German Magazine Club

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Bavaria Bavaria is the largest German state with an area of 70,500 km2. Its capital city is Munich. Bavaria is Germany’s second most populated state with 12.5 million people living there.

Bavaria is one of the oldest states of Europe and was established in the mid first millennium. There has also been the kingdom of Bavaria and ever since it fell in 1918 Bavaria has been a free state.

Munich is the capital and largest of the cities of Bavaria. It is found north of the Bavarian Alps on the river Isar. It is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich’s population is about 1.42 million people. Its motto is “München mag dich” which means “Munich likes you” The parts of Bavaria The different parts of Bavaria are Oberfranken (Upper Franconia), Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), Unterfranken (Lower Franconia), Schwaben (Swabia), Oberpfalz (Upper Palatinate), Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria) and Niederbayern (Lower Bavaria)

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By Matthew Dickinson

Berlin is a state and a city. It is Germany’s biggest city and the most populated with 3.5 million people. It is also the capital city of Germany. The river Spree runs through Berlin and 1/3 of the state is covered in forests, gardens, lakes and rivers. Berlin is a popular tourist destination.

The Berlin wall separated West and East Berlin. One was democratic and one was communist during the Cold War. The wall was built over night on the 13th August 1961; only about 100 people knew it was going to be built. On the 19th November 1989 it was destroyed almost as quickly as it had been built and there was a worldwide celebration.

The Reichstag is the building in which the Bundestag (parliament) is held. It was built in 1894 and it remained as the parliament until 1933 when it burnt down in a fire. It was refurbished in the 1960’s but it wasn’t fully restored until 1990.

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The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in north western Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the River Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area (2.4 million people). Bremen is the third most populous city in Northern Germany and the tenth in Germany.

Bremen is famous for Beck’s which is brewed there because of the large ports which would provide a lot of transport. Beck’s is Germany’s most popular beer and it is sold in about 90 countries. It was run by families until 2002 when Interbrew bought it for 1.8 million Euro.

During the 30 years war Bremen was a neutral state. however the state did get more defences in case one of the sides participating in the war attacked them.

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Introduction Hamburg is officially called the ‘Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg’. It is the second biggest city in Germany after Berlin and forms the state of Hamburg. It is home to 1.8 million people and is the most developed city in Germany, being a centre of business and banking. It gains a lot of revenue from its world famous port – the third busiest in Europe.

The Port The 15th busiest port in the world, the port covers an area of 28 sq. miles, employs about 10,000 people, handled 132,200,000 tonnes of cargo in 2011, and has 320 berths. The biggest ship in the world, the Marco Polo (right), docked at Hamburg port on the 12th Dec 2012 it carries an incredible 16,020 containers, and is run by a French firm.

History The city takes its name from a fort which was built at the joining of the river Elbe and the river Alster.

In the middle ages it was invaded several times, and in 1189 it was granted tax free trading. This and its position near the North Sea made it a prosperous city.

The city did suffer setbacks in the ‘Great Fire’, when most of the city and the town hall (right) were raised to the ground, and in WW2 most of the city was destroyed, as the port was a prime target.

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By James Mitchell

Hessen is in the centre of Germany and it is a popular tourist destination. It has a population of about 6 million and covers 21,110 km2. The capital is Wiesbaden and the biggest city is Frankfurt am Main. Hessen’s name in English is Hesse.

Frankfurt is the fifth largest city in Germany. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 people in 2010. Frankfurt is the financial centre of Germany and the transport centre. Frankfurt has the largest airport in Germany.

Wiesbaden is the capital city of Hesse with about 280,000 inhabitants, 10,000 of which are American and most of whom are with the army. Wiesbaden is part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region with Frankfurt am Main, Darmstadt and Mainz.

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Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia) is the most populous of the states. Its capital city is Düsseldorf but its city with the most inhabitants is Cologne. The state was formed in 1946 when northern Rhineland and Westphalia merged. The state is 34000km2. The Rhineland and Westphalia were both under Prussian control when they were merged.

Borussia Dortmund was founded by seventeen football players from Dortmund. It is one of the most successful German teams. It has won eight German football championships, three German cups, four German super cups, one UEFA Champion’s League, one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and one Intercontinental Cup. The UEFA Cup made them the first German team to win a European Cup. Since 1974 they have played their home games in Westfalenstadion; the biggest stadium in Germany. The colours of Dortmund are black and yellow - and oddly look quite like a honey-bee. It is the second biggest football club in Germany and the eleventh biggest in the world.

Kölsch is a special beer brewed in Cologne. It has a clear straw-yellow colour and is less bitter than the standard German lager. Kölsch is warm fermented at 13-210C and then is lagered. This way of brewing links it with other European beers, such as the Altbier of northern Germany and the Netherlands.

By Matthew Dickinson

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Saarland is 2500km2 and has a population of 1,012,000 people. It is the smallest state if you do not count the city-states like Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen. Its capital city is Saarbr端cken. Due to the wealth of its coal deposits and its location on the border between France and Germany, it has a unique history.

Saarbr端cken is the capital of the state of Saarland. Saarbr端cken was once the industrial and transport centre for a great coal basin. Sugar, beer, iron, steel, pottery and many other things were some of its products. Some of its historic landmarks are the stone bridge across the river Saar, the gothic church of St Arnual, Saarbr端cker Schloss (a castle) and the old part of the town - the St Johanner Markt.

This is part of the river Saar and is called Saarschleife and is one of the most important landmarks in Saarland. Its name means loop because of its shape.

By Matthew Dickinson

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Saxony is the tenth biggest state in Germany for size and the sixth most populated with 4.3 million. The industrial side of Saxony is heavily polluted because of the mining of brown coal and uranium.

Dresden was often home to the kings of Saxony. it was often referred to as “the jewel box� because of its baroque city centre. It was heavily bombed at the end of World War 2 although a lot of restoration has taken place since that time.

Meissen is famous for its china; some of their work is even in Windsor castle. Their signature is two crossed swords that were introduced in 1720; it is one of the oldest trademarks. It was developed in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. Unfortunately he died later that year then Johann Friedrich BĂśttger took over the company.

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Location Schleswig-Holstein is the most northern German state, bordering Denmark to the north, the Baltic Sea to the east, the North Sea to the west and the states of Lower Saxony, Hamburg, and MecklenburgVorpommern to the south. The river Elbe runs through the state, as well as the North Sea-Baltic Sea “Kiel Canal”. In the west the land is mainly lowlands, but in the east there are rolling hills and many lakes – called Holsteinische Schweiz (Holstein Switzerland).

Attractions This state has lots of nature reserves full of unspoilt nature.

Nationalpark Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer, a marine nature reserve, runs from the Danish border to the river Elbe. The state’s 13,500 miles of rivers, streams and 300 lakes attract canoeists and boaters from Germany and Europe.

Culture German and Danish cultures mix here, resulting in a completely unique style. Rote Grütze (right) is a culinary dish, made with berries, cherries and sugar. This state also has a rich history of authors, with Theodor Storm now known all over Germany. The state museum is set in Gottorf Castle, which is surrounded by baroque style gardens, and houses many pieces of art. Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH, is a submarine work yard in Kiel, and is at the forefront of submarine engineering.

Lübeck This city, which belongs to Hanseatic League (a group of cities that have low trading taxes), is one of the most visited historical towns in Europe. Its old medieval centre boasts 1,000 listed buildings and UNESCO world heritage site status. It was founded in 1143 as a trading city on the Baltic Sea, and the merchants and local population built seven magnificent churches - now major tourist attractions. The Holsten Gate, finished in 1478, is an old symbol of the free city, and the words ‘CONCORDIA DOMI FORIS PAX’ (unity at home, peace abroad) are engraved on the front of the gateway.

By James Mitchell 11

Thüringen is located in the centre of Germany. It has an area of 16,000km2 and 2.29 million inhabitants. This makes it the sixth smallest state by land size and the fifth by population. The capital of Thüringen is Erfurt. It has acquired the nickname “the green heart of Germany” from the dense forest that covers the land. Thüringen is famous for its nature and winter sports. Germany has won more gold medals than any other country in the last 20 years and half of them have come from Thüringen athletes.

Oberhof is a town in Germany. It is a ski resort and a health centre. Every year the amount of visitors increases tenfold, probably bringing a lot of money and jobs with them. It was officially made a city in 1985.

In the 1900s the town became a winter resort with luge, skiing and just about any other snow sport you could care to mention. Recently they have been constructing an alpine ski slope with a ski lift. There has also been work on an international standard biathlon arena. The bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track has hosted a lot of international luge competitions such as the biathlon championships.

By Matthew Dickinson

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