The Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the largest country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by Denmark, to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic, to the south by Austria and Switzerland, and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Germany is a federation of 16 states, similar to the US, each with a distinct and unique culture and contrary to the general foreigner's conception not a very homogenous nation.

Understand

Being the largest Central European country both in population and size, Germany is the largest economy in Europe and is also the world's biggest exporter nation. Even so, its size is tiny compared with most of the other powerful nations in the world. Germany is a federalist country with a highly decentralised structure and has several large urban cities. Therefore, the capital Berlin is not as dominant over the rest of the nation as say London is in the United Kingdom or Paris in France. Nevertheless, it has been touted as one of the world's most fashionable big cities since the early 90s.

The undisputed financial capital of Germany is Frankfurt am Main (not to be confused with Frankfurt an der Oder). It features an unusual skyline in Central Europe with its many high-rise buildings, an ever growing airport and the city is sometimes being referred to as "Mainhattan".

The historically decentralised structure lead to a regional stronghold of traditions. Germany's famous beer culture is centered around Southern Germany's biggest city (Munich), where beer is traditionally served in 1 liter mugs (not in Kneipen (pubs) and Restaurants). Munich is also the site of the annual Oktoberfest, Europe's most visited festival and the world's largest fair.

Germany's south-western regions are known for their wine growing areas (e.g. Rheinhessen and Palatinate) and Bad Duerkheim on the 'German wine route' organises the biggest wine festival worldwide with over 600,000 visitors annually.

Cars are a symbol of national pride, and manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and Volkswagen (VW) are famous internationally for their quality, safety and style. This quality is matched by Germany's excellent network of roadways including the world famous Autobahn network, which has many sections without speed limits and attracts lots of speed hungry drivers. Germany also features an extensive network of high speed trains - the InterCityExpress (ICE).

Germany was the host of the FIFA World Cup 2006.