Germany

Location
- Western part of Central Europe (beneficial transport
location)
- Neighbours: Denmark ( North Sea ), Poland (Baltic
Sea ), Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland,
France, Belgium, Netherlands - seas used for
fishing
- Horizontally divided into 3 parts: 1. North German
plain ( green ) - agriculture, weed, barley, hops 2.
Central Uplands ( yellow ) 3. Alps ( brown )
- Rivers: Rhine, Elbe, Danube ( spring: Schwarzwald ),
Oder, Main
- Rhine-Mohan-Danube ( Norths Sea with Black
Sea) connected via channels for better transport of
people
- The highest peak of Germany: Zugspitze - in Alps,
south

History
- 1949 - 1990
- Berlin, Berlin Wall
• German Democratic Republic ( EAST )
- Non-democratic
- Communism
- Poorer
- Soviet Union
• Federal Republic of Germany ( WEST )
- Democratic
- Capitalist
- Richer
- Bonn ( capital )
- USA
- After the unification, poorer East Germany had to catch up the
economic development of the west - differences in living standards
are still visible today

Administrative division
- Divided into 16 constituent states
- The largest cities: Berlin, Dortmund, Munchen, Hamburg,
Bremen, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Cologne, Dresden
• Lies on Main - FRANKFURT
• Lies on Rhine - COLOGNE
• The largest city of south - MUNCHEN
• The most important port - HAMBURG
• Was completely destroyed during WW2 - BERLIN, DRESDEN
Cities
- the largest and capital is Berlin (3,5 mil.) – political and
cultural centre
- Hamburg (one of the largest ports in Europe – Elbe) - 1,7
mil.
- Munich (1 mil.) – centre of Bavaria (developed industry
and tourism)
- Bremen (important port), Cologne (1 mil.) – industry
centre,Frankfurt (airport with the highest traffic in Europe)
- Rhine-Ruhr connurbation (area of interconnected
industrial cities) – largest in Europe (e.g. Dusseldorf,
Cologne, Essen, Dortmund, Bonn, Dreisburg ...)
- Dresden and Leipzig (Saxony near Czech borders)

Population
- The second in Europe - 84 mil.
- Expected to decrease ( regressive pyramid )
- The most populous ethnic group - Turkish ( came here after WWII as industry workers ) -
Gastarbeiter - foreign workers
- Very benevolent migration policy - cheap labour, to stabilize their population, economy
- Religions: Christianity, Islam
- high urbanization rate

Economy
- one of the most developed in the world
- Mining of natural resource - BROWN COAL ( west ), BLACK COAL and metallurgy (Rhine
area) - thermal power stations
- Companies:
• Automotive: Porsche, Audi, BMW, Opel ( the most important field )
• Textile: Adidas, Puma
• Food: Haribo, Pom-Bär, Dr.Oetker
• Cosmetics: Nivea, Fa, Schwarzkopf
• Shops: Kaufland, Lidl, Baumax
• Electronics: Siemens
- the largest producer of beer - Octoberfest ( Munchen )
- -developed bank sector and financial services (centre is Frankfurt)

Sights
- Cologne Cathedral: the remains of biblical Three Magi are held here
- Schloss Neuschwanstein: Disney’s castle
- Brandenburg Gate
- Bavarian Forest National Park: bordering Šumava
- Rugen: the largest Baltic island
- Baden Baden: spa
 Liechtenstein

- In a valley of river Rhine

- Completely surrounded by Alps
- Capital: Vaduz
- Political system: monarchy ( prince Hans Adam II. )
- Population: cca 50,000
- Economy based on financial services and export of dental equipment
- Sights: The Treasure Chamber, Liechtenstein Castle