GERMANY

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT: Germany has three major natural regions: a lowland plain in the north, an area of uplands in the center, and a mountainous area in the south. The northern lowlands, called the North German Plain, lie along and between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea and extend southward into eastern Germany. The lowest point in Germany is sea level along the coast, where there are areas of dunes and marshland. Off the coast are several islands, including the Frisian Islands, Helgoland, and Rügen. The flat area was originally formed by glacial action during the Ice Age and includes an alluvial belt, southwest of Berlin, which is Germany’s richest farming area. Farther west, this belt supported the development of the coal and steel industries of the Ruhr Valley in cities such as Essen and Dortmund. Historically, the north German lowlands have been wide open to invasions, migrations, and trade with Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. East of the Elbe River, they also sustained large-scale agriculture and huge feudal estates once owned by the Prussian aristocratic elite. The central uplands feature mountain ranges of modest height, separated by river valleys. Navigable rivers facilitated economic development by providing inexpensive transportation before the age of railroads and trucking. This region is located between the latitude of the city of Nürnberg and the Main River in the south and the latitude of Hannover in the north. Much of it is heavily forested and exploited for its timber. The region is marked by an abundance of waterpower. Intense cultivation and industrial development have occurred in cities such as Dresden and Kassel, located in the river valleys. The mountainous region, or Alpine zone, in the south includes the Swabian and Franconian mountains, the foothills of the Alps, and two large forests, the Black Forest in the southwest and the Bavarian and Bohemian Forest in the east. Germany’s highest point is Zugspitze in the Bavarian Alps. Major cities in this area include Stuttgart and Munich. The region has traditionally relied on small-scale agriculture and tourism, but many high-technology industries began to develop there during the 1970s. Rivers have played a major role in Germany’s economic development. The Rhine River flows in a northwesterly direction from Switzerland through much of western Germany and The Netherlands into the North Sea. It is a major European waterway and a pillar of commerce and trade. Its primary German tributaries include the Main, Mosel, Neckar, and Ruhr rivers. The Oder River, along the border between Poland and Germany, runs northward and empties into the Baltic; it provides another important path for waterborne freight. The Elbe River originates in the Czech mountains and traverses eastern and western Germany toward the northwest until it empties into the North Sea at the large seaport of Hamburg. The Danube River connects southern Germany with Austria and Eastern Europe. Since the recent construction of the Rhine-Danube Canal, freight can be transported by barge from the North Sea to the Black Sea. Smaller rivers such as the Neisse and Weser also play a significant role as transport routes. There are several large lakes, including the Lake of Constance in extreme southwest Germany and the glacial moraine lakes of Bavaria, but none of them have rivaled the importance of rivers in German economic development. The presence of coal and iron ore encouraged German industrial development in the late 19th century. Most of the deposits were found in close proximity to one another, allowing for the convenient use of coal as fuel first to process the iron into steel and then to manufacture products from the steel. The availability of inexpensive transport by water, and later by land, facilitated the growth of manufacturing and encouraged exports. The presence of certain minerals in great quantity, such as potash and salt, permitted the development of a chemical industry, including the production of fertilizers and pharmaceuticals. The availability of wood, petroleum, natural gas, brown coal, and waterpower further smoothed the path of German industrial progress.
ENERGY: German industrial development in the 19th century was fueled by coal. The use of coal declined in the 1970s and 1980s. However, East German brown coal remained important into the early 21st century for electricity production and as fuel, despite being a major source of air pollution. Petroleum and hydroelectric power were only a small source of public electricity production, but were major energy sources for heating and manufacturing processes. German dependence on petroleum imports, the oil crisis of the 1970s, and an expanding appetite for more energy shifted attention to the potential of nuclear energy. By the mid-1980s, 19 nuclear plants were supplying 36 percent of the public electricity needs in West Germany, and more plants were in the planning stage. Following the Chernobyl’ nuclear disaster in 1986, however, massive environmental protests stiffened public resistance to nuclear energy. Further construction of nuclear power facilities was halted for fear of accidents and lawsuits and because of the difficulties of disposing of the radioactive waste. Instead, West Germany embarked on a program of energy savings, including increasing the efficiency of automobile engines and heating plants. Alternative and renewable sources of energy, such as wind, solar, and geothermal energy, have also been developed, but there is little hope that they could ever supply a major part of Germany’s huge needs. Nuclear plants still provide 28.13 percent of the nation’s electricity. While many reactors in Germany were shut down, there were 17 plants that continued to function in 2006. The considerable uranium deposits in Saxony and Thüringen, which had been strip-mined and left open to the elements under the East German government, were sealed up. A government-owned company, Wismut GmbH, worked to complete the environmental cleanup. The Federal Ministry of Environmental Protection, along with other Western nations, has raised funds to assist Eastern European countries with measures to shut down or replace all Chernobyl’-type reactors.
TOURISM: Germany’s beautiful scenery and varied culture attract many tourists, both foreign and domestic. Tourists tend to favor the resorts of the North and Baltic seas, the Alps, the forests of the southern uplands, and the valleys of the Rhine, Main, Mosel, Neckar, upper Elbe, and Danube rivers. Since unification, tourists have gained access to the natural parks of former East Germany, such as those of the Oder Valley or the island of Rügen. Tourists also flock to Germany’s many medieval cities, including those along the so-called Romantic Road from Würzburg to Augsburg, and to the baroque wonders and art collections of Dresden. Large numbers of tourists attend famous music and theater festivals, such as the Wagner Opera Festival at Bayreuth and the Passion Play in Oberammergau. Ski resorts in the Alps draw many people, as do the numerous noteworthy spas and health resorts, such as Bad Kissingen and Bad Schandau.