FACTS
Location: Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Area (only Total) total: 357,021 sq km
Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Terrain: lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Population: 82,369,548
Main Language (only first): German
Government type: federal republic
Capital (Name): Berlin
Capital (Time Difference): UTC+1
Independence: 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991
National holiday: Unity Day, 3 October
HOLIDAYS
January 1 New Year's Day
January 6 Epiphany
March 21 Good Friday
March 23 Easter Day
March 24 Easter Monday
May 1 May Day or Labour Day
May 11 Whit Sunday
May 12 Whit Monday
May 22 Corpus Christi
August 8 Peace Festival
August 15 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
October 3 Day of German Unity
October 31 Reformation Day
November 1 All Saints Day
November 19 Day of Prayer & Repentance
December 24 Christmas Eve - Government closed, half day for shops
December 25 Christmas Day
December 26 Boxing Day
December 31 New Year's Eve - Government closed, half day for shops
1In North Rhine-Westphalia, but also in other Catholic parts of Germany (Bavaria), during the carnival season many businesses close down. The so-called 5th season begins with the Thursday before Ash Wednesday with Weiberfastnacht (in Cologne and Dusseldorf) or Fasching (Bavaria, Baden-Wurttemberg). This day is normally only a half-working day (people start getting drunk after 12 noon!).
Non-Holiday Observances
January 27 WWII Genocide Memorial Day
Weekend Saturday, Sunday
