The Sixteen Lands of Deutschland: Difference between revisions

 

== '''Baden-Württemberg''' ==

South West Germany. Three post-1945 Länder to begin with, until they merged in 1952. Notable for precision mechanics, some famous universities, and banning Muslim female teachers from wearing headscarves. Used to be ruled consistently by the CDU (which often won absolute majorities) but as in spring 2011 it became the first German ''Land'' to have a ''Ministerpräsident'' from the Green Party.

 

 

== '''Bayern''' ==

You probably know this as Bavaria. Home to Lederhosen, the real ''[[Oktoberfest]]'' and a certain [[The Pope|Joseph Ratzinger]].

 

 

== '''Brandenburg''' ==

Entirely surrounding Berlin, it was recreated in 1990, having been broken up by East Germany. Berlin is completely surrounded by Brandenburg territory.

 

 

== '''Bremen''' ==

One of the city-states of Germany, the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen is actually two separate areas - Bremen and Bremerhaven. Unlike Berlin, which only became a state of its own after the post-[[WW 2]] dismemberment of Prussia, Bremen and Hamburg were autonmous and self-ruled ''Reichsstädte" even during the Holy Roman Empire and thus have a republican tradition going back to the middle ages. From 1945 to 1949, Bremen was an American enclave in the British zone of occupation as the American forces used Bremerhaven as their main port.

 

 

== '''Saarland''' ==

After the war, Saarland was actually placed under French control, but was handed back in 1957 (it had been under de facto French adminstration from 1920 to 1935). Smallest of the non-city states, French is the most common foreign language here. Tried to qualify for the 1954 World Cup, and came second in their group... to the West Germans.