{"id":1582,"date":"2024-02-17T21:25:11","date_gmt":"2024-02-17T20:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/?page_id=1582"},"modified":"2024-02-17T21:25:13","modified_gmt":"2024-02-17T20:25:13","slug":"germany","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/zh\/germany\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Germany<\/strong>, country<\/a> of north-central Europe<\/a>, traversing<\/a> the continent<\/a>\u2019s main physical divisions, from the outer ranges of the Alps<\/a> northward across the varied landscape<\/a> of the Central German Uplands and then across the North German Plain<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Germany\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Germany<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Europe<\/a>\u2019s largest countries, Germany encompasses<\/a> a wide variety of landscapes: the tall, sheer mountains of the south; the sandy, rolling plains of the north; the forested hills of the urbanized west; and the plains of the agricultural east. At the spiritual heart of the country is the magnificent east-central city of Berlin<\/a>, which rose phoenixlike from the ashes of World War II<\/a> and now, after decades of partition, is the capital of a reunified Germany, and the Rhine River<\/a>, which flows northward from Switzerland<\/a> and is celebrated in visual art, literature, folklore, and song. Along its banks and those of its principal tributaries\u2014among them the Neckar<\/a>, Main<\/a>, Moselle<\/a>, and Ruhr<\/a>\u2014stand hundreds of medieval<\/a> castles, churches, picturesque villages, market towns, and centres of learning and culture<\/a>, including Heidelberg<\/a>, the site of one of Europe\u2019s oldest universities (founded in 1386), and Mainz<\/a>, historically one of Europe\u2019s most important publishing centres. All are centrepieces of Germany\u2019s thriving tourist economy, which brings millions of visitors to the country each year, drawn by its natural beauty, history, culture, and cuisine (including its renowned wines and beers).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The name Germany has long described not a particular place but the loose, fluid polity of Germanic-speaking peoples that held sway over much of western Europe north of the Alps for millennia. Although Germany in that sense is an ancient entity<\/a>, the German nation in more or less its present form came into being only in the 19th century, when Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck<\/a> brought together dozens of German-speaking kingdoms, principalities, free cities, bishoprics, and duchies to form the German Empire<\/a> in 1871. This so-called Second Reich quickly became Europe\u2019s leading power and acquired colonies in Africa<\/a>, Asia<\/a>, and the Pacific. That overseas empire was dismantled following Germany\u2019s defeat in World War I<\/a> and the abdication<\/a> of Emperor William II<\/a>. Economic depression, widespread unemployment, and political strife that verged on civil war followed, leading to the collapse of the progressive Weimar Republic<\/a> and the rise of the Nazi Party<\/a> under Adolf Hitler<\/a>. After gaining power in 1933, Hitler established the Third Reich<\/a> and soon thereafter embarked<\/a> on a ruinous crusade to conquer Europe and exterminate Jews, Roma<\/a> (Gypsies), homosexuals, and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Britannica Quiz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guess the Country by Its Neighbors Quiz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern Berlin: Blending history with modernity<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overview of Berlin.See all videos for this article<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since World War II, Germany has made great efforts to both commemorate<\/a> the victims and redress the crimes of the Holocaust<\/a>, providing strong material and political support for the state of Israel<\/a> and actively prosecuting hate crimes and the propagation<\/a> of neo-Nazi doctrine<\/a>; the latter became an issue in the 1990s with the rise in Germany of anti-immigrant skinhead groups and the availability of Hitler\u2019s Mein Kampf<\/em><\/a> over the Internet. Clearly, modern Germany struggles to balance its national interests with those of an influx of political and economic refugees from far afield, especially North Africa<\/a>, Turkey<\/a>, and South Asia<\/a>, an influx that has fueled ethnic tensions and swelled the ranks of nationalist political parties, particularly in eastern Germany, where unemployment was double that of the west. Tensions became especially acute<\/a> in the second decade of the 21st century, when more than one million migrants entered Germany in the wake of the revolutions of the Arab Spring<\/a> and the Syrian Civil War<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did Berlin become the capital of reunified Germany?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overview of the decision to make Berlin\u2014rather than Bonn\u2014the capital of reunified Germany.See all videos for this article<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The constitution of the republic<\/a>, adopted in 1949 by West Germany<\/a>, created a federal system that gives significant government powers to its constituent<\/a> L\u00e4nder<\/a><\/em> (states). Before unification there were 11 West German L\u00e4nder<\/em> (including West Berlin, which had the special status of a Land<\/em> without voting rights), but, with the accession of East Germany, there are now 16 L\u00e4nder<\/em> in the unified republic. The largest of the states is Bavaria<\/a> (Bayern), the richest is Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg<\/a>, and the most populous is North Rhine\u2013Westphalia<\/a> (Nordrhein-Westfalen).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students save 67%! Learn more about our special academic rate today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matters of national importance, such as defense and foreign affairs, are reserved to the federal government. At both the state and federal levels, parliamentary democracy<\/a> prevails. The Federal Republic has been a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization<\/a> (NATO) since 1955 and was a founding member of the European Economic Community<\/a> (see<\/em> European Union<\/a>). During the four decades of partition, the Federal Republic concluded a number of agreements with the Soviet Union and East Germany, which it supported to some extent economically in return for various concessions<\/a> with regard to humanitarian matters and access to Berlin. West Germany\u2019s rapid economic recovery in the 1950s (Wirtschaftswunder<\/a><\/em>, or \u201ceconomic miracle\u201d) brought it into a leading position among the world\u2019s economic powers, a position that it has maintained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of Germany\u2019s post-World War II success has been the result of the renowned industriousness and self-sacrifice of its people, about which novelist G\u00fcnter Grass<\/a>, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1999, remarked, \u201cTo be a German is to make the impossible possible.\u201d He added, more critically,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For in our country everything is geared to growth. We\u2019re never satisfied. For us enough is never enough. We always want more. If it\u2019s on paper, we convert it into reality. Even in our dreams we\u2019re productive.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This devotion to hard work has combined with a public demeanour\u2014which is at once reserved and assertive\u2014to produce a stereotype<\/a> of the German people as aloof and distant. Yet Germans prize both their private friendships and their friendly relations with neighbours and visitors, place a high value on leisure and culture, and enjoy the benefits of life in a liberal democracy<\/a> that has become ever more integrated<\/a> with and central to a united Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Land of Germany<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Rhine River<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barge on the Rhine River, with vineyards in the background, at the town of Kaub, Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany is bounded at its extreme north on the Jutland<\/a> peninsula by Denmark<\/a>. East and west of the peninsula<\/a>, the Baltic Sea<\/a> (Ostsee) and North Sea<\/a> coasts, respectively, complete the northern border. To the west, Germany borders The Netherlands<\/a>, Belgium<\/a>, and Luxembourg<\/a>; to the southwest it borders France<\/a>. Germany shares its entire southern boundary<\/a> with Switzerland<\/a> and Austria<\/a>. In the southeast the border with the Czech Republic<\/a> corresponds to an earlier boundary of 1918, renewed by treaty in 1945. The easternmost frontier adjoins Poland<\/a> along the northward course of the Neisse River<\/a> and subsequently the Oder<\/a> to the Baltic Sea, with a westward deviation in the north to exclude the former German port city of Stettin (now Szczecin<\/a>, Poland) and the Oder mouth. This border reflects the loss of Germany\u2019s eastern territories to Poland, agreed to at the Yalta Conference<\/a> (February 1945), mandated<\/a> at the Potsdam Conference<\/a> (July\u2013August 1945) held among the victorious World War II <\/a>Allies<\/a>, and reaffirmed by subsequent governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zugspitze, Germany<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eastern summit of the Zugspitze, Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The major lineaments of Germany\u2019s physical geography are not unique. The country<\/a> spans the great east-west morphological zones that are characteristic of the western part of central Europe<\/a>. In the south Germany impinges on the outermost ranges of the Alps<\/a>. From there it extends across the Alpine Foreland (Alpenvorland), the plain on the northern edge of the Alps. Forming the core of the country is the large zone of the Central German Uplands, which is part of a wider European arc of territory stretching from the Massif Central<\/a> of France in the west into the Czech Republic, Slovakia<\/a>, and Poland in the east. In Germany it manifests<\/a> itself as a landscape with a complex mixture of forested block mountains, intermediate plateaus with scarped edges, and lowland basins. In the northern part of the country the North German Plain<\/a>, or Lowland, forms part of the greater North European Plain<\/a>, which broadens from the Low Countries<\/a> eastward across Germany and Poland into Belarus<\/a>, the Baltic states<\/a>, and Russia<\/a> and extends northward through Schleswig-Holstein<\/a> into the Jutland peninsula of Denmark. The North German Plain is fringed by marshes, mudflats, and the islands of the North and Baltic seas. In general, Germany has a south-to-north drop in altitude, from a maximum elevation of 9,718 feet (2,962 metres) in the Zugspitze<\/a> of the Bavarian Alps<\/a> to a few small areas slightly below sea level<\/a> in the north near the coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a common assumption that surface configuration<\/a> reflects the underlying rock type; a hard resistant rock such as granite will stand out, whereas a softer rock such as clay will be weathered away. However, this assumption is not always borne out. The Zugspitze, for example, is Germany\u2019s highest summit not because it is composed of particularly resistant rocks but because it was raised by the mighty earth movements that began some 37 to 24 million years ago and created the Alps, Europe\u2019s highest and youngest fold mountains. Another powerful force determining surface configuration is erosion<\/a>, mainly by rivers. In the Permian Period<\/a> (some 290 million years ago) an earlier mountain chain\u2014the Hercynian<\/a>, or Variscan, mountains\u2014had crossed Europe in the area of the Central German Uplands. Yet the forces of erosion were sufficient to reduce these mountains to almost level surfaces, on which a series of secondary sedimentary rocks of Permian<\/a> to Jurassic<\/a> age (about 300 to 145 million years old) were deposited. The entire formation was subsequently fractured and warped under the impact of the Alpine orogeny<\/a>. This process was accompanied by some volcanic activity<\/a>, which left behind not only peaks but also a substantial number of hot and mineral springs. Dramatic erosion occurred as the Alpine chains were rising, filling the furrow that now constitutes<\/a> the Alpine Foreland. The pattern of valleys eroded by streams and rivers has largely given rise to the details of the present landscape. Valley glaciers<\/a> emerging from the Alps and ice sheets from Scandinavia<\/a> had some erosive effect, but they mainly contributed sheets of glacial deposits. Slopes outside the area of the actual ice sheets\u2014those under tundra conditions and unprotected by vegetation\u2014were rendered less steep by the periglacial slumping of surface deposits under the influence of gravitation. Winds blowing over unprotected surfaces fringing the ice sheets picked up fine material known as loess<\/a>; once deposited, it became Germany\u2019s most fertile soil-parent material. Coarser weathered material was carried into alluvial cones and gravel-covered river terraces, as in the Rhine Rift Valley (Rhine Graben).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The detailed morphology<\/a> of Germany is significant in providing local modifications to climate, hydrology, and soils, with consequent effects on vegetation and agricultural utilization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relief of Germany<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The Central German Uplands<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Geographically, the Central German Uplands form a region of great complexity. Under the impact of the Alpine orogeny<\/a>, the planed-off remnants of the former Hercynian mountains were shattered and portions thrust upward to form block mountains, with sedimentary rocks preserved between them in lowlands and plateaus. The Central German Uplands may be divided into three main parts: a predominantly lowland country<\/a> in the south, an arc of massifs and plateaus<\/a> running from the Rhenish Uplands to Bohemia, and a fairly narrow northern fringe, composed of folded secondary rocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southern Germany<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Germany: Black Forest<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mountain village in the Black Forest region, Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg, Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In southern Germany Hercynian massifs are of restricted extent. The Black Forest<\/a> (Schwarzwald) was once continuous with the Vosges<\/a> massif in what is now France<\/a>, but they were broken apart through the sinking of a central strip to form the Rhine Rift Valley, which extends 185 miles (300 km) in length. The Black Forest reaches its greatest elevation at Mount Feld<\/a> (Feldberg; 4,898 feet [1,493 metres]) in the south and declines northward beneath secondary sediments before rising to the smaller Oden Forest<\/a>. For the most part, however, southern Germany consists of scarplands<\/a>, mainly of Triassic<\/a> age (about 250 to 200 million years old). The work of erosion on eastward-dipping strata<\/a> has left the sandstones standing out as west- or northwest-facing scarps, overlooking valleys or low plateaus of clays or Muschelkalk (Triassic limestone formed from shells). The sequence of Triassic rocks ends south and east against the great Jurassic scarp of the Swabian Alp<\/a> (Schw\u00e4bische Alb), rising to more than 3,300 feet (1,000 metres), and its continuation, the lower Franconian Alp (Fr\u00e4nkische Alb). Large parts of the plateaus and lowlands in the eastern region are covered with loess and are farmed, but the massive Bunter Sandstone fringing the Black Forest and the Keuper scarp are mainly wooded. West of the Rhine there are again wide stretches of forested Bunter Sandstone, with more open country in the Saar<\/a> region and along the foot of the Hunsr\u00fcck upland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The barrier arc<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The open land of southern Germany ends against a great barrier arc of Hercynian massifs and forested sandstone plateaus. In the west the Rhenish Uplands (Rheinisches Schiefergebirge<\/a>) consist mainly of resistant slates and shales. The complex block is tilted generally northwestward, with a steep fault-line scarp in the south. The intensely folded rocks are planed off by erosion surfaces that give the massif a rather monotonous appearance, broken only by quartzite ridges, especially in the south, where the Hunsr\u00fcck<\/a> rises to 2,684 feet (818 metres) and the Taunus<\/a> to 2,884 feet (879 metres).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rhine River<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rhine River flowing through Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katz Castle; Sankt Goarshausen; Rhine River<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katz Castle, overlooking Sankt Goarshausen and the middle Rhine River, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The valleys are quite different. They range from narrow forested slots\u2014a great hindrance to passage\u2014to the spectacular gorge of the Rhine, the most important natural routeway through the barrier arc. The most dramatic section of the gorge runs from Bingen<\/a> to the vicinity<\/a> of Koblenz<\/a>; hilltop castles look down over vineyards to picturesque valley towns. In this section is the Lorelei<\/a> rock, from which a legendary siren<\/a> is said to have lured fishermen to their death on the rocks. Britannica QuizYou Name It!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until highways were constructed over the plateau tops, access to the uplands was difficult. The landscape gained some variety from past volcanic activity<\/a> responsible for the eroded volcanic necks of the Siebengebirge<\/a> (Seven Hills) near Bonn<\/a>, the flooded craters and cinder cones of the Eifel<\/a> Upland, and the sombre basalt flows of the Westerwald<\/a>. Westward the Rhenish Uplands continue into Belgium<\/a> as the Ardennes<\/a>. In the Carboniferous Period<\/a> (about 360 to 300 million years ago), when the Hercynian uplands were still young folded mountains, great deltaic swamps developed to the north and south; these were the basis of the great Ruhr<\/a> coalfield and the smaller Aachen<\/a> and Saar fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eastern end of the barrier arc is buttressed by the great and complex Bohemian Massif<\/a>, which Germany shares only marginally. On the southwestern fringe<\/a> of the massif, German territory includes the remote and thinly populated Bohemian Forest<\/a> and the Bavarian Forest<\/a>. Along part of the Czech border are the Ore Mountains<\/a> (Erzgebirge), where the centuries-old mining tradition still continued during the period of the German Democratic Republic<\/a> before ending in the 1990s. The Bohemian Massif is prolonged northwestward by the long spur of the Thuringian Forest<\/a> (Th\u00fcringer Wald), which separates the scarplands of northern Bavaria<\/a> from the Thuringian Lowland. The barrier arc is completed by the great eroded cone of the Vogelberg, rising to 2,536 feet (773 metres), the volcanic Rh\u00f6n mountains, and the forested Bunter Sandstone plateaus of northern Hessen<\/a>. The Rhine Rift Valley continues northward through Hessen, with a series of discontinuous basins filled with sediments from the Paleogene and Neogene periods (i.e., about 65 to 2.6 million years ago) that allow a slightly difficult traverse<\/a> to the North German Plain<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The northern fringe of the Central German Uplands<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

North of the upland barrier there are a number of regions, generally of folded limestones, sandstones<\/a>, and clays, that mark the transition to the expanse of the North German Plain. Balanced on either side of the plateau<\/a> of Hessen are two basins of subdued scarpland relief, the Westphalian Basin to the northwest and the Thuringian Basin<\/a> to the southeast, both partially invaded by glacial outwash<\/a> from the North German Plain. Hessen and the Westphalian Basin are succeeded northward by the hills of Lower Saxony<\/a>. The breakthrough of the Weser River<\/a> into the North German Plain at the Porta Westfalica, south of Minden<\/a>, is overlooked by the giant monument of Emperor William I<\/a> (built in 1896). North of the Thuringian Basin<\/a> is one of the smaller Hercynian massifs, the Harz<\/a>, which reaches an elevation of 3,747 feet (1,142 metres) in the Brocken<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The North German Plain<\/a><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Less than 90 miles (145 km) wide in the west, the North German Plain, or Lowland, broadens eastward across the whole of northern Germany. Although relief is subdued everywhere, the landscape is varied and beautiful. Unconsolidated Paleogene and Neogene deposits, gravels, sands, and clays, with overlying glacial drift, have buried the previous landscape of secondary rocks. These make only two brief appearances, in the chalk cliffs of the island of R\u00fcgen<\/a> in the Baltic Sea and in the cliffs of Triassic Bunter Sandstone of the island of Helgoland<\/a>, located some 40 miles (65 km) northwest of Cuxhaven<\/a> in the North Sea. In the Paleogene and Neogene periods large swamps developed, and the underlying<\/a> deposits of lignite<\/a> (brown coal) are mined in Saxony<\/a>, in Lower Lusatia (Niederlausitz), and west of the city of Cologne<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elbe River<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Elbe River flowing past K\u00f6nigstein, Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The North German Plain is divided into contrasting eastern and western portions, the division marked approximately by the Elbe<\/a> valley. The northern and eastern regions were molded by southward-moving ice sheets in the last (Weichsel<\/a>, or Vistula) glaciation<\/a>. The advancing ice sheets pushed up material that remains today as terminal moraines, stretching across the country<\/a> in a generally southeast-to-northwest direction and rising to some 500 feet (150 metres) above the general level. Within the terminal<\/a> moraines the decay of the ice sheets typically left behind sheets of till (ground moraine). They are studded with ponds, often resulting from the decay of buried \u201cdead ice,\u201d and littered with boulders of all sizes brought by the ice from Scandinavia. In a region otherwise lacking in stone, these boulders were used as building material and are to be found forming the walls of the oldest churches. Outside the moraines, meltwater laid down sheets of outwash sands, which, offering poorer soils, are frequently forested. In the moraine country there are large, long, and branching lake systems, usually believed to have been formed by water moving under the ice sheets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unique character of the region east of the Elbe is further enhanced<\/a> by the fact that the ice sheets of the last glaciation coming from the north blocked the river\u2019s natural flow to the Baltic, forcing it to escape laterally around the margin of the ice toward the North Sea; the river cut a deep trench as it did so. The landscape in the western portion of the plain tends to be monotonous. Much of it was formerly heath; the few patches that have escaped afforestation, agricultural improvements, or damage caused by military training have a wistful<\/a> beauty, especially when the heather is in bloom. At 554 feet (169 metres), Wilseder Hill (Wilseder Berg), a fragment of a former moraine, is the highest elevation in theL\u00fcneburg Heath<\/a> (L\u00fcneburger Heide), a plateau extending on a morainic belt between Hamburg<\/a> and Hannover<\/a>. Toward the maritime northwest, large areas of peat bogs have been reclaimed for agriculture. The southern edge of the plain extending to the Thuringian Basin<\/a> is marked by a belt of mainly loess, which supports highly productive agricultural activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coasts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The western and eastern coastlines vary considerably in their forms. The coast of the North Sea<\/a> continues the type familiar in the northern Netherlands; an offshore bar<\/a>, crowned with sand dunes, has been shattered and left as the chain of the East Frisian Islands<\/a> off the coast of Lower Saxony<\/a> and the North Frisian Islands<\/a> off the Schleswig-Holstein portion of the Jutland peninsula. These islands form a favourite vacation area in summer. The sea has encroached<\/a> upon the land behind the islands, forming tidal flats (known as Wattenmeer<\/em>), which become exposed at low tide. The coast is broken by the estuaries of the Elbe, Weser, and Ems<\/a> rivers and by drowned inlets such as the Jade and Dollart bays. Much of this area is now protected within three adjoining national parks (Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, and Lower Saxony Wadden Sea national parks).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along the Baltic<\/a> coast, the boulder-clay plains shelve rather tamely beneath the sea. However, the typically varied relief of minor moraines, depressions, and other glacial features gives diversity<\/a> to the coastline. In Schleswig-Holstein<\/a> long inlets (fjords), carved by water moving beneath the ice sheets, extend to the sea. Farther east the coast gains in complexity; there are peninsulas and sea inlets known as Bodden<\/em>, and sandy beach bars dominate the landscape. Several islands line the shore, including Usedom, Hiddensee, Poel, and R\u00fcgen, Germany\u2019s largest island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Alps<\/a> and the Alpine Foreland<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Very small portions of the outer limestone (or calcareous) Alps extend from Austria<\/a> into Germany. From west to east these are the Allg\u00e4uer Alps, the Wetterstein Alps<\/a>\u2014with Germany\u2019s highest mountain, the Zugspitze<\/a>\u2014and the Berchtesgadener Alps. Like the North German Plain, the Alpine Foreland is fundamentally a depression filled with Paleogene and Neogene gravels, sands, and clays, which are derived<\/a> from the Alpine orogeny<\/a>. In contrast to the North German Plain, however, the Paleogene and Neogene deposits are more visible on the surface. Along the foot of the limestone Alps but particularly in the Allg\u00e4uer Alps in the west, the older Paleogene and Neogene deposits (flysch, molasse) were caught up in the later stages of the Alpine folding, forming a pre-Alpine belt of hills and low mountains consisting mainly of sandstone. The Paleogene and Neogene sands and clays also emerge at a much lower elevation in the northeast, forming a subdued landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glaciers emerging<\/a> from the main Alpine valleys formed lobes stretching some 20 to 35 miles (30 to 55 km) into the plain. Crescentic moraines mark the points where the lobes came to rest; within the moraines are irregular deposits of till and many lakes. Outside the moraines, floodwaters deposited sheets of outwash gravel, which extend as river terraces along the courses of tributaries flowing north to the Danube. The Alps and the Bavarian lakes are among Germany\u2019s most favoured tourist areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drainage of Germany<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Isar River<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isar River at its source in the Karwendelgebirge (mountains), Bavaria, Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most German rivers follow the general north-northwestward inclination of the land, eventually entering the North Sea<\/a>. The major exception to the rule is the Danube<\/a>, which rises in the Black Forest<\/a> and flows eastward, marking approximately the boundary between the Central German Uplands and the Alpine Foreland. The Danube draws upon a series of right-bank Alpine tributaries, which, through reliance on spring and summer snowmelt, make its regime notably uneven. Further exceptions are the Altm\u00fchl and the Naab, which follow a southerly direction until becoming north-bank tributaries of the Danube, and the Havel<\/a>, which flows south, west, and north before emptying into the Elbe River. River flow relates mainly to climate, albeit<\/a> not in a simple way; for example, in all but Alpine Germany, maximum river flow occurs in winter when evaporation is low, though in the lowlands the peak rainfall is in summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rhine River<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meander in the Rhine River valley at Boppard, Germany, just south of the confluence with the Moselle River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most majestic of the rivers flowing through Germany is the Rhine<\/a>. It has its source in east-central Switzerland<\/a> and flows west through Lake Constance<\/a> (Bodensee), skirting the Black Forest to turn northward across the Central German Uplands. Below Bonn<\/a> the Rhine emerges into a broad plain, and west of Emmerich it enters The Netherlands to issue into the North Sea. The Rhine belongs to two types of river regimes<\/a>. Rising in the Alps<\/a>, it profits first from the extremely torrential Alpine regime, which causes streams to be swollen by snowmelt in late spring and summer. Then, by means of its tributaries\u2014the Neckar<\/a>, Main<\/a>, and Moselle<\/a> (German Mosel)\u2014the Rhine receives the drainage of the Central German Uplands and the eastern part of France<\/a>, which contributes to a maximum flow during the winter. As a result, the river has a remarkably powerful and even flow, a physical endowment that caused it to become the busiest waterway in Europe<\/a>. Only in occasional dry autumns are barges unable to load to full capacity<\/a> to pass the Rhine gorge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Weser<\/a> and Elbe<\/a> rise in the Central German Uplands, crossing the North German Plain<\/a> to enter the North Sea. The northward-flowing Oder<\/a> (with its tributary, the Neisse) passes through the northeastern part of the country<\/a> and a small section of Poland<\/a> before emptying into the Baltic Sea<\/a>. The navigation of these rivers is often adversely affected in the summer by low water and in the winter by ice, which increases eastward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

River courses in the northern lowlands have a notably trellised pattern\u2014rivers follow the ice-margin stream trenches (Urstromt\u00e4ler<\/em>) carved outside the fringes of the retreating ice sheets before breaking through the next moraine ridge to the north. This pattern greatly facilitated<\/a> the cutting of canals linking the Rhine River with Berlin<\/a> and the Elbe and Oder rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exploring Lake M\u00fcritz: Germany’s second largest lake<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overview of Lake M\u00fcritz, Mecklenburg\u2013West Pomerania, Germany.See all videos for this article<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany has relatively few lakes. The greatest concentration comprises<\/a> the shallow lakes of the postglacial lowland of the northeast. The largest natural lake in the region is Lake M\u00fcritz<\/a> (44 square miles [114 square km]) in the Weichsel glacial drift of Mecklenburg\u2013West Pomerania<\/a>. In addition to D\u00fcmmer and Steinhude in Lower Saxony<\/a>, a few small lakes of glacial origin dot Schleswig-Holstein<\/a>. The remainder of Germany\u2019s lakes are concentrated at the extreme southeastern corner of Upper Bavaria<\/a>, many of these in outstandingly beautiful surroundings. Germany shares Lake Constance<\/a>, its largest lake (having the proportions of an inland sea), with Switzerland and Austria<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soils of Germany<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Most of Germany has temperate brown and deep brown soils<\/a>. Their formation is dependent on relief, hydrologic conditions, vegetation, and human intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany\u2019s finest soils are developed on the loess of the northern flank<\/a> of the Central German Uplands, the Magdeburg<\/a> Plain, the Thuringian Basin<\/a> and adjoining areas, the Rhine valley, and the Alpine Foreland. They range from black to extremely fertile brown soil types, and most of them are arable land under cultivation. The till (ground moraine) of the North German Plain<\/a> and Alpine Foreland has heavy but fertile soil. Other productive soils include those based on fluvial deposits in river valleys (e.g., those in the Rhine floodplain from Mainz<\/a> to Basel, Switzerland). Brown soil covers much of the Central German Uplands and is used for agriculture and grazing. With increasing elevation, soils are suitable only for grazing or forestation. In the northern plains the soil types are sand, loam, and brown podzols, which are heavily leached<\/a> of mineral matter and humus by deforestation and grazing. Along the North Sea<\/a> littoral in the northwest there are some extensive areas of sand, marsh, and mudflats that are covered with rich soil suitable for grazing and growing crops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of the preponderance of mountainous and forested areas, the remainder of German soil types range from sand to loam, from loam to clay, and from clay to rocky outcrops. Timber production thrives where the land is all but unarable, and viticulture in the southern hill regions flourishes in an otherwise inhospitable type of soil.Thomas Henry Elkins<\/a>William H. Berentsen<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate of Germany<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Germany is favoured with a generally temperate climate, especially in view of its northerly latitudes and the distance of the larger portions of its territory from the warming influence of the North Atlantic Current<\/a>. Extremely high temperatures in the summer and deep, prolonged frost in the winter are rare. These conditions, together with a more-than-abundant and well-distributed amount of rainfall, afford ideal conditions for raising crops. As throughout western Europe<\/a> in general, however, Germany\u2019s climate is subject to quick variations when the moderate<\/a> westerly winds from the Atlantic Ocean<\/a> collide with the cold air masses moving in from northeastern Europe. Whereas in the open coastlands near the North and Baltic seas the maritime component prevails, continental elements gain in importance moving toward the east and southeast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seasonal weather is subject to great variations from year to year. Winters may be unusually cold or prolonged, particularly in the higher elevations in the south, or mild, with the temperatures hovering only two or three degrees above or below the freezing point<\/a>. Spring may arrive early and extend through a hot, rainless summer to a warm, dry autumn with the threat of drought<\/a>. In other years, spring\u2014invariably interrupted by a frosty lapse in May, popularly known as die drei Eisheiligen<\/em> (\u201cthe three ice saints\u201d)\u2014may arrive so late as to be imperceptible and be followed by a cool, rainy summer. One less-agreeable feature of the German climate is the almost permanent overcast in the cool seasons, only infrequently accompanied by precipitation; it sets in toward the latter part of autumn and lifts as late as March or April. Thus, for months on end, little sunshine may appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the country\u2019s<\/a> generally temperate climate<\/a>, there are specific regional patterns associated with temperature, frequency of sunshine, humidity, and precipitation. Germany\u2019s northwestern and lowland portions are affected chiefly by the uniformly moist air, moderate in temperature, that is carried inland from the North Sea<\/a> by the prevailing<\/a> westerly winds. Although this influence affords moderately warm summers and mild winters, it is accompanied by the disadvantages of high humidities, extended stretches of rainfall, and, in the cooler seasons, fog. Precipitation<\/a> diminishes eastward, as the plains open toward the Eurasian interior and the average temperatures<\/a> for the warmest and coldest months become more extreme. The hilly areas of the central and southwestern regions and, to an even greater degree, the upland and plateau areas of the southeast are subject to the more pronounced ranges of hot and cold from the countervailing continental climate. The mountains have a wetter and cooler climate, with westward-facing slopes receiving the highest rainfall from maritime<\/a> air masses. The Brocken<\/a> in the Harz<\/a> mountains receives annual precipitation of some 60 inches (1,500 mm) at an altitude in excess of 3,700 feet (1,100 metres). The sheltered lee slopes and basins have, by contrast, rainfall that is extremely low\u2014Alsleben receives about 17 inches (432 mm) annually\u2014and hot summers\u2014July mean temperatures above 64 \u00b0F (18 \u00b0C)\u2014that necessitate crop irrigation. Southeastern Germany may intermittently be the coldest area of the country in the winter, but the valleys of the Rhine, Main, Neckar, and Moselle rivers may also be the hottest in the summer. Winters in the North German Plain<\/a> tend to be consistently colder, if only by a few degrees, than in the south, largely because of winds from Scandinavia. There is also a general decrease of winter temperature from west to east, with Berlin<\/a> having an average temperature in January of 31.5 \u00b0F (\u22120.3 \u00b0C).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One anomaly<\/a> of the climate of Upper Bavaria is the occasional appearance of warm, dry air passing over the northern Alps<\/a> to the Bavarian Plateau. These mild winds, known as foehn<\/a>s (F\u00f6hn<\/em>), can create an optical phenomenon that makes the Alps visible from points where they normally would be out of sight, and they also are responsible for the abrupt melting of the snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annual mean precipitation varies according to region. It is lowest in the North German Plain, where it fluctuates<\/a> from 20 to 30 inches (500 to 750 mm); in the Central German Uplands it ranges from nearly 30 to about 60 inches (750 to 1,500 mm) and in the Alpine regions up to and exceeding 80 inches (2,000 mm).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant and animal life<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Since Germany is a somewhat arbitrary south-north slice across central Europe<\/a>, it does not have vegetation and animal life greatly different from that of neighbouring countries. Before being settled, Germany was almost totally forested, except for a few areas of marsh. There is now little truly natural vegetation; both the cultivated<\/a> areas and the country\u2019s<\/a> extensive forests, which account for about one-fifth of the total land area, are man-made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bavarian Forest<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bavarian Forest, southeastern Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the Ice Age<\/a> the loess areas were covered by oak<\/a> and hornbeam<\/a> forests, which are now largely gone. The sandy areas of the North German Plain<\/a> were originally covered by a predominantly mixed oak-birch<\/a> woodland<\/a>. They were cleared and replaced by heather<\/a> (Calluna vulgaris<\/em>) for sheep grazing, with associated soil erosion. In the 19th century artificial fertilizer was introduced to improve some of this land for agriculture, and large stretches were forested, mainly with Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris<\/em>). The Central German Uplands are traditionally the domain<\/a> of the beech (Fagus sylvatica<\/a><\/em>), a tree with a leaf canopy<\/a> so dense that few plants can survive beneath it. Although beech<\/a> trees survive well on the poor soils covering the limestones and the Bunter Sandstone, many have been replaced by pine in the lowlands and spruce in the uplands. Other conifers<\/a>, such as the Douglas and Sitka<\/a> spruces<\/a>, Weymouth<\/a> pine<\/a>, and Japanese larch<\/a>, also have been introduced. In the highest elevations of the Alps<\/a>, mixed forests<\/a> and pasture provide grazing for cattle<\/a>. German forests have suffered greatly from acid rain<\/a> pollution, generally blamed on emissions (of sulfur dioxide<\/a> and nitrogen oxide) from power plants, industrial operations, and motor-vehicle emissions. Damage has also been severe in southeastern Germany near the Ore Mountains<\/a>, which border on the Czech Republic<\/a> and its lignite-burning industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Animals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The vast tracts of forest and mountainous terrain, with only scattered habitation, contribute to a surprising variety of wildlife. Game animals abound in most regions\u2014several varieties of deer, quail, and pheasant and, in the Alpine regions, the chamois and ibex\u2014and their numbers are protected by stringent game laws. The wild boar<\/a> population, which soared after World War II because of restrictions on hunting, has now been reduced so that it no longer represents a danger to people or crops. The hare, a favoured game animal, is ubiquitous<\/a>. Although the bear and wolf are now extinct in the wild, the wildcat<\/a> has had a resurgence since World War II<\/a>, especially in the Eifel<\/a> and Hunsr\u00fcck<\/a> regions and in the Harz<\/a> mountains. The lynx reappeared in the areas near the Czech border, and the elk and wolf are occasional intruders from the east. The polecat, marten, weasel, beaver, and badger are found in the central and southern uplands, and the otter and wildcat are among the rarer animals of the Elbe basin. Common reptiles include salamanders, slow worms, and various lizards and snakes, of which only the adder is poisonous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany has several internationally recognized bird reserves. The tidal flats of Lower Saxony<\/a> (Nieders\u00e4chsisches Wattenmeer) and Schleswig-Holstein<\/a> along the North Sea<\/a> coast, the lakes of the Mecklenburg<\/a> plains, and glacially formed lakes of the North German Plain are vital<\/a> areas for the European migration of ducks, geese, and waders. The nature protection park at L\u00fcneburg Heath<\/a> is a haven for various species of plants, birds, insects, and reptiles. The rare white-tailed eagle<\/a> can be found in the lakes of the North German Plain, whereas the golden eagle<\/a> can be seen in the Alps. White storks<\/a> have decreased in number, but they can still be seen, perched on enormous piles of sticks on chimneys or church towers in areas where unpolluted and undrained marsh is still found. One newly designated reserve area is now within a national park<\/a> in the lower Oder River valley, which is flooded annually. The park was established as part of an effort to preserve Germany\u2019s unique<\/a> ecosystem and its hundreds of species of native birds and plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All information come from Encyclopedia Britannica<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Germany Free Tour Germany Free Tour Berlin Free Tour Nuremberg Free Tour Munich Free Tour Freiburg Free Tour Frankfurt Free Tour Bonn Free Tour Bremen Free Tour Cologne Free Tour Dresden Free Tour Hamburg Free Tour Leipzig Free Tour Augsburg Free Tour Information: Germany, country of north-central Europe, traversing the continent\u2019s main physical divisions, from … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1582","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","latest_post"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"zh","enabled_languages":["en","es","zh","it"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"it":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"yoast_head":"\nBest Free walking tour Europe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/germany\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"zh_CN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Germany - 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