| German Empire Deutsches Kaiserreich Timeline: Modern Kaiserreich | |||
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| Anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz (Hail to Thee in the Victor's Crown) |
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| Capital | Berlin | ||
| Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy | ||
| - | Empress (Kaiserin) | Margareta I | |
| - | Reichskanzler | Friedrich Merz | |
| Legislature | National Assembly | ||
| - | Upper house | Bundesrat | |
| - | Lower house | Reichstag | |
| Population | |||
| - | 2023 estimate | 75,493,284 | |
| Drives on the | Right | ||
| Internet TLD | .de | ||
| Calling code | +49 | ||
Germany, officially referred to as the German Empire (German: Deutsches Kaiserreich), is situated in Central Europe. It is structured as a parliamentary constitutional monarchy and consists of twenty-seven constituent states governed by the Prussian Hohenzollern dynasty.
History[]
German Confederation and Empire[]
After Napoleon's downfall, the Congress of Vienna established the German Confederation, comprising 39 individual states. The appointment of the Emperor of Austria as permanent president reflected the Congress's resistance to Prussia's increasing influence. Disagreements over the Restoration policy led to the emergence of liberal movements, followed by repressive measures by Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich. The Zollverein, a tariff union, played a significant role in promoting economic unity. In response to revolutionary movements, intellectuals and commoners instigated the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, raising the German Question. Although King Frederick William IV of Prussia was offered the title of Emperor with some loss of power, he declined the crown and the proposed constitution, creating a temporary setback for the movement. Ultimately, in 1862, King William I appointed Otto von Bismarck as Minister President of Prussia. Bismarck effectively concluded the war with Denmark in 1864, and Prussia's decisive victory in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 empowered him to establish the North German Confederation, excluding Austria. Following France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, the German princes proclaimed the German Empire in 1871, with Prussia as the dominant state. Bismarck's foreign policy during the Gründer period secured Germany's position as a great nation by forming alliances and avoiding war as German Chancellor. However, under William II, Germany pursued an imperialist course, leading to tensions with neighboring countries. Germany formed a dual alliance with the multinational kingdom of Austria-Hungary; the Triple Alliance of 1882 also included Italy. Britain, France, and Russia established alliances to guard against Habsburg interference with Russian interests in the Balkans or German interference against France. At the Berlin Conference of 1884, Germany acquired several colonies, including German East Africa, German South-West Africa, Togoland, and Cameroon. The colonial government in South-West Africa (now Namibia) perpetrated the first genocide of the 20th century, exterminating the local Herero and Namaqua peoples between 1904 and 1907. The assassination of the Austrian crown prince on June 28, 1914, served as a pretext for Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia and initiate the First Weltkrieg. After a brutal conflict in 1919 or 1921, the Germans emerged as the victors, resulting in Belgium becoming a puppet state renamed Flanders-Wallonia.
Second Weltkrieg Preludium[]
Triumph at Second Weltkrieg[]
Wilhelmina I's Reign[]
Politics[]
Germany is a federal, parliamentary, constitutional monarchy. Legislative power in the federal state is exercised by the parliament, which consists of an upper house, the Bundesrat, and a lower house, the Reichstag, which together constitute the legislative body.
Culture[]
Sports[]
Football is one of the most beloved sports in Germany. The German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund) boasts a staggering 7 million official members, making it the largest single-sport organization globally. Moreover, the Reichsliga, Germany's top league, garners the second-highest average attendance among all professional sports leagues worldwide.