Germany Essay, Research Paper
Basic Facts
Germany is in central Europe, at 50 degrees latitude, and 10
degrees longitude. It is bordered by Denmark, The Netherlands,
Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria, Czechs
Republic, And Poland. The capitol of Germany is Berlin.
The population of Germany is 81,264,000. The estimated
population for Germany in the year 2000 is 82,583,000. Germany
is smaller than Texas, or about 4 1/2% of the size of the U.S.A.
The German flag has black, red, and gold, horizontal stripes
without any symbols on it. In 1950 when Germany was divided,
West Germany’s flag was black, red, and dark gold, with no
symbols. East Germany’s flag was black, red and, yellow with a
coat of arms symbol in the middle. After Germany became
reunited, the flag was changed to black, red, and gold stripes,
with no symbols on it. These colors have been associated with
German unity since the 1800’s.
The Land
In Germany some interesting places are: The Rhine River,the
Olympic Stadium in Munich, the Bavarian Alps where the
Newschwanstein Castle is, the Black Forest, the Harz Mountains,
and Berlin.
There are many natural resources in Germany. Germany is
bordered by the North and Baltic Seas. These have busy shipping
ports. There are also four main rivers in Germany. In the West
is the Rhine River, the Danube is in the South, the Oder is in
the East, and the Elbe and the Weser Rivers are in the north.
The soil in Germany varies. The North German plains has
soil that is soft and fertile. Much of the rest of Germany has
rocky soil.
The minerals in Germany are: Coal, potash, lignite, iron,
and uranium. There are mines in Germany but are mainly coal.
There is a large variety of plants in Germany. They range
from crops in the large German plain to fir and spruce trees in
the Black Forest.
They have the same kinds of domestic animals we do, and as
well as forest animals. In the North German Plain which is
mostly farm area, there are sheep, cattle, horses, hogs, poultry,
and dairy cows.
There are five different land regions in Germany. The first
is the North German Plain. It is the largest land region, and is
low and nearly flat. The southern edge of this area has very
fertile soil. There are many farms here, and many people here
and in cities such as Bonn, and Cologne.
The second land region is The Central Highlands. This area
is a series of plateaus that range from almost flat to
mountainous. There are steep, narrow valleys, and the Rhine
River runs through this area. It is one of the most beautiful
sights in Germany.
The South German Hills, have long parallel ridges that go
from southwest to northeast. Sheep are raised here, and the
lowlands between the ridges have some of the best farm lands in
Germany.
The fourth land region in Germany is The Black Forest. Many
old German legends and fairy tails take place here. The Black
Forest gets it’s name from the thick forests of dark fir and
spruce trees that are on the mountainsides.
The fifth land region is the Bavarian Alps. It is part of
the largest mountain system in Europe, the Alps. They rise more
than 6,000 feet, and Zugspitze is the highest point in Germany at
9,721 feet. This region has many lakes formed by ancient
glaciers, and mountain streams flow into the Danube River.
The People
The money that is used in Germany is the Deutsche Mark. The
Deutsche Mark comes in a variety of colors. For example, the
twenty marks is blue, and the one hundred marks in green. There
are also coins.
Education is very important in Germany. They have a public
education system that is controlled by the individual states.
All children must go to school for 9 or 10 years. After
elementary school there are schools to choose from. The Gymnasium
is a traditional junior and senior high school that prepares
students for the university. Intermediate schools have academic
subjects and job training, and Hauptschulen are vocational
schools which mainly have job training. Comprehensive schools
combine all three types of schools. Germany has many
universities and technical colleges. The University of Heidelberg
was founded in 1386, and is the oldest University in Germany.
The main sports played in Germany are soccer, gymnastics,
tennis, horse back riding, and some snow sports like ice skating,
and skiing. Other recreation is biking, camping, and hiking.
The holidays celebrated in Germany are the same ones as the
United States, such as Christmas, Easter, and Mother’s Day. On
November 1, they celebrate All Saints’ Day instead of Halloween
on October 31. But there are many local celebrations that are
special to each region. Munich celebrates Oktoberfest, which
actually starts in September, and has parades, singing, and lots
of food. The Oberammergau Passion Play is a festival that takes
place every year and thousands of people perform in a play about
Christ’s suffering. This was started in 1634 when the people of
Oberammergau prayed to be spared from a terrible plague, and
promised to perform a passion play every year. The plague did
not come to Oberammergau, and so the Passion Play is put on every
year. Nearly every region has some kind of Sommerfest or
Tanzfest (dance festival) where people dress up in the special
costumes for that region. There is always lots of music, food,
and dancing.
The jobs and industries in Germany are a lot like here.
Manufacturing is the main source for the economy. There are many
factories that produce iron and steel, and there are chemical and
textile industries also. The steel is often used to make cars,
and Germany is the third largest automobile manufacturer in the
world.
The service industries are in community, government and
personal services. Community services include jobs in education
and health care, and personal services include such jobs as
repair shops and beauty salons.
Mining is also an industry in Germany. Potash and rock salt
are mined, as well as low quality coal called lignite. Some
lead, copper, petroleum, tin, uranium and zinc are mined in
Germany too.
There is agriculture in Germany with potatoes being one of
the largest crops. Grains are grown there such as barley, oats,
rye, and wheat. Sugar beets, vegetables, apples, grapes, and
other fruits are important crops. There are vineyards near the
Rhine and Moselle Rivers, and some farmers raise beef and dairy
cattle, hogs, horses, poultry and sheep.
Many great people in art, music, and literature came from
Germany. In literature and philosophy from about 1750 to 1830,
there was Johann von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, Heinrech von
Kleist, and many other novelists. Political writers were
Immanuel Kant, Georg Hegel, and Frederich Nietzsche, among
others.
German composers are very well known, and include Bach,
Handel, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, Wagner,
Strauss and Schoenberg. Mozart can also be considered German, as
Austria was historically connected to other German states.
During the Renaissance, German artists created some
wonderful paintings and engravings. Albrecht Durer and Hans
Holbein the Younger are famous for portraits and other paintings.
Matthias Grunewald painted religious art, and in the 1800’s
Caspar David Friedrich was an important painter in the romantic
period. Max Beckmann was among the German painters that
developed the Expressionist style.
Other areas of artistic accomplishments are architecture,
with Walter Gropius who founded an important school of design in
1919, and film making done by Fritz Lang. He directed a silent
film in 1926 called Metropolis.
Transportation in Germany is done in cars on the Autobahn,
which is like a freeway. Germany has one of the highest
ownerships of cars in the world. They also travel by buses and
airplanes like we do. The Germans enjoy riding bikes, and use
them for transportation sometimes, but mainly as recreation with
families or friends.
Germany has a very big railroad, and many people ride the
trains for long trips as well as shorter commutes.
Boats are used for transportation because of the many rivers
in Germany. Also, the North and Baltic Seas border Germany, and
ships and boats are used there, too. Boating on the Rhine and
other rivers is often recreational as well.
Walking is a form of transportation that the Germans enjoy.
They walk a lot to get to where they want to go, but walking and
hiking are part of the recreation that Germans like to do.
The houses in Germany do not have as much space as many of
the homes in the United States. They are built closer together
and are smaller. In some cities there are housing shortages.
Most of the houses are fairly modern. Many homes were destroyed
in World War II, and were rebuilt. There are apartments in
Germany, too. Some of the houses in the farmlands are very old.
A common type of German farm home is the Bauernhof. It is a
single building containing both a house and a barn. Many have
been remodeled inside so the people can gave more space, but some
still have animals living in the barn half.
The Government
The government of Germany is a federal republic. The people
elect their representatives by secret ballot. There is a
parliament which has two houses, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.
The main leader is the chancellor, and Helmut Kohl is the current
leader in Germany. He can remain in office for five years. The
Bundestag chooses the head of the government by having the people
vote for deputies who then choose the leader from the strongest
party.
Religion
The main religion in Germany is Christianity. It is 45 per
cent protestant, mainly Lutheran. Forty per cent are Catholic,
and two per cent are Muslim. There are about 40,000 Jews in
Germany.
Fashion
The fashion in Germany is the same as the United States.
But many years ago each region had its own outfits that were
special to that area. When someone from one region traveled to
another region, the people could tell where they were from just
by their clothes. Today, the people of the different regions
dress up in costumes for special celebrations that show what
region they are from. For example, in the area of Bavaria, the
costumes for the girls are black sleeveless dresses which are
worn over a lacy white blouse. A white apron is worn over the
skirt, and a white shawl is on the girl’s shoulders. On the
front of her outfit is embroidery and artificial gold coins sewn
on. A little black hat with a small brim and a white feather is
also worn. The boys wear lederhosen, which are short leather
pants with a bib, like overalls. These often have embroidery on
the front, too.
Food
The German people eat meals which usually have potatoes and
pork, veal or fish. They don’t eat as much beef as we do in the
United States. They are famous for the many varieties of bread
(called Brot), sausages (Wurst), and sauerkraut, which is pickled
cabbage. Sauerkraut and sausages were created many years ago as
a way of preserving cabbage and meat.
They enjoy vegetables and fruit, especially apples. They
make many different kinds of cheese, such as Munster and
Limburger, which are named after the regions in Germany where
they are made.
Germany is also well known for beer and wine. There are
many varieties of German beer and wine, also depending on the
regions where they are made.
Cakes (torten) are a favorite treat in Germany, and there
are many types such as Black Forest Cherry Cake (Schwarzwalder
Kirschtorte), and cheesecakes topped with fruit. Many Germans
enjoy an afternoon treat of “Kaffee und Kuchen”, which means
coffee and cake. The idea of having special cakes with coffee is
where the idea of “coffee cake” comes from.
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