Theculture of Germany has been shaped by its central position in Europe and ahistory spanning over a millennium. Characterized by significant contributions to art, music, philosophy, religion, science, and technology, German culture is both diverse and influential. Historically,Germany was not a unified nation for long periods, leading to a wide variety of regional customs and traditions. From the medievalHoly Roman Empire to the modern Federal Republic, German culture has absorbed influences from across the continent and beyond. Key aspects include a strong emphasis on education and craftsmanship, a long literary tradition featuring figures likeGoethe andSchiller, a musical heritage fromBach toBeethoven, and a philosophical legacy includingKant andMarx. Germany is also known for its numerous festivals, regional cuisines, and a commitment to preserving its historical heritage while embracing contemporary trends in art, architecture, and popular culture.
German is the official and predominant spoken language in Germany.[1] It is one of 23 official languages in the European Union, and one of the threeworking languages of theEuropean Commission, along with English and French. Recognised native minority languages in Germany areDanish,Sorbian,North Frisian andSaterland Frisian, withLow German being a regional language. They are officially protected by theECRML.[2] The most used immigrant languages areTurkish,Kurdish,Polish, theBalkan languages, andRussian. According toPew Research, 90% of people speak German at home[3]
Standard German is aWest Germanic language and is closely related to and classified alongside English, Dutch, and theFrisian languages. To a lesser extent, it is also related to theEast (extinct) andNorth Germanic languages. Most German vocabulary is derived from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family.[4] Significant minorities of words are derived fromLatin and Greek, with a smaller amount from French and most recently English (known asDenglisch). German is written using the Latin alphabet. In addition to the 26 standard letters, German has three vowels withUmlaut, namely ä, ö, and ü, as well as theEszett orscharfes S (sharp s) which is written "ß" (not used inSwitzerland andLiechtenstein, where it is writtenss instead). German orthography has gone through a series of reforms,the most recent in 1996.
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Germandialects are distinguished fromvarieties ofstandard German.[5] German dialects are traditional local varieties and can be traced back to the different German tribes. Many of them are not easily understandable to a speaker of standard German, since they often differ inlexicon,phonology, andsyntax.
Around the world, German has approximately 100 millionnative speakers and also about 80 million non-native speakers.[6] German is the main language of about 90 million people (18%) in the EU. 67% of German citizens claim to be able to communicate in at least one foreign language, 27% in at least two languages other than their first.[1]
In theGerman diaspora, aspects of German culture are passed on to younger generations throughnaming customs and through the use of spoken and written German. TheGoethe Institute seeks to spread the knowledge of German culture worldwide. A total of 15.5 million people are currently learning German as a second language.[7]
German literature can be traced back to theMiddle Ages, with the most notable authors of the period beingWalther von der Vogelweide andWolfram von Eschenbach.TheNibelungenlied, whose author remains unknown, is also an important work of the epoch, as is theThidrekssaga. The fairy tales collections collected and published byJacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the 19th century became famous throughout the world.
Land der Dichter und Denker (Land of poets and thinkers) is a phrase used by many Germans to refer to Germany,[8][9][10] though it is hardly known in non-German-speaking countries. It is occasionally used to describe certain cities as well (Stadt der Dichter und Denker), such asTübingen[11] andJena.[12]
TheologianLuther, who translated the Bible into German, is widely credited for having set the basis for the modern "High German" language.
Among the most admired German philosophers and authors areLessing,Goethe,Schiller,Kleist,Annette von Droste-Hülshoff,Hoffmann,Brecht,Heine andSchmidt. Nine Germans have won theNobel Prize in Literature:Theodor Mommsen,Paul von Heyse,Gerhart Hauptmann,Thomas Mann,Nelly Sachs,Hermann Hesse,Heinrich Böll,Günter Grass, andHerta Müller.
The rise of the modern natural sciences and the related decline of religion raised a series of questions, which recur throughout German philosophy, concerning the relationships between knowledge and faith, reason and emotion, and scientific, ethical, and artistic ways of seeing the world.
German philosophers have helped shapewestern philosophy from as early as the Middle Ages (Albertus Magnus). Later,Leibniz (17th century) and most importantlyKant played central roles in thehistory of philosophy.Kantianism inspired the work ofSchopenhauer andNietzsche as well asGerman idealism defended byFichte andHegel.Ludwig Feuerbach became one of the founders of modernatheism.Marx andEngels developed thecommunist theory in the second half of the 19th century whileHeidegger andGadamer pursued the tradition of German philosophy in the 20th century. A number of German intellectuals were also influential insociology, most notablyAdorno,Elias,Habermas,Horkheimer,Luhmann,Marcuse,Simmel,Tönnies, andWeber. TheUniversity of Berlin founded in 1810 by linguist and philosopherWilhelm von Humboldt served as an influential model for a number of modern western universities.
In the 21st century Germany has been an important country for the development of contemporaryanalytic philosophy in continental Europe, along with France, Austria, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries.[13]
TheMilitary of Germany has historically played an important role in German society and culture. In the 18th century,Prussia rose as a military powerhouse underFrederick the Great. German unification in 1871 created theImperial German Army, which played key roles in World War I. The interwarReichswehr evolved into theWehrmacht under Nazi rule, leading to World War II. After 1945, Germany was demilitarized, later forming theBundeswehr in 1955 as a NATO force.
As of 31 May 2024[update], theBundeswehr had a strength of 180,215 active-duty military personnel and 80,761 civilians,[14] placing it among the 30 largest military forces in the world, and making it the second largest in theEuropean Union behindFrance.
In the field of music, Germany claims some of the most renownedclassical composers of the world, includingBach,Mozart andBeethoven, who marked the transition between theClassical andRomantic eras in Western classical music. Also, Germans developed manyLutheran chorales andhymns.
Other composers of theAustro-German tradition who achieved international fame includeBrahms,Wagner,Haydn,Johann Pachelbel,Schubert,Händel,Schumann,Mendelssohn Bartholdy,Johann Strauss II,Bruckner,Mahler,Telemann,Richard Strauss,Schoenberg,Orff, and most recently,Henze,Lachenmann, andStockhausen.
Germany is the largest music market in Europe, and third largest in the world.[15] It has exerted a strong influence onrock andheavy metal music. Artists such asHerbert Grönemeyer,Scorpions,Blind Guardian,Rammstein,Nena,Unheilig,Xavier Naidoo,Tokio Hotel andModern Talking have enjoyed international fame.
German musicians have contributed heavily to developments inelectronic music, insynth-pop,electronic body music,trance andhardcore.Krautrock bandKraftwerk are considered to be the pioneers ofsynth-pop,electro,[16]techno,[17] andhouse music.[18]Tangerine Dream's "Love on a Real Train" was a major influence on the development ofsynthwave.
German popular music of the 20th and 21st centuries includes the movements ofNeue Deutsche Welle (Nena,Alphaville),Ostrock (City,Keimzeit),metal/rock,punk (Nina Hagen,Böhse Onkelz,Die Ärzte,Die Toten Hosen),pop rock (Beatsteaks),indie (Tocotronic,Blumfeld) andhip hop (Die Fantastischen Vier,Deichkind). A global trendsetter is the German techno andminimal scene (e.g.Ricardo Villalobos,Paul Kalkbrenner andSven Väth).
Germany hosts many large rockmusic festivals every year. TheRock am Ring festival is the largest music festival in Germany, and among the largest in the world. German artists also make up a large percentage ofindustrial andNeue Deutsche Härte acts. Germany hosts some of the largestgoth ordark culture scenes and festivals in the entire world, with events likeWave-Gotik-Treffen andM'era Luna Festival attracting up to 30,000 people. In addition, the country hostsWacken Open Air, the biggest heavy metal open air festival in the world.
Since about 1970, Germany has once again had a thriving popular culture, now increasingly led by its reinstated capitalBerlin, and a self-confident music and art scene. Germany is also very well known for its many renownedopera houses, such asSemperoper,Komische Oper Berlin andMunich State Theatre. Richard Wagner established theBayreuth Festspielhaus.
One of the most famous composers of the international film business isHans Zimmer. The year 2020 was designated "Beethoven Year" to mark 250 years since the composer was born.[19]
German cinema dates back to the very early years of the medium with the work ofMax Skladanowsky. It was particularly influential during the years of the Weimar Republic withGerman expressionists such asRobert Wiene andFriedrich Wilhelm Murnau. Austrian-based directorFritz Lang, who became a German citizen in 1926 and whose career flourished in the pre-war German film industry, is said to have been a major influence on Hollywood cinema. His silent movieMetropolis (1927) is referred to as the birth of modern Science Fiction movies.Founded in 1912, theBabelsberg Film Studio is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world.
In 1930,Josef von Sternberg directedThe Blue Angel, which was the first major Germansound film and it brought world fame to actressMarlene Dietrich.[20] Impressionist documentaryBerlin: Symphony of a Great City, directed byWalter Ruttmann, is a prominent example of the city symphony genre. TheNazi era produced mostly propaganda films although the work ofLeni Riefenstahl still introduced new aesthetics to film.[21]
During the 1970s and 1980s,New German Cinema directors such asVolker Schlöndorff,Werner Herzog,Wim Wenders, andRainer Werner Fassbinder put West German cinema back on the international stage with their often provocative films.[22]
More recently, films such asGood Bye Lenin! (2003),Gegen die Wand (Head-on) (2004),Der Untergang (Downfall) (2004), andDer Baader Meinhof Komplex (2008) have enjoyed international success.
TheAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film went to the German productionDie Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum) in 1979, toNowhere in Africa in 2002, and toDas Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) in 2007.[23] Among the most famous German actors are Marlene Dietrich,Klaus Kinski,Hanna Schygulla,Armin Mueller-Stahl,Jürgen Prochnow,Thomas Kretschmann,Til Schweiger andDaniel Brühl.
TheBerlin Film Festival, held annually since 1951, is one of the world's foremost film festivals. An international jury places emphasis on representing films from all over the world and awards the winners with the Golden and Silver Bears.[24] The annualEuropean Film Awards ceremony is held every second year in the city of Berlin, where theEuropean Film Academy (EFA) is located. TheBabelsberg Studios in Potsdam are the oldest large-scale film studios in the world and a centre for international film production.
Germany's television market is the largest in Europe, with 34,000,000 TV households.The many regional and national public broadcasters are organised in line with the federal political structure. Around 90% of German households have cable or satellite TV, and viewers can choose from a variety of free-to-view public and commercial channels. Pay-TV services have not become popular or successful while public TV broadcastersZDF andARD offer a range of digital-only channels.[25]Reality TV is the most popular programming in Germany and a key part in modern German culture.
Germany is home to some of the world's largest media conglomerates, includingBertelsmann, theAxel Springer AG andProSiebenSat.1 Media.
The German-speaking book publishers produce about 700,000,000 copies of books every year, with about 80,000 titles, nearly 60,000 of them new publications. Germany is in third place on international statistics after the English-speaking book market and the People's Republic of China.[26] TheFrankfurt Book Fair is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for international deals and trading and has a tradition that spans over 500 years.
Many of Europe's best-sellingnewspapers andmagazines are produced in Germany. The papers with the highest circulation areDie Zeit,Süddeutsche Zeitung,Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung andDie Welt, the largest magazines includeDer Spiegel,Stern andFocus. TheBild is atabloid and has the largest circulation of all German papers.[27]
However, the publishing industry is in flux – amongst other things because meanwhile almost 800,000 newspaper copies sold daily are distributed digitally and the number of digital subscriptions is continually rising. Nevertheless, a total of around 38 million people in Germany still read a printed newspaper every day, while around 14.6 million make use of newspapers’ digital offerings.[28]
Architectural contributions from Germany include theCarolingian andOttonian styles, important precursors ofRomanesque. The region[clarification needed] has also produced significant works in styles such as theGothic,Renaissance andBaroque.
The nation was particularly important in the earlymodern movement through theDeutscher Werkbund and theBauhaus movement identified withWalter Gropius. TheNazis closed these movements and favoured a type ofneo-classicism. SinceWorld War II post-modern structures have been built. Since the reunification of Germany the trend has continued.
TheUNESCO inscribed 54 properties inGermany on the World Heritage List.[30]
German art has a long and distinguished tradition in thevisual arts, from the earliest known work of figurative art to its current output ofcontemporary art.Celtic art andGermanic art both partially originated in Germany.
Carolingian andOttonian art played a role in the origin ofRomanesque art.
Important GermanRenaissance painters includeAlbrecht Altdorfer,Lucas Cranach the Elder,Matthias Grünewald,Hans Holbein the Younger and the well-knownAlbrecht Dürer. The most importantBaroque artists from Germany areCosmas Damian Asam. Further artists are the painterAnselm Kiefer,romanticCaspar David Friedrich, thesurrealistMax Ernst, theconceptualistJoseph Beuys, orWolf Vostell or theneo-expressionistGeorg Baselitz.
Within modern day society, contemporary art is a large aspect of the culture. This large community draws in people from all around the world. There are around 500 galleries in Germany that caters to this modern form of art.[31]Art Cologne is a popular fair that displays contemporary art.
Germany is afederal,parliamentary,representative democratic republic. Federallegislative power is vested in the parliament consisting of theBundestag (Federal Diet) andBundesrat (Federal Council), which together form the legislative body. TheBundestag is elected throughdirect elections using themixed-member proportional representation system. The members of theBundesrat represent and are appointed by the governments of the sixteen federated states.[33] The German political system operates under a framework laid out in the 1949 constitution known as theGrundgesetz (Basic Law). Amendments generally require a two-thirds majority of both theBundestag and theBundesrat; the fundamental principles of the constitution, as expressed in the articles guaranteeing human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and therule of law, are valid in perpetuity.[34]
The president, who has beenFrank-Walter Steinmeier since 2017, is thehead of state and invested primarily with representative responsibilities and powers. He is elected by theBundesversammlung (federal convention), an institution consisting of the members of theBundestag and an equal number of state delegates.[33] The second-highest official in theGerman order of precedence is theBundestagspräsident (President of the Bundestag), who is elected by theBundestag and responsible for overseeing the daily sessions of the body.[35] The third-highest official and thehead of government is the chancellor, who is appointed by theBundespräsident after being elected by the party or coalition with the most seats in theBundestag.[33] The chancellor, who has beenFriedrich Merz since 2025, is the head of government and exercisesexecutive power throughhis Cabinet.[33]
Since 1949, the party system has been dominated by theChristian Democratic Union and theSocial Democratic Party of Germany. So far every chancellor has been a member of one of these parties. However, the smaller liberalFree Democratic Party and theAlliance 90/The Greens have also been junior partners incoalition governments. Since 2007, the democratic socialist partyThe Left has been a staple in the GermanBundestag, though they have never been part of the federal government. In the2017 German federal election, the right-wing populistAlternative for Germany gained enough votes to attain representation in the parliament for the first time.[36][37]
A global opinion poll for theBBC revealed that Germany is recognized for having the most positive influence in the world in 2011, 2013, and 2014.[38][39][40]
Christianity was introduced to the area of modern Germany by 300 AD and became fullyChristianized by the time ofCharlemagne in the eighth and ninth century. After theReformation started byMartin Luther in the early 16th century, many people left theCatholic Church and becameProtestant, mainlyLutheran andCalvinist.[41] 59.4% of the German population belongs to Christian denominations: 30% areRoman Catholic, and 29% are affiliated withProtestantism[42] (the figures are known accurately because Germany imposes achurch tax on those who disclose a religious affiliation).
The north and east are predominantly Protestant, the south and west predominantly Catholic. Nowadays there is a non-religious majority in Hamburg and the former East German states.[43] Germany was, at one point, almost in its entirety within the Roman CatholicHoly Roman Empire, but was also the source ofProtestant reformers such asMartin Luther. During theKulturkampf (from about 1872 to 1886) the government opposed the Catholic church.
Historically, Germany had a substantialJewish population.[44] Only a few thousand people of Jewish origin remained in Germany afterthe Holocaust, but the German Jewish community now has about 100,000 members,[45] many from the formerSoviet Union. Germany also has a substantialMuslim population, most of whom are descendants ofTurkish workers fromTurkey.
German theologians includeLuther,Melanchthon,Schleiermacher, andRudolf Otto. Germany was also the origin of manymystics, includingMeister Eckhart andJakob Boehme; and of PopeBenedict XVI.
There are a number ofpublic holidays in Germany. The country is particularly known for itsOktoberfest celebrations inMunich, itscarnival culture and globally influentialChristmas customs known asWeihnachten.[46][47] 3 October has been thenational day of Germany since 1990, celebrated as theGerman Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit).
Germany has been the home of many famousinventors andengineers, such asJohannes Gutenberg, who is credited with the invention ofmovable typeprinting in Europe;Hans Geiger, the creator of theGeiger counter; andKonrad Zuse, who built the first computer.[48] German inventors, engineers and industrialists such asZeppelin,Lilienthal,Daimler,Diesel,Otto,Wankel,von Braun andBenz helped shape modern automotive and air transportation technology including the beginnings of space travel.[49][50]
The work ofAlbert Einstein,Max Planck, andWerner Heisenberg was crucial to the foundation of modernphysics.[51] They were preceded by such key physicists asHermann von Helmholtz,Joseph von Fraunhofer, andGabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, among others.Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discoveredX-rays, an accomplishment that earned him the firstNobel Prize in Physics in 1901.[52] BeforeWorld War II, Germany had produced moreNobel laureates in scientific fields than any other nation, and was the preeminent country in thenatural sciences.[53][54] Germany is currently the nation with the3rd most Nobel Prize winners,115. TheWalhalla temple for "laudable and distinguished Germans" features a number of scientists, and is located east ofRegensburg, inBavaria.[55][56]
Germany is home to some of the finest academic centers in Europe. Some famous universities are those of Munich and Berlin,University of Tübingen,University of Göttingen,University of Marburg,University of Berlin,Mining Academy Freiberg andFreiburg University, among many others. Moreover, theRuprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg is one of the oldest universities in Europe.
German designers were leaders of modernproduct design, with theBauhaus designers likeMies van der Rohe, andDieter Rams ofBraun being essential.[57]
Germany is a leading country in thefashion industry. The German textile industry consisted of about 1,300 companies with more than 130,000 employees in 2010, which generated a revenue of 28 billion Euro. Almost 44 percent of the products are exported. The textile branch thus is the second largest producer of consumer goods after food production in the country.[58] Berlin is the center of young and creative fashion in Germany, prominently displayed atBerlin Fashion Week (twice a year). It also hosts Europe's largest fashion trade fair calledBread & Butter.
Munich, Hamburg and Düsseldorf are also important design and production hubs of the German fashion industry, among smaller towns.[59] Renowned fashion designers from Germany includeKarl Lagerfeld,Jil Sander,Wolfgang Joop,Philipp Plein andMichael Michalsky. Important brands includeHugo Boss,Escada andTriumph, as well as special outfitters likeAdidas,PUMA andJack Wolfskin. The GermansupermodelsClaudia Schiffer,Heidi Klum,Tatjana Patitz andNadja Auermann came to global fame.[60]
German cuisine varies from region to region. The southern regions ofBavaria and Swabia, for instance, share a culinary culture with Switzerland and Austria, like theSchnitzel. Pork, beef, and poultry are the main varieties of meat consumed in Germany; pork is the most popular.[61] Throughout all regions, meat is often eaten insausage form. More than 1,500 different types of sausage are produced in Germany.Organic food has gained a market share of almost 6%, and this is predicted to increase further.[62]
A popular German saying has the meaning: "Breakfast like an emperor, lunch like a king, and dine like a beggar." Breakfast is usually a selection of breads and rolls with jam and honey or cold cuts and cheese, sometimes accompanied by a boiled egg.Cereals or muesli with milk or yoghurt is less common but widespread.[63] More than 3000 types ofbread are sold in bakery shops across the country.[64] Occasionally, more traditional and heartier Breakfasts, like the Bavarian "Brotzeit" withWeisswurst, Sweet Mustard andWheat beer, or theBauernfrühstück are also popular.
It is customary for Germans to have a very large lunch around noon. A typical lunch usually consists of some type of meat or fish, a heavy carb such as potato orGerman noodles, and a side of vegetables. Due to the increasing number of Germans who work in urban centers, however, many more people are eating simple items on-the-go for lunch such asCurrywurst, a go-to quick meal to pick up that consists of small pieces of sausage, french fries, and a spicy ketchup sauce.
The term for dinner in German is Abendbrot which directly translates to "evening bread". As the name suggests, typically Germans will have a lighter dinner that consists of sliced meat, sausages, bread, and cheeses. Also, most dinners eaten by Germans usually include some form ofmustard and pickles.[65] The habit of having a simple, light dinner has become less of an everyday routine for many Germans. Due to the increasing number of people who work all day, it is difficult for many Germans to make the time to have a large lunch. For this reason, larger dinners have become more common. Although, most families still have Abendbrot at least a few times a week.[66]
As a country with many immigrants, Germany has adopted many international dishes into its cuisine and daily eating habits.Italian dishes likepizza andpasta,Turkish andArab dishes likedöner kebab andfalafel, are well established, especially in bigger cities. Internationalburger chains, as well asChinese andGreek restaurants, are widespread.Indian,Thai,Japanese, and other Asian cuisines have gained popularity in recent decades.Among high-profile restaurants in Germany, theMichelin guide has awarded ten restaurants three stars, the highest designation, while 38 more received two stars and 255 one star.[67] German restaurants have become the world's second most decorated eateries after France.[68]
AlthoughGerman wine is becoming more popular in many parts of Germany, the national alcoholic drink isbeer. In over 1.500 breweries more than 5.000 types of beer are produced.[69] German beer consumption per person is declining but—at 116 litres annually—it is still among the highest in the world.[70] Beer varieties includeAlt,Bock,Dunkel,Kölsch,Lager,Malzbier,Pils, andWeizenbier. Among 18 surveyed western countries, Germany ranked 14th in the list of per capita consumption of soft drinks in general, while it ranked third in the consumption of fruit juices.[71] Furthermore, carbonated mineral water andSchorle (its mixture with fruit juice or wine) are very popular in Germany.
Germany is filled with inventors of board games, also known asEurogames, that are played around the world. Popular games includeThe Settlers of Catan, which features hexagonal resource tiles that generate resources according to the roll of two dice, andCarcassonne with its randomly drawn square tiles that eventually make a medieval map and its notability for itsmeeples. The fervor for new games continued withPuerto Rico,Ticket to Ride, andAlhambra. In 2008, Germany imported the popular card gameDominion from the US. Today, Germany publishes more board games than any other country per capita.[73]
TheGerman video gaming market is one of the largest in the world.[74] TheGamescom in Cologne is the world's leading gaming convention.[75] Popular game series from Germany includeTurrican, theAnno series,The Settlers series, theGothic series,SpellForce, theX series, theFIFA Manager series,Far Cry andCrysis. The most relevant game developers and publishers areBlue Byte,Crytek,Deck13,Deep Silver,Daedalic Entertainment,Egosoft,Kalypso Media,Koch Media,Piranha Bytes,Related Designs andYager Development.Bigpoint,Gameforge,Goodgame, Quake III Arena / Defrag andWooga are leading developers of online andsocial games.[76]
Sport forms an integral part of German life. 27,000,000 Germans are members of a sports club and an additional 12,000,000 pursue such an activity individually.[77]Association football is the most popular sport. With more than 6,300,000 official members, theGerman Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund) is the largest sports organisation of its kind worldwide.[77] TheBundesliga attracts the second-highestaverage attendance of any professional sports league in the world. TheGermany national football team won theFIFA World Cup in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014 and theUEFA European Football Championship in 1972, 1980 and 1996. Germany has hosted the FIFA World Cup in1974 and2006 and theUEFA European Football Championship in1988. Amongst the most successful and renowned footballers are:Franz Beckenbauer,Gerd Müller,Jürgen Klinsmann,Lothar Matthäus, andOliver Kahn. Other popular spectator sports includehandball,volleyball,basketball,ice hockey, andtennis.[77]
Germany is one of the leading motorsports countries in the world. Race-winning cars, teams and drivers have come from Germany. One of the most successfulFormula One drivers in history,Michael Schumacher, set many significant motorsport records during his career, winning sevenFormula One World Drivers' Championships and 91 Formula One race wins, making him the most gilded driver since Formula One's debut season in 1950. He is one of the highest paid sportsmen in history and became a billionaire athlete.[78]Sebastian Vettel, another German Formula One pilot, later became the youngest Formula One World Champion in history and went on to win four consecutive world championship titles. He still holds records forthe highest number of consecutive race wins andmost pole positions in a single season. Constructors likeBMW andMercedes are among the leading manufacturers in motorsport. Additionally,Porsche has won the24 Hours of Le Mans, a prestigious annual endurance race held in France, 16 times, andAudi has won it 9 times. TheDeutsche Tourenwagen Masters is a popular series in Germany.
Historically, German sportsmen have been some of the most successful contenders in theOlympic Games, ranking third in anall-time Olympic Games medal count, combining East and West German medals. In the2016 Summer Olympics, Germany finished fifth in the medal count,[79] while in the2018 Winter Olympics they finished second.[80] Germany has hosted theSummer Olympic Games twice, in Berlin in1936 and inMunich in1972. TheWinter Olympic Games took place in Germany once in1936 when they were staged in theBavarian twin towns ofGarmisch andPartenkirchen.
Germany is a modern, advanced society, shaped by a plurality of lifestyles and regional identities.[81] The country has established a high level ofgender equality, promotesdisability rights, and is legally and socially tolerant towards homosexuals. Gays and lesbians can legally adopt their partner's biological children, andsame-sex marriage has been permitted since 2017.[82] The former Foreign ministerGuido Westerwelle and the former mayor of Berlin,Klaus Wowereit, are openly gay.[83]
During the last decade of the twentieth century, Germany's attitude towards immigrants changed. Until the mid-1990s, the opinion was widespread that Germany was not a country of immigration, even though about 20% of the population were of non-German origin. Today the government and a majority of the German society are acknowledging that immigrants from diverse ethnocultural backgrounds are part of German society and that controlled immigration should be initiated based on qualification standards.[84]
Since the2006 FIFA World Cup, the internal and external evaluation of Germany's national image has changed.[85] In the annualNation Brands Index global survey, Germany became significantly and repeatedly more highly ranked after the tournament. People in 20 different states assessed the country's reputation in terms of culture, politics, exports, its people and its attractiveness to tourists, immigrants and investments. Germany has been named the world's second most valued nation among 50 countries in 2010.[86] Another global opinion poll, for theBBC, revealed that Germany is recognised for the most positive influence in the world in 2010. A majority of 59% have a positive view of the country, while 14% have a negative view.[87][88]
With an expenditure of €67 billion on international travel in 2008, Germans spent more money on travel than any other country. The most visited destinations wereSpain,Italy andAustria.[89] Additionally, tourism analysts estimate that over 65 percent of Germans vacationed for 5 or more days in 2007.[90] The large amount of travel that Germans partake in can also be attributed to the amount of vacation days they receive. In Germany, employees are given a minimum of 24 vacation days annually, but often employers will give between 25 and 30 paid vacation days.[91] Germans also like packaged vacations which can be all-inclusive vacations or pre-booked excursions or reservations. In 2018, 43% of all German travel consisted of packaged vacations.[92]
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In Germany, leisure is considered a quintessential part of the culture. Researchers inHamburg concluded that Germans over 14 years old have an average of 4 hours of leisure time per day. Regardless of many factors that differentiate Germans, across the board, the most popular leisure activity is watching television.[93] Most Germans dedicate their Sundays to leisure activity because a majority of shops and restaurants are closed on Sundays.
Sports clubs are a large part of Germans' leisure time. Currently, around 26 million people in Germany make up the membership to the over 91,000 sports clubs in Germany. Sports clubs can aid children and adults in getting to know people in their community through a shared passion for sports.[94]
Another leisure activity that Germans like to partake in isexercise. Studies show that most Germans work out at least once a week in their free time.[95] Additionally, Germany is notable for its longstanding tradition ofFreikörperkultur (FKK), or free body culture, which advocates for thepublic health benefits of full-body exposure to natural elements—such as sunlight, fresh air, and outdoor exercise—as part of a holistic lifestyle.[96][97] In practice, this is customarily expressed through non-sexual social nudity in outdoor spaces—whether formally designated or culturally accepted—by individuals and families at lakes, beaches, parks, and natural settings fornaturist recreation.[96][97] Rooted in late 19th- and early 20th-century health reform movements, such as theLebensreform, FKK promotes regular sun and air exposure—often coupled with outdoor exercise—and regards these practices as beneficial to physical and mental well-being, alongside values ofnaturalism andbody positivity.[96][97] Although distinct from FKK ideology, nudity is also customary in Germansauna culture, where mixed-gender facilities require textile-free participation for reasons of wellness and hygiene.[96]
