and France to the west, Italy to the south, and Croatia and Hungary to the southeast: the German state also includes colonies in Africa and Oceania.
While Germany as an ethnic and linguistic entity was present already in Roman times, during most of its history it existed as a collection of divided states and small countries as the Holy Roman Empire. Its unification into a single state, carried out by the Prussian state, was a long and difficult one, culminating in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71: the Prussian victory in the war marked the creation of a unified Germany. The German Empire would go on to be one of the protagonists of the Great War: during this conflict, Germany expanded its borders to include Austria, parts of Switzerland and other territories, and imposed itself as the dominant power in continental Europe.
Today, Germany is one of the twelve global powers; its economy and industry are arguably the most developed and prosperous in the world. Germany is also well known for its massive contributions to European culture and identity, fathering a number of intellectuals, artists, writers, musicians, philosophers and scientists which helped shape western civilization that few other nations can claim. Germany has the largest navy in Europe (with Italy, Great Britain and France being close behind), and is widely regarded as the most militarily powerful country in the world.
Recent History[]
Government and Politics[]
Constitution and Laws[]
The German Empire is a federal constitutional monarchy, made up of 58 states, which can be of different kinds: provinces and imperial cities have the Emperor (German: Kaiser) as their head of state, while kingdoms, duchies and grand duchies have their own monarch as a (largely ceremonial) head of state. The executive branch of the central government, which is much more powerful versus the single state than in most federations, is composed of the Emperor and the Imperial Chancellor (German: Reichskanzler), who is named by the Emperor. The Emperor also holds the title of king of Prussia, while the Chancellor presides over the Federal Council (German: Bundesrat), a chamber of representatives from the several German states, tasked with electing ministers and committees that also wield executive power in their respective field. Legislative power is embodied by a monocameral Parliament (German: Reichstag) elected by universal male suffrage.
Metropolitan Germany is divided into 58 states (German: Staaten, singular Staat), of which seven are imperial cities (German: Reichsstädte, singular Reichstadt), while the others are kingdoms (German: Königreiche, singular Königreich), grand duchies (German: Großherzogtümer, singular Großherzogtum), duchies (German: Herzogtümer, singular Herzogtum) or provinces (German: Provinzen, singular Provinz). To ease administration, German states are grouped into ten Reichslander (singular Reichsland), which function as intermediaries between single states and the federal government. The German Empire also includes seven colonies (German: Kolonien, singular Kolonie), which are individually administered and have little local autonomy.
Subdivisions[]
The German Empire's numerous states are grouped into eleven Reichslander:
- Alsace-Lorraine
- Austria
- Bavaria
- Hesse-Nassau
- Lower Saxony
- Prussia
- Rhineland
- Saxony
- Schleswig-Holstein
- Swabia
- Switzerland
Meanwhile, the German colonial empire is made up of seven colonies:
- Cameroon
- German East Africa
- Kiautschou
- New Guinea
- Samoa
- German Southwest Africa
- Togoland
