Interesting Facts About Germany

What do you know about Germany? Following some interesting facts about Germany and the Germans that you probably didn’t know! To make this even more fun, I want to challenge you. How many of these facts did you know before reading? Share your results in the comment section at the end of this article. 

The most populous nation in the European Union with a population of 82 million is Germany. Countries that border Germany include France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, and Switzerland. Germany invented lots of things, for example, Johann Gutenberg created 1440 typography. Another thing that still affects us today, is the diesel engine, which was 1897 invented from Rudolf Diesel. Also, the otto engine was invented in 1876 by the German engineer Nicolaus Otto. Furthermore, almost 90 Germans have been awarded the Nobel prize in their field, including Albert Einstein, who was born in Germany. Germany has been called the “Land of Poets and Thinkers.” Germans are famous in all forms of art, but particularly classical music. Germany’s famous composers include Bach, Brahms, Schumann, Wagner, and Beethoven. 

The very impressive story about two brothers who are the founder of the sports brands Adidas (founded by Adolf Dassler) and Puma (founded by Rudolf Dassler) are both from Bavaria, Germany. Together they had in the 1920s a company and produced shoes. At the time of the national socialists, both got a member of the NSDAP (the Nazi party). Despite the displeasure of the Nazi and Rudolf, Adi produced shoes for the African American Jesse Owens. During the war, they produced weapons instead of shoes because they were needed more. Rudolf in contrast to Adi had to go to war, and later on, he had to go to jail because he was accused of espionage. In 1948 the brothers split up and each founded their own company “Adidas” and “Puma”. Rudolf stole the idea of his brother to take screw bolts for soccer shoes so that you don’t slip while running. Both died estranged in the 70s, and their companies are still opponents, even though Adidas makes a profit of 17 million, and Puma makes just a profit of three million.

Fanta originated in Germany as a result of the Second World War. Due to a trade embargo that prevented importing Coca-Cola syrup into Germany, the head of Coca-Cola in the country decided to create a product for the market using available ‘leftover’ products like whey and apple pomace. It’s the second oldest brand of the Coca-Cola company and its second most popular drink outside of the United States. It’s consumed 130 million times every day around the world. Another interesting fact about drinks is that beer counts as an essential food in Bavaria and also there is a “purity law” (Reinheitsgebot, actually purity decree), which is a regulation limiting the ingredients in beer in Germany since 1516. The purity law says that beer shall only be made with hop, malt, yeast, and water. Besides that, there are more than 6000 beer brands. Different from the US is the fact that 70% of Germans “Autobahnen” has no speed limit for cars. Germany is also famous for its car industry, companies like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi, and Volkswagen. Moreover, going to College in Germany is free, even for international students. That is possible because universities are funded by the government. Finally, one more interesting fact about the German culture is that you should never wish a German “Happy Birthday” in advance because Germans believe that it brings bad luck.  

There are lots of interesting facts about Germany, which is a country with a long history, important companies and inventions, and lots of unique traditions, and it is worth visiting.