Germany is the first country in the world to switch to daylight saving time (putting the hands of the clock one hour forward is used in many countries in order to more efficiently use daylight hours and save electricity for lighting). It happened in 1916 in order to save coal during the war.
The history of leaders in the sports goods industry, Adidas and Puma, began in the German city of Herzogenaurach. The founders of the two companies were brothers who had a falling out during World War II over conflicting political views. The Dassler brothers, who originally had a common business, began to create global empires of sporting goods after the war, which to this day are competitors.
The oldest diner in the world appeared in Germany, back in 1146. Located in the city of Regensburg, it still functions today as the "Regensburg sausage kitchen". This is the oldest fast food restaurant in the world, operating continuously. The documented recipes for making a true sausage in this tavern date back only to the 1800s. However, the national devotion to more than a thousand varieties of sausages is undeniable.
In the capital of Germany, there are twice as many bridges as in the famous Venice – about 960. In the Italian town on the water, according to the latest data, there are just over 400 bridges. Berlin, together with the surrounding land of Brandenburg, is the largest network of inland waters in Europe.
East and West Germany look different at night from space. The yellow lights correspond to the Eastern part of the country. The Western part looks paler from a height. Most likely, the difference in street lighting technologies, historically formed during the period of the post-war division, causes the "effect of the border manifestation".
In Germany, the law does not provide for additional punishment for attempting to escape from prison; already in the 19th century, German legislation recognized a person's desire for freedom as a "basic instinct" and ruled that people cannot be punished for it.
Fishing in Germany is legal only after completing the relevant courses. Upon completion of the courses, a written examination is taken. A fishing license is issued only in the case of at least 45 correct answers out of 60. One of the sections of the training is devoted to how to handle the caught fish so that it does not experience unnecessary torment.
The population of Germany is about 83 million people. This is approximately half the population of Russia and about four times less than the population of the United States.
In Europe, Germany has the second largest population after Russia. The country that is next after Germany by population is France - 67 million.
The official language is German. In addition, the population uses more than 60 German dialects, which are also spoken by residents of the border regions of neighboring states. Dialects can vary so much that the inhabitants of the Northern regions of the country can hardly understand the speech of the Southerners. An interesting fact: according to estimates, about 6 million people speak Russian in Germany to some extent, including more than 3 million: immigrants from the countries of the former USSR (and their descendants), mainly from Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine.
Germany is the second most popular country among immigrants after the United States. Most of the immigrants living in Germany are from Europe. Top 3 nationalities migrating to Germany are: Turks, Poles and Italians. Foreign labor is helping to mitigate the effects of low fertility, increased life expectancy and an aging society. The UN predicts that the number of working Germans will drop to 54% by 2030.
Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne
The population of Berlin, the capital, is approximately 3 million 780 thousand people, which is comparable to the population of Los Angeles in the USA or the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia.
The second largest city in Germany – Hamburg, is the most populous non-capital city in the European Union. According to estimates for 2019, the city's population is 1 million 900 thousand people. Hamburg is a city-state within the Federal Republic of Germany, which means that it has more independence than other lands of the country.
