Germany is
at the center of Europe, not only geographically, but also in terms of politics
and economics. The country is Europe's second most populous after Russia, with
more than 81 million people, according to the World Factbook. The German
economy is the largest on the continent and the fifth largest in the world.
While
German exerts its influence on the countries that border it — Austria, Belgium,
Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland and
Poland — all of these cultures have, in varying degrees, had a hand in shaping
today’s Germany.
The
population is 91.5 percent German, with Turkish being the second largest ethnic
group at 2.4 percent, according to the World Factbook. The remaining 6.1
percent is made up primarily of those of Greek, Russian, Italian, Polish,
Serbo-Croatian and Spanish descent.
Values
Germans
place a high priority on structure, privacy and punctuality. The German people
embrace the values of thriftiness, hard work and industriousness and there is
great emphasis on making sure that "the trains run on time."
According to Passport to Trade 2.0, an online business etiquette guide by the
University of Salford in Manchester, England, "Germans are most
comfortable when they can organize and compartmentalize their world into
controllable units. Time, therefore, is managed carefully, and calendars,
schedules and agendas must be respected."
Germans are
stoic people who strive for perfectionism and precision in all aspects of their
lives. They do not admit faults, even jokingly, and rarely hand out
compliments. At first their attitude may
seem unfriendly, but there is a keen sense of community and social conscience
and a desire to belong.
Languages
Unsurprisingly,
the official language of the country is German. More than 95 percent of the
population speaks German as their first language, according to Angelo State
University's Center for International Studies. Other languages spoken include
Serbian in eastern Germany; North and West Frisian, spoken around the Rhine
estuary; and Danish, primarily spoken in the area along the Danish border.
Romani, which is an indigenous language, Turkish and Kurdish are also spoken.
Religion
Christianity
is the dominant religion, with 65 to 70 percent of the population identifying
themselves as Christian. That number includes 24 million Catholics, according
to CBS News. Muslims make up 3.7 percent of the population, according to Angelo
State University, while 28.3 percent are unaffiliated or have a religion other
than Christianity or Islam.
German food
and drink
Germans
love rich, hearty cuisine, though each area of Germany has its own definition
of what a traditional meal looks like.
Pork is the
most consumed meat, according to the German Food Guide. Schweinshaxe (braised
pork hock) and Saumagen (pork stomach) are a couple of traditional pork dishes.
Bratwurst,
a form of sausage, is closely associated with German food. Cabbage, beets, and
turnips are commonly incorporated into meals, as they are native to the region,
and potatoes and sauerkraut are also stars of German cuisine.
Beer is the
most popular alcoholic beverage, and the country is known as the birthplace of
a number of beer varieties, including Pilsner, Weizenbier (wheat beer) and Alt.
These beers were crafted according to Reinheitsgebot, or the "Purity
Law," a 16th-century Bavarian law that decreed that beer could only be
brewed from barley, hops and water, according to NPR. Brewers used the yeast
available in the air. Brandy and schnapps are also favorite German alcoholic
beverages.
The Arts
Culture
doesn't just refer to how people interact and look. "Culture also means
refined intellectual, artistic and creative achievement, for example as in
cultural knowledge, or a cultured person," Cristina De Rossi, an
anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London, told Live Science.
Germans have
made tremendous contributions to classical music, and the traditions of famous
German or Austrian composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart, Ludwig von Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner and Gustav Mahler
live on today.
With their
penchant for precision and engineering, it is not surprising that Germans have
a strong tradition of printmaking by woodcut and engraving. There is also a
strong representation of all phases of architecture — including Romanesque,
Gothic, Classicist, Baroque, Rococo and Renaissance — represented in
cathedrals, castles and public buildings. One well-known example of classic
German art is the Brandenburg Gate, a former city gate that is now used to
symbolize Berlin's unity.
Business
culture
The desire
for orderliness spills over into the business life of Germans. Surprises and
humor are not welcomed. Everything is carefully planned out and decided upon,
with changes rarely occurring after an agreement is made, according to the
German Business Culture Guide.
There is a
high regard for engineers in German, as evidenced by the country’s success in
the automotive industry. Because of this high level of respect for hands-on
expertise, companies tend to be headed by technical experts rather than lawyers
or those with a financial background.
Workers at
all levels are judged heavily on their competence and diligence, rather than
interpersonal skills. Communication with co-workers as well as outsiders tends
to be direct and not always diplomatic.
Holidays
and celebrations
Germany
celebrates many of the traditional Christian holidays, including Christmas and
Easter. German Unification Day on October 3 marks the reuniting of East and
West Germany and is the only federal holiday.
While the
country’s big beer bash is called "Oktoberfest," its starts each year
on a Saturday in September and ends 16 to 18 days later, on the first Sunday in
October. The tradition started in 1810, with the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig
of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, according to the
city of Munich.
