Germany

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## German Empire

*Deutsches Reich*

Flag

## Background

### Formation

* Unification (28 March 1848)
* Fascist Germany (23 March 1933)
* West–East division (23 May 1949)
* Reunification (3 October 1990)

## Government

### Type

Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy

### Head(s) of State

**Monarch:**
Georg (1994–)
**Chancellor:**
Olaf Scholz (2021–)

### Legislature

* Upper house: Bundesrat
* Lower house: Bundestag

## Culture

### National Anthem

*Heil dir im Siegerkranz*
(English: "Hail to Thee in the Victor's Crown")

### Currency

Euro

**Germany** (German: *Deutschland*), officially the **German Empire** (German: *Deutsches Reich*), is a country in Central Europe. It is the second-most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of Mitteleuropa. Germany is situated between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south; it has a population of over 85 million. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and Austria-Hungary and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and largest city is Berlin, and its financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr.

Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity. A region named Germania was documented before AD 100. In the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. Following the French Wars of Expansion and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1813, the German Confederation was formed in 1815, and led by the Austrian Empire. However, it was temporarily interrupted when a revolutionary state was formed during the 1848 revolutions in Germany.

The modern German state was founded on 18 January 1871 when the south German states, except for Austria, joined the North German Confederation and the new constitution came into force on April 16, changing the name of the federal state to the German Empire and introducing the title of German Emperor for Wilhelm I, King of Prussia from the House of Hohenzollern. Berlin remained its capital, and Otto von Bismarck, Minister President of Prussia, became Chancellor, the head of government. As these events occurred, the Prussian-led North German Confederation and its southern German allies were still engaged in the Franco-Prussian War. In the 20th century, Germany continued rising as a major European power both in terms of economy and military, although its economic prosperity was interrupted in the early 1920s during the Great War, and also during the Great Depression. In 1926, it aided Polish rebels in the Polish War of Independence, and signed an alliance with the newly-formed country in 1930 to ensure that it will continue existing. In the 1950s and 60s, Germany focused on the Universum-Programm during the Space Race and sent the first man, Sigmund Jähn, into space in 1964, although in the remainder of the 20th century focused on forming its own economic union with the other European countries. In 1974, Mitteleuropea was formed, with Germany, Livonia, Poland and Bohemia being the founding members.

Germany is a great power with a strong economy; it has the largest economy in Europe, the world's fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP, and the fifth-largest by PPP. As a global leader in several industrial, scientific and technological sectors, it is both the world's third-largest exporter and importer of goods. As a developed country, which ranks very high on the Human Development Index, it offers social security and a universal health care system, environmental protections, and a tuition-free university education. Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G7, the G20, and the OECD. It has the third-greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.