Germany (Steel and Bridle)
German Empire Deutsches Kaiserreich (language?) | |
|---|---|
.svg) Flag
 Imperial Coat of Arms
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 Placeholder image. | |
| Capital |
Multicentral
|
| Largest city | Rhine-Ruhr |
| Official languages | German |
| Recognized regional languages | German dialects, languages from neighboring countries, Dschingtau German |
| Ethnic groups (2024) |
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| Religion (2024) |
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| Demonym(s) | German |
| Government |
Mixed executive elective moarchy |
• Monarch | Karl X of Germany |
| Marius Graf von Waldburg zu Zeil | |
| Georg Augustus Zickerick | |
| Matthäus Campe | |
| Christoff Walter von Buchheister | |
| Legislature | Bicameral| |
| Bundesrat | |
| Bundestag | |
| Formation | |
| 800-887 | |
| 843-962 | |
| 800/962-180 | |
| 1806-1813 | |
| 1813-1933 | |
| 1933-1938 | |
• Reestablishment of the Kingdom of Germany | September 19, 1938 |
| Area | |
• Total | 519,525 km2 (200,590 sq mi) (66th) |
• Water (%) | 0.87% (as of 2015) |
| Population | |
• 2024 estimate | 133,363,675 (13th) |
• 2022 census | 130,201,051 (12th) |
• Density | 256.7/km2 (664.8/sq mi) (46th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2024 estimate |
• Total |
 5.843 trillion ₧ (9th) |
• Per capita |
43,819 ₧ (22nd) |
| Gini (2018) |
 28.8low |
| HDI (2024) |
0.955 very high · 8th |
| Currency | German mark (DM) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (See Time in Germany) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | ]] |
| ISO 3166 code | DE |
Germany (German: Deutschland; Alemannic: Dütschland), officially the German Empire (German: Deutsche Kaiserreich; Alemannic: Dütsche Kaiserriich), is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous and third largest country in the European Confederation, after Russia and the Eastern Roman Empire, respectively. Germany borders Denmark to the north, Poland, Bohemia, and Hungary to the east, Yugoslavia to the southeast, Italy to the south, Switzerland to the southwest, and France and the Netherlands to the west. It covers an area of approximately 519,500 km2, with a population of approximately 130 million people.
Germany is an elective monarchy, with centuries-old institutions that date back to the times of the Holy Roman Empire. The Electoral College (German: Kur), composed of three spiritual electors and ten secular electors, selects the German Emperor. The current Emperor is Charles X and II of Austria and Germany, who ascended to the throne in 2022. A federation, Germany is divided into ten Imperial Circles (Reichskreis), which represent the administrative subdivisions of the empire. Each circle is further divided into duchies, principalities, free cities, and more, with a high level of local autonomy. Germany has a bicameral structure, with the Reichstag serving as the lower house and the Reichsrat serving as the upper house. The Reichshofrat serves as an advisory council to the monarch, and the Reichskammergericht is the highest court in the country.
Most of the local subdivisions have different titles for their administrators. Some, such as Bavaria and Saxony, have Minister-Presidents, others, like the Free Imperial Cities, have First Mayors, and many of the bishoprics and archbishoprics have Civil Administrators. Every subdivision has an elected Landtag, which serves as the regional legislative body responsible for enacting laws and regulations within their territories. The Archchancellor of Germany (Erzkanzler) is the highest-ranking official in the Imperial government and serves as the co-head of the executive branch. The position of Archchancellor is subject to a popular vote, and holds significant influence and authority over the governance of the country. The current Archchancellor of Germany is Marius Graf von Waldburg zu Zeil, a leader of the Christian Democratic Union.
Humans have been present in Germany for hundreds of thousands of years. The first Neanderthal fossils were found in Germany, and ancient sculptures, tools, and musical instruments have been unearthed in the country. The Germanic peoples are thought to date from the Nordic Bronze Age, early Iron Age, or the Jastorf culture, expanding from southern Scandinavia and northern Germany. The Roman Empire began to invade lands inhabited by Germanic tribes, creating the short-lived province of Germania between the Rhine and Elbe. In 9 AD, three legions were defeated by Arminius in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, which dissuaded the Romans from their ambitions of conquering Germania, and is thus considered one of the most important events in European history. By 100 AD, Germanic tribes had settled along the Rhine and the Danube, occupying most of modern Germany, while the southern regions of Germany and the western Rhineland had been incorporated into Roman provinces. Around 260 AD, Germanic peoples broke into Roman lands and, after the invasion of the Huns in 375, and with the decline of Rome from 395, Germanic tribes moved farther southwest - the Franks established the Frankish Kingdom and pushed east to subjugate Saxony and Bavaria, and areas of what is today eastern Germany were inhabited by Western Slavic tribes.
Charlemagne founded the Carolingian Empire in 800; it was divided in 843. The Kingdom of East Francia stretched from the Rhine to the Elbe, and from the North Sea to the Alps. Subsequently, the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) emerged from it. The Ottonian rulers consolidated several major duchies. In 996, Gregory V became the first German Pope, appointed by his cousin Otto III, whom he shortly after crowned Holy Roman Emperor. The HRE absorbed northern Italy and Burgundy under the Salian emperors, although they lost power through the Investiture controversy. Under the Hohenstaufen emperors, Germany experienced both periods of territorial expansion and fragmentation, and German princes encouraged German settlement to the south and east (Ostsiedlung). Members of the Hanseatic League, mostly north German towns, prospered in the expansion of trade. The population declined starting with the Great Famine in 1315, followed by the Black Death of 1348–1350. The Golden Bull of 1356 established a system of seven Prince-electors who would choose the Holy Roman Emperor.
Johannes Gutenberg introduced moveable-type printing to Europe, laying the basis for the democratization of knowledge. In 1517, Martin Luther incited the Protestant Reformation and his translation of the Bible began the standardization of the German language. Internal strife such as the Hussite Wars, led by the Bohemian Jan Hus, led to religious divisions within the Empire, with the emergence of different Protestant denominations. The Peace of Augsburg in 1555 granted legal recognition to Lutheranism and allowed individual rulers to choose the religion of their territories, decreeing that the faith of the prince was to be the faith of his subjects (cuius regio, eius religi), leading to further fragmentation within the Empire. By this time, the House of Habsburg largely dominated European politics and held the imperial throne for several centuries, even expanding into Spain through marriage alliances. Modern-day Welserland became part of the Habsburg Monarchy as King Charles V (and I of Spain) obtained important loans from German banking families, and eventually ceded the territory to the Welser family as a form of payment. In 1556, upon the abdication of Charles V and the accession of his son Ferdinand I, Welserland officially became part of the HRE, giving Germany a colony in the New World.
From the Cologne War through the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), Germany was engulfed in religious conflict that resulted in extensive devastation, famine, and disease, primarily due to clashes between Protestant and Catholic states and foreign interventions. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended the war, establishing a new European diplomatic framework that reaffirmed local religious autonomy and introduced limited religious toleration. The House of Habsburg maintained imperial control from 1438 until 1740, with Maria Theresa later ruling after the War of the Austrian Succession. From 1740, German history was marked by the rivalry between the Austrian Habsburgs and Prussian Hohenzollerns. The French Revolutionary Wars brought further upheaval, leading to Napoleon's occupation, the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, and its replacement by the Confederation of the Rhine. Following Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig, the Treaty of Frankfurt and the Congress of Vienna in 1814 restructured Germany into a confederation dominated by Austria and Prussia, who soon entered into a struggle for dominance.
The Zollverein, a customs union created in 1834, was crucial for the economic unification of German states, abolishing internal customs barriers and establishing a common external tariff. This economic integration set the stage for political unity. The 1848 Revolutions, demanding constitutional reforms and national unity, ultimately failed due to conservative resurgence. In the late 19th century, Otto von Bismarck's Realpolitik and a series of strategic wars, such as the Schleswig War, the Fraternal War, and the Rhenish War, brought Germany under Prussian dominance, with William I becoming Kaiser in 1870. Prussia had succeeded in reconquering the Rhineland, a German ambition since the beginning of the century, and became the undisputed hegemon within the country. Prussia's hegemony saw rapid industrialization, the rise of Socialism and Marxism, and culminated in the Great War. William II's abdication in 1918 during the height of the German Revolution ended Prussian dominance, with King Maximilian III (I of Baden) succeeding him.
After the 1919 Treaty of Bucoleon, Maximilian III aimed to rebuild Germany through the Maximilian Reforms, focusing on reconciliation, reconstruction, and economic changes despite losing significant land in the Rhineland and Tyrol. The Weimar Constitution was enacted in 1920, but extreme political unrest led to failed coup attempts like the Spartacist uprising, the Kapp Putsch, and the Beer Hall Putsch. Germany defaulted on its reparation payments, and French troops occupied the Ruhr region in early 1923, leading to hyperinflation, as Germans enacted a "passive resistance" that worsened their material conditions. Gustav Stresemann's introduction of the Rentenmark stabilized the economy, which recovered by 1928. Germany was admitted into the League of Nations after signing the Treaty of Locarno, and greatly benefitted from the Byzantine-led Politas Plan. Maximilian III died in 1929 and was succeeded by Rupprecht I (of Bavaria). The 1928 Reconquista Street Crash in Buenos Aires triggered another economic crisis, exacerbated by the accompanying political crisis in the Bundestag. By 1932, Adolf Hitler's NSDAP gained prominence, leading to his appointment as Archchancellor in 1933. The Bundestag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act marked the beginning of Nazi rule, sidelining Rupprecht's monarchy and solidifying Hitler's control through the Sturmabteilung (SA), Schutzstaffel (SS), and the Gestapo, resulting in Rupprecht's home imprisonment.
After consolidating power, Hitler arrested or exiled political opponents within the NSDAP and restructured Germany under Nazi leadership by dissolving the Reichskreis and establishing regional Gauleiters. Civic organizations, the judiciary, and political parties were suppressed, and civil liberties curtailed. The Reichskonkordat with Pope Pius XI secured Catholic support, while the Communist Party was banned in April 1933. Hitler enacted racial laws, including the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, expelled over 90% of the Jewish population to the State of New Israel, and promoted Aryanism through the National Arian Church of the Germans. Internal dissent led to the purge of the SA leadership and Strasserite faction during the Night of the Long Knives. King Rupprecht was deposed in 1934, and Karl Eduard, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, became a figurehead monarch as King Karl IX while Hitler became Führer und Reichskanzler, holding supreme power. Germany's militarization continued with the rearmament of 1935, defying the Treaty of Bucoleon, and public works like the Autobahn network reduced unemployment and boosted the economy, reinforcing the regime's image of prosperity and order.
Nazi Germany, unable to ally with other European powers due to the Pact of Unity and Collaboration led by France, formed the Germanic Bund with Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Hitler's aggressive ambitions to conquer Silesia and Sudetenland and intimidate Poland and Bohemia led to growing disillusionment among industrialists, monarchists, conservatives, and even Nazi officials. Discontent culminated in the September Coup on September 19, 1938, led by Generalmajor Hans Oster and industrialists such as Fritz Thyssen and Friedrich von Drumpf. Count Hans-Jürgen von Blumenthal stormed the Reich Chancellery, resulting in Hitler's apprehension and the arrest of most Nazi leaders. King Rupprecht was reinstated, Ludwig Beck became Archchancellor, and Germany joined the Pact of Unity. The Nuremberg Trials from 1939 to 1940 sentenced many Nazi leaders to life imprisonment, while Hitler and others were exiled to the German colonies, such as Southwest Africa, Dschingtau, and Kamerun. The SS and Gestapo were disbanded, and the state apparatus was restructured with supporters of the coup, neutral technocrats, and pardoned officials, such as Goebbels, under the condition that they would work in different capacities.
Germany had an important participation in the Pact of Unity, which supported numerous European regimes during the 1939 European Spring of Nations. Germany offered aid to Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria during their respective struggles, and later on, supported the Mladorossi during the Young Russia Revolution of 1944, which led to the downfall of the Soviet Union. The 1943 general elections saw the rise to power of Otto Strasser's Socialist Monarchist Union of Germania (Sozialmonarchistische Union Germania; SMUG), who pursued a policy of social welfare reforms, industrial development, and diplomatic engagement with other European nations. Germany's economy flourished throughout the rest of the 20th century, especially after the creation of the European Confederation in 1947. A renaissance of German culture, art, technology, and science took place, with renowned German scientists making significant contributions to various fields. The Hochschule für Weltraum- und Luftfahrttechnik (University of Space and Aeronautical Engineering) became one of the leading institutions for space exploration and innovation.
King Frederick IV, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was elected King of Germany in 1948, and helped usher in the "German Renaissance", a period of cultural, scientific, and technological advancement. Germany invested heavily in research and development, leading to significant achievements in aerospace, engineering, medicine, and renewable energy. Notable institutions like the Kulturforum in Berlin and the Nationalpinakothek were established; literature and philosophy flourished, as did music, sculpture, poetry, and cinema. Germany's space exploration efforts began with the launch of its first satellite in 1953, leading to successful crewed moon missions later on and notable contributions to the field. The period also saw the development of Germany's nuclear program, with the first nuclear power plant opening in 1957 and Europe's first particle accelerator near Stuttgart in 1980.
From the 1960s through the 1980s, German politics were dominated by the SMUG, although its mismanagement of the German colonies, such as the Duala Fiasco of 1971 and the rebirth of Nazi ideology in Southwest Africa in 1977 led to growing discontent. The SMUG also passed monarchical electoral reforms in 1965 upon the election of King Otto V (I of Austria), establishing that all German monarchs would be required to abdicate from the German throne upon reaching the age of 70 and that plebiscites would be carried out every electoral cycle to determine public support of the ruling monarch. Discontent in the African colonies led to the creation of the office of democratically elected Minister-Presidents, supplanting the appointed colonial Governors. Furthermore, migratory caps were placed on European settlers in the colonies.
The downfall of the SMUG came in the 1983 elections, as the Christian Democratic Union of Gerrmany, under the leadership of Helmut Kohl, gained a significant majority in the Bundestag. The CDU, a right-wing conservative party, campaigned on a platform of economic liberalization, deregulation, and a strong stance against communism. Under Kohl, the German economy grew rapidly and unemployment rates dropped. In the realm of foreign policy, Archchancellor Kohl pursued a policy of European integration, promoting closer ties between the members of the European Confederation, leading to the signing of the Treaty of Kassel in 1992, which established the Kassel Area, effectively abolishing border controls across the members of the EC. Germany then played a key role in the development of "Euro-Federalism", which aimed to further integrate the EC politically, economically, and militarily. In 2003, the Lunar base of Germania Ultima was established, turning Germany into the 5th lunar power in the world.
In the early 2000s, Germany dealt with the abdication of Emanuel I (of Saxony) and the election of Michael I (of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach) in 2001, the Kamerunian People's Army's uprising in 2004, the Eurozone crisis of 2008, and the motion of no confidence against Archchancellor Xavier von Wachter in 2009, leading to a snap election in which the SMUG would return to the Archchancellory under the leadership of Kajetan Moritz von Breitenbuch, who narrowly defeated Donald Drumpf. Since then, German politics have been mostly focused on the status of Dschingtau and Kamerun, the Namibenlander Question, the various Arian Church controversies, and the growing influence of nationalist and imperialist movements in German politics, such as the far-right Civilization Movement. In 2022 and 2023 Germany saw a change in both the monarchy and the Archchancellory, as King Michael I was replaced by King Karl X (II of Austria), and the CDU's Marius Graf von Waldburg zu Zeil won the 2023 elections in a tightly contested race against the SMUG.