1.
Berlin
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Berlin is the capital and the largest city of Germany as well as one of its constituent 16 states. With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Berlin is the second most populous city proper, due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one-third of the area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers. Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world, following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all-Germany. Berlin is a city of culture, politics, media. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations. Berlin serves as a hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination, significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics. Modern Berlin is home to world renowned universities, orchestras, museums and its urban setting has made it a sought-after location for international film productions. The city is known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts. Since 2000 Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene, the name Berlin has its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of todays Berlin, and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl-. All German place names ending on -ow, -itz and -in, since the Ber- at the beginning sounds like the German word Bär, a bear appears in the coat of arms of the city. It is therefore a canting arm, the first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920, the central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document,1237 is considered the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the right on the two important trade routes Via Imperii and from Bruges to Novgorod. In 1307, they formed an alliance with a common external policy, in 1415 Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440. In 1443 Frederick II Irontooth started the construction of a new palace in the twin city Berlin-Cölln
2.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning 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, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
3.
States of Germany
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Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen federal states. Since todays Germany was formed from a collection of several states, it has a federal constitution. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was through the unification of the western states created in the aftermath of World War II. West Berlin, while not part of the Federal Republic, was largely integrated and considered as a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, in 1957, the Saar Protectorate rejoined the Federal Republic as the Saarland. Federalism is one of the constitutional principles of Germany. After 1945, new states were constituted in all four zones of occupation, in 1949, the states in the three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the development in Austria, where the Bund was constituted first. The use of the term Länder dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, before this time, the constituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is common to use the term Bundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of 1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949, three Länder call themselves Freistaaten, Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. He summarizes the arguments for boundary reform in Germany. The German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation, too many Länder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated. But several proposals have failed so far, territorial reform remains a topic in German politics. Federalism has a tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised many petty states numbering more than 300 around 1796, the number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna,39 states formed the German Confederation, the new German Empire included 25 states and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, which controlled 65% of the territory, after the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles, the remaining states continued as republics of a new German federation
4.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
5.
Confluence
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In geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of water. The term is used to describe the meeting of tidal or other non-riverine bodies of water. A one-mile portion of the Industrial Canal in New Orleans accommodates the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada is at the confluence of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. The junction of the Green River and Colorado River forms the heart of Canyonlands National Park in Utahs Canyon Country, the Sangam, near Allahabad, India, where the sacred rivers Ganges and Yamuna meet to create one of the holiest places in Hinduism. The Ohio River is formed by the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, located in Pittsburgh, the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers in Three Forks, Montana form the confluence of the Missouri River, one of the longest rivers in the United States. Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, is at the confluence of the Gombak River and the Klang River. Passau known also as the Dreiflüssestadt, because the Danube River is joined there by the Inn River from the South, manaus, Brazil is on the Rio Negro near its confluence with the Amazon. It is the port and a hub for the regions extensive river system. Osijek, Croatia, is on the bank of the river Drava 25 km upstream of its confluence with the Danube. Belgrade, the capital of Serbia lies at the confluence of the Sava, the Hochelaga Archipelago, including the island and city of Montreal, is located at the confluence of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River in Quebec, Canada. Winnipeg, Canada, is at the confluence of the Red River, the area is referred to as The Forks by locals, and has been an important trade location for over 6000 years. The confluence of the rivers Danube and Morava in Devín on the border between Slovakia and Austria, triangle of Three Emperors, former tripoint in Europe. Cairo, Illinois, in the United States, where the Ohio River flows into the Mississippi River, St. Louis, Missouri, is built just south of the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. Lyon, France is located on the confluence of the Saône and Rhone rivers, lytton, British Columbia, Canada, is located at the confluence of the muddy Fraser River and the clearer Thompson River. The confluence between the Franklin River and Gordon River in south-western Tasmania The confluence of the Snake and Columbia River at the Tri-Cities of Washington, the confluence of the rivers Pivka and Rak is one of the largest subterranean confluences in Europe. The confluence at Lokoja, Nigeria, where the Niger and Benue rivers merge, the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, located at the confluence of the White Nile and the Blue Nile. This merging point is the beginning of the Nile, columbus, Ohio, in the United States is at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers. Luang Prabang in Laos is at the confluence of the Mekong, River Kabul and River Swat at Attock, in Pakistan
6.
Havel
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The Havel is a river in north-eastern Germany, flowing through the German states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a tributary of the Elbe river and 325 kilometres long. However, the distance from its source to its mouth is only 94 kilometres. For much of its length, the Havel is navigable, the source of the Havel is located in the Mecklenburg Lake District, between Lake Müritz and the city of Neubrandenburg. From there the river flows southward, eventually joining the Elbe. Every river north-east of it flows to the Baltic Sea, the river enters Brandenburg near the town of Fürstenberg. In its upper course and between Berlin and Brandenburg an der Havel the river forms several lakes. The Havels main tributary is the Spree river, which joins the Havel in Spandau, a borough of Berlin. The second largest tributary is the Rhin, named in the Middle Ages by settlers from the lower Rhine, the region around and north of the middle Havel is called the Havelland. It consists of hills, often called Ländchen, and low marshes. A few kilometres of the river before its confluence with the Elbe near Havelberg are in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, due to its minimal gradient it is susceptible to high waters in the Elbe. Unless in extreme floods, if the dike of the Elbe is submerged, by this canal, the mouth of the Havel, that naturally would be near Havelberg, is placed 11 km downstream. As the course of the Elbe has a higher gradient than the Havel, towns along the river include, Fürstenberg, Zehdenick, Oranienburg, Berlin, Potsdam, Werder, Ketzin, Brandenburg, Premnitz, Rathenow and Havelberg. In earlier Greek or Latin sources, such as Tacitus Germania, the river name Havel is related to German Haff, habe, hafen, MHG Hafen meaning port, harbor). The Slavic people who moved into the Havel river area were referred to in German sources as Heveller. Among others, there are four important bridges, in Spandau, in Potsdam, in Brandenburg and in a suburb of that town. The River Havel is navigable from the Mecklenburg Lake District to its confluence with the River Elbe, from a navigation perspective, the River Havel can be split into four sections with somewhat different characteristics and different administrative arrangements. The Havel is navigable to canoes and similar small craft from close to its source, motor craft are prohibited above the first lock at Zwenzow, which links the Useriner See to the Großer Labussee
7.
Spree
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The Spree is a river that flows through the Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin states of Germany, and in the Ústí nad Labem region of the Czech Republic. Approximately 400 kilometres in length, it is a left tributary of the River Havel. It is the river on which the centre of Berlin was built. The reach of the river between the Dämeritzsee and Müggelsee to the east of Berlin is known as the Müggelspree, the source of the Spree is located in Neugersdorf, Germany, in the Lusatian Highlands near the Czech border. It runs on the border for a distance at two points before leaving the hills and passing through the old city of Bautzen/Budyšin, the center of the Sorbs in Upper Lusatia. Just to the north of Bautzen the river flows through the Bautzen Reservoir, further north the river passes through the city of Spremberg and the Spremberg Reservoir before reaching the city of Cottbus. To the north of Cottbus the river enters the Spreewald, a wetlands area in Lower Lusatia. In the Spreewald the river passes through the towns of Lübbenau, Lübben, just below Leibsch, the Dahme Flood Relief Canal diverts water from the Spree to run into the River Dahme at Märkisch Buchholz. The Spree continues north from Leibsch before flowing into the Neuendorfer See at the edge of the Spreewald. From the Neundorfer See it then flows in a direction to the Schwielochsee. From Fürstenwalde the river continues to flow westwards, through the Dämeritzsee and Müggelsee, to Köpenick in the part of Berlin, where it is joined by its tributary. The final reach of the Spree is where it is best known, on its route through Berlin, the river passes Berlin Cathedral, the Reichstag and the Schloss Charlottenburg. The renowned Museum Island, with its collection of five museums, is actually an island in the Spree. The Badeschiff is a swimming pool moored in the Spree. Small craft, such as punts, are used in wetlands of the Spreewald. Larger craft can reach as far upstream as Leibsch, although the upper reaches are relatively shallow and are only used by leisure craft. Some intermediate reaches are unnavigable and by-passed by canals, for a stretch of about 20 kilometres east of and flowing through Fürstenwalde, the river forms part of the Oder-Spree Canal. On this reach, and on the reach west of the confluence with the River Dahme at Köpenick, the canal diverges from the Spree just east of Fürstenwalde and later joins the River Dahme at the Seddinsee
8.
BMW Motorrad
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BMW Motorrad is the motorcycle brand of the German company BMW, part of its Corporate and Brand Development division. The current General Director of the unit is Hendrik von Kuenheim, in May 2011, the 2,000, 000th motorcycle produced by BMW Motorrad was an R1200GS. The company began as an engine manufacturer in the early 20th century. BMW manufactured its first motorcycle in 1923, the R32, which featured a flat-twin boxer engine, BMW Motorrad still uses the flat-twin boxer configuration, but now manufactures motorcycles with a variety of engine configurations. All BMW Motorrads motorcycle production takes place at its plant in Berlin, Germany, although some engines are manufactured in Austria, China, and Taiwan. Most of the current motorcycles in BMW Motorrads range were designed by David Robb, who was the companys chief designer from 1993 to 2012 when he was replaced by Edgar Heinrich. Current production includes a variety of shaft, chain, and belt driven models, with engines from 310 cc to 1,649 cc, and models designed for off-road, dual-purpose, sport, and touring activities. In 2008, BMW introduced the DOHC Boxer HP2 Sport, BMW Motorrad motorcycles are categorized into product families, and each family is assigned a different letter prefix. The current families are, C series – Maxi-scooters called Urban Mobility Vehicles by BMW F series – parallel-twin engines of 798 cc capacity, models are F650GS, F700GS, F800GS, F800R, F800S, F800GT and F800ST. The F650GS was powered by a single cylinder 652cc Austrian built Rotax engine, G series – single-cylinder engines of 449 to 652 cc capacity featuring chain drive. Models are G450X, G650GS, G650 Sertão, G650 Xmoto, G650 Xchallenge, the 450 cc engines are manufactured by Kymco in Taiwan. The 2009 and 2010650 cc engine parts were manufactured by Rotax in Austria, with the engine being assembled by Loncin Holdings, arriving in 2016 is the BMW G310R, a single-cylinder liquid-cooled model manufactured in India by TVS Motor Company. R series – twin-cylinder boxer engines of 1,170 cc capacity featuring shaft drive, models are R1200GS, R1200R, R1200RT, BMW R1200RS, R1200S and R nineT. K series – four-cylinder engines of 1,157 to 1,649 cc capacity featuring shaft drive, models are K1200LT, K1300GT, K1300R and K1300S. In 2011, BMW Motorrad launched the six-cylinder 1,649 cc K1600GT, S series – S1000RR – sport bike with transverse-mounted,999 cc inline-four engine. Models included S1000R, S1000XR BMW Motorrad achieved record sales for the time in succession in 2015. With a total of 136,963 vehicles sold in 2015, the biggest single market in 2015 was once again Germany, followed by USA, France, Italy, United Kingdom and Spain. With an aim for 2020 to supply 200,000 vehicles to customers, as it was the case until now, BMWs most successful motorcycle is still the R1200 GS with 23,681 units sold in 2015
9.
Manaus
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Manaus or Manaós before 1939 or Barra do Rio Negro, is the capital city of the state of Amazonas in the North Region of Brazil. It is situated near the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers, with a population of more than 2 million, it is the most populous city of both the Brazilian state of Amazonas and the Amazon rainforest. The city was founded in 1693–94 as the Fort of São José do Rio Negro, on September 4,1856 it returned to its original name. Manaus is located in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, and this isolation helped preserve both the natural environment as well as the culture of the city. The culture of Manaus, more than in any urban area of Brazil. The city is the access point for visiting the fauna. Few places in the world such a variety of plants, birds, insects. It was known at the beginning of the century, as Heart of the Amazon, currently its main economic engine is the Industrial Park of Manaus, the famous Free Economic Zone. The city has a port and an international airport. Its manufactures include electronics, chemical products, and soap, there are distilling, Manaus also exports Brazil nuts, rubber, jute and rosewood oil. It has a cathedral, opera house, zoological and botanical gardens, with a population of 2 million people in 2014, Manaus is the most populous city in the Brazilian Amazon area and the 7th most populous in the country. It is located on the bank of the Negro River,18 km above the meeting of the rivers where the Negro merges with the Solimões. Manaus is 1,400 km inland from the Atlantic Ocean and it is the hub of tourism for the rivers, the jungle lodges and the river cruises. The Solimões and Negro rivers meet just east of Manaus and join to form the Amazon River, rubber made it the richest city in South America during the late 1800s. Rubber also helped Manaus earn its nickname, the Paris of the Tropics, many wealthy European families settled in Manaus and brought their love for sophisticated European art, architecture and culture with them. Manaus is also a zone, which has encouraged development in the region. Manaus was one of the host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the history of the European colonization of Manaus began in 1499 with the Spanish discovery of the mouth of the Amazon River. The Spanish then continued to colonize the north of Brazil
10.
MG 08
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The Maschinengewehr 08, or MG08, was the German Armys standard machine gun in World War I and is an adaptation of Hiram S. Maxims original 1884 Maxim gun. It was produced in a number of variants during the war, the MG08 served during World War II as a heavy machine gun in many German infantry divisions, although by the end of the war it had mostly been relegated to second-rate fortress units. The Maschinengewehr 08 —so-named after 1908, its year of adoption—was a development of the license made Maschinengewehr 01, the firing rate depends on the lock assembly used and averages 500 rounds per minute for the Schloss 08 and 600 rounds per minute for the Schloss 16. Using a separate attachment sight with range calculator for indirect fire, additional telescopic sights were also developed and used in quantity during the war. The MG08, like the Maxim gun, operated on the basis of short barrel recoil and its practical range was estimated at some 2,000 metres up to an extreme range of 3,600 metres. The MG08 was mounted on a mount that was ferried between locations either on carts or else carried above mens shoulders in the manner of a stretcher. Pre-war production was by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken in Berlin and by the government Spandau arsenal, when the war began in August 1914, approximately 12,000 MG 08s were available to battlefield units, production, at numerous factories, was however markedly ramped up during wartime. It also had a range of round about 2-4,000 yards.5 millimeters — was tested as a prototype in 1915 by a team of weapon designers under the direction of an Oberst Friedrich von Merkatz—the MG 08/15. The MG 08/15 had been designed to be manned by four trained infantrymen spread on the ground around the gun, to accomplish that purpose, the MG 08/15 featured a short bipod rather than a heavy four-legged sled mount, plus a wooden gunstock and a pistol grip. At 18 kg, the MG 08/15 was lighter and less cumbersome than the standard MG08 and it nevertheless remained a bulky water-cooled weapon that was quite demanding on the quality and training of its crews. Accurate fire was difficult to achieve and usually in short bursts only and it was first introduced in battle during the French Chemin des Dames offensive in April 1917, where it contributed to the very high casualty count among the French assailants. Its deployment in large numbers with all front line infantry regiments continued in 1917 and during the German offensives of the spring. The MG 08/15 became, by far, the most common German machine gun deployed in World War I since it reached a full allocation of six guns per company or 72 guns per regiment in 1918. By that time, there were four times as many MG 08/15 light machine guns than heavy MG08 machine guns in each infantry regiment. To attain this goal, about 130,000 MG 08/15 had to be manufactured during World War I, most of them by the Spandau and Erfurt government arsenals. An air-cooled and thus water-free and lighter version of the MG 08/15, the MG 08/18s barrel was heavier and it could not be quick-changed, thus overheating was inevitably a problem. The word 08/15 lives on as an idiom in colloquial German, 08/15, being used today as an adjective to denote something totally ordinary. However, this is one of possible origins of the idiom. I through the E. III production versions of the Fokker Eindecker
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Luton, United Kingdom since 1950
Siegen, Germany since 1952
Asnières-sur-Seine, France since 1959
Ashdod, Israel since 1968
Boca Raton, Florida, United States 1979 until May 2003
Iznik, Turkey since 1987
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Lichtenberg
Marzahn-Hellersdorf
Mitte
Neukölln
Pankow
Reinickendorf
Spandau
Steglitz-Zehlendorf
Tempelhof-Schöneberg
Treptow-Köpenick