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Germany, Brandenburg Gate, Neu Schwanstein,
Cuckoo Clock with Map of Germany
Map and
country description on Coffee Gift Mugs
Text on
Brandenburger Tor Coffee Mug
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Germany, Federal Republic.
Major industrialized nation in central Europe, is a federal union
of 16 states. Germany has a long history and rich culture, but it
did not become a unified nation until 1871. Before that time,
Germany had been a confederacy and a federal empire comprising
many separate and quite different principalities. Germany is the
fourth largest country in area in Europe. The country has a varied
terrain that ranges from low-lying coastal flats along the North
and Baltic seas, to a central area of rolling hills and river
valleys, to heavily forested mountains and snow-covered Alps in
the south. Several major rivers and canals traverse the country
and have helped make it a transportation center. The country has a
total of about 85 million people. Germany is overwhelmingly urban,
and most people lead a prosperous, comfortable lifestyle, with
adequate leisure time and comprehensive social welfare benefits.
Berlin is again its capital and largest city. The principal
language is German. Germans have made numerous noteworthy
contributions to culture. Among the many outstanding German
authors, artists, architects, musicians, and philosophers, the
composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven are
probably the best known the world over. German literary greats
include Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Nietzsche, and
Thomas Mann. |
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